| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 106.4

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 106.4 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Asia

R. Champakalakshmi. Trade Ideology and Urbanization: South India 300 BC to AD 1300. New York: Oxford University Press. 1996. Pp. x, 485. $39.95.

R. Champakalakshmi has been well known in South Asian and urban history circles for many years. Now she has decided to bring together studies scattered in many places and publish them in one volume. Of the eight chapters here, six are revised and enlarged versions of previous publications, while two are new. 1

This is a challenging and important book. The geographical area is Tamilakam: that is, most of South India as compared with the present smaller Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The focus is on urban development in this area, or more specifically urban processes, for the author claims that "Conventional historical works abound in references to urban centers and trade organizations, but fail to provide any meaningful framework, conceptual or chronological, for understanding urban processes" (p. 203). Previous studies make no attempt to find any relationship between agrarian and urban institutions, and also fail to recognize change over time. . . .

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