Turning the stones over: Sixteenth-century millenarianism from the Tagus to the Ganges

Abstract

This article proposes a conjunctural reading of a series of political and ideological currents that underpinned empire-building strategies over a good part of Eurasia in the sixteenth century. Drawing on recent research concerning Ottoman and other Mediterranean millenarian movements, it argues that one can understand these in a context that stretches as far as Portugal on the one hand, and Mughal India on the other. Such a reinterpretation allows us to approach the question of the 'Discoveries' anew, but it also gives us a methodological tool to pursue the project of 'connected histories' that places South Asia in a wider and interactive historical context.