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A History of the World in 100 Objects

Factual: History

Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, retells humanity's history through objects

Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, narrates 100 programmes that retell humanity's history through the objects we have made.

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A History of the World in 100 Objects: The Rise of World Faiths (200 - 600 AD): Gold coin of Kumaragupta I

Gold Coin of Kumaragupta I

Gold coin of Kumaragupta I

The Rise of World Faiths (200 - 600 AD)

A History of the World in 100 Objects Omnibus

BBC Radio 4 - A History of the World in 100 Objects, The Rise of World Faiths (200 - 600 AD), Gold coin of Kumaragupta I

Neil MacGregor with gold coins from North India.

The history of the world as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum. Today Neil MacGregor is looking at the rise of religious imagery in India under the Guptas.

This week Neil MacGregor is exploring how several of the great religions around the world, less than 2000 years ago, began creating sophisticated new images to represent their beliefs and their deities. Many of the images created then are still with us today and remain essential forms of veneration. These include the images of the gods and goddesses of Hinduism, whose recognisable modern form can be seen on coins from the Gupta empire which flourished in India from around 320 to 550 AD. The Gupta period is regarded by many Indians as a golden age, a time when Indian cultural life and religion came together to create temples and texts that are central to Hinduism today. The growing sophistication of the time is explored with the help of  the historian Romila Thapar and the Hindu cleric Shaunaka Rishi Das 

Producer: Anthony Denselow

A History of the World in 100 Objects: The Rise of World Faiths (200 - 600 AD)

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Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Neil MacGregor explores how and when many great religious images came into existence

Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores when and how many of the great religious images we are familiar with today came into existence

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A History of the World in 100 Objects

The Rise of World Faiths (200 - 600 AD)

Gold coin of Kumaragupta I

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