History lesson of the week: India: Not just important for spices but for ideas

Modern historians often stress world history that fill in the blanks of what happened in the past, including trade, ideas, technology, etc.  

Much of the emphasis is about China and the silk road, much of it because China is pushing the idea they are a noble civilization who ought to run the world like they did in the past.

The Arab world was involved in trade before the prophet (who was a spice trader).

but a lot of the histories tend now to leave out a vital piece of the history of world trade: India.  

Not just in spices which encouraged trade, but in the importance of ideas and religion:  

William Dalrymple unmasks a fascinating lens on ancient India as a profound and energetic hub in his new book, 'The Golden Road.' Exporting ideas, language, science, trade, knowledge, belief. Shaping, inflecting, changing the world.

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book review of the Golden Road LINK.

Not my area of expertise, but another book for later reading.