85. Malik Ambar and African Origin Leaders in India

Historian Omar H Ali talks about African origin leaders and shapers of medieval India on Episode 85 of BIC Talks.

Africa and India have a rich history of interaction ranging several millennia, with African origin sailors, merchants, soldiers, scholars, musicians, and explorers finding home in India or contributing significantly to Indian history. 

Perhaps the greatest among them was Malik Ambar, born in Abyssinia, arriving in India as a slave, and rising to power as the Prime Minister and de-facto ruler of the Ahmednagar Sultanate early in the 17th century. 

Omar H. Ali is Dean of Lloyd International Honors College and Professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He is an award-winning historian of the global African Diaspora and the author of several books, including on Malik Ambar and  

This BIC Talks episode is an edited excerpt of Omar’s talk that was originally livecast on BIC Streams on December 11, 2020. 

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guests.