Stewart N. Gordon

Re-current themes in this research were networks and supply chains, the impact of military recruiting and financing, overseas demand for Indian goods, and the meaning of conquest.

This strand of research culminated in the publication of the book Marathas, Marauders, and State Formation in Eighteenth Century India (Oxford University Press, 1994) [2] a set of historical essays that challenges assumptions about the century between the Mughal empire and the British colonial period in India.

More recently he has been interested in the historical movement along the routes of pilgrims, armies, plants, ideas, religions, marriage partners, and staple commodities.

Recent articles include the ecological impact of pre-colonial war in South Asia [8] and a broad survey of the major rivers that come off the plateau of Tibet.

[10] This volume widens the comparative focus to include, for example, the Mississippi River, the Erie Canal, the Inca road system, and the Nile.