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The Arthashastra says good ministers must withstand "cold, heat, hunger, and thirst." Governance as endurance test. But also: self-controlled, intelligent, strong memory.
Ancient job requirements were intense.
Ancient job requirements were intense.
January 24, 2026 at 6:43 AM
The Arthashastra says good ministers must withstand "cold, heat, hunger, and thirst." Governance as endurance test. But also: self-controlled, intelligent, strong memory.
Ancient job requirements were intense.
Ancient job requirements were intense.
Chili peppers reached India in the 1500s. Before that?
Black pepper, long pepper, ginger.
The "spicy Indian food" we think of as ancient is barely 400 years old. Trade routes rewrote entire culinary traditions.
Black pepper, long pepper, ginger.
The "spicy Indian food" we think of as ancient is barely 400 years old. Trade routes rewrote entire culinary traditions.
January 23, 2026 at 5:56 AM
Chili peppers reached India in the 1500s. Before that?
Black pepper, long pepper, ginger.
The "spicy Indian food" we think of as ancient is barely 400 years old. Trade routes rewrote entire culinary traditions.
Black pepper, long pepper, ginger.
The "spicy Indian food" we think of as ancient is barely 400 years old. Trade routes rewrote entire culinary traditions.
The hardest part: knowing where research ends and invention begins. You track down how people greeted each other, what they ate. Eventually you must make choices. The ethical weight of representation never lifts.
January 22, 2026 at 10:08 AM
The hardest part: knowing where research ends and invention begins. You track down how people greeted each other, what they ate. Eventually you must make choices. The ethical weight of representation never lifts.
Writing historical fiction in forgotten eras means piecing together fragments: inscriptions, trade records, temple walls. I've done some research. Will share the worlds between what was documented and what actually occurred.
January 21, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Writing historical fiction in forgotten eras means piecing together fragments: inscriptions, trade records, temple walls. I've done some research. Will share the worlds between what was documented and what actually occurred.