About the Book: The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore
In 1498, when Vasco da Gama set foot in Kerala looking for Christians and
spices, he unleashed a wave of political fury that would topple local powers
like a house of cards. The cosmopolitan fabric of a vibrant trading society-with
its Jewish and Arab merchants, Chinese pirate heroes and masterful Hindu
Zamorins- was ripped apart, heralding an age of violence and bloodshed. One
prince, however, emerged triumphant from this descent into chaos. Shrewdly
marrying Western arms to Eastern strategy, Martanda Varma consecrated the
dominion of Travancore, destined to become one of the most dutiful