Daud Ali

Daud Ali is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in pre-Mughal South Asia. He serves as Graduate Chair and holds affiliations with the School of Arts & Sciences. Prior to joining Penn in 2009, he taught at SOAS, University of London.

His research focuses on early medieval South Asia, encompassing courtly culture, mercantile practices, erotic poetry conventions, slavery, inscriptional historiography, and medieval Deccan gardens. Current projects include collaborative studies on friendship in early South Asia, Buddhist texts on erotics, and the king Bhoja cycles in Western India.

Teaching includes courses on modern India, early Indian history, medieval India's formation, and Sanskrit literature. His work bridges social, cultural, and political history, with a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches to pre-colonial South Asia. Publications span monographs, edited volumes, and articles exploring themes like temporalities in inscriptions, Indian Ocean networks, and Chola-era social dynamics.

Key research interests include:

• Pre-Sultanate South Asia's mentalities and practices
• Cross-regional cultural exchanges between South and Southeast Asia
• Medieval historiography and periodization debates
• Material culture (e.g., gardens, inscriptions)