"In this richly textured study of competing narratives and memory, a genre of which Amin is one of South Asia's foremost practitioners, he asks how a sense of community (of believers of various religions) is constituted because of, rater than in spite of, a history of conquest... Amin shows that the story of Ghazi Miyan challenges at once our understanding of how the Turkic conquest is 'remembered' and our judgments about figures who constitute that 'event' ought to be remembered."

American Historical Review

“The legendary exploits of Ghazi Miyan, the conqueror saint, and the cults of remembrance that surround his name in northern India contain layer upon layer of significance that only a master historian like Shahid Amin can reveal to us.”

Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University

“A bravura performance of interpretation, erudition, and rich local knowledge and a breathtaking reconstruction of five centuries of legend and cult. Never again will the figure of the ghazi, or holy warrior, be permitted the simplistic reductions common in the past. Amin has given us a masterpiece.”

Sheldon Pollock, Columbia University

“Deeply researched and wonderfully written, Conquest and Community shows us how composite religious culture is created and peaceful threads knit over the rupture of violence. A fascinating book with wide implications for our own troubled times.”

Natalie Zemon Davis, emeritus, Princeton University