William Dalrymple
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willdalrymple.bsky.social
William Dalrymple
@willdalrymple.bsky.social
16K followers 180 following 1.4K posts
Scottish historian & art historian; @EmpirePodUK.bsky.social podcaster & Jaipur Lit Fest co-director. Visiting Fellow at All Souls, Oxford. Writes the occasional book.
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willdalrymple.bsky.social
Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:52 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
In Episode 6 of the series, @anitaanand.bsky.social and I cover how Indian resistance during the 1857 uprising became weakened by dwindling resources, tactical disunity, and the growing British force on the Ridge.
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January 22, 2026 at 5:52 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
Who was the British Commander, John Nicholson, and why was he feared by both friend and foe? Was the city of Delhi, under control of the last Mughal emperor, doomed from within?
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January 22, 2026 at 5:47 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
How did the tide turn towards the end of 1857 as British reinforcements gathered to strike the hearts of the rebellion: Delhi and Lucknow?
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January 22, 2026 at 5:45 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
New from @EmpirePodUK
Our 1857 Uprising series continues
JOHN NICHOLSON & THE ARMY OF RETRIBUTION
January 22, 2026 at 5:40 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
This made my day
January 20, 2026 at 6:27 PM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:40 PM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
In Episode 5 of the series, @anitaanand.bsky.social & I are joined by @iramukhoty.bsky.social author of Heroines: Powerful Indian Women of Myth & History, to discuss the life of one of the great leaders of the Mutiny/First War of Independence, the Rani of Jhansi
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January 20, 2026 at 12:40 PM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
But what’s the true history behind her legend? How did she become a fierce leader of resistance who led her men to fight fearlessly against the East India Company?
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January 20, 2026 at 12:32 PM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
The warrior queen who fought the British on the battlefield, Rani Jhansi –or Rani Lakshmibai- is India's greatest nationalist heroine, with streams of comic books and Bollywood movies about her.
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January 20, 2026 at 12:31 PM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
New from @EmpirePodUK

Our 1857 Indian Mutiny/Great Uprising series reaches its climax with the story of India's Joan of Arc:

THE RANI OF JHANSI
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January 20, 2026 at 12:24 PM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:20 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
In Episode 3 of the series, @anitaanand.bsky.social and I discuss the gruesome history of the Kanpur massacre which lived on in Victorian memory for the decades that followed.
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January 13, 2026 at 9:17 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
Who was General Wheeler and why was the entrenchment he built so fragile? How were the atrocities at Kanpur used to justify gruesome violence against Indians?
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January 13, 2026 at 9:11 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
Like 7th Oct 2023 in our own day, it opened the gates of Hell, and became the atrocity that then justified many other much more extensive killings and horrors. The Kanpur massacres were the dark heart of the 1857 uprising.
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January 13, 2026 at 9:07 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
The mutiny of whole regiments of previously loyal sepoys and the final indignity of the slaughter of defenceless British women and children in the Bibighar- the Angels of Albion- all of these images haunted British nightmares for generations.
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January 13, 2026 at 8:59 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
To the Victorians, the events that took place in Kanpur were the most shocking in their entire imperial odyssey. In early 1857, the city boasted the 2nd largest European community in the entire subcontinent. By the end of that year, only five men and two women were still alive
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January 13, 2026 at 7:04 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
New from @EmpirePodUK:
"REMEMBER CAWNPORE!"
Massacres, Revenge & Atrocities in Kanpur 1857
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January 13, 2026 at 6:51 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
To the Fall of the Shah
121. The Fall of the Shah
Empire: World History - Apple Podcasts
share.google/ODBJiJONvwWi...
January 12, 2026 at 5:12 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
We did a deep dive, 26 episodes, stretching from the Rise of Cyrus, episode 97, Cyrus the Great:
share.google/Slao77k6JKSf...
January 12, 2026 at 5:11 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
If you want to understand the background to the current conflict in Iran, check out our @EmpirePodUK
series on the history of Iran.
share.google/Slao77k6JKSf...
January 12, 2026 at 4:45 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:42 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
In Episode 2 of the series, @anitaanand.bsky.social & I discuss how the rebel sepoys travelled along the Bridge of Boats to take the rebellion to Delhi.
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January 12, 2026 at 4:41 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
How did the mutiny amongst sepoys turn into a national uprising? What ultimatum did the rebels give the Mughal emperor when they reached the Red Fort in Delhi? Why did the British fail to see what was coming? linktr.ee/empirepoduk
January 12, 2026 at 4:18 AM
willdalrymple.bsky.social
Don't miss the first two episodes of our @empirepoduk.bsky.social series
THE GREAT UPRISING OF 1857
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January 12, 2026 at 4:06 AM