The scrutiny of diversity – cultural, religious, ethnical, and political – is a central field of current research on European history. As a result, the perception of medieval Europe has changed. The continent is now considered as a region of heterogeneity, shaped by steady processes of integration and disintegration of peoples. There has been a second shift in medieval Europe’s perception; from a traditional point of view, Europe’s supposed singularity has been taken for granted. In contrast, current works are criticizing this unique status as a global exception. Several comparative studies, which put Europe in its Eurasian context, have recently been published – mainly on specific topics such as perception of the other, political and administrative institutions, the tradition of wisdom, etc.
In the global context, the Indian subcontinent is an ideal region for comparison due to its interior variety in cultural, religious, ethnical, and political terms. Thus, like Europe, India was not a culturally, religiously, ethnically, or politically unified entity in the period from 13th to 17th centuries CE. Both pre-modern India and Europe were characterized by the interaction of variety in unity.
The similarities between Europe and India are obvious, but did the historical development in both regions follow the same path towards similar results? There are several essential questions, which have to be posed in order to tackle the issue: Was the perception, the tackling, and the result of cultural contact realized in the same way? Was handling diversity in India similar to handling diversity in Europe? Moreover, what do we learn about the two world regions by comparing the specific forms of handling diversity? Are there European or Indian patterns of dealing with heterogeneity?