Iqbal, a historian, demonstrates that rivers are more than just geographical features. They are powerful agents of history and geopolitics. In this innovative book, he focuses on six such rivers—the Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong, Red, and Yangtze—each of which originates in the Tibetan Plateau. Iqbal argues that these rivers produced distinct and rich cultures. In the nineteenth century, they fostered intense imperial competition. The late Qing state sought to extend its authority