M.A.R. Barker is a retired professor of Urdu and South Asian Studies. In his youth, he created the world of Tekumel, a fantasy world based on Ancient India, the Middle East, the Aztecs and Mayans, and other non-European sources. Tekumel has spawned three professionally-published roleplaying games over the course of the years ("Empire of the Petal Throne", "Swords & Glory" and "Gardasiyal: Adventures in Tekumel"), as well as fan-produced rules ("Tirikelu" and others). A brand-new roleplaying game set in Tekumel is due to be published in October of 2001 by Guardians of Order, currently titled "Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne". Currently resides in Minneapolis, MN, USA..