The Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded in 1784 by British administrator and Indologist Sir William Jones. Based in Calcutta (now Kolkata), the Society's aim was to promote academic work and research in various fields related to Asia, such as Indian languages, literature, history, archaeology and culture. The periodical published by the Asian Society, entitled “Asian Researches”, enables specialists from all over the world to share the results of their research and exchange views on Indian topics.