Author: Abraham Eraly
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Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 555
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0141001437
Description
In this definitive biography of the great Mughals, the author reclaims the right to set down history as a chronicle of flesh-and-blood people. Bringing to his task of objectivity of a scholar and the high imagination of a master story-teller, he recreates the lives of Babur, the intrepid pioneer; the dreamer Hamayun; Akbar, the greatest and most enigmatic of the Mughals; the aesthetes Jehangir and Shah Jahan; and the dour and determined Aurangzeb.
In December 1525, Zahir-ud-din Babur, descended from Chengiz Khan and Timur Lenk, crossed the Indus river into the Punjab with a modest army and some cannon. At Panipat, five months later, he fought the most important battle of his life and routed the mammoth army of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, the Afghan ruler of Hindustan. Mughal rule in India had begun. It was to continue for over three centuries, shaping India for all time.
MEDIA COMMENTS:
The book marks the return of the narrative in historical writing. Eraly weaves together accounts of the people and politics of the empire and explodes myths about controversial emperors like Babur and Aurangzeb. A valuable contribution. - Outlook
Eraly writes with the ease of a fiction writer and succeeds in making all the historical characters come alive. He truly impresses when the narrative assumes a sense of passion, helping to recapture the glory and grandeur of this illustrative period of Indian history. - The Telegraph
Consistently readable. Eraly's writing is vigorous, supple and undogmatic. - Indian Review of Books
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
CHAPTER ONE: The Mughal Advent
Like a King on a Chessboard
If Fame Be Mine
Black Fell the Day
CHAPTER TWO: The Struggle for Survival
The Dreamer Cometh
The Feast Is Over
What is to Be Done?
CHAPTER THREE: The Afghan Interlude
Man of Destiny
Peaceable Kingdom
Fiery End
CHAPTER FOUR: The Mughal Restoration
Humayun in Exile
The Reluctant Boy King
Behind the Veil
CHAPTER FIVE: The Empire Takes Hold
Earth Hunger
Invincible Emperor
Person and Persona
Illiterate Savant
CHAPTER SIX: An Experiment in Synthesis
My Mind Is Not at Ease
Reason, Not Tradition
Allahu Akbar
Tyranny is Unlawful
The Long Farewell
CHAPTER SEVEN: The Middle Empire
His Father’s Son
Scientist Emperor
Sons and Rebels
Another Son, Another Rebel
Light of the World
An English Aristocrat in the Mughal Cour
The Coup
CHAPTER EIGHT: The Paradise on Earth
The Man Behind the Mask
Pyrrhic Victories
Ya Takht, Ya Tabut
For the Sake of the True Faith
Dara’s Last Stand
CHAPTER NINE: Over the Top
God’s Elected Custodian
Fear the Sighs of the Oppressed
Born to Trouble Others
The More One Drinks
Now That the Shadows Fall
CHAPTER TEN: The Maratha Nemesis
Maratha Beginnings
Enter Shivaji
Lord of the Umbrella
Kirti Rupen
Maratha Collapse
Rafizi-kush
Maratha Eruption
Of the Future There Is No Hope
Epilogue
Incidental Data
Notes
Bibliography
Index