The Mughal Throne: The Saga of India's Great Emperors by Abraham Eraly (English)

Description: The Mughal Throne by Abraham Eraly A narrative history of the great Mughal rulers of India. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description In December 1525 Babur, the great grandson of the Mongol conqueror Tamberlaine, crossed the Indus river into the Punjab with a modest army and some cannon. At the battle of Panipat five months later he routed the mammoth army of the Afghan ruler of Hindustan. Mughal rule in India had begun. It was to continue for over three centuries, shaping India for all time. Full of dramatic episodes and colourful detail, The Mughal Throne tells the story of one of the worlds great empires. Notes The amazing story of the Mughals, the great rulers of India and one of the worlds largest empires. Full of dramatic episodes and colourful detail. Author Biography Abraham Eraly, who was born in Kerala, has taught Indian history in Madras and the United States. He is the author of Gem in the Lotus: The Seeding of Indian Civilisation. He lives in Madras. Review This is a majesterial history covering six reigns of that larger-than-life empire... this paperback edition improves on the hardback with some full colour illustrations. - SUNDAY TELEGRAPHFans of Starkey or Schama should now look east with Abraham Eraly... This edition improves on the hardback with a sumptuous selection of Mughal art. - THE INDEPENDENT - Boyd TonkinAn entertaining and informative journey charting the rise of the Mughal dynasty while examining the lives, concerns and fascinations of the first six of the 11 Indian emperors... who each in their different way ruled with a ruthless, ego-driven aggression that helped preserve thrones, cities, artefacts and harems while advocating war, pillage and plunder. - IRISH TIMESEralys exhilarating saga of Indias great emperors celebrates the last golden age of India, a great multicultural period of imperial achievement. - THE TIMESAn unashamedly old-fashioned narrative history of the Mughal Emperors. - SUNDAY TIMES Promotional Great public interest in the history of the Mughals - White Mughals by William Dalrymple is a huge ongoing bestseller The amazing story of the Mughals is relatively unknown to Western readers Colourful narrative history The reign of Akbar (1556-1605) is one of the golden ages of Indian history An excellent introduction to this period and the sometimes forgotten moment of multi-cultural assimilation it represented...a superbly readable narrative...The Mughal Throne provides an excellent introduction to the first six Mughal emperors. From Babur, born in 1483, to Aurangzeb, who died in 1707, Eraly gives a richly readable account of one of the most crucial and misrepresented periods of Indian history William Dalrymple, Sunday Times Kirkus UK Review The rule of the Mughal Emperors in India was a seminal period in that countrys history. Beginning in 1525 when Babur, the great-grandson of Tamerlaine the Great, marched into the Punjab and defeated the Afghan rulers of the region, it lasted more than two centuries and gave India wealth, culture and stability beyond anything it had ever known. But the splendour of the Mughal court concealed a rotten core; the political system was utterly corrupt and for the vast majority of Indias population life was just as poor, brutal and wretched as it had been a millennium ago. In this lively narrative history, Abraham Eraly tells the tale of the Mughal Emperors, from Babur to Aurangzeb, who died in 1707 leaving his empire crumbling behind him. Between them came the dilettante Humayum, who lost the empire, regained it again, and died falling down a staircase; the great emperor Akbar, who encouraged religious and cultural syncretism and owned a vast library of 24,000 manuscripts, although he could not read; Jahangir, who loved nature and Western art; and Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal. Eraly writes in a cheerful inconsequential style reminiscent of the contemporary Mughal chroniclers he quotes. He has clearly done enormous quantities of research but wears it lightly, so the book reads very easily, with the various characters beautifully brought to life and a host of fascinating details. This approach can also be frustrating for the reader; there is little background information on the history of India and its neighbours, no discussion of contradictory or inconsistent source material, and most surprisingly no map. But Eraly captures the atmosphere of the period with a light and sensitive touch, and anyone who wants to learn about this remarkable era and its characters will find this volume a delightful companion. (Kirkus UK) Kirkus US Review A thoroughgoing study of Indias golden age, questioning the utility of golden ages and warning that tradition, "however glorious, is what a people have to grow out of." Madras-based magazine editor and historian Eraly has an obvious fondness for the glory days of Indias Mughal period, an era that lasted less than two centuries but led to such astonishing monuments as the Taj Mahal and even a few moments of peace among the loosely knit countrys religious factions. The first of the Mughal rulers, a descendant of both Timur the Lame and Genghis Khan, had the imposing birth name of Zahiruddin Muhammad (Muhammad, defender of the faith) but was known as Babur, "Tiger." His vast army swept across much of northern India by way of Persia and Afghanistan, establishing an Indian throne in 1526; his subsequent war on a Rajput-Afghan alliance turned on a fine, almost legendary moment in which the hard-drinking, opium-smoking king renounced such things, returned to Islam, and built a fine pillar of the severed heads of his enemies. His son Humayun succeeded Babur and impressed those around him with a gentleness so thorough that he wept while doing in members of his own family; alas, poor Humayun on his robe while praying and cracked his head open. Next was Akbar, who embellished the Mughal throne with a religion meant to transcend Islam and Hinduism and exalt the Mughals in the bargain; opium and wine ended his rule. And so on. While Eraly admits to being something of a moral historian, he is quick to note that the flawed, all-too-human, all-too-hedonistic Mughals actually got some things done, including the political unification of much of the subcontinent and the establishment of an Islamic state that was generally secular until the time of the last Mughal emperor, whose orthodoxy helped bring about the end of the dynasty. Highly accessible history, full of illuminating asides on such things as the worlds most famous diamond, the perils of eating too much saffron, and the cupidity of medieval mullahs. (Kirkus Reviews) Long Description In December 1525 Babur, the great grandson of the Mongol conqueror Tamberlaine, crossed the Indus river into the Punjab with a modest army and some cannon. At the battle of Panipat five months later he routed the mammoth army of the Afghan ruler of Hindustan. Mughal rule in India had begun. It was to continue for over three centuries, shaping India for all time. Full of dramatic episodes and colourful detail, The Mughal Throne tells the story of one of the worlds great empires. Review Quote This is a majesterial history covering six reigns of that larger-than-life empire... this paperback edition improves on the hardback with some full colour illustrations. Promotional "Headline" A history of the great Mughal rulers of India, one of the worlds greatest empires. Description for Sales People Great public interest in the history of the Mughals - White Mughals by William Dalrymple is a huge ongoing bestsellerThe amazing story of the Mughals is relatively unknown to Western readersColourful narrative history The reign of Akbar (1556-1605) is one of the golden ages of Indian history Details ISBN0753817586 Author Abraham Eraly Short Title MUGHAL THRONE Language English ISBN-10 0753817586 ISBN-13 9780753817582 Media Book Format Paperback Subtitle The Saga of Indias Great Emperors Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson DOI 10.1604/9780753817582 UK Release Date 2004-02-05 Pages 576 Publisher Orion Publishing Co Year 2004 Publication Date 2004-02-05 DEWEY 954.025 Illustrations 1 Maps Audience General NZ Release Date 2004-05-31 AU Release Date 2004-05-31 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. 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