A definitive, comprehensive and engrossing chronicle of one of the greatest dynasties of the world – the Mughal – from its founder Babur to Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last of the clan.The magnificent Mughal legacy – the world-famous Taj Mahal being the most prominent among countless other examples – is an inexhaustible source of inspiration to historians, writers, moviemakers, artists and ordinary mortals alike. Mughal history abounds with all the ingredients of class...

A definitive, comprehensive and engrossing chronicle of one of the greatest dynasties of the world—the Mughal—from its founder Babur to Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last of the clan the magnificent Mughal legacy is an inexhaustible source of inspiration to historians, writers, moviemakers, artists and ordinary mortals alike. Mughal history abounds with all the ingredients of classical drama: ambition and frustration, hope and despair, grandeur and decline, love and hate, and loyalty and betraya...

European and Arab versions of the Crusades have little in common. For Arabs, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were years of strenuous efforts to repel a brutal and destructive invasion by barbarian hordes. Under Saladin, an unstoppable Muslim army inspired by prophets and poets finally succeeded in destroying the most powerful Crusader kingdoms. The memory of this greatest and most enduring victory ever won by a non-European society against the West still lives in the minds of millions...

**Finalist for the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History"A luminous biography." —Rafia Zakaria, Guardian**Four centuries ago, a Muslim woman ruled an empire. Nur Jahan, daughter of a Persian noble and widow of a subversive official, became the twentieth and most cherished wife of the Emperor Jahangir. Nur ruled the vast Mughal Empire alongside her husband, leading troops into battle, signing imperial orders, and astutely handling matters of the state.

The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir is one of the most hated men in Indian history. Widely reviled as a religious fanatic who sought to violently oppress Hindus, he is even blamed by some for setting into motion conflicts that would result in the creation of a separate Muslim state in South Asia. In her lively overview of his life and influence, Audrey Truschke offers a clear-eyed perspective on the public debate over Aurangzeb and makes the case for why his often-maligned legacy deserves...

Mention of Iran may bring to mind images of turbaned Mullahs and nuclear weapons. On the other hand Persia may provoke other images; of Persian Gardens, romantic poetry or the beautiful wives of the last Pahlavi Shah.But this in no way does justice to the people of Iran, or its rich and complex history. For much of the ancient period Iranian empires ruled vast areas from Afghanistan in the East to Egypt in the West. Starting around 600 BCE with the Medes and ending with the modern ...

A close look at the early life, military experiences and key battlefield exploits of Al-Malik al-Nasir Yusuf Ibn Najm al-Din Ayyub Ibn Shahdi Abu'l-Muzaffar Salah al-Din, broadly regarded as the greatest hero of the Crusades, even in Europe.Most chroniclers present him as a man of outstanding virtue, courage and political skill. More recently, however, efforts have been made to portray Saladin as an ambitious, ruthless and even devious politician, and as a less bri...

This volume contains writings on the 'Royal Period' (1626-1700), as distinguished from the 'Peshwa Period' of Maratha history, and added a long life of Malik Ambar (from original Persian sources) and biographies of four eminent Marathi historical research-pioneers, Rajwade, Sane, Khare and Parasnis. The materials have come from Persian manuscripts (patiently gathered during a life-time), newly discovered Rajasthani despatches, Portuguese documents, French books, English factory records, and M...

This book tells the story of the Mughal Empire, which lasted from 1526 to 1857. The early Mughals, who were ethnic Turco-Mongol and descendants of Timur, or Tamerlane, came from Central Asia. They introduced many aspects of Persian culture into India, for example literature, painting and architecture. The Taj Mahal is a surviving example of the particular Indo-Islamic style of Mughals architecture.Under the first six Emperors, the Mughals experienced expansion and prosperity. The re...

The book begins by describing a visit to the main Assassin Castle of Alamut, in northern Iran, which I made in 1966. Next comes an explanation of how the Assassins arose as a sect within the Ismailis, who were themselves a sect within the Shia. The Ismailis founded Cairo, which was the centre of Ismailism until it was taken by Saladin in the twelfth century.The founder of the Assassins was Hasan-i-Sabbah, and his story is told in Chapters 3 and 4. He was an austere figure, with res...

There are but few nations of the earth which can match the boast of Persia: that despite an unexampled series of conquests and subjugations she has as a nation played a great part in world history in ancient, in mediaeval, and in modern times. In ancient times she stands forth, first among the great conquering nations, next as the only power able to cope with the Roman colossus. In mediaeval times she became the mistress of the intellectual world, the paradise of poetry, the literary cente...

Now available in paperback, The Persians tells the story of this cultured ancient civilization, tracing the unique features of Persian life as well as their influence down the centuries. This book describes the difficulties early Persians encountered and how such challenges contributed to their unique character and the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire. It recounts the keenly fought conflicts with the Greeks for mastery of the Eastern Mediterranean, a contest which was to dom...