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The Lion and The Lily
The Lion and The Lily: The Rise and Fall of Awadh Through the turbulent eighteenth century, Awadh grew to become one of the richest and most coveted regions in all of Hindustan. Although it was nominally ruled by the Mughal emperor in Delhi, the Mughal empire itself under Muhammad Shah ‘Rangeeley’, and later under Shah Alam II, was in terminal decline. The British and French East India Companies were vying for control of the subcontinent. As the Seven Years’ War between these European powers came to an end, and the British lost territory in other parts of the world, they became more determined to seize power in India. Meanwhile, France began a ‘war of revenge’ against its old enemy to restore its prestige. The French Revolutionary wars (1792–99) and the Napoleonic wars (1803–1815) would lead to even greater volatility in India. French players continued to intrigue till the last quarter of the eighteenth century in various Indian courts. Awadh’s rise to prominence began when Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk (r.1722–1739) was posted there by the Mughal emperor as a demotion for failing to quell a Jat rebellion. Undeterred, Saadat Khan and his successors worked relentlessly to bring stability and glory to the province. Shuja-ud-Daula (r.1754–1775), the third nawab, was widely considered the most powerful and courageous ruler of the time. But after the disastrous loss of the Mughal army at the Battle of Buxar (1764) Shuja was forced into an unsavoury alliance with the British. Despite this unfortunate development, Shuja worked hard to develop Awadh, and Faizabad in particular. Shuja’s son, Asaf-ud-Daula (r.1775–1797), was a visionary and an exemplary diplomat, and his mother, Bahu Begum, a formidable force of nature. Asaf created a Shia renaissance that was a challenge to both Mughal Sunni power and the increasing parochialism of the EIC. His adopted son, Wazir Ali (r.1797–1798), was deposed by the British who then crowned his uncle Saadat Ali Khan (r.1798–1814) as a puppet ruler. In the treaty of 1801, Saadat Ali Khan ceded half of Awadh to the British East India Company and agreed to disband his troops in favour of an expensive British-run army. These and other developments would reduce Awadh to a shadow of its former glory within a couple of decades. Using Persian, English, and hitherto untranslated French sources as well as recent work by art historians, bestselling author Ira Mukhoty brings to focus the life and times of Awadh in the eighteenth century as well as some of the most important figures of the period—the nawabs, EIC officials such as Robert Clive, Warren Hastings, Richard Wellesley, as also the powerful begums, elite eunuchs, soldiers and adventurers, such as René Madec, Jean Baptiste Gentil, Claude Martin, Antoine Polier, artists both Indian and European, and others. The Lion and the Lily is a nuanced, detailed, and richly told account of the rise and fall of Awadh in the eighteenth century against the background of the international struggle between Britain and France.
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Song Of Draupadi
The Mahabharat is renowned for its great battles, heroic men, and gods walking the pathways of mortals. However, the beating heart of the epic is often forgotten—the stories of its women. Many of these exceptional women appear in Song of Draupadi—the indomitable Satyavati, the otherworldly Ganga, the indestructible Kunti, and the tenacious Gandhari—but the passionate and fiery Draupadi rises above them all to grip the imagination of the reader. Born of a dangerous sacrifice, Draupadi and her brother Drishtadumna are called forth to avenge Drona’s insult to their father. While Drishtadumna is expected to kill Drona on the battlefield, Draupadi’s role is not set out, but she dreams of fire and blood. From beloved daughter and princess of Panchala to wife of the brave Pandavas and queen of Indraprastha, Draupadi finds herself exiled to the forest, humiliated and determined on vengeance. The novel is a symphony, in several keys, of her voice and those of the other women around her—arguing, pleading, reasoning, and often raised in righteous anger.
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Akbar The Great Mughal
Abu’l Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, the third Mughal emperor, is widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in India’s history. During his reign, the Mughal Empire was one of the wealthiest in the world, and covered much of the Indian subcontinent. Although there are dozens of books on the empire, there are surprisingly few full-length accounts of its most remarkable emperor, with the last major study having been published over two decades ago. In Akbar: The Great Mughal, this outstanding sovereign finally gets his due, and the reader gets the full measure of his extraordinary life. Akbar was born on 15 October 1542 and after a harrowing childhood and a tumultuous struggle for succession following the death of his father, Humayun, became emperor at the age of thirteen. He then ruled for nearly fifty years, and over the course of his reign established an empire that would be hailed as singular, both in its own time and for posterity. In this book, acclaimed writer Ira Mukhoty covers Akbar’s life and times in lavish, illuminating detail. The product of years of reading, research, and study, the biography looks in great detail at every aspect of this exceptional ruler—his ambitions, mistakes, bravery, military genius, empathy for his subjects, and path-breaking efforts to reform the governance of his empire. It delves deep into his open-mindedness, his reverence towards all religions, his efforts towards the emancipation of women, his abolishing of slavery and the religious tax—jiziya—and other acts that showed his statesmanship and humanity. The biography uses recent ground-breaking work by art historians to examine Akbar’s unending curiosity about the world around him, and the role the ateliers played in the succession struggle between him and his heir, Prince Salim (who became Emperor Jahangir). Beautifully written, hugely well-informed, and thoroughly grounded in scholarship, this monumental biography captures the grandeur, vitality, and genius of the Great Mughal.