Biographies are very much the incumbent emperor of history-writing in this age, with the Mughal dynasty receiving significant attention in ...
Biographies are very much the incumbent emperor of history-writing in this age, with the Mughal dynasty receiving significant attention in this regard from Indian writers. Books on the lives of Dara Shikoh, Nur Jahan, Jahangir, and Aurangzeb have been hitting the shelves with remarkable alacrity. But, surprisingly, new biographies of perhaps the most ubiquitous of Mughal emperors, Akbar, have not been forthcoming.
Akbar: The Great Mughal makes up for this, providing a definitive biography for non-academic consumption. Already celebrated for her work on the royal women of the Mughal household in her earlier book, Daughters of the Sun, Ira Mukhoty delivers yet again, with a text that firmly marries the rigour of research with the skills of telling stories, a book that ought to be read by academics and laypersons alike without compromising the nuances of the early modern South Asian world.
Akbar was the third emperor of the House of Timur following Babur’s conquest of India – a line descended from the legendary Mongol princess Alanqwa. His reign was characterised by a unique processes that planted Mughal roots deeper in the subcontinent than those of his predecessors Babur and Humayun – a court that valued its Timurid and Persianate roots while absorbing the influences of Hindustan...
