HISTORY
Beyond the exotic
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`Schimmel's language is shorn of jargon and is direct and simple with liberal use of quotes from contemporary sources.'
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MENTION the word Mughal and most people think of the Taj Mahal, the Kohinoor diamond, and the Peacock throne; the general impression is of exoticism and fabulous riches. A few would think of Akbar and his efforts to establish religious harmony; still fewer would think of Shah Jahan and his obsession with architecture. But is that all there is to the Mughal era of Indian history that spanned almost three centuries? Who were the Mughals and how did they establish a vast empire?
A wealth of material
Actually this is a period that offers a variety to the historian — the multifarious personalities (not just the rulers themselves); the development of fine arts and literature; the growth of the administration from a rudimentary system to one that finally collapsed under its own weight; religious syncretism; the rise of regional powers especially during the latter half ... there is much food for thought here. Each topic is worth a couple of books at least given the wealth of material. Apart from the archaeological material, literary sources offer a great many details of life during this period. Both Babur and his son Humayun wrote about their lives. By the reign of Akbar, foreigners had begun to travel in the country and their accounts are an important source for the life of the common people.
Annemarie Schimmel's The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture explores the fortunes of the Mughals from the 16th Century till their downfall in the 19th Century. The book was first published in 2004, a year after Schimmel's death in January 2003. Oxford University Press has published the Indian edition this year. (Schimmel, the well-known German scholar of Islamic mysticism, was one of the few Western scholars to argue that Islam was much misunderstood. Her work was to build bridges between Islam and Western scholarship.)
Devoid of jargon
The Mughals were from Central Asia and the founder of the dynasty, Babur, was a descendant of Timur and Chengiz Khan. Babur's defeat of Ibrahim Lodi in 1526 was the beginning of the Mughal period in Indian history. The end (practically) came with the death of Aurangazeb in 1707 though the British hammered the last nail into the Mughal coffin in 1857.
Beginning with biographical portraits of the rulers from Babur to Aurangazeb, the book covers almost all aspects of this fascinating period. Whether it is the functioning of the court or the administration, the position of women in the royal family or the development of fine arts and literature, there is a wealth of detail. The sections on the court and the administration intensify the impression of grandeur with which this era is associated though Schimmel also points out that extravagance was one of the reasons for the downfall.
Schimmel's language is shorn of jargon and is direct and simple with liberal use of quotes from contemporary sources to emphasise her point. Excellent reproductions from miniatures and other artworks of the period add to the visual appeal. This is one read that can be done easily despite the seriousness of the subject.
The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture, Annemarie Schimmel, Oxford University Press, Rs. 1395.
R. KRITHIKA
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