THE MUGHAL EMPIRE ('In Brief' Books for Busy People Book 7)

She accompanied the Emperor on most of his campaigns despite fourteen pregnancies over a period of nineteen years.

The Governor of the Company at the time was Sir Josiah Child who was often criticised for running the Company as if it was his own private business. True to form, he interfered with the delicate negotiations that were taking place in Bengal. This angered Aurangzeb and the relationship between the Mughals and the East India Company completely broke

Dara was taken to Delhi, placed on a filthy elephant and to his humiliation, was paraded through the streets in chains. Aurangzeb then called a council which judged Dara to be a political threat and also guilty of apostasy. He was executed by four of Aurangzeb’s henchmen on the 30th August 1659. His severed head was taken to Aurangzeb for identific

Sher Shah Suri’s reign as Emperor of the Sur Empire marked something of a watershed in Indian history. While he was clearly a successful military leader, he was probably better known for his many administrative reforms. One of his first acts, to mark his reign, was to introduce a new form of coinage. His silver coin was to be the first Indian rupee

The comparative ease with which the East India Company was able to seize power was partly due to the increasing weakness of the Emperors. However, their task was also made easier because so many small Sultanates and Kingdoms were prepared to collaborate with the British in exchange for favours and protection.

Although duplicity and secret deals were not the monopoly of one particular group, the British seem to have been particularly guilty in their wish to destroy the Empire and its symbol of power.

Unfortunately, Humayun did not live to see his plans fulfilled. On the 27th January 1556, he fell from the top floor of his library to his death. It is said that he was carrying a pile of books when he heard the call to prayer and in his rush to respond he caught his heel in his robes.

By the middle of the 18th Century, the Carnatic region, approximately today’s Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and southern Andhra Pradesh, came under the rule of Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad. During the early period of his early reign he was loyal to Aurangzeb, but following the latter’s death in 1707, he broke away and ruled the Carnatic region as an

Jahangir was also determined to punish Guru Arjan, who was the fifth of the ten Sikh Gurus. He believed that the Guru had supported Khusrau in his rebellion and so had him taken to Lahore fort where he died. The exact cause of his death is unclear. Some believe that he was tortured to death for refusing to convert to Islam. Another theory is that h