The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul IndiaEpics of history are rare and The Peacock Throne is one of them. No royal lineage offers such a spectacle of high drama as the Mogul Dynasty of India which created the world`s most famous monument-the Taj Mahal. Not since Greek tradedy has there been so stark a revelation of the excesses of human behavior: incest, fratricide sons revolting continuously against fathers and the madness of uncontrolled aggression. These are the forces animating The Peacock Throne which brings India to both Eastern and Western readers as never before. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 81
Page 24
... sent weekly official reports to the capital , while there were secret agents whom no one knew . Rounding out Mogul administration . Islamic justice pre- vailed . Every town had its Moslem chief of police and mul- lahs to apply Koranic ...
... sent weekly official reports to the capital , while there were secret agents whom no one knew . Rounding out Mogul administration . Islamic justice pre- vailed . Every town had its Moslem chief of police and mul- lahs to apply Koranic ...
Page 51
... sent it his Master in coaches . " But Jahangir's greed and curiosity saved the day : he issued an official letter of command for safe passage inland of Roe and his effects . For their journey , the English retinue had followed an ...
... sent it his Master in coaches . " But Jahangir's greed and curiosity saved the day : he issued an official letter of command for safe passage inland of Roe and his effects . For their journey , the English retinue had followed an ...
Page 52
... sent a gentleman for my commission to show his Queen the seal " : shrewd Nur Jahan wanted to ascertain that this was a genuinely accredited dip- lomat and not merely a stooge of the East India Company . Roe was actually to stay well ...
... sent a gentleman for my commission to show his Queen the seal " : shrewd Nur Jahan wanted to ascertain that this was a genuinely accredited dip- lomat and not merely a stooge of the East India Company . Roe was actually to stay well ...
Page 53
... sent him a basket of muskmelons presumably picked by Nur Jahan herself . It is tempting to wonder whether Roe could not have made headway sooner by sending lavish gifts directly to the all - powerful empress . Yet early on he had a poor ...
... sent him a basket of muskmelons presumably picked by Nur Jahan herself . It is tempting to wonder whether Roe could not have made headway sooner by sending lavish gifts directly to the all - powerful empress . Yet early on he had a poor ...
Page 59
... sent for Roe on the eve of his Deccan campaign . Kept waiting , the ambassador fell into preoccupied anxiety ; he wanted to return to Ajmer before nightfall . At last attendants brought him to the prince who was playing cards , a ...
... sent for Roe on the eve of his Deccan campaign . Kept waiting , the ambassador fell into preoccupied anxiety ; he wanted to return to Ajmer before nightfall . At last attendants brought him to the prince who was playing cards , a ...
Contents
A Lovers Farewell | 270 |
Pursuit in the Punjab | 280 |
Enigma in Arakan | 303 |
FALL OF THE HOUSE OF TIMUR | 329 |
Fate of the Innocents | 387 |
A La Tour Abolie | 413 |
This Stupendous Caravan of Sin | 467 |
Epilogue | 488 |
67 | |
FAMILY PORTRAIT | 91 |
Intermezzo at Agra | 93 |
A Voice from the Womb | 106 |
The Smell of Apples | 116 |
Martial Airs | 131 |
9 | 144 |
10 | 161 |
Paradise on Earth | 179 |
THE WAR OF SUCCESSION | 193 |
12 | 195 |
An Invasion of Cobras | 210 |
The Crystal Tower | 228 |
The Battle of Samugarh | 244 |
A Game of Finesse | 258 |
Acknowledgments | 495 |
K1 ix | 499 |
29 | 506 |
67 | 515 |
93 | 517 |
106 | 522 |
116 | 524 |
144 | 525 |
160 | 548 |
210 | 550 |
228 | 553 |
244 | 554 |
270 | 556 |
303 | 559 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Agra Agra fort Ajmer Akbar already army artillery Asaf Khan Aurang Aurangzeb Bakhsh battle became become Bengal Bernier Bijapur brother Burhanpur camp cavalry cited SAB command crown prince Dara Shikoh Dara's daughter dead death Deccan defeat Delhi elephant emperor enemy English eunuch European father forces fortress Ganges Golconda gold Gujarat harem head Hindu Hindustan holy horse ibid imperial India Islam Itibar Jahanara Jahangir Jai Singh Jaswant Singh Jumla Jumna Kandahar Khalilullah Khan Khan's Khusrau King Koran ladies Lahore later letter Mahabat Khan Malik Jiwan Manucci Maratha miles military Mir Jumla Mogul court Mogul Empire Mohammed Sultan Moslem Mumtaz Mahal Murad mystic nobles Nur Jahan officers palace Parwiz Persian Princess prisoner province Punjab rajah Rajput rangzeb Raushanara Begum rebel Red Fort river royal rupees Samugarh Sarmad seemed sent Shah Jahan Shuja soldiers soon Sufi Sulaiman Shikoh Surat thousand throne tion tomb troops zeb's
Popular passages
Page 412 - There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet.
Page 85 - Jahangir, by general consent Shah Jahan was proclaimed at Lahore, and the khutba was read in his name. Dawar Bakhsh, whom the supporters of Shah Jahan had deemed it advisable to set up in order to...
Page 542 - A Sketch of the History of Hindustan. From the First Muslim Conquest to the Fall of the Mughol Empire. By HG Keene, CIE, MRAS, Author of " The, Turks in India,
Page 108 - Life was offered for a loaf,* but none would buy ; rank was to be sold for a cake, but none cared for it; the ever-bounteous hand was now stretched out to beg for food ; and the feet which had always trodden the way of contentment walked about only in search of sustenance.
Page 154 - Through these perverted opinions he had given up the prayers, fasting, and other obligations imposed by the law. ... It became manifest that if Dara Shukoh obtained the throne and established his power, the foundations of the faith would be in danger and the precepts of Islam would be changed for the rant of infidelity and Judaism.
Page 154 - He was constantly in the society of Brahmans, Jogis and Sannyasis, and he used to regard these worthless teachers of delusions as learned and true masters of wisdom.