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. |
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Page 21
... soon be arriving at Surat , making their way overland by bumpy ox caravan through certain key towns that led to Mogul Hindustan's heart . But the great masses lived as they had always lived , in thatched and mud - baked huts of myriad ...
... soon be arriving at Surat , making their way overland by bumpy ox caravan through certain key towns that led to Mogul Hindustan's heart . But the great masses lived as they had always lived , in thatched and mud - baked huts of myriad ...
Page 24
... soon be shocked at the sight of monarchic power carried to such excess . But then , the rules of any society are caprjcious on final examination . If the Moguls had created this world of Eastern imperi- alism , what Atlas sustained it ...
... soon be shocked at the sight of monarchic power carried to such excess . But then , the rules of any society are caprjcious on final examination . If the Moguls had created this world of Eastern imperi- alism , what Atlas sustained it ...
Page 27
... soon encompass its dazzle and brutality in a single poetic epithet — " barbaric pearl and gold . " This was the spectrum of Jahangir's and Shah Jahan's inherited world . This was that mightily expanded Hindustan of the Moguls ...
... soon encompass its dazzle and brutality in a single poetic epithet — " barbaric pearl and gold . " This was the spectrum of Jahangir's and Shah Jahan's inherited world . This was that mightily expanded Hindustan of the Moguls ...
Page 33
... soon fer- ret out other markets— " not so commendable , yet much fre- quented and allowed of , not only here but all India over , namely the Common Stews . Each of them every evening is like a fair , where they resort , make their ...
... soon fer- ret out other markets— " not so commendable , yet much fre- quented and allowed of , not only here but all India over , namely the Common Stews . Each of them every evening is like a fair , where they resort , make their ...
Page 37
... soon witness her ascendance ; before long she would become nothing less than virtual ruler of Mogul India , with coins minted in her name and imperial orders bearing her signature . She would hypnotize the infatuated Jahangir , and rock ...
... soon witness her ascendance ; before long she would become nothing less than virtual ruler of Mogul India , with coins minted in her name and imperial orders bearing her signature . She would hypnotize the infatuated Jahangir , and rock ...
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 |
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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.