The Marathas Part 14 Peshwa Balaji Rao Section II The Second Phase – Coming of Age

Canberra, 23 January 2022 While the Persian adventurer Ahmad Shah Abdali was repeatedly attempting to make inroads into North India, and the French were laying the foundations upon which the English would later build their Eastern Empire, the Maratha king Shahu continued to dither as an indecisive head of the greatest power of the time […]

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The Marathas Part 13 Peshwa Baji Rao I Section III Visions of Northward Conquests

Canberra, 22 December 2021 As soon as the Peshwa returned to the Deccan, the Mughals started to push back, and the negotiations were broken. The Mughal emperor withdrew forces that were guarding the north-western borders and passes to reinforce the contingent fighting in Central India. This decision was to have disastrous consequences for the empire […]

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Indian History Part 82 Jahangir Section II: A Queen Rules and a Prince Rebels

Canberra, 02 November 2020 After successfully subjugating his eldest son Prince Khusrau’s rebellion and imprisoning him, Jahangir turned to consider ways to consolidate his power over the vast Empire that he had inherited. His son’s rebellion had made Jahangir inherently insecure; he had started to distrust his own strength and judgement, and he was apprehensive […]

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Indian History Part 82 Jahangir Section I: Early Years – Quelling a Rebellion

Canberra, 21 October 2020 The 17th century was the great age of the Mughal Empire. Akbar had reintegrated northern and central India and given it a modified Persian form. At his death, Akbar left behind an empire populated by 100 million people—at a time when the total population of the British Isles could not have […]

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