Indian History Part 81 Akbar – Section IV. The Conquering Emperor 4. Bihar and Bengal – Expanding to the East

Canberra, 1 August 2020, Saturday In ancient times, the region known as Bengal now was called Vanga and at times Gauda. Epigraphic records show that around 11th century, the region started to be mentioned as Vangala-desa, which in turn was further localised to ‘Bangal’ (Bengal) by Muslim invaders—a name that is still used today. Brief […]

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Indian History Part 80 Humayun Section IV: Interlude – The Ambitious Sher Shah Sur

Canberra, 2 May 2020 [The description of the 15-year reign of the Sur dynasty, founded by Sher Shah after the defeat and flight of Humayun, is being included as two independent chapters within the section on Humayun. While Sher Shah and his successors did indeed rule North India during Humayun’s exile; neither did they leave […]

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Indian History Part 79 Babur – First of the Great Mughals Section V: A Dynasty is Established

Canberra, 6 April 2020 On arrival at Agra, Babur was presented a magnificent diamond by Humayun his son, who had taken charge of the Lodi capital. The stone had been given to Humayun by the family of the Raja of Gwalior who had taken shelter in the Agra fort, since the Raja had died in […]

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Indian History Part 49 The Ghaznavids Sect II: Fragile Equilibrium

  Canberra, 8 March 2016 Farrukh-Zad continues to remain a shadowy figure in the firmament of the Ghaznavid dynasty, especially since very little is known regarding his personal preferences and behaviour pattern, making it difficult to build a picture of his personality. However, he managed to induce a sense of peace into the kingdom, which […]

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Part 42 THE RAJPUT CLANS Section II: Early Rajput Kingdoms

Canberra, 2 August 2015 The second half of 8th century saw two critical developments in the Indian political scenario, which were to have profound influence on the next thousand years of political growth in the sub-continent. The first was the rise of regionalisation. During this period, a large number of regional kingdoms, of varying sizes, […]

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Part 42 THE RAJPUT CLANS Section I: The Origins

Canberra, 7 July 2015 The death of Emperor Harsha Vardhana, and a little later the early Islamic invasions, stirred the affairs of North India. Internecine wars with kings and clan leaders of limited merit and vision scrambling for power, created a sense of disquiet and instability. In fact instability dominated North India across the great […]

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Indian History Part 30 Section III: THE GAHADAVALAS OF KANAUJ

Canberra, 3 July 2014 Kanauj, Harsha-Vardhana’s famous capital, was also known as Gadhipur and there are disparate evidences that indicate Rashtrakuta rule of Kanauj and surrounding areas around the 10th/11th century. An inscription found in Badaun that is attributed to the Rashtrakuta king Lakhanapala who ruled around 1201, states in part, ‘…the city of Badaun, […]

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Part 29 A DESCEND INTO ANARCHY: KANAUJ, KASHMIR AND SIND

Canberra, 25 May 2014 Harsha-Vardhana’s death removed the last vestiges of restraint that had held back the disruptive forces that were knocking on the walls of the Empire. In an amazingly short span of time numerous petty states with volatile and flexible borders, ruled by ambitious and ruthless kings or chiefs were created—the entire region […]

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Indian History Part 28 THE CENTURY OF DARKNESS Section II THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HARSHA-VARDHANA

Canberra, 12 May 2014 Harsha was not only a great warrior-king but also a distinguished statesman and an equally caring and welfare-minded king. He displayed ample skill and prudence in managing the affairs of his kingdom and was able to consolidate his initially precarious position as the king of Thanesar to subsequently become the unquestioned […]

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