Canberra, 12 January 2021 On 5th June 1659 (or on 15th June, according to some historians), Aurangzeb celebrated his coronation for the second time, after two decisive victories, over Shuja at Khajuha and Dara at Deorai. Unlike the earlier crowning, grand banquets and dazzling illumination enlivened these functions with many loyal officers and nobles promoted […]
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Tag Archives: Khyber Pass
Indian History Part 53 Genghis Khan marches through the Khyber Pass
July 26, 2016 
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Canberra, 26 July 2016 Of all the armies that have passed through the Khyber Pass over the centuries, none was imbibed with as much hurried determination as the great, all-conquering Mongol army of Genghis Khan. The presence of the Mongols in this region raises two interesting questions. What made Genghis Khan’s command so powerful that […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 46 MAHMUD OF GHAZNI: THE HAMMER OF IDOLATERS
November 9, 2015 0 Comments
Canberra, 09 November 2015 The Rise of the Ghaznavids On coming to power in 977, Sabuktigin set about placing the Ghazni sultanate on firm footings, laying the foundation for the administration of the land and the raising of revenue on a regular basis. He could be considered the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty rather than […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 44 THE ADVENT OF ISLAM
October 12, 2015 0 Comments
Canberra, 12 October 2015 Enough and more has been written about the creation of the religious faith known as Islam, derived from the teachings of the Prophet Muhamad (570-632). Prophet Muhammad lived in a polytheistic society and received a revelation in visions that he explained in the holy book of Islam, the Koran. He called […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 43 THE KHYBER PASS Section III: Greeks, Kushans, Sasanians and White Huns
October 2, 2015 0 Comments
Canberra, 2 October 2015 The regions around the Hindu Kush mountain ranges went through three hundred years of turmoil to create and consolidate kingdoms that rose and fell with the regularity and assurance of day following night. The Khyber Pass was at the centre of this upheaval and went through an era of volatility seldom […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 43 THE KHYBER PASS Section II Alexander of Macedonia
September 25, 2015 1 Comment
Canberra, 25 October 2015 Alexander of Macedonia, often called ‘Alexander the Great’, became the first confirmed outsider to have defeated an Indian king when he routed the army of King Porus on the banks of the River Hydaspes. How did he reach so far from his native Macedonia to the banks of the great Indus […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 43 THE KHYBER PASS: GATEWAY TO INDIA
September 14, 2015 0 Comments
Canberra, 14 September 2015 The English writer Rudyard Kipling’s 1890 poem The Ballad of the King’s Jest begins with this stanza: When spring-time flushes the desert grass, Our kafilas wind through the Khyber Pass. Lean are the camels but fat the frails, Light are the purses but heavy the bales, As the snowbound trade of the North […]
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Sanu Kainikara 
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