Canberra, 29 January 2023 The Dutch arrived in India and faced great opposition from the Portuguese, who pushed back with force. The animosity was such that they moved on to the Far-East and established themselves in today’s Indonesia. From their base in the archipelago, they made gradual and initially surreptitious inroads into South Asia, initially […]
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Tag Archives: Shah Jahan
The Marathas Part 6 Shivaji Bhonsle Section III: A Decade of Conquest
July 13, 2021 
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Canberra, 13 July 2021 Even though Shivaji had emphatically asserted his independence, he carefully maintained peace with the Mughals for two primary reasons. First was that from 1653, the Mughal territories in the Deccan were being governed by Aurangzeb, a prince of singular efficiency and vigour who no one wanted to offend. The second, Shivaji […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 4 Shahji Bhonsle Section I: Entrenching Maratha Power
June 2, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 2 June 2021 Till the last few years of Malik Ambar’s defiance of Mughal invasion into the Deccan, the Muslim chronicles hardly mention the local Maratha chieftains and soldiers fighting against them. However, by about 1625, the loyalty of the Maratha chiefs was sufficiently important for the Nizam Shah to surreptitiously have Lakhoji Jadhav […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section IV: Emergence of the Marathas
February 6, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 6 February 2021 Geography and nature had never intended the Deccan Plateau to be an integral part of the greater Indian sub-continent. The Vindhya and Satpura Mountain Ranges and the River Narmada form a triple barricade that divides the high tableland of Central India from the Gangetic Plains. These formidable geographical barriers should have […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section I: Settling In – The First Two Decades
January 12, 2021 0 Comments
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 […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 83 Shah Jahan Section V: Magnificence – While It Lasted
January 2, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 02 January 2021 ‘With Shah Jahan a Pharaonic mask slides into place. The person virtually disappears behind the persona, as Shah Jahan’s official chroniclers scrub him clean of all the grime of life and present him as The Great Mughal, gilded, bejewelled and perfumed, larger than life but lifeless. — Abraham Eraly, Emperors of […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 83 Shah Jahan Section IV The War of Succession 2. Civil War
January 1, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 1 January 2021 The four sons of Shah Jahan had started preparing for the inevitable succession struggle even before he actually fell ill. Each one attempted to win over as many nobles as possible to their individual camps; and the nobles responded in the only manner they would—attempting to side with the prince who […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 83 Shah Jahan Section IV: The War of Succession – Background
December 15, 2020 0 Comments
Kiama, 15 December 2020 ‘Dara was not an apostate. “Born a Mahometan [sic], he continued to join in the exercise of that religion,” states Bernier. Dara was a devotee of Mian Mir, a celebrated Muslim saint, and he even compiled a biography of Muslim saints, which he would not have done had he ceased to […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 83 Shah Jahan Section III: The Deccan Campaign
November 30, 2020 0 Comments
Canberra, 30 November 2020 Prior to Shah Jahan’s accession, Mughal interest in the Deccan had waxed and waned in direct proportion to the stability and turmoil in North India. Akbar had started a concerted effort to bring the Deccan under the Mughal flag and in 1569 had conquered Khandesh. By 1600, parts of Berar had […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 83 Shah Jahan Section II: An Emperor’s Ambition Laid Low
November 22, 2020 0 Comments
Canberra, 22 November 2020 Even after the Khan-i-Jahan Lodi was chased down and killed, the Deccan campaign continued. Gradually all the major Shahi kingdoms—Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golconda—were involved in the conflict in different ways and to different extent. The fortunes of these three kingdoms and that of the Mughal forces in the Deccan ebbed and […]
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