Sublime
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Islamic law and theology, and the cultural aspirations of rulers in Egypt, Iran and the Fertile Crescent, had permitted a remarkable flowering of literature, art (especially architecture), science and philosophy. Islam’s cosmopolitan individualism and the wide dissemination of its legal traditions also favoured the growth of a far-flung commercial
... See moreJohn Darwin • After Tamerlane: The Rise and Fall of Global Empires, 1400-2000
Sher Shah Suri’s reign as Emperor of the Sur Empire marked something of a watershed in Indian history. While he was clearly a successful military leader, he was probably better known for his many administrative reforms. One of his first acts, to mark his reign, was to introduce a new form of coinage. His silver coin was to be the first Indian rupee
... See moreAnne Davison • THE MUGHAL EMPIRE ('In Brief' Books for Busy People Book 7)
Hatshepsut built a grand temple at Deir el-Bahri, complete with wonderful bas-reliefs which illustrate and document one of her greatest achievements, a trading voyage to Punt, a country on the African coast below the Red Sea. Intricately captioned, the carved vignettes detail not just what the people said (“Watch your step!” is carved over the stev
... See moreRon Druett • She Captains
the Nizam and the Company together as allies, and which isolated the Company’s great enemy Tipu Sultan, who remained outside the alliance.
William Dalrymple • White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India
Central Indian city of Patna, on the banks of the Ganges. This was the court of Samudragupta the Great (r. 335–375).
Red Pine • The Lankavatara Sutra: Translation and Commentary (NONE)
Dīn al-Ayyubī had been rising in Egypt
Peter Frankopan • The Silk Roads: A New History of the World
Nizam ul-Mulk was an ingenious general but an even more talented statesman, using bribery and intrigue to achieve what his old-fashioned and outmoded Mughal armies could not. While breaking from the direct control of Delhi, he made a point of maintaining his nominal loyalty to the Mughal Emperor, and throughout the eighteenth century the people of
... See moreWilliam Dalrymple • White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India
One account says that the little boy began to cry during the crowning ceremony. Nader asked those nearby whether they knew why he was crying. Prudently, they said Nader surely knew best himself. Nader said Abbas was crying because he wanted to rule over the Afghans of Kandahar and the Ottoman Sultan, and declared to general acclaim that to gratify
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