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Mughal Empire: A History from Beginning to End

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For more than two hundred years, the Mughal Empire dominated the Indian subcontinent. It became one of the largest empires on the planet with an army of almost one million men at arms and an economy that was stronger than any other at the time. The Mughal Empire developed new art and architecture, and some of the things created during this empire are still regarded as iconic representations of India.

Although most of its conquests were achieved through the application of military power, this was also a relatively liberal, pluralist empire which successfully assimilated people from varied cultural and religious background into a total population of over one hundred and fifty million. Perhaps that is surprising given that this empire originated with an invasion by nomadic Mongols from the north; the very first Mughal emperor was a direct descendent of both Genghis Khan and Tamerlane.

Then, just when the Mughal Empire seemed to have become invincible, it disintegrated in an astonishingly short space of time. This book tells the story of how the Mughal Empire was able to achieve almost unimaginable power and wealth and how within the nature of that success were the elements which eventually tore the empire apart. This is the complex, exciting story of the rapid rise and even more rapid collapse of the mighty, colorful, vibrant, and complex Mughal Empire.

46 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2020

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Hourly History

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5 stars
66 (41%)
4 stars
58 (36%)
3 stars
24 (15%)
2 stars
6 (3%)
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Miltiadis Michalopoulos.
Author 1 book48 followers
July 25, 2021
I love hourly history books !
They are honest books. They give you exactly what you expect from them: a concise and easy approach to the subject. So, this book was a fascinating narrative of the Mughal Empire. Not an in-depth analysis. Not a scholar approach. It was written in a captivating style and I really enjoyed it. After I had finished the book, I had a clear view on the Mughal Empire and its importance on Indian and global history. No, it was not Wikipedia: I would'not read wikipedia, or Britanica: too much information. I diddn't want that. Just a brief and easy-to-read narrative ... If you want this, then this book is the best about Mughal Empire!

P.S. I had recently read William Darlymples "City of Dginns". In this book the author has many information about the Moghuls and their empire. The "Mughal Empire" provided me all the information I needed to understand Darlymple's book.
Profile Image for David Parker.
412 reviews9 followers
June 20, 2020
Another unknown empire in western history

I am dumbfounded that high school world history missed the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empire and Yaun Dynasty. All three originated from the horsemen cultures of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan that invaded existing empires, gave up their barbaric culture, and adopted the conquered.
12 reviews
June 6, 2020
This was a very good brief history of the Mughal Empire. I learned a lot about the most significant Mughal leaders and the lasting impact on India. I visited at least two of the most well-known and significant Mughal architectural achievements, the Taj Majal and Humayun's Tomb, while in India. Now, I have a much greater appreciation of those sites and the leaders who created or inspired them. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Indian history.
Profile Image for Ruth Harwood.
527 reviews12 followers
May 16, 2021
A great little 'pocket' history of this magnificent empire that lasted a mere 200 years, though there's an annoying voice in my head suggesting that's actually a long time... It is, but not really, especially when you look at some of the Empires and their ruling dynasties, such as the Plantagenet/Norman rulers, still in power here in the UK nearly 1,000 years after the conquest. Yes, there are branches, the female line and the male line, though the difference is really only in the minds of the mysogynists who insist the female and male lines are different! Of course they're not! Male or female, it's still the same mix of DNA, isn't it?
Anyway, the Mughal Empire. This is an easy to read chunk of history that, although there isn't much about the peoples ruled, does give a snapshot of India in the late 2nd millenium AD (oh, sorry, CE to anyone not my age lol!), and the resulting overtaking of India by the the East India Company which led to British control. Such a shame it's us Brits responsible for destroying the natural organic development of a whole country this size. I just hope the freedom to take over countries at will such as us Brits did is never repeated. A vain hope. But a worthy one, I'd like to think. Maybe.
This is a great book to introduce readers to the rich history of this far eastern country, one that has been around for millenia, and hopefully many more to come x
Profile Image for B & A & F.
149 reviews
June 26, 2020
Came free with kindle unlimited. Overall not bad with such a short book, but one detail puzzled me: isn’t Afghanistan northwest of Indian subcontinent, not the East? But the book keeps referring it as East of India.
Profile Image for Ajit Sharma.
9 reviews
December 2, 2023
Nice summary of the empire

Well written, organized and without glorifying too much and without any bias it is a well documented details about the Mughals. However, the positives and their cruelty could have been added in short.
2 reviews
July 5, 2020
Very good and precise book

Very good and precise book. It is small and beautiful book. Which can be read in an hour. Thank you.
5 reviews
January 8, 2021
Moguls

Short but comprehensive story of invaders who became more Indian than Indians and left indelible footprints on Architecture and cuisine
Profile Image for Sriram Venkitachalam.
2 reviews1 follower
August 10, 2021
This is a quick overview of the Mughal empire. You may read this before diving deeper into specific Emperors or aspects of the empire.
Profile Image for Nasim Bin Jasim.
102 reviews3 followers
August 26, 2021
Small book with specific information about mighty Mughal empire . Thank you for the books . No need to read another huge book to know indian subcontinent's history.
Profile Image for Raz B.
21 reviews
January 1, 2023
Good

Quick summery of the Mughal empire, just what I wanted. Quickly runs through, to era. Happy with it. A b .
Profile Image for Pratik.
24 reviews
December 1, 2023
Short yet concise

Short yet concise. Should have included more facts related to the Mughal Empire. But still it's a good read. Worth it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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