The Mughal Empire

The Mughal empire was one of the largest centralised states in pre-modern world history. It was founded in the early 1500s and by the end of the following century the Mughal emperor ruled almost the entire Indian subcontinent with a population of between 100 and 150 millions. The Mughal emperors displayed immense wealth and the ceremonies, music, poetry, and exquisitely executed paintings and objects of the imperial court created a distinctive aristocratic high culture. In this volume, Professor John Richards traces the history of this magnificent empire from its creation in 1526 to its breakup in 1720. He stresses the dynamic quality of Mughal territorial expansion, their institutional innovation in land revenue, coinage and military organisation, ideological change and the relationship between the emperors and Islam. Professor Richards also analyses institutions particular to the Mughal empire, such as the jagir system, and explores Mughal India's links with the early modern world.

ISBN 0521251192   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9780521251198 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 670 Publisher Cambridge University Press   Published in Cambridge Imprint Cambridge University Press   Series editor Johnson, Gordon, Bayly, C.A., Richards, John F. Format Hardback   Series title New Cambridge History of India Publication date 18 Mar 1993   Height (mm) 228 Library of Congress 92003074   Width (mm) 152 DEWEY 954.025   Spine width (mm) 22 DEWEY edition DC20   Academic level Tertiary education, Professional / Scholarly Pages 340

		List of maps and tables
		General editor's preface
		Preface
		Introduction		1
1		Conquest and stability		6
2		The new empire		29
3		Autocratic centralism		58
4		Land revenue and rural society		79
5		Jahangir 1605-1627		94
6		Shah Jahan 1628-1658		119
7		The War of Succession		151
8		Imperial expansion under Aurangzeb 1658-1689		165
9		The economy, societal change, and international trade		185
10		Maratha insurgency and Mughal conquest in the Deccan		205
11		The Deccan Wars		225
12		Imperial decline and collapse, 1707-1720		253
		Conclusion		282
		Glossary		298
		Bibliographic essay		304
		Index		311

'This excellent monograph sets for itself the goal of providing a one-volume synthesis accessible to the non-specialist, of a period in India's past which has had an enduring impact and influence on the region's political, economic and cultural history.' The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History

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