ces MUGHAL THRONEAbraham Fraly, who was born in Kerala, has taught Indian histary in Madras and the United States. He is the author of Gert tr the Lots: The Seeding of Indign Céorisation. He lives in Madras THE MUGHAL THRONE The Saga of India’s Great Emperors Abraham Eraly p PHoeNixA PHOENIS PAPERBACK First published i Geeat Britate in 204 ‘by Weidenteld & Nicolsan This paperback edition published! is 2004 by Phoenix, an imprint of Orion Books Lu, Grion House, 3 Upper St Martin's Lane, London WOR SEA Originally published by Penguim Books Indian 1997 and vevised eclilion in 2000 under the title Eniperesaf the Pencook Turoze: The Sng fae Grom Mughals V5 TOW Ga Copyright 1997, 2000 Abrakim Braly The rightof Abraham Praly to be identified as the author of his Work has boon asseelad by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents: Act 1966 “Allrights reserved. Mo part ofthis publicabon may be reproduced, stored ma rehnewul sysient, or transmitted,in any form ar by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, seconding or othecwise, without the priar peruission of the copyright uwner ACIP catalogue necord for thisbook isavailable from the Brtish Libracy: ISBN 075381 756 6 Printed andl bound jn Geeal Britain by Buder & Tanner Lod, Fromeand London For SATISE who in the summcr of a year of crisis asked, “What's it again? Can't begin anything new at your oge? Why not?” and got me going, Akbar: Tell mie, if yor plerse, whet is te grenfost cosalation Hiat grin fins dav ties world? Bichal: Ak, stre! il is when a father finds himself embraced by Ais son.Ire this fristory J have held frnily te it that te truth should be reached in every matter, and that every act should be recorded precisely ets it cccrrred .., [awe set dount of goed and bad whatever is biota... —Empetor Babur in Babur-nane I give the story as 1 recetved il; to comtredict if ts not aim imp power. —Francois Bernier in his report on Mughal India Contents Acknowledgeneits Preface Chapter One: The Mughal Advent 4, Like a King on a Chessboard 2 "TE Fame Be Mine...” 3. Black Pell the Day Chapter Two: The Struggle for Survival 1, The Dreamer Cometh 2. “The Feast Is Over...” 3. “What Is ta Be Done?” Chapter Three; The Afghan Interlude 1, Man of Destiny 2. Peaceable Kingdom 3. Fiery End Chapter Four: The Mughal Restoration 1. Humayun in Exile 2. The Reluctant Boy King 3. Bebind the Veil Chapter Five: The Empire Takes Hold 4, Earth Hunger 2. Invincible Emperor 3. Person and Fersona 4. Mliterate Savant Chapter Six: An Experiment in Synthesis 1. “My Mind Is Not at Ease...” 2. “Reason, Not Tradition . . 3, Allahu Akbar! 4 5. . Tyranny Is Unlawfal . The Long Farewell H att 10d 103 14 174 137 139 149 143 173 184 183 191 202 715Chapter Seven: The Middle Empire 1. 2 3. 4. 6. R ta Chi 1 His Father's Son ~ Scientist Emperor Sons and Rebels Another Son, Another Rebel Light of the World An English Aristocrat in the Mughal Court The Coup apter Eight: The Paradise on Earth The Man Behind the Mask 2. Pyrthic Victories 3. “Ya Takht, Ya Tabutl” 4. “For the Sake of the True Faith” 5, Dara’s Last Stand ‘Chapter Nine: Over the Top 1 2) =f . God's Elected Custodian “Fear the Sighs of the Oppressedi* Born to Trouble Others: 4. "The More One Drinks..." 5. “Now That the Shadows Pall. ." Chapter Ten: The Maratha Nemosis de 2: 3. 4. Kirti Rupen §, 6, 7. B. Maratha Beginnings Enter Shivaji Lord of the Umbrella . Maratha Collapse . Rafizi-kush . Maratha Eruption . “OF Ehe Future There Is'No Hope...” Epilogue Incidental! Data Notes Bibliography Index 231 233 add 255 263 271 279 288 297 299 316 3a1 aid 373 375 SB4 307 413 Az 515 523, 539 340 547 Acknowledgements The gods have been kind to this unbehever, At every mament of pressing need, as | plodded on interminably with the work on. this book, [ have received the needed supporl, often from unexpected eources and in unexpeeled ways, even wilhoul my asking for i, as a galt from the gods. Several friends read portions of the manuscript at different stages and gave help and encouragement. Of them | have to make a special mention of two, Sita Srikanth and Nancy Gandhi, whose contributions have been direct and crucial, and have mattered to me far more than T have ever had the grace ta show Sita, 2 colleague of mine when | was living disguised as the editor of a fortnightly magazine, was the first person with whom I discussed this project. She then scaured the libraries and pressed books om me, and did much to harden my tenuous idea unto a fiem project Later, she read through the entire first draft of the book, making valuable suggesiions and hectoring me to wark harder, challenging me to be botter than Lam, often flingmg at me the very precepts en which I used to hold forth at editorial meetings. Her support has been invaluable in sustaining this project. Equally invaltiable has been the contribuben of Nancy, wha came in when I was completing the second draft and was desperately logking for someone tn read it before J went in for the final revision. Nancy, palient and thorugh, punctilious in observing grammar vonventions and puritanical in her aversion ta ormamentatian, has been the ideal editor for me, better than I could have dreamed of. She gave me the second wind needed to complete this work, ] should also record my gratitude to 5. Krishnan, who read the early chapters of the book and buoyed me up with his enthusiasm, to br. C T. Kurian, whose critical comments enabled me to firm up the chapter on Mughal economy; to David Daveclac, Editor and Fublesher of Penguin india, whose prompt and positive response to the book ad mae all the soul-enumbing publishing hassles; and ta Ravi Singh, editor at Penguin, who expertly put the book through its final sal my paces,Preface {have in my study, on the old, worm-hole pitted teak desk at which l work, an antique stone head of Buddha, less than a foot high, which [had picked up many years age in Madras from a pavement junikwallah, fl is a fine piece, als chiselied features perfect, head slightly bent sideways, a5 if trying la anchor a memory or a dream, eyes half-closed medilatively, A thick patina of grime tinges the handsome, serene face with a peculiar sadness, the anguish of a compassionate outsider, concerned with the human predicament, but not invalved with 1b Qvyer the years, as [ Jabaured an this book, the dispassionate compassion of Buddha had seemed to me the perfect ideal for students of history, though of course we would all fail disgracefully ta live up to al, as the passions of our lives and the furies of our age knead and rework us continually on the slow wheel of time (As lime reworks us, we rework history. * Atl works of history are interim: reports," says American histocian John Noble Wilford, “What people did in the past is nat preserved uy amber unmutable through the ages. Each genecalon looks back and, drawing from: its qwn expenence, presumes to find patterns that iNuminate both past and present” Nothing ever quite dies. The past ts nearly as alive as the preseril, and it changes as the present changes, jhe historical past as much as our personal past. The bare facts of history do net of course change, except far occasional emundatians, but the way Facts mterlock ane change colour lo make pattems is umque to each generation, indeed ta cach historian, No particular representation of the past has therefore any absolute validity, and the value of any historical work depends largely on the felicitous catalysis of the personal vision into a universal vision. Ib 1s essentially a triumph of art The mutability of human perceptions apart, there are other obstacles loa definitive understanding of the historical processes. Man canst, as ‘Albert Camus says in The Rebel, grasp the totaly of history “since he jives in the mudst of this totality, Histery, as an entirety, could existFROEEACE only in the eyes of an observer outside it and outside the world.” Tt is in fact impossible for man fo know the final truth even about any particular event in history. however trivial dt might be, for he, himself swirling in Hme, does not have the perspective ta see all ils relevant connections and discern where it would ultimately lead, as its consequences, interseching with the consequences of myriad other events, proliferate endlessly into the future "Historical reason will never be fulfilled and will never have its full meaning or value until the end of history,” argues Camus. “The purely historical absolute is not even conceivable.” When we consider these all too evident limitations of writing history, it seems amazing that academic historians in modern times have generally Jaid claim to scientific precision for thetr methodology, and abjective validity for their theories. Historical investigation has of course become more sophisticated lately, especially m the evaluation of archaeological and philological data. But this has come about mainly because of advances in science and technology, and not becnuse of any radical change in the methodology of history. The character of history has not changed. But the garb of historians has changed, for they have suited up for their new role as Social scientists, Unfortunately, many historians, in their excitement at being recagnized as social scientists, overlooked the fact that while scientific discoveries are sequential and mack a linear progress—with new discoveries displacing or modifying old theories— new interpretations of history seldem displace old interpretations, for they are only tenets, at best philosophies, not discoveries, The unpredictability of human affairs makes historical analysis, for all its vaunted scientific methodology, essentially an act of faith What we find depends a lot an what we are. There were other complications too. Observes Harvard professor Simeon Schama: “As historians institutionalized themselves into an academic profession,” they tumed away fram “historical realities’ to “historiographical obsessions”. Their focus then shifted from persons and events, the flesh and blood of history, to abstract structures of their own construction, This pursuit tapped historians in a maze of sophistry, the stenle, self-abusive game of thought, involving over-elaborations and supersubtleties which made little sense. Now at last historians are beginning to grope their way out of the maze, And gradually, renouncing the conceits of the reeent past, they are returning to their primary function, to resuscitate the past and xl release it into the present. That is what history is all about. Herodatus, the fifth century BC Greek father of history, has said it all in the opening sentence of his book: “This isa publication of the researches of Heradotus Halicarnassus, in order that the actions of men may not be effaced by time The historian’s profession, as the nineteenth- century French scholar Jules Michelet stated, as to bring “things back to Ive". Says Schama; “I have toed to bring a world to life rather than entomb it in erudite discourse,” Ta this role, the historian does net merely log and interpret data; he portrays life and tells a story. Meticulous research is essential, and so is vivid writing, to enable readers to vicariously experience life in other times, other places, When history is yoked to theories and formulas, its sap dries up. Then it neither enlightens nor sensitizes, The sloughing off of the ill-fitting vestments of science by historians does not make history worthless, but it does change the nature of its worth, Sensitizing the present ta the past is nota value neutral process Every retelling of history, if it is anything more than just a banal catalogue of events, invelves ideation, if only because, even at the primary level, a process of selection and evaluation of data, a patiern- making, is involved. The historian might nat be overtly judgemental, but judgement is implicit in the very telling of the story, Facts speak for themselves, and when vividly presented, speak loud and clear. ‘The historian is not a moral eunuch. In fact, it is his moral voice that gives his work its unique timbre—not to raise the moral voice is to treat history like paleobotany, with bland detachment. So, even while the historian acknowledges the provisional nature af all historical perceptions, he, like the nineteenth-century Danish philosopher Kierkegaard, affirms his subjective certainty in the world of objechve uneertaintes, He might not have any cosmic conclusions ta offer, but he does take positions that are appropriate and necessary to his time and place. The essential corollaries of this relativistic attitude are moderation and tolerance. The historian affirms his views, but humbly, conscious that there are no absolutes. As the saying goes, the white heron in the snow has a different colour. All perceptions, all truth, are relative. As Vedantists would say, all are maya, mental constructs, The eye looks, the mind sees. To acknowledge the subjective and provisional nature of historical perceptions is not to abandon the process of fair and unbiased collection and evaluation of data, To adapt Tom Wolfe's dictum, the historian sees with an impersonal eye, but speaks with a personal voice. The ideal of historical objectivity has been set down by several Mughal xiiPREFACE eft as the duty of an historian to be faithful, to have no hope of profil, no fear of injury, to show ne partiality on one side, or animosity on the other, to know no difference between friend and stranger, and to write nothing but with simcerty,” says Khafi Khan, courtier historian of Emperor Aurangzeb, “In this history [ have held firmly to it that the truth should be reached in every matter, and that every act should be recorded precisely as it occurred,” writes Emperor Babur in his memoirs, Uncompromising exploration, clear, unbiased percephon, candid presentation—these were Babur's ideals, There ore no better precepts for historians. writers: Candour is a major charm of Babur’s autobiography, and so is its richness of detail, Fine detail—nuance—is the life-blood of history, as of literature. Says Francois Berner, a seventeenth-century French traveller in his report on Mughal India: “I agree with Plutarch that trifling incidents ought nat be concealed, and that they often enable us to form qmare accurate apintons of the manners and genius of a people than events of great importance.” Major events shape the contours of history, but it is the particulars that breathe Iife unto it. To give compleieness to history and to establish the total context of Life, it is as essential to examine the details ef everyday life, as of political, economic and socio-cultural developments. In this, the historian ‘of Mughal India is fortunate, for his sources are numerous and varied, and are rich at detail about every facet of life. And I have quoted extensively from them, samewhat in the manner of a reporter quohng eyewitnesses, to give immediacy and authenticity to the narrative, and to Jet the reader see Mughal life through the eyes of those who saw it directly The basic concern of the historian as, 1 belicve, similar to that of any serious artist or creative writer—to share expenence and to elucidate the human condition. The historian too uses imagination and insight, bo visualize what happened in history and present a coherent picture, though he, unlike the creahwe writer, has to work strictly within the boundaries of known facts, and is not free ta invent even the minutest detail What Richard Feynman said of physicists applies to historians too: “Gur imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those fhings which are there.” Imagination, says American historian Barbara Tuchman, enables the historian “to understand the evidence he has accumulated. Imagination stretches the available facts... the artist's eye: It Jeads you to the right thing’ Melhodical research builds the ship, imagination sails it xy PHEFACE This yelume on late meclieval Indian history, from 1526 ta L707, 1s part of a four-volume study titled India Retold, that would, when completed, caver the history of India from the beginning up to 1858; chronologically, this is the third volume in the prapased serves, though the first to be ready. My focus in this velume is on the Mughal empire; | have dealt with regional. histories only in their links with Mughal history, Regional histories—indecd, even studies of sub-regions and towns—are valuable, hut impractical for the general historian. 1 have therefore stayed clase to the dominant theme of the period, and have tried to deal with it exhaustively, bearing, in mind Thomas Mann's dictum that “only the uxhaustive is truly interesting" But the exhaustiveness [ have attempted is in presenting life in its fullness, not in cataloguing events. [ have not, for inslance, listed many of the battles, but have, on the other hand, described a couple of battles in great detail, to show how the Mughals fought. [ have also dealt with everyday Ide—of the people as well as of the rulers—at great length, as my obyeclive 1s to portray life rather than merely te chronicle history If history is the murror in which we recognize ourselves a3 a penple, then modern Indians can hardly recognize themselves in the mirror that is conventionally held up to them. Or, alternately, they imagine themselves to be something they are nof, as istortions in the mirror distoct their self-perceptions. This is a modem predicament, a consequence of the psychic morphing of India, induced instially by British imperial prejudice, then by European romanticism, and finally by Indian nationalism. ‘These distortions prevail even today, though times have changed. During the British rule, Indians, asa subject people, needed the comfort and strength of a presumed golden past to mould the nationalist senkment and energize the freedom struggle. But now, half a century after independence, India cannot still subsist on the mindset of adolescent nationalism, chewing the cud of romantic fancy, To move on, it is imperative today to lift the veils of bias, romance and myth that obscure India’s image, and look truth in the eye. The alternative 15 to remain snared in selfdelusions, Hehting quixotic battles with the spectres of the past—the unforgiven colonial cule, or (for some) the even more unforgiven Muslim invasion of India one thousand years ago. ‘Tradition, however glorious, is what a people have to grow out ob The future is not a replica of the past, but its fulfilment. In every other major civilization, the past has died so the future could be bom, but olPREPACE India seems to be Killing the future so the past can live on. India's lofty boast is that its is the eldest living: civilization, but is that anything to be proud of? That India has not evolved? There is something: very wrong with a peaple who consider that the grealest that would ever be has alieady been, and that the best they can-do is to dupheate the past ‘There is of course ovich in the Indian heritage to be proud of but there is also much to be ashamed of, and both have ta be examined with candour, Not ta do sa would be irresponsible. Tt is possible that such candour would be controversial in a socio-political environment In which expedient myths tyrannize reality, As a Chinese saying has it, when the finger points to the maon, the idiot would look at the finger. That cannot be helped. The historian is not concemed with political correctiess, Abratrane Eraly Madras December 1995 XVE paLUcHrsTan Arabine See : eee \ ———! SIND eaJaSTLLAW an Grea f se \ { ese , Mughal India Seg | Ke as abal 7 ‘ASHI ae Bins Re AFGIANISTAD / } | : * vrai of fe Heeroma ) ga } ee FE set has sone pat Ag Ma) LS Y secs Seth hers ey uf DengelFamily of Itimad-nd-daula {tug hicks with the blugal dynasty) Itimad-ud-doula (Ghiyas Bes) Sherafar = Nurjahan = — fahungic Asaf Khan (thi i} (Mithreniisa) (and husband) { 1577-1643 = uther wes | aa nears | Ladli Begum = Shahpar Sha ahan = Mumtaz Mahal — Shayista Khon 1503-1631 Aurangech The Great Mughals (Years of rule are given in brackets) Babur 1483-1339 (1526-1510) Humayun — —— Kamran —— Asleari Handal 150 Akbar — 1543-14815 (1555-1605) = Amber princess Jahangir (Sul) 15641-14: Murad: Dantyal (1605-15271 = Joh at Shah Jahan ——— stehryar {®hocam) 1592-1665 [\827-Lest = Mumize Khusrav Parviz Dara Shuye Aurangzeb ——— Mured Glib 307 (1658-1707) (The prarkers of the cmiperecs are given But excep far ciramgzely the brokers of the ewiperurs lad daffereit motlrers.)THE MUGHAL THRONE yChapter One THE MUGHAL ADVENTLike a King on a Chessboard “{N THE MONTH of Ramadan of the year 899, ancl m the twelfth year of my age. became ruler in the country of Fergana” So begin the memoirs of Babur. The day was Tuesday, 9h June 1494 Babur's father, Umar Sheikh Mirza, king and pigeon fancier, had died m a freak accident the previous day at Akhsi, a northern fort of Fergana, when his doyecot, built on the edge of a ravine in a comer of the castle, tumbled into the river below in a landslide, bearing him down with it “Umar Sheikh Mirea flew, with hus pigeons and their house, and became a falcon," writes Babur Babuc was born on 14th February 1483. He was named Zahiruddin }uhammad—Defender of the Fatth, Muhammad—but that was a tongue-twister of an Arabic name fer the rustics of Fergana, so they mcknamed the child Babur. The name meant tper, and proved fitting, Babur's lineage was awesome. On the paternal side, he was the grandson of Sullan Abu Said Mirza of Herat, a great-grandson of Timur, the legendary Tartar hero. On his mother's side, his grandfather was Yunus Khan of Tashkent, the Great Khan of the Mongols, the thicteenth im the direct line of descent from Chingi# Khan, Babur was thus a Turka-Mongol, a5 were most of the ruling class in the ractal cauldron of Central Asia; he was in fact more a Mongol than a Turk, for his paternal ancestor, Timur, though a Turk by language and cullure, was also of Mongol descent Babur, however, preferred to call himself a Turk—he considered Mongols to be uncouth barbarians and despised them, saying, “Were the Mongols a race of angels, it would shill be a vile nation.” Nathing much is known about Babur's mather, except her name, Qutluq Nigar Khanum, and her Mongol lineage Babur himself has little to say about her, But there is a lively, candid profile of fis father in his memoirs. Umar as Babur describes him, was a short, stout, powerfully built man—"not a man. but fell ta his blow," he wrtes— slovenly in dress, gross in habits, but amorous, and addicted to alcohol, opium and the game of draughts. He was also, Babur wryly notes, a vapid poet.