In one word, Excellent!!!. For all the History Buffs out there, this book by Alex Rutherford is a must read. This first book in the ‘Empire of the Moghul’ quintet depicts the life and times of the first Moghul Emperor, Babur, in intricate details. Alex Rutherford has effectively used excerpts from Babur’s own Autobiography, “Baburnama”, to explore the circumstances and conditions under which the young Prince of Ferghana from the distant lands of Afghanistan decided to establish his own kingdom in the pagan lands of India.
What sets this book apart from other books on history is the historical fiction embedded in the book. This book is not a boring textbook on history where events that occurred in the past are just mentioned in a chronological order. This book is written in the format of an epic fictional novel with many characters and Mr. Rutherford has made sure that all the characters and events described in the book are historically accurate. The book describes the journey of Babur, the Great Grandson of Timur (Better known as Tamburlaine in the west) from the humble surroundings of his homeland Ferghana to the Royal Palaces of Delhi. The story is fast paced and the style of writing is really impressive which keeps you riveted.
It is 1494; the story begins when teenager Babur is suddenly appointed as the King of Ferghana after his father dies in a tragic accident. The young king is ambitious and has plans to conquer the entire known world, just as his idol Timur had done centuries before him. But this teenage king has much to learn as his initial conquests run into ruins because of internal family feuds and disloyal subordinates. He ends up as a king without any throne disbanded from his own kingdom and forced to live life as a nomad. His family gets scattered with his grandmother ‘Esan Dawlat’ and mother ‘Kutlug Nigar’ being held prisoners and his own sister ‘Khanzada’ being forced to marry the ruthless Uzbek warlord ‘Shaibani Khan’.
With a bit of good fortune and help from his faithful commanders ‘Wazir Khan’ , ‘Baisanghar’ and ‘Baburi’ he manages to gain control of the kingdom of Kabul and reunite his family . But this great warrior is far from being satisfied and decides to invade India for all its riches. His armies cross the great Hindukush Mountains and the Indus River in order to conquer this land which is so much different from their homelands back in Afghanistan. With the help of a new secret military weapon and astute military strategy his armies overcome all the resistance this new land has to offer. This so called ‘invader from the north’ is here to stay. Babur captures major part of northern India and establishes his own new empire, Moghul Empire, and becomes its first emperor.
The story of Babur is full of hardships and emotional turmoil and Mr. Rutherford manages to faithfully capture the true essence of Babar’s autobiography in this book. Babur’s relationship with his family and friends and his commanders of war is vividly described in the book. But particularly, the military and political strategies employed in that era in order to win a war are truly intriguing to read. The sheer pace of the book doesn’t permit you to take breaks while reading!! So, in order to experience all the Moghul grandeur and to understand how it all came about, this is a must read book.
It is 1494; the story begins when teenager Babur is suddenly appointed as the King of Ferghana after his father dies in a tragic accident. The young king is ambitious and has plans to conquer the entire known world, just as his idol Timur had done centuries before him. But this teenage king has much to learn as his initial conquests run into ruins because of internal family feuds and disloyal subordinates. He ends up as a king without any throne disbanded from his own kingdom and forced to live life as a nomad. His family gets scattered with his grandmother ‘Esan Dawlat’ and mother ‘Kutlug Nigar’ being held prisoners and his own sister ‘Khanzada’ being forced to marry the ruthless Uzbek warlord ‘Shaibani Khan’.
With a bit of good fortune and help from his faithful commanders ‘Wazir Khan’ , ‘Baisanghar’ and ‘Baburi’ he manages to gain control of the kingdom of Kabul and reunite his family . But this great warrior is far from being satisfied and decides to invade India for all its riches. His armies cross the great Hindukush Mountains and the Indus River in order to conquer this land which is so much different from their homelands back in Afghanistan. With the help of a new secret military weapon and astute military strategy his armies overcome all the resistance this new land has to offer. This so called ‘invader from the north’ is here to stay. Babur captures major part of northern India and establishes his own new empire, Moghul Empire, and becomes its first emperor.
The story of Babur is full of hardships and emotional turmoil and Mr. Rutherford manages to faithfully capture the true essence of Babar’s autobiography in this book. Babur’s relationship with his family and friends and his commanders of war is vividly described in the book. But particularly, the military and political strategies employed in that era in order to win a war are truly intriguing to read. The sheer pace of the book doesn’t permit you to take breaks while reading!! So, in order to experience all the Moghul grandeur and to understand how it all came about, this is a must read book.
Review by : Abhijit Ranade
Name : Empire of the Moghul : Raiders From the North
Author : Alex Rutherford
Pages : 434
Price : Rs. 495
Price : Rs. 495
Available at all leading bookstores
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