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The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir is one of the most hated men
in Indian history. Widely reviled as a religious fanatic who sought
to violently oppress Hindus, he is even blamed by some for setting
into motion conflicts that would result in the creation of a
separate Muslim state in South Asia. In her lively overview of his
life and influence, Audrey Truschke offers a clear-eyed perspective
on the public debate over Aurangzeb and makes the case for why his
often-maligned legacy deserves to be reassessed. Aurangzeb was
arguably the most powerful and wealthiest ruler of his day. His
nearly 50-year reign (1658-1707) had a profound influence on the
political landscape of early modern India, and his legacy-real and
imagined-continues to loom large in India and Pakistan today.
Truschke evaluates Aurangzeb not by modern standards but according
to the traditions and values of his own time, painting a picture of
Aurangzeb as a complex figure whose relationship to Islam was
dynamic, strategic, and sometimes contradictory. This book invites
students of South Asian history and religion into the world of the
Mughal Empire, framing the contemporary debate on Aurangzeb's
impact and legacy in accessible and engaging terms.
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir is one of the most hated men
in Indian history. Widely reviled as a religious fanatic who sought
to violently oppress Hindus, he is even blamed by some for setting
into motion conflicts that would result in the creation of a
separate Muslim state in South Asia. In her lively overview of his
life and influence, Audrey Truschke offers a clear-eyed perspective
on the public debate over Aurangzeb and makes the case for why his
often-maligned legacy deserves to be reassessed. Aurangzeb was
arguably the most powerful and wealthiest ruler of his day. His
nearly 50-year reign (1658–1707) had a profound influence on the
political landscape of early modern India, and his legacy—real
and imagined—continues to loom large in India and Pakistan today.
Truschke evaluates Aurangzeb not by modern standards but according
to the traditions and values of his own time, painting a picture of
Aurangzeb as a complex figure whose relationship to Islam was
dynamic, strategic, and sometimes contradictory. This book invites
students of South Asian history and religion into the world of the
Mughal Empire, framing the contemporary debate on Aurangzeb's
impact and legacy in accessible and engaging terms.
For over five hundred years, Muslim dynasties ruled parts of
northern and central India, starting with the Ghurids in the 1190s
through the fracturing of the Mughal Empire in the early eighteenth
century. Scholars have long drawn upon works written in Persian and
Arabic about this epoch, yet they have neglected the many histories
that India's learned elite wrote about Indo-Muslim rule in
Sanskrit. These works span the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire
and discuss Muslim-led kingdoms in the Deccan and even as far south
as Tamil Nadu. They constitute a major archive for understanding
significant cultural and political changes that shaped early modern
India and the views of those who lived through this crucial period.
Audrey Truschke offers a groundbreaking analysis of these Sanskrit
texts that sheds light on both historical Muslim political leaders
on the subcontinent and how premodern Sanskrit intellectuals
perceived the "Muslim Other." She analyzes and theorizes how
Sanskrit historians used the tools of their literary tradition to
document Muslim governance and, later, as Muslims became an
integral part of Indian cultural and political worlds, Indo-Muslim
rule. Truschke demonstrates how this new archive lends insight into
formulations and expressions of premodern political, social,
cultural, and religious identities. By elaborating the languages
and identities at play in premodern Sanskrit historical works, this
book expands our historical and conceptual resources for
understanding premodern South Asia, Indian intellectual history,
and the impact of Muslim peoples on non-Muslim societies. At a time
when exclusionary Hindu nationalism, which often grounds its claims
on fabricated visions of India's premodernity, dominates the Indian
public sphere, The Language of History shows the complexity and
diversity of the subcontinent's past.
Culture of Encounters documents the fascinating exchange between
the Persian-speaking Islamic elite of the Mughal Empire and
traditional Sanskrit scholars, which engendered a dynamic idea of
Mughal rule essential to the empire's survival. This history begins
with the invitation of Brahman and Jain intellectuals to King
Akbar's court in the 1560s, then details the numerous Mughal-backed
texts they and their Mughal interlocutors produced under emperors
Akbar, Jahangir (1605-1627), and Shah Jahan (1628-1658). Many
works, including Sanskrit epics and historical texts, were
translated into Persian, elevating the political position of
Brahmans and Jains and cultivating a voracious appetite for Indian
writings throughout the Mughal world. The first book to read these
Sanskrit and Persian works in tandem, Culture of Encounters recasts
the Mughal Empire as a polyglot polity that collaborated with its
Indian subjects to envision its sovereignty. The work also reframes
the development of Brahman and Jain communities under Mughal rule,
which coalesced around carefully selected, politically salient
memories of imperial interaction. Along with its groundbreaking
findings, Culture of Encounters certifies the critical role of the
sociology of empire in building the Mughal polity, which came to
irrevocably shape the literary and ruling cultures of early modern
India.
Culture of Encounters documents the fascinating exchange between
the Persian-speaking Islamic elite of the Mughal Empire and
traditional Sanskrit scholars, which engendered a dynamic idea of
Mughal rule essential to the empire's survival. This history begins
with the invitation of Brahman and Jain intellectuals to King
Akbar's court in the 1560s, then details the numerous Mughal-backed
texts they and their Mughal interlocutors produced under emperors
Akbar, Jahangir (1605-1627), and Shah Jahan (1628-1658). Many
works, including Sanskrit epics and historical texts, were
translated into Persian, elevating the political position of
Brahmans and Jains and cultivating a voracious appetite for Indian
writings throughout the Mughal world. The first book to read these
Sanskrit and Persian works in tandem, Culture of Encounters recasts
the Mughal Empire as a polyglot polity that collaborated with its
Indian subjects to envision its sovereignty. The work also reframes
the development of Brahman and Jain communities under Mughal rule,
which coalesced around carefully selected, politically salient
memories of imperial interaction. Along with its groundbreaking
findings, Culture of Encounters certifies the critical role of the
sociology of empire in building the Mughal polity, which came to
irrevocably shape the literary and ruling cultures of early modern
India.
For over five hundred years, Muslim dynasties ruled parts of
northern and central India, starting with the Ghurids in the 1190s
through the fracturing of the Mughal Empire in the early eighteenth
century. Scholars have long drawn upon works written in Persian and
Arabic about this epoch, yet they have neglected the many histories
that India’s learned elite wrote about Indo-Muslim rule in
Sanskrit. These works span the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire
and discuss Muslim-led kingdoms in the Deccan and even as far south
as Tamil Nadu. They constitute a major archive for understanding
significant cultural and political changes that shaped early modern
India and the views of those who lived through this crucial period.
Audrey Truschke offers a groundbreaking analysis of these Sanskrit
texts that sheds light on both historical Muslim political leaders
on the subcontinent and how premodern Sanskrit intellectuals
perceived the “Muslim Other.” She analyzes and theorizes how
Sanskrit historians used the tools of their literary tradition to
document Muslim governance and, later, as Muslims became an
integral part of Indian cultural and political worlds, Indo-Muslim
rule. Truschke demonstrates how this new archive lends insight into
formulations and expressions of premodern political, social,
cultural, and religious identities. By elaborating the languages
and identities at play in premodern Sanskrit historical works, this
book expands our historical and conceptual resources for
understanding premodern South Asia, Indian intellectual history,
and the impact of Muslim peoples on non-Muslim societies. At a time
when exclusionary Hindu nationalism, which often grounds its claims
on fabricated visions of India’s premodernity, dominates the
Indian public sphere, The Language of History shows the complexity
and diversity of the subcontinent’s past.
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