From the mid-16th to the early 18th centuries the Mughal empire was the dominant power in the Indian subcontinent. Contrary to what is sometimes suggested, John Richards argues that this centralised state was dynamic and skillfully run. The studies here consider its links with the wider early modern world, and focus on three related aspects of its history. The first concerns the nature of imperial authority, in terms both of the dynastic ideology created by Akbar and his successors, and the extent to which this authority could be enforced in the countryside. The second aspect is that of fiscal and monetary policy and administration: how did the Mughals collect, track and expend their vast revenues, and what effects did this have? Finally, the author asks why the system could not cope with the changes it had helped engender, and what were the weaknesses and pressures that led to the breakup of the empire in the first decades of the 18th century. De la moitie du 16e siecle au debut du 18e, l'empire moghol etait le pouvoir dominant du sous-continent indien. Contrairement A ce qui peut parfois Atre suggere, John Richards soutient que cet etat centralise etait dynamique et adroitement mene. Les etudes examinent ses liens avec le reste du monde moderne et se concentrent sur trois aspects de son histoire. Le premier concerne la nature de l'autorite imperiale, en termes d'ideologie dynastique, telle qu'elle avait ete creee par Akbar et ses successeurs et du point jusqu'auquel cette autorite pouvait Atre imposee dans les milieux ruraux. Le second aspect est celui de l'administration et de la politique fiscale et monetaire: comment les Moghols faisaient-ils pour collecter, retrouver et depenser leurs vastes revenus et quel etait l'effet d'une telle politique? Enfin, l'auteur cherche A savoir pourquoi ce systeme n'arrivait pas A faire face aux changements qu'il avait contribue A engendrer et quelles avaient ete

The Mughal empire was one of the largest centralized states in the premodern world and this volume traces the history of this magnificent empire from its creation in 1526 to its breakup in 1720. Richards stresses the dynamic quality of Mughal territorial expansion, their institutional innovations in land revenue, coinage and military organization, ideological change and the relationship between the emperors and Islam. He also analyzes institutions particular to the Mughal empire, such as the jagir system, and explores Mughal India's links with the early modern world.

The Mughal empire was one of the largest centralized states in the premodern world and this volume traces the history of this magnificent empire from its creation in 1526 to its breakup in 1720. Richards stresses the dynamic quality of Mughal territorial expansion, their institutional innovations in land revenue, coinage and military organization, ideological change and the relationship between the emperors and Islam. He also analyzes institutions particular to the Mughal empire, such as the jagir system, and explores Mughal India's links with the early modern world.

The Earth as Transformed by Human Action is the culmination of a mammoth undertaking involving the examination of the toll our continual strides forward, technical and social, take on our world. The purpose of such a study is to document the changes in the biosphere that have taken place over the last 300 years, to contrast global patterns of change to those appearing on a regional level, and to explain the major human forces that have driven these changes. The first section deals strictly with the major human forces of the past 300 years and the second is a detailed account of the transformations of the global environment wrought by human action. The final section examines a range of perspectives and theories that purport to explain human actions with regard to the biosphere.

The World Hunt focuses on the commercial hunting of wildlife and its profound global impact on the environment and world economy. A comprehensive digest of the massive expansion of the European quest for animal products, this book explores the fur trade in North America and Russia, cod fishing in the North Atlantic, and whaling in the Arctic.

Professor Richard's work is based on part of a manuscript in the British Library concerned with the revenues and administration of the later Mughal Empire, and datable to the reign of the Emperor Bahadur Shah I (AD 1708-1712). The section covered consists of 65 specimen forms for types of documents, the majority orders of appointment, the remainder concerned with a variety of financial and other transactions. The appointments envisaged range from that of Subadar, or Governor of a major province, to those of minor officials of ports, mints and sub-districts. The work belongs in the tradition of administrative manuals that may be traced back to the reign of Akbar and earlier. The specimen documents, originally intended to guide the aspiring Mughal scribe in his work, contain a mass of detail of interest to the modern student of the history of the Mughal India, and that of the eventual heir to the Mughal tradition, the British Raj. This is the first work of its type to appear in English translation. An introduction sets the work in context and the original text is given in facsimile. John F. Richards is Professor of History at Duke University

""The Unending Frontier brings into focus the staggering environmental changes that came with the creation of the early modern world economy. John Richards assembles material from all around the world into a crisp and coherent picture of the meaning of global markets for the biosphere in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. This is a work of the first importance for environmental history, for economic history, and for world history."--John R. McNeill, author of "Something New under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World"A landmark book. Richards moves deftly among various ways of thinking about the early modern environment--national case studies, studies of particular industries, and reflections on increasing global interconnections--so that we get not only a wealth of important data and stories, but multiple perspectives on the topic as a whole. Both the breadth and the depth of the project are inspiring: people will learn new things about environmental change, even in their regions of specialization. But the biggest payoff is in the way Richards weaves environmental change into more familiar early modern stories of global trade, colonialism, technological change, and, above all, state formation. None of these topics will ever look quite the same again."--Kenneth Pomeranz, author of "The Great Divergence: Europe, China, and the Making of the Modern World Economy