Review: Empire of the Moghul: Ruler of the World

Alex Rutherford’s third book was eagerly awaited as it was, after all, going to be about none other than one of the most revered king in history, Akbar. The last book on Humayun was a bit of a disappointment but honestly felt that it could be because of a very uninspiring leadership and reign. But this book on Akbar was also a huge let down.  Personally I felt that there is just so much more to write about Akbar to make it a very gripping and interesting read, sadly the book failed to deliver, in terms of content and quality of writing.

Only two Indian kings in history have been conferred the title of ‘the great’, Emperor Ashok and Emperor Akbar. Akbar though did not get a chance to study ,since at a young age he was crowned as the king after his father’s untimely death  but despite that he managed to bring in lots of changes in the way things were governed and was a far sighted king who did not give importance to religion. In fact he is credited with starting a new religious order Din-E-Ilahi which was borrowed heavily from various religions and which made him the head of the order. He was the first Muslim king who tried to bring harmony between the two religions Hindus and Muslims. The book instead of elaborating on these points speaks about his troubled relationship with his eldest son Salim as well as his immense faith in Abu Fazl. The book also fails to touch on the other great luminaries in his court, so there is absolutely nothing on Tansen, Birbal, Todarmal.

Salim his eldest son grows to manhood full of mistrust. He also makes the fatal mistake of falling for Akbar’s most voluptuous concubine, leading a rebellion, and realizing soon enough that Akbar neither forgets nor forgives easily. Salim finds himself in an unhappy and increasingly frustrating situation when Akbar shows his fondness for Salim’s son Khurram and making his intentions clear as to who he would rather see as the king after him.

The book though does justice by showing a side which is not spoken or written about much, of that, of his role as a father.  Akbar may have been a great king but he had his flaws too, this book manages to bring that out effectively.

So all in all of you are looking to read a book about Akbar as a great warrior or administrator this is definitely not the book you should pick up. Though book is fictional drawing inspiration from history yet the book fails to deliver. The book does seem inspired a lot by bollywood movies on the life and times of Akbar.

The book as a continuity to first two books is a good read but as a standalone book it is a letdown. 

PS: The book cover -as impressive as ever!

My Review : Empire Of The Moghul :Brothers At War

This book is the second book in 'Empire of The Moghul' series by Alex Rutherford.The first one was the beginning of the Moghul dynasty in India ,it was a brilliantly written story that covered Babur's journey from Ferghana to India and finally becoming the ruler of the country.That book is close to my heart as that book got me interested in the Moghul history and also pushed me to start this book review blog.

This book was eagerly awaited and as soon as I got a chance I went and bought this book to read the part two of the Moghul dynasty.It takes off from the time Humayun is declared the next emperor by Babur just before his death.Humayun was his son from his favourite wife Maham.Babur's decision to choose him over the rest of his sons doesn't go down well with the step brothers and they plot to kill Humayun.Humayun gets to know about the plot and instead of punishing them for it he ends up forgiving them and also gives them separate states to rule.This probably would be one of the many wrong decisions he ends up taking during his reign. After a few years into his rule he gets addicted to opium thanks to his step-mother Gulrukh and starts to believe that messages were written in the stars and his eccentricity continues when he organises his administrative department based on the four elements of earth,fire,air and water.He starts dressing in certain colours on certain days.While he is lost in his opium induced world he gets a jolt from the real world when he loses his kingdom to Sher Shah which eventually leads to his exit from India.

So what follows is Humayun's struggle to snatch back the reigns of his kingdom from Sher Shah.Humayun was a king who would plot, plan and contemplate a lot but his execution was very poor.He was hardly anywhere close to his father as a warrior.He does end up winning the kingdom back but not because of his great warrior skills but because of the initial support he receives from Shah Tamasp of Persia as well as the death of Sher Shah and the uncertainty following his death.What is indeed sad is Humayun's death due to a bad fall just six months after he captures Delhi and is declared the padishah of Hindustan.

Humayun died on 24th January 1556.Humayun's Tomb,his white sandstone mausoleum is still a very well known place in Delhi .

I read these lines somewhere on his manner of dying which is sadly true of Humayun's reign as the emperor and it is how he is remembered in history 'Humayun stumbled out of life just like he stumbled through it...'

The book is beautifully descriptive,well researched,each character beautifully etched and simply written which makes reading very enjoyable and almost gives you a sense of being there in that era.Unfortunately the book is not as good as the first though it would be unfair to blame the author.Humayun would probably be the weakest link in the dynasty.He comes across as indecisive,selfish,inward-looking,low self esteem and a weak character which is the reason for the book being a step below the first.The characters that stand out are surely the women in Humayun's life- Khanzada,his aunt and Babur's sister,Salima his favourite concubine,Hamida his beloved wife.Inspite of the weak character that Humayun was the author has managed to keep the reader engaged till the very end of the book.

It should definitely be in your must read list if historical fiction interests you even if it doesn't the 'Empire of The Moghuls' series will definitely get you hooked.I am now looking forward to their third book on Akbar, the next emperor after Humayun's death.

Read our review of their first book here

My review :Raiders from the North

Ok so I was MIA for a couple of days as I was on a holiday (yipee!)and also because the net connection was down and out for the last two days.Finally managed to finish the book...believe me hardly an effort as the book was indeed very interesting.Let me start off with the fact that until recently I was not too interested in the Mughal history if someone was to ask me who was Akbar's father I would not have an answer yes as clueless as that!So I thought this bad knowledge of History and disinterest had to change and I should have the answers before my children end up learning history.So in that way this book was a good pick as it starts off with the story of how Babur managed to end up invading India and thus followed the great Mughal era which is much chronicled by various historians.
So in this book we get to know about Babur not only as a ruler but also as a son,grandson,brother,friend and a father.At the age of 12 after being anointed the king of Ferghana his ambition is to ultimately rule Samarkhand.After his two failed attempts he also ends up losing Ferghana to his half brother.He ends up as a king without a throne till fate finally smiles on him.He is requested to take over the reigns of Kabul, as the king who was Babur's distant relative is dead, and he being the descendant of Timur is offered to take charge.He accepts the offer and moves to Kabul to rule as the king but his sights are set on Hindustan.So from there his journey begins to capture Hindustan and his yet another failed attempt to rule Samarkhand.
Every page offers a vivid image that captures the deeply violent world of the Moghuls. The rivalry, the paranoia, poisonings, torturing and killings, flaying, blinding, knifing...you'd find it all in the pages of the book.
SO if you would want a course in History this is the book to read!though it is a historic fiction it is filled with historical characters and situations which indeed happened.

Some interesting facts about the book and the author: ‘Alex Rutherford’, author of the historical novel relating the epic rise and fall of one of the most powerful, opulent and glamorous dynasties in history are actually Michael and Diana Preston, the husband and wife team !Read more about them here
the second part of the book is Empire of the Moghuls:Brothers at War which will hopefully be out by early next year! Looking forward!
The book I also just finished reading is Chetan Bhagat's 2 states...more on that soon!