THE GREAT MOGHULS BAMBER GASCOIGNE JONATHAN CAPE: LONDON 1971 1st Edition. 26 x 20 cm. 264 pp. HB/DJ The Great Moghul, the title that seventeenth century Europeans gave the emperors of India, conjured up visions of incomparable wealth and splendour. They were, reported one traveller, the 'greatest masters of precious stones that inhabit the whole earth'. Stories were told of sumptuous palaces and cities, exotic flower gardens, elaborate ceremonies and ruthless family struggles for succession— as well as a love of learning and science and the patronage of all forms of art. Reality was no less remarkable than the reports. The first six Great Moghuls, who ruled India, father and son, for nearly two centuries, created the exquisite Moghul school of painting, the famous architecture and the system of administration which stabilized the greater part of India and was taken over by the British. Individually, these rulers were as fascinating as they were diverse. Babur, the soldier-poet who founded the dynasty, left a celebrated volume of memoirs. Hiimayun, through his love of opium and astrology, lost the empire; Akbar, the most forceful and politically enlightened of them all, regained it, striving to blend its turbulent communities into a single nation. Jahangir, addicted to alcohol and art, brought Moghul painting to its perfection, and Shah Jahan, builder of such magnificent edifices as the Taj Mahal, did the same for architecture. Aurangzeb, a passionately orthodox Muslim, presided with relentless energy and self-denial over the dissolution of the empire. The fact that 'Mogul' has passed into our language as a synonym for a man of almost unlimited dominion is only one of many monuments to this splendid dynasty. Bamber Gascoigne and his wife Christina spent six months in India and Pakistan following the footsteps of the Great Moghuls, visiting their forts and cities, palaces and gardens. The book's brilliantly researched, lively and engrossing text, together with a wealth of outstanding photographs—56 pages in colour and 87 monochromes—gives a uniquely rich picture of the life of India's most flamboyant rulers.

THE GREAT MOGHULS

BAMBER GASCOIGNE

JONATHAN CAPE: LONDON
1971

First Edition.
The Great Moghul, the title that seventeenth century Europeans gave the emperors of India, conjured up visions of incomparable wealth and splendour. They were, reported one traveller, the 'greatest masters of precious stones that inhabit the whole earth'. Stories were told of sumptuous palaces and cities, exotic flower gardens, elaborate ceremonies and ruthless family struggles for succession— as well as a love of learning and science and the patronage of all forms of art.

Reality was no less remarkable than the reports. The first six Great Moghuls, who ruled India, father and son, for nearly two centuries, created the exquisite Moghul school of painting, the famous architecture and the system of administration which stabilized the greater part of India and was taken over by the British.

Individually, these rulers were as fascinating as they were diverse. Babur, the soldier-poet who founded the dynasty, left a celebrated volume of memoirs. Hiimayun, through his love of opium and astrology, lost the empire; Akbar, the most forceful and politically enlightened of them all, regained it, striving to blend its turbulent communities into a single nation. Jahangir, addicted to alcohol and art, brought Moghul painting to its perfection, and Shah Jahan, builder of such magnificent edifices as the Taj Mahal, did the same for architecture. Aurangzeb, a passionately orthodox Muslim, presided with relentless energy and self-denial over the dissolution of the empire. The fact that 'Mogul' has passed into our language as a synonym for a man of almost unlimited dominion is only one of many monuments to this splendid dynasty.

Bamber Gascoigne and his wife Christina spent six months in India and Pakistan following the footsteps of the Great Moghuls, visiting their forts and cities, palaces and gardens. The book's brilliantly researched, lively and engrossing text, together with a wealth of outstanding photographs—56 pages in colour and 87 monochromes—gives a uniquely rich picture of the life of India's most flamboyant rulers.

26 x 20 cm. 264 pp.

Very good condition. Dust jacket faded on the spine and slightly edge worn. Previous owner's details on the front free endpaper. Page edges age toned, otherwise clean and tidy.





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