Download or read book The Legend of the Peacock Throne written by Theresa Edwards and published by Struik. This book was released on 2005 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written in South Africa. Three cousins, Julia, Jessica and Jarred, all living in various parts of southern Africa spend a July holiday together in the Drakensberg. They befriend a little girl named Dudu who introduces them to her family and village. This is where they first encounter the legend of the Peacock Throne, which was, according to Zulu legend, taken by king Chaka's impis and hidden somewhere in the mountains. The legend also claims that the person who finds the throne will die before he or she can tell anyone about it, unless born of the house of Chaka. When it's realised that Julia and Dudu are both descended from the Chaka clan, that is all the inspiration they need to search for the throne. Although an adventure story with all the exciting elements required of a really good children's tale, viz, mystery, danger, cameraderie and a satisfactory ending, it is also a tale that deals with many issues faced by modern children.
Download or read book The Peacock Throne written by Waldemar Hansen and published by Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. This book was released on 1986 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Epics of history are rare and The Peacock Throne is one of them. No royal lineage offers such a spectacle of high drama as the Mogul Dynasty of India which created the world`s most famous monument-the Taj Mahal. Not since Greek tradedy has there been so stark a revelation of the excesses of human behavior: incest, fratricide sons revolting continuously against fathers and the madness of uncontrolled aggression. These are the forces animating The Peacock Throne which brings India to both Eastern and Western readers as never before.
Download or read book Emperors of the Peacock Throne written by Abraham Eraly and published by Penguin Books India. This book was released on 2000 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Stirring Account Of One Of The World S Greatest Empires In December 1525, Zahir-Ud-Din Babur, Descended From Chengiz Khan And Timur Lenk, Crossed The Indus River Into The Punjab With A Modest Army And Some Cannon. At Panipat, Five Months Later, He Fought The Most Important Battle Of His Life And Routed The Mammoth Army Of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, The Afghan Ruler Of Hindustan. Mughal Rule In India Had Begun. It Was To Continue For Over Three Centuries, Shaping India For All Time. In This Definitive Biography Of The Great Mughals, Abraham Eraly Reclaims The Right To Set Down History As A Chronicle Of Flesh-And-Blood People. Bringing To His Task The Objectivity Of A Scholar And The High Imagination Of A Master Storyteller, He Recreates The Lives Of Babur, The Intrepid Pioneer; The Dreamer Humayun; Akbar, The Greatest And Most Enigmatic Of The Mughals; The Aesthetes Jehangir And Shah Jahan; And The Dour And Determined Aurangzeb.
Download or read book 1637 The Peacock Throne written by Eric Flint and published by Baen Books. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 679 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The assassinated Shah Jahan lies entombed beside his beloved wife in the Taj Mahal, while their progeny drag the Mughal Empire into a three-sided struggle over the succession to the Peacock Throne. The diplomatic and trade mission from the United States of Europe is openly siding with Princess Jahanara and her brother Dara Shikoh. The mission, made up largely of Americans transplanted in time by the Ring of Fire, is providing the siblings with technical assistance as they prepare to fight their rivals for the throne, Aurangzeb and Shah Shuja. Meanwhile, the Afghan adventurer Salim Gadh Yilmaz, confidant of two emperors—Shah Jahan and now his son Dara Shikoh—has been elevated to the position of general. He has great challenges to face, not the least of which is resisting the fierce and forbidden mutual attraction between himself and Princess Jahanara. As the conflict deepens, the junior members of the mission are sent east to buy opium needed by the USE’s doctors. Their guide, merchant Jadu Das, has an agenda of his own, one entrusted to him by Jahanara: seek out her great uncle, Asaf Khan, and promise whatever is needed to bring his army over to Dara’s side. The USE’s mission was sent to India in search of goods needed in Europe. But now they find that straightforward task has become enmeshed in a great civil war—for control of the Peacock Throne. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Eric Flint's Ring of Fire series: “This alternate history series is . . . a landmark . . .”—Booklist “[Eric] Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians.”—Booklist “ . . . reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis . . . ”—Publishers Weekly
Download or read book Koh i Noor written by William Dalrymple and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2017-09-12 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the internationally acclaimed and bestselling historians William Dalrymple and Anita Anand, the first comprehensive and authoritative history of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, arguably the most celebrated jewel in the world. On March 29, 1849, the ten-year-old leader of the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab was ushered into the magnificent Mirrored Hall at the center of the British fort in Lahore, India. There, in a formal Act of Submission, the frightened but dignified child handed over to the British East India Company swathes of the richest land in India and the single most valuable object in the subcontinent: the celebrated Koh-i-Noor diamond, otherwise known as the Mountain of Light. To celebrate the acquisition, the British East India Company commissioned a history of the diamond woven together from the gossip of the Delhi Bazaars. From that moment forward, the Koh-i-Noor became the most famous and mythological diamond in history, with thousands of people coming to see it at the 1851 Great Exhibition and still more thousands repeating the largely fictitious account of its passage through history. Using original eyewitness accounts and chronicles never before translated into English, Dalrymple and Anand trace the true history of the diamond and disperse the myths and fantastic tales that have long surrounded this awe-inspiring jewel. The resulting history of south and central Asia tells a true tale of greed, conquest, murder, torture, colonialism, and appropriation that shaped a continent and the Koh-i-Noor itself.
Download or read book Kohinoor written by William Dalrymple and published by Juggernaut Books. This book was released on 2016 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This riveting tale of the Kohinoor, the worldÕs most coveted gem, unearths fascinating new information as it moves from the Mughal court to Persia to Afghanistan; from Maharaja Ranjit Singh's durbar in Punjab to the Queen of England's Crown. A thrilling tale, full of violence, drama and intrigue.
Download or read book The Mughal World written by Abraham Eraly and published by Penguin Books India. This book was released on 2007 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It Is Hard To Imagine Anyone Succeeding More Gracefully In Producing A Balanced Overview Than Abraham Eraly William Dalrymple, Sunday Times, London In The Mughal World Abraham Eraly Continues His Fascinating Chronicle Of The Grand Saga Of The Mughal Empire. In Emperors Of The Peacock Throne He Gave Us The Story Of The Lives And Achievements Of The Great Mughal Emperors; In This Book, He Looks Beyond The Momentous Historical Events To Portray, In Precise And Vivid Detail, The Agony And Ecstasy Of Life In Mughal India. Combining Scholarly Objectivity With Artful Storytelling The Author Presents A Lively Panorama Of The Mughal World Emperors And Nobles At Work And Play; Harem Life; The Profligacy And Extravagance Of The Ruling Class Juxtaposed With The Stark Wretchedness Of The Common People. Meticulously Researched And Lucidly Narrated The Mughal World Offers Rare Insights Into The State Of The Empire S Economy, Religious Policies, The Mughal Army And Its Tactics, And The Glories Of Mughal Art, Architecture, Literature And Music.
Download or read book The Confession of Sultana Daku written by Sujit Saraf and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2010-01-18 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 7 July 1924. Sultana Daku, notorious leader of a gang of bhantu dacoits that terrorized the towns and villages of the United Provinces, awaits Lt. Col. Samuel Pearce’s arrival in Haldwani jail. It is Sultana’s last night. In the morning he will be hanged. Wrapped in a haze of charas and nostalgia, the daku speaks all night as the Englishman listens. He recounts tales of incredible feats and narrow escapes, of the camaraderie he shared with his bhantu companions, of his love for the nautanki dancer Phulkanwar, and of the shocking betrayal that brought him to the gallows. But even as Pearce and the reader are drawn into Sultana’s confession, the contradictions that emerge reveal the daku’s own demons—his fears, superstitions and ruthless excesses—and an unshakeable belief in his criminal destiny that clashes all too often with his secret longings and hopes. Combining swashbuckling adventure with a moving story of human frailty and fortitude, The Confession of Sultana Daku is a grand narrative that is as mesmerizing as it is unsettling. Told with remarkable flair, passion and a rare sensitivity, it seals Sujit Saraf’s reputation as a master storyteller.
Download or read book The Peacock Throne written by Sujit Saraf and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 1342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Irreverent, farcical and as enlightening as it is entertaining, The Peacock Throne is a novel of breathtaking scope and reach, which looks deep into the heart of human nature and into the soul of modern India. October 31 1984 begins like any other day for Gopal Pandey as he sets up his tea stall in a lane off Chandni Chowk, the most magnificent and crowded street in all Delhi. At its head lies Red Fort, once the home of the gem-encrusted Peacock Throne, symbol of the Mughal Empires dazzling might and of its downfall. By the end of the day, Indira Gandhi has been assassinated, violent riots have erupted and Gopal is the bemused possessor of a large sum of money. Fourteen turbulent years and four dramatic turning points in Indian history later, this myopic, bumbling man stands on the verge of immense political power. Gopal's unlikely journey is a tale of accidents, scheming, murder and tragedy, religious and political rivalries, corruption and hubris.
Download or read book Eyes on the Peacocks Tail written by Vayu Naidu and published by Tulika Books. This book was released on 2021-02-05 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peacock becomes leader of the forest, and marries Surya, the daughter of the sun king. But Peacock, who is only concerned with his looks, is replaced by another leader and learns that looks alone are not what matter.
Download or read book Raza Meets the King written by Subhadra Sen Gupta and published by Pratham Books. This book was released on 2005 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Shah Jahan written by Fergus Nicoll and published by Penguin Books India. This book was released on 2009 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Khurram Shah Jahan, a title meaning King of the World , ruled the Mughal Empire from 1628 to 1659. His reign marked the cultural zenith of the Mughal dynasty: a period of multiculturalism, poetry, fine art and stupendous architecture. His legacy in stone embraces not only the Taj Mahal the tomb of his beloved second wife, Anjumand Mumtaz Mahal but fortresses, mosques, gardens, carvanserais and schools. But Shah Jahan was also a ruthless political operator, who only achieved power by ordering the murder of two brothers and at least six other relatives, one of them the legitimately crowned Emperor Dawar Baksh. This is the story of an enlightened despot, a king who dispensed largesse to favoured courtiers but ignored plague in the countryside. Fergus Nicholl has reconstructed this intriguing tale from contemporary biographies, edicts and correspondence. He has also traveled widely through India and Pakistan to follow in Shah Jahan's footsteps and put together an original portrait that challenges many established legends to bring the man and the emperor to life.
Download or read book Empires and Anarchies written by Michael Quentin Morton and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2017-09-15 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oil lies at the heart of the modern history of the Middle East. For decades, the world’s largest oil reserves have enriched the region’s nations. But oil wealth has not brought with it universal prosperity. It has, though, transformed the Middle Eastern people and societies—enriching empires and engendering anarchies. Empires and Anarchies is an unconventional history of oil in the Middle East. In Michael Quentin Morton’s account the burnt-out remains of Saddam Hussein’s armaments and the human tragedy of the Arab Spring are as much of the story as the shimmering skylines of oil-rich nations. From the first explorers trudging through the desert to the excesses of the Peacock Throne and the high stakes of OPEC, Morton lays out the history of oil in compelling detail, arguing that oil simultaneously enriched and fractured the Middle East, eroding traditional ways of life, and eventually contributing to the rise of Islamic radicalism. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the promises and peril of the world’s oil boom.
Download or read book The Moghul Saint of Insanity written by Farzana Moon and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2015-09-18 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Moghul Saint of Insanity depicts the life of Aurangzeb, the sixth emperor of India. His reign of tyranny tore the fabric of the Moghul Empire into shreds. Learning too late of his follies of hatred and bigotry, he prayed fervently for forgiveness on his deathbed. The gist of this book can be summed up in his last letter to one of his sons: Soul of my soul! Now I am going alone. I grieve for your helplessness. But what is the use? Every torment I have inflicted, every sin I have committed, every wrong I have done, I carry the consequence with me. Strange that I came with nothing into this world, and now am going away with this stupendous caravan of sins. Wherever I look I see only God. I have greatly sinned and I know not what torment awaits me! With fundamentalism on the rise, this book will serve as a warning for the would-be-suicide-bombers that their zeal and violence would only serve the annihilation of their own factions if they continue their practices of hate, brutality and intolerance. It also offers a learning tool for these young victims – educated by hateful mullahs and hypocrites – to glean truth out of lies and to dispel ignorance. As such, this book promotes and nurtures the gifts of compassion, learning and understanding.
Download or read book Shadow Princess written by Indu Sundaresan and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-03-09 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critically acclaimed author Indu Sundaresan picks up where she left off in The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses, returning to seventeenth-century India as two princesses struggle for supremacy of their father’s kingdom. Trapped in the shadow of the magnificent tomb their grief-stricken father is building for his beloved deceased wife, the emperor’s daughters compete for everything: control over the imperial harem, their father’s affection, and the future of their country. They are forbidden to marry and instead choose to back different brothers in the fight for ultimate power over the throne. But only one of the sisters will succeed. With an enthusiasm for history and a flair for rich detail, Indu Sundaresan brings readers deep into the complicated lives of Indian women of the time period and highlights the profound history of one of the most celebrated works of architecture in the world, the Taj Mahal.
Download or read book Empire of the Moghul Traitors in the Shadows written by Alex Rutherford and published by Review. This book was released on 2015-04-09 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now a major DisneyPlus Hotstar Special - THE EMPIRE is streaming now TRAITORS IN THE SHADOWS is the sixth gripping novel in the action-packed Empire of the Moghul series by Alex Rutherford, perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Robyn Young. 'Totally absorbing... Authentic characters and sweeping action' Wilbur Smith A dynasty at war A new emperor, Aurangzeb, sits on India's glittering Peacock Throne - the throne he seized from his father while the old emperor still lived. He has paid for it with blood: during the brutal civil war he hunted down and killed his brothers. Now he must return the Moghul Empire to the true path and achieve new glory. But the exercise of great power is isolating. With enemies everywhere, who should he trust? Certainly not his sons. He must rely on himself and the knowledge that there are more ways to subdue a man than on the battlefield. But as the years pass memories haunt him - memories of a father who never loved him and a mother who lies in the Taj Mahal; of murdered brothers and of sons and daughters locked in sunless prisons. He tells himself that everything he has done has been necessary - moral, even. But how will his God judge him? 'A totally absorbing narrative filled with authentic historical characters and sweeping action set in an age of horrifying but magnificent savagery. The writing is as compelling as the events described and kept me eagerly leaping from one page to the next' Wilbur Smith 'Rutherford's glorious, broad-sweeping adventure in the wild lands of the Moghul sees the start of a wonderful series...In Babur, he has found a real-life hero, with all the flaws, mistakes and misadventures that spark true heroism... Breathtaking stuff' Manda Scott 'Alex Rutherford has set the bar high for his sequels' Daily Mail 'Alex Rutherford brings the period and the history of the region alive. The characters are dynamic, and the deadly regional politics of alliances and treaties are reflected by the internal tensions at court' US Historical Novel Society
Download or read book TAJ written by Timeri N. Murari and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When his queen, Arjumand Banu - Mumtaz-i-Mahal, the Chosen One of the Palace - died, Shah Jahan wanted to build a monument that was the image of his perfect love for her. For twenty-two years, twenty thousand men laboured day and night to fulfil the emperors obsession. The result was the Taj Mahal, a marble mausoleum lined with gold, silver and precious jewels. This powerful novel narrates the story of the Taj on two parallel levels. The first one tells the passionate love story of Shah Jahan and Arjumand till her death through the voices of three main characters - Arjumand, Shah Jahan and Isa, Arjumands favourite eunuch. The second recounts the later years of Shah Jahans reign, the building of the Taj Mahal and the bloody pursuit of the fabled Peacock Throne by his sons. Intertwined with the narrative about the building of the Taj is the story of Murthi, the Hindu craftsman sent as a gift to the emperor to carve the famous marble jali around Arjumands sarcophagus. In this complex and fascinating book, Murari has written much more than a historical romance. He has skillfully recreated the period against which the story is set: the opulence of the palace and the grinding poverty of seventeenth-century India, the vicissitudes of Shah Jahans reign and the often bitter conflict between men of different faiths
