Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Moghuls Paperback – 1 January 2010

This is one of the best book I read on mughal history , one of the most elaborative and vivid book written on mughal emperors which aptly describes all the aspects of their lives from personal to administration point of view . I highly recommend this to anyone who is anware of the fascinating era of India history , the era of great mughals .

The book begins on quite an interesting note and manages the spirit throughout, though at places it become redundant. The language is a bit difficult for someone who is new to Eraly's books but Kindle helps a lot in that. Overall it is a must read for history buffs.

Highly recommended. I have read a lot of Eraly's past work, and love his style of writing history - he writes like a novelist and not a historian! The Emperors of the Peacock Throne too is has the same strengths, his prose makes the history accessible and also connects the dots between the events quite well. One of the things that is striking is the stories of each of the Mughal emperors could be a movie in its own right - there is patricide, fratricide, war, love, politics, hardships, and heartbreaks - all in the life of an individual. And Eraly does a great job in pulling all of these strings together seamlessly, making the reader enjoy the ride.I liked the way he has structured the book by each individual king, and within each king's life he has broken it down by important events. Each of these are more or less self-sufficient units, so you will get a pretty good sense of the Marathas' insurgency during Aurangzeb's time if you just read that part of the book. In each unit, Eraly gives the history, the context, and any critical historical links. The reader might see some repetitions, but it really helps from a readability standpoint, as one does not need to refer back repeatedly.From an information standpoint - as an Indian, we might have read parts of these stories in our school - but Eraly brings the pieces together so well, that sometimes our perception of Emperor changes from what we read in school. For instance, Sher Shah Suri's reforms and administration were remarkable for the age, and so well thought through, but I never really knew a lot about him except for the Grand Trunk Road built by him. Similarly, Shahjahan comes across as much more devious and violent than the general perception of an love-lorn old man gazing wistfully at the Taj, he wasn't a shrinking violet when it came to anti-hindu activities, and cold-blooded murder. And Jehangir as an opium-addled man, who is under the thumb of his wife and brother-in-law, comes across as a romantic tragic.Finally, what good would be a history yarn without the wars - and Eraly gives detailed views on the wars and how they were won or lost. I especially liked the battle of Panipat's description of the war tactics and artillery barrage that Babur used to win. The other war of succession (which when described by Eraly seems to be a turning point in India's history) is the defeat of Dara Shikoh by Aurangzeb is wonderfully detailed, where you feel like a viewer following the armies maneuvering across the North and Central parts of India.Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Has message for those in power today.1. The questioning attitude of the early mughals2. The importance of good administration.3. The cancer of corruption.4. Failure of Aurangzeb, despite his physical courage, spartan lifestyle, and unremitting hardwork.Eraly's narration is a pleasure to read.

Very good Insight about the Mughal era.Worth a read if you interested in the mughal history.

Interesting to know history probably without any bias. Made me read more of authors work

very well written book.

Good for history lovers.

A fantastic book on the Moghuls ...........a must-read

A fabulously written book. Abraham has created an epic which flows beautifully. The language is impeccable. You can literally visualise the Moghul era and the drama, tensions and celebrations surrounding it. I would highly recommend it for both readers who are familiar with the topic or for those wanting to know about the Moghuls and Indian history. Well done Abraham.

A little dry but a necessary read for understanding the history of this part of the world.

got this for my wife and she was transfixed reading it , captivated..