so glad that this extraordinary book has been written, I'm so glad that the rich and textured lives of Mughal imperial women has not been lost to memorykeeping, I'm so glad that we get a peek into the Mughal zenana, from sources narrated by Mughal women themselves, instead of the Eurocentric exotic gaze we often encounter in Mughal histories.
Finally, I'm so glad that this book has staked a strong claim for the women of the Mughal empire Empresses, Queens, and Begums to a just and honorable place in Indian history.
Ira Mukhoty's alternative history of the Mughal empire evocatively narrates the lives of many of its imperial women betweenmarked by Babur's invasion of Panipat andmarked by Aurangazeb's death.
In doing so, she dispels with various myths about Mughal women, and brings to light their immense hidden contributions,
Women of the Mughal empire were tremendously powerful, wielding extensive influence, money, and respect, They were educated scholars, leaving behind biographies and erudite works of poetry and theological scholarship, They were remarkable builders, commissioning architectural works that the world had never seen the likes of before, They were skilled traders, commanding their own ships and conducting trade in today's currency worth billions of rupees within Hindustan and overseas, They were also massively influential in the decisions made in court, being consulted by the emperor on various issues of importance, All of them had financial control over their own wealth, Divorce and remarriage was common and encouraged,
Interestingly, this immense power that royal Mughal women exerted did not come from their sexual availability at all, Many of the women whose lives the book explores were mothers, unmarried sisters, elderly aunts, single daughters, and divorced women,
I found the Daughters of the Sun's industrious and evolving characterization of the Mughal zenana particularly interesting, While during the rule of earlier Mughal emperors, the haraman was largely mobile due to the peripatetic lives of Mughals who had not yet staked claim to Hindustan, the latter half of the Mughal rule saw the emergence of a separate, private space for royal women.
While older Timurid women led lives of startling freedom, it's during this latter time that we also see sanitized notions of chastity gradually arising.
This is possibly because of a change in Mughal lifestyle towards a more settled city, as well as marriages with Rajput women who had stricter notions of honour to consolidate empire.
Beyond this rich history, Mukhoty's narrative style is beautiful and accessible, Through the pages of the book, she transports readers into a different era, a big feat for a work of nonfiction, She paints a holistic picture of the time, from the elaborate clothing and fashion to the vast cuisines of the time,
My only minor complaint with the book is that it lacks a mapped genealogy of Mughal women, Because the book introduces so many women through its pages, it would have helped to reference a genealogy while reading, Thankfully, Mukhoty was kind enough to share her personal notes with me, It would be great to see this included in the next edition,
Unfortunately, very little of the history that this book explores remains to this date, subject to the casual erasure of time and the plundering destruction by the British in thes.
That is why I am so glad that this book has been written, And I hope it makes its way into History curricula in place of the malecentric and Eurocentric versions of the Mughal empire we are subjected to today.
I hope this book will draw these Mughal women out of the deep well of misremembrance they lie in, in the cold waters of prejudice and endlessly biased recordings, to walk once more in the sunlit glory they once so confidently, and foolishly, believed would always be theirs'
there
is so much writing on the Mughal era but so little about the lives of the Mughal women.
. very little is known about their contributions in shaping the history of the Mughal Empire, . this is what Ira Mukhoty beautifully enlightens in DaughtersOfTheSun if you are fascinated by this period, would highly recommend it!
I have LOVED this book! To the core! I have time travelled, I have grown richer in my knowledge of history and I have wept at the loss of history denied to us by fanatics and blind copiers of the Imperial Version of Mughal History.
And I am an Archaeologist!
This is the second time I have read something and felt that it's not the book we need but the book we deserve ! It is a book about voices muted by the Colonialists, of the history we were robbed of and the facts that we live in sheer ignorance of.
Yes, Ira Mukhoty repeats herself here and there and yes, it gets to you sometimes but that alone cannot rob this book of the merits it has.
If you didn't know the Mughals were actually called and identified as the Gurkanis, go pick this book up, now! A wonderful and necessary account a parallel history infact of the women who shaped, in so many enriching ways, not just the destinies of the Mughal Padshahs of India, but also its culture, food, literature, clothing, arts, crafts and surprisingly but momentously, its architecture which is what keeps the memory of this dynasty's legacy alive to this day and continues to remain the most visible and present link to our rich heritage and history.
I read it completely on audio and really enjoyed Shehnaz Patel's narration,
One had only ever heard of two Mughal women most prominently Noor Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, The first made infamous, almost for being "too ambitious" and the other only by the monument that was built as a symbol of Shah Jahan's love for her.
Stories about even these two women have been casual and superficial, and reading this book brought in so much more nuance and background.
This is a well written and well researched book, What I really appreciated is how it dispells the myth around the Mughal zenanas and so called harems, And instead brings out a completely different understanding of how empowered these Timurid women were, and how vital their presence was to every Mughal ruler.
Not only were they important advisors, allies, peace makers and companions to the men who ruled, they were equally well educated and cultured intellectuals, poets, writers, administrative leaders, tradeswomen, asset owners, farmnan givers and architectural visionaries be it as queens, mothers, milkmothers, sisters, aunts or neices.
The Mughal court and lifestyle, infact, was very liberal and allowed women enormous agency, and the women asserted these positions and opportunities, as strongly as the men did.
There were instances where the men were more interested in the arts rather than the practicalities of ruling an empire, and it is the women who stepped up and took care of matters, and this worked perfectly wonderfully.
Their counsel was much valued and sought after,
I've always loved Mughal architecture and now, knowing more background to their origin and creation and the primary role that women played in it, just adds so much more to their glory and marvel.
The Taj Mahal was inspired by the beautiful IdmatUdDaula Tomb, which Noor Jahan built in memory of her late father, and introduced marble as a building material for the first time moving away from the red sandstone, along with the exquisite inlay work and pietra dura.
Shah Jahan felt compelled to make a stronger statement than his step mother, who he also saw a threat to his power and throne.
This book was such a great insight into Mughal women and their lives, It has reinvigorated my interest in these ancient dynasties, and now I'm itching to visit these monuments with this new found knowledge and wonder :
Clearly I have a lot to say, but then, you may as well just read the book.
This is an interesting book about the women related to the Mughal emperors, I wound up disenchanted with it and think that its reception so far has been perhaps a bit too glowing, but I did learn some interesting things from it.
Essentially, this is a history of a little overyears of the Mughal empire in India, from just before their arrival at the beginning of theth century, to just after the death of Aurangzeb at the beginning of theth.
The focus is on the women of the dynasty, who played far more powerful and active roles than western stereotypes would have it.
Also, the “harem” the correct term for the womens quarters is a zenana wasnt exactly teeming with wives and concubines of the emperor any woman related to him or to his loyal retainers could show up to live there and many did, along with their own entourages and servants.
Particularly in the early years, these women were hardly in purdah: they accompanied the emperor as he traveled around, even to war or on daring escapes across mountains from pursuing armies this sometimes resulted in wives and children being captured or killed they traveled from city to city at their own whim they went on hajj.
Even later on, once the zenana became more separate, the women there still wielded considerable power, as they often had independent fortunes, owned trading ships, commissioned monumental buildings, and weighed in with the emperor on issues of public policy.
Maham Anaga was essentially regent of part of India for awhile, while Noor Jahan coined her own money and had the authority to issue edicts under her name and with her own seal.
All of which is fascinating, and Im glad to have learned about these women, but the execution let me down a bit.
First, the author covers more thanyears and a ton of women in justpages of text, which means its rushed and often doesnt get much past generalities.
Second, the first third is definitely the best because Mukhoty can rely on the memoirs of Gulbadan, daughter of Babur and relative of the later emperors, which bring a lovely personal touch to the story.
In the later portions we dont have that and so it becomes more distant, It might also be that the earlier women are just more interesting, as many of them led quite dramatic lives while the later ones seem to have mostly stayed behind walls amassing wealth and commissioning buildings in their names.
Third, the author seems to glorify the Mughals overmuch, in a way that comes across as colonialist, We may not think of the Mughals as colonizers because they werent European and, unlike the British, at least they kept Indias wealth in the country and acculturated themselves to the place.
But still, they rode in from Afghanistan and killed a ton of people to conquer territory for their own power and glory, and continued to do so throughout the existence of the empire.
Mukhoty mostly elides the fact that their wars consisted of naked land grabs, and theres a weird “oh, those Hindus and their barbaric customs” vibe that comes close to suggesting the Hindus needed the Mughals to save them from themselves.
Finally, the book just doesnt come across as very historically rigorous, Mukhotys decision to write the entire history in the present tense is weird and distracting, Theres also a tendency to use the same evocative generalities over and over again the author is always talking about someones glittering, blistering, blinding, incandescent, etc.
, etc. , ambition, which is a fancy way of saying the Mughals loved conquering people and imposing architecture, There are endnotes though frustratingly, no index and the author seems to have used at least some primary sources, She also doesnt run rampant speculating on thoughts and feelings lack of source material is perhaps why the book covers so many people in so few pages.
But I would have appreciated more facts and less editorializing,
In the end, interesting book that opened my eyes to a part of history I didnt know much about, Could be worthwhile reading if youre interested in the subject, but ultimately it was frustrating for me because it could have been better.
It is a fascinating and gripping account on the Mughal women,
Whatever history records we have of Mughals are primarily male centric and they fail to convey the extraordinary contribution of Mughal women to this magnificent dynasty.
In, when Babur rode to Hindustan, his wives, sisters, daughters, all distant female relatives travelled with him, Humayun travelled with his Zenana with him to the battles, Akbar gave more stability to this nomadic tradition and highly respected the women of his family, He was highly influenced by his mother Hamida Banu and his milk mother's Jiji Anga amp Maham Anga,
Noor Jahan, a widow and a mother became the 'Light of the World' and Jahangir's last and favourite wife, ShahJahan's love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal influenced him to build TajMahal, Jahanara, ShahJahan's favourite child became Padshah Begum at the age of,
An exceptional masterpiece!!
I loved it so much that i didn't want it to end!!
Definitely must read for all history lovers.
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