Book: Empire Of The Moghul: Ruler Of The World
Author: Alex Rutherford
Hachette
402 pages
Rs495
Akbar is considered the greatest Mughal emperor. But the best men have their flaws. The third installment of the Empire Of The Moghul series, Ruler Of The World, does a great job of portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of Akbar, but falls short of explaining why these flaws existed.
The first half of the book describes Akbar’s early campaigns. From defeating Hemu of the Suri dynasty barely 10 months after ascending the throne at the age of 14, to the quelling of the Shah Daud rebellion in faraway Bengal in, you see how Akbar develops as a warrior, a strategist and an emperor. And then those very qualities draw him apart from his eldest son, Salim (Jehangir).
For example, Akbar starts participating in war councils when he is barely a teenager. His experiences make him a decisive leader. He expects his son to be the same. On one occasion, when he has invited Jesuit priests to his court, he asks the young Salim what he thinks of them.
When Salim fumbles, Akbar responds, “You must have some opinion... After all, why did you come to see the priests?” His father’s legacy weighs heavily upon Salim and Akbar’s high expectation only makes him more awkward.
The second half of the book deals entirely with the father-son relationship, and is written from Salim’s point-of-view. Akbar comes across as a father who underestimates his son’s capabilities.
For instance, Akbar grasps the importance of Babur’s words: ‘War and booty keep men true... Be generous to your supporters. If they know they have more to gain from you than from anyone else they will stay loyal.”
Yet, he denies his son the same opportunity when he refuses to let him participate in war councils and denies him governorship of provinces. His unilateral decision to bring up Salim’s youngest son Khurram (who later takes the title ‘Shah Jahan’) plants a doubt in Salim’s mind that his father might choose his grandsons over him as emperor.
While narrating the story from Salim’s point-of-view does turn the focus on the mistakes Akbar made, it does little to explain why a great emperor would alienate his successor and put the future of the empire in jeopardy. This makes an otherwise great book less than satisfying.
Salim is the hero of the second half. While his actions do insult and hurt Akbar — sleeping with Anarkali, Akbar’s favourite concubine, drinking opium, or killing Abu Fazl, Akbar’s confidante — you empathise with Salim, who, despite everything else, continues to love his father. Akbar finally does choose Salim as his successor.
But his actions have planted the seed of ambition in his grandson, Salim’s first son, Khusrau, who rebels soon after Akbar’s death. It’s a racy end and sets the stage for the fourth book of this series.
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