0:00

What can be written of the purity of the

0:02

canal or of the greenery

0:04

and the plant that sprout below the spring?

0:07

Bitter herbs, aromatic herbs,

0:10

various dark green and pale

0:12

green herbs all grow together.

0:16

One bush that was seen was as multicolored

0:18

as a peacock's tail and shimmering

0:21

like wavy water with isolated flowers

0:23

blooming here and there.

0:26

In all of Kashmir there is no

0:28

scenic spot still beautiful or charming

0:31

as this one. It is obvious

0:33

that Kashmir above the river is beyond

0:36

any comparison with what is below the

0:38

river. I should really have

0:41

stayed in this area for a few days

0:43

and enjoyed myself fully, but

0:46

since the hour for marching was near and

0:48

it had begun to snow in the passes

0:50

and there was no time to stop, I

0:53

turned my reins back toward the city.

0:56

It was ordered that plain trees should be

0:58

planted on both sides of the canal.

1:01

Emperor Jahangir.

1:03

Jahangir Nama.

1:16

As-salamu alaykum. Welcome back to season 9

1:19

of the Islamic History Podcast. This

1:21

season we are continuing our

1:23

discussion on the Mughal Empire. This

1:27

is episode

1:29

9-5 Shah Jahan's Rise. Just

1:32

like the Ottoman Empire, fratricide

1:35

in the Mughal Empire was a grim

1:37

and recurring theme within the royal family.

1:41

Fratricide means the killing of one's

1:43

brothers or siblings. In the

1:45

Mughal Empire, when an emperor

1:47

died, a power struggle ensued

1:50

amongst his sons, culminating in

1:52

a battle for the throne. The

1:55

victor usually ordered the execution

1:57

of his remaining brothers in an attempt

1:59

to eliminate future rivals. Such

2:02

fratricides were driven by political

2:05

necessity as they aimed to maintain

2:07

stability and consolidate power.

2:10

However, over many generations,

2:12

such ruthless behavior contributed

2:15

to the weakening of the Mughal Empire.

2:19

Fratricide became a part of the Mughal tradition during

2:22

the rise of Emperor Jahan Geer's son

2:24

and successor Shah Jahan.

2:27

Jahan

2:30

Geer's Death With

2:35

General Mahabad Khan and Prince

2:37

Khotem in the decade, Noor Jahan,

2:40

the wife of Emperor Jahan Geer, was

2:42

back to running the empire. Her

2:45

brother, Asav Khan, was made

2:47

the vakil, our prime minister,

2:50

which was the same position their father had

2:52

once had. But Asav Khan

2:54

had much less authority as Noor

2:56

Jahan was the real one in

2:58

charge. Emperor Jahan Geer,

3:00

meanwhile, was steadily growing sicker and

3:03

he was not getting any better. The

3:05

struggles of the past few years, him

3:07

dealing with Prince Khotem's rebellion and

3:10

then Mahabad Khan's rebellion, had

3:12

taken a toll on his life and energy.

3:15

Emperor Jahan Geer was also impaired by his

3:18

heavy alcohol and opium consumption.

3:21

On top of that, his asthma continued

3:23

to worsen. To try to

3:25

improve his health, the emperor decided

3:28

to move to Kashmir and

3:30

in one of his poems, he had described

3:32

Kashmir as heaven on earth.

3:35

But despite his move to Kashmir, his

3:38

condition continued to worsen and

3:40

Emperor Jahan Geer wound up dying

3:42

right there in Kashmir on

3:45

October 28th, 1627. His body was moved to Lahore

3:49

where he was buried and his tomb is

3:51

still there to this day. Jahan

3:55

Geer's legacy Jahan

3:58

Geer had a love for Kashmir. for art. During

4:01

his reign, the famous Mughal

4:03

miniature art was developed in India.

4:07

Emperor Jahangir also collected art

4:09

from around the world and he especially

4:11

adored English paintings. His

4:14

autobiography, the Jahangir

4:16

Nama, included illustrations of

4:18

plants and animals that were very

4:21

scientifically observant in many ways.

4:24

Furthermore, the Mughal empire

4:26

was very successful during Jahangir's

4:29

reign. Jahangir's empire

4:31

was doing very well at the time of his death

4:33

and there had been very little internal strife

4:36

with the exception of the rebellions from his two

4:38

sons, Khusro and then later

4:41

on Khurram. And with the

4:43

capitulation of the Deccan, all

4:45

Mughal enemies had been beaten or

4:47

subdued. The Mughal empire

4:50

was very wealthy, very prosperous

4:52

and stable. There was general

4:55

peace and rule of law which kept the

4:57

populace happy and satisfied.

4:59

However, if we're honest,

5:02

much of this stability was really due to

5:04

the policies and the rule of Akbar the Great. Shahabuddin

5:14

Mohammed Shah Jahan Jahangir

5:18

left behind two sons when he died, both

5:21

of them claimed the throne. These

5:23

were Prince Shahriyar and Prince

5:25

Khurram. Their older brother,

5:28

Prince Paves, had died a year earlier.

5:31

Prince Shahriyar was supported by his mother-in-law,

5:34

Nuh Jahan, who was also

5:37

the emperor's wife. Prince

5:39

Shahriyar also held a stronger position

5:42

since he was in Lahore where the treasury

5:44

and the royal court were located. After

5:47

his father's death, Prince Shahriyar

5:49

seized the treasury and declared himself

5:51

emperor. Meanwhile,

5:54

Prince Khurram, way off in the Deccan,

5:56

was supported by his father-in-law, Asaf

5:59

Khan, and General Mahabad Khan.

6:02

However, since he was so far away

6:04

in the Deccan and outside Mughal

6:06

territory, there was very little he could

6:08

do to stop Prince Shahiriar. And

6:11

that's where Asaf Khan came into play. With

6:13

Shahiriar and Lahore, Asaf

6:16

Khan placed Quram's older

6:18

brother Khusro's son Dawar

6:20

Bakhsh on the throne in Agra.

6:23

But this was only temporary. This

6:25

was only to counter Prince Shahiriar's

6:27

claim to the throne and give Prince

6:30

Quram time to move north. Asaf

6:32

Khan also took charge of Quram's sons

6:35

Dada Sheikho and Daraangzeb.

6:37

And then he put his sister Nojah Khan

6:40

in prison. The following

6:42

year was very brutal as both sons

6:45

fought for the throne. Asaf Khan,

6:47

Prince Quram's father-in-law, led

6:49

an army to Lahore to face Shahiriar.

6:53

There he defeated Shahiriar's forces,

6:55

captured Prince Shahiriar, had

6:57

him blinded, and thrown in prison.

7:00

With Lahore now under his command, Asaf

7:03

Khan declared Prince Quram, who was still

7:05

in the Deccan, as the new emperor

7:07

on December 30th, 1627. Prince Quram finally

7:09

arrived in Agra on February

7:14

24th, 1628 to

7:16

take the throne. He then

7:19

promptly ordered all rival claimants

7:21

to the throne to be executed. This

7:23

included the temporary emperor, Dawar

7:26

Baksh, though there are some reports that

7:28

he managed to escape to Persia. Another

7:31

victim of Prince Quram's fratricide

7:33

was the now blind Prince Shahiriar.

7:37

He also executed the princes Tamaras

7:39

and Hoshang, who were sons of Prince

7:42

Quram's deceased uncle, Danyal.

7:45

This was the beginning of a vicious

7:48

cycle of fratricide that would plague the

7:50

Mughals for generations. Prince

7:52

Quram was officially coronated on February

7:56

6th, 1628. He took the regal

7:59

name Shahrjah. Shah Jahan, which means

8:01

King of the World. His full

8:04

imperial name was Abul Muzaffar

8:06

Shahabuddin Mohammed Sahib Karani

8:09

Sani Shah Jahan Bal Shahgazi.

8:13

Shah Jahan's wife, Ajmar

8:15

Bano, took the regal name Mumtaz

8:18

Mahal, which means chosen

8:20

one of the palace. The

8:22

emperor was also united with his two sons,

8:25

Dara Shiko and Aurangzeb. In

8:27

the previous episode, we had mentioned how

8:29

his two sons were held as hostages by

8:32

Jahan Gir after Prince Khutem was

8:34

parted for his rebellion. As

8:37

per Islamic tradition, the Khutbas

8:39

were read in Shah Jahan's name and

8:42

coins were struck with his name. He

8:44

then promoted Asaf Khan to Chief Minister

8:47

and Mahabhar Khan became General of the

8:49

Imperial Army. Now that he was

8:52

emperor, Shah Jahan brought back

8:54

some of the Islamic elements of the empire

8:56

that had gone lax during Akbar's reign.

9:01

For instance, he abolished the practice

9:03

of prostrating before the emperor. This

9:05

had first been established by his grandfather,

9:08

Akbar the Great. However,

9:11

he replaced the practice of prostrating

9:13

to the emperor with kissing the ground

9:16

before the emperor, which, if we

9:18

think about it, was still a form of prostration.

9:21

However, religious scholars were exempt

9:23

from this requirement. Shah Jahan

9:25

also returned to the lunar calendar. We

9:28

discussed in the first episode of this series

9:30

how Akbar the Great had switched to the

9:32

solar calendar to align tax

9:35

collections with harvest time. A

9:37

few years after this, Shah Jahan

9:40

would also order the destruction of all

9:42

new Hindu temples and a few

9:44

Christian churches were destroyed as well.

9:46

Now listen to this quote

9:49

about some of the religious changes Shah Jahan

9:51

introduced. It is important to keep

9:53

in mind, however, that this is a biased

9:56

account from a western author who

9:58

likely holds a secular, or at least

10:01

a non-religious worldview. It

10:05

is reported that in the district of Benares

10:07

alone, seventy-six Hindu

10:10

temples were thus razed to the ground.

10:12

Similarly, several Christian churches

10:15

in Agra and other parts of the empire

10:17

were demolished. In the same

10:19

vein, Shah Jahan reintroduced

10:22

the taxes on Hindu pilgrimages and ordered

10:24

Hindus to keep a specific style

10:26

of dress, with their tunics tied

10:28

on the left, as opposed to the Muslims,

10:31

who tied them on the right. While

10:33

actively encouraging conversions to Islam,

10:36

he strictly prohibited Muslims from changing

10:38

their religion. Hindu men

10:41

were forced to convert to Islam if they wanted

10:43

to marry a Muslim woman. Adults

10:46

male enemies, such as the Rajpuz

10:48

of Bundalkhand, the name given to

10:50

the parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh,

10:53

and the Portuguese at Hugli, about

10:55

forty kilometers north of Kolkata

10:58

in West Bengal, were offered a choice

11:00

between Islam and the sword,

11:03

their collier, the

11:05

Mughals, and their India. We'll

11:08

talk more about that Portuguese

11:10

incident later on in this episode.

11:17

Just like Jahangir, Akbar,

11:20

and Humayun before him, Emperor

11:22

Shah Jahan had to deal with the various

11:25

rebellions that sprouted up soon after

11:27

he became emperor. One of the first

11:30

to revolt was a man named Johar

11:32

Singh of Bundalkhand. Johar

11:34

Singh was the son of Birsing Dio,

11:37

who had killed Akbar's advisor,

11:40

Abun Fadum, back when Jahangir

11:42

was still known as Prince Saleem. To

11:45

know more about this incident, go back

11:47

to episode 9-1. Jahahan

11:50

sent armies led by some of his best

11:52

generals including Islam Khan, Faroes,

11:55

and Mahabhat Khan. These three

11:58

generals attacked from three different sizes.

12:00

organized, forcing Johar Singh

12:02

to surrender after a brief battle. Johar

12:05

Singh then was ordered to pay heavy

12:07

reparations. These included 1.5

12:09

million rupees, 1000 gold coins, and 40 elephants.

12:15

He also had to contribute 2000 men

12:18

to the Mughal army. However, Johar

12:20

Singh himself was rewarded with titles

12:23

and honors in order to maintain his loyalty.

12:26

The next one to revolt was Salabat

12:28

Khan, who rose up against Shah Jahan

12:30

in 1629. Salabat Khan

12:33

is better known as Khan Jahan Lodi.

12:36

Khan Jahan Lodi had fought against

12:38

Emperor Shah Jahan during the wars of succession.

12:42

He was later pardoned but ordered to

12:44

remain in the royal court in Agra. Khan

12:47

Jahan Lodi escaped the royal court

12:49

but was caught at Dolapur by Imperial

12:51

soldiers. This was about 300 miles

12:54

east of Agra in a modern state of Uttar

12:56

Pradesh. Khan Jahan Lodi

12:58

escaped yet again, this time

13:00

by crossing the Chambal River Valley. He

13:03

fled south through Bundakhand and Gondwana,

13:06

finally reaching the Deccan where he was given

13:08

refuge. However, this

13:10

brought the Imperial army down to the Deccan.

13:13

Shah Jahan traveled down to Malwa in

13:15

modern Madhya Pradesh in order to oversee

13:18

the campaign in the Deccan. In 1630, Imperial

13:22

forces attacked the Sultanate of Ahmed

13:24

Nagar for supporting the rebel Salabat

13:26

Khan. This was actually a

13:28

perfect opportunity for the Mughals to take

13:30

Ahmed Nagar as the Ahmed Nagar

13:33

Sultanate was under a lot of strain. The

13:35

Ahmed Nagar Sultan, Morteza Nizam,

13:38

had developed serious conflicts with Fachik

13:40

Khan who was the son of the illustrious

13:43

Malik Ambar. In addition to

13:45

the problems with Fachik Khan, Shahaji,

13:48

a former Maratha lieutenant of Malik

13:50

Ambar, had left Ahmed Nagar

13:52

after Malik Ambar's death in 1626. Shahaji was

13:54

the son of Maloji

13:58

who was also one of Malik Ambar's brothers. lieutenants.

14:01

Shahaji was also the father of Chhatrapati

14:04

Shivaji, who was the founder of

14:06

the Murata empire. After

14:08

leaving the Ahmed Nagar Sultanate, Shahaji

14:11

went to serve the Bijapur Sultanate,

14:13

but he returned to Ahmed Nagar in 1628

14:16

and joined the army again. In 1630, however,

14:20

factional politics in the Ahmed Nagar

14:23

court led to the murder of

14:25

several of Shahaji's end laws

14:27

and patrons. Shahaji

14:29

then decided to defect to the Mughals and

14:32

brought along his 2000 strong cavalry.

14:35

The Mughals sent Shahaji to occupy

14:37

Jernar and Samghamner and later

14:39

on gave him these districts as jaggers.

14:42

With all of this pressure, the Ahmed Nagar

14:44

Sultanate eventually negotiated a peace

14:46

treaty with the Mughals. With this

14:48

peace treaty, the rebel, Khan

14:50

Jahan Lodi was forced to go on the

14:53

run again. He was eventually

14:55

killed in 1632 at the Battle

14:57

of Kalangar and Madr-U-Tarpadesh

15:00

barely 40 miles from Agra.

15:03

Mumtaz Mahal Shah

15:07

Jahan married Mumtaz Mahal in 1612

15:09

when she was 19 years

15:12

old and he was 20 years old and

15:14

still known as Prince Khotam. Mumtaz

15:17

Mahal was a daughter of Asav Khan

15:19

and the niece of Nozahan. And

15:22

just like her famous aunt, Nozahan,

15:25

Mumtaz Mahal was very close to her

15:27

husband Shah Jahan. She

15:29

remained faithfully by his side during

15:31

his fugitive years when the Imperial Army

15:34

was chasing him all over India. And

15:36

together, they had 14 children.

15:39

Their first son, Dara Shikol,

15:42

was born in 1615. Their first son and future

15:46

Emperor Aurangzeb was born

15:48

on October 23rd, 1618. Mumtaz

15:52

Mahal accompanied Shah Jahan to the

15:54

decadent 1631 when

15:56

he was dealing with Salabat Khan or

15:59

Shah Jahan Lodi. Lodi's rebellion. While

16:02

she was there, she died during the birth

16:04

of their 14th child. Ch'an

16:07

Jahan loved his wife and was

16:09

deeply hurt by her passing. To

16:12

memorialize her, he decided to

16:14

build a grand mausoleum for his queen.

16:17

The result was the Taj Mahal,

16:19

which means Crown Palace.

16:23

The Taj Mahal is still a major

16:25

tourist attraction all these years later

16:27

and it is a symbol of the great

16:30

love between Ch'an Jahan and

16:32

Mumtaz Mahal. The

16:34

Taj Mahal Known

16:37

as the Taj today, the

16:40

Taj Mahal is considered the greatest

16:42

achievement of Mughal architecture. Work

16:46

on the mausoleum began in 1632

16:49

and the building was complete enough in 1643 to hold a

16:53

memorial service for Mumtaz Mahal.

16:56

By 1648, most

16:58

of the work on the main building was complete

17:01

but there was still some work to be done on

17:03

the other buildings in the complex. Some

17:05

of these buildings were not completed until 1653. The

17:09

Taj Mahal was built on the shores of

17:11

the Jumna or Yamuna River

17:14

in Agra. It was right across

17:16

from the royal household where Ch'an Jahan

17:18

could see it from his bedroom. The

17:20

Taj Mahal holds a perfect north-south

17:23

orientation meaning it always

17:25

has abundant sunlight. It

17:28

also means that walking to it, any

17:31

visitors would not have to shave their eyes

17:33

from the sun. Mumtaz Mahal

17:35

is buried exactly in the middle of

17:37

the Taj Mahal with her head pointed

17:40

north and her face pointed west

17:42

towards Mecca. Ch'an Jahan,

17:44

the emperor, was deeply involved

17:47

in the planning process of the Taj Mahal. He

17:49

had a natural appreciation for beauty

17:52

and was well acquainted with things that

17:54

were pleasing to the eye. The Taj

17:56

Mahal is situated on a raised plinth

17:59

or base of the city. about 23 feet high.

18:02

It is constructed from white marble which

18:04

reflects different shades under sunlight

18:06

and moonlight. There are also

18:09

four minarets, one at each corner

18:11

of the square base. All four

18:13

sides of the mausoleum itself are identical.

18:16

Each facade of the mausoleum is adorned

18:19

with central arches reaching 108 feet

18:22

in height. The grand central

18:24

dome is 240 feet high

18:27

and crowned with a finial. The

18:29

central dome is also surrounded by four

18:31

smaller domes. Inside

18:33

of the Taj Mahal is an octagonal

18:36

chamber with intricate carvings and semi-precious

18:39

stones. This chamber houses

18:41

the synataphs of Mumtaz Mahal and

18:43

Shah Jahan. A synataph

18:46

is a full sarcophagus representing

18:48

someone who is buried somewhere else. The

18:51

actual sarcophagi for Mumtaz Mahal

18:54

and Shah Jahan are located on

18:56

the lower level of the Taj Mahal. The

19:00

Architect King Shah

19:03

Jahan spent hefty amounts of

19:05

money on various building projects

19:07

and for this reason he is considered

19:11

a builder king. He built

19:13

spectacular new buildings but

19:15

he also spent large amounts of money

19:17

to have existing buildings repaired

19:20

and improved. These

19:22

improvements initiated by Shah Jahan

19:25

were obviously very effective as

19:27

many of these buildings still exist today.

19:30

It should be known however that most

19:32

of these buildings were designed for the royal

19:35

family and for the nobility to

19:37

enjoy. Besides the Taj Mahal

19:40

Shah Jahan built many buildings

19:42

during his reign. Of course

19:44

he built himself several marble palaces

19:47

in the major cities of the empire including

19:49

Agra, Delhi and Lahore.

19:52

And when he relocated his capital to

19:54

Delhi in 1648 he

19:56

built a new city called Shah Jahan

19:59

which today is the known as Old Delhi. Between

20:02

this new city, that is Shah Jahan

20:04

Bad, and the Jumna River, Shah

20:07

Jahan built a large red sandstone

20:09

fort called the Red Fort. The

20:12

Red Fort is still used by the

20:14

Indian government today for important

20:16

events. Another thing about the Red

20:18

Fort is that the last Mughal emperor

20:20

was taken captive there by the British

20:23

and later exiled to Burma. Another

20:25

significant building project by Shah

20:28

Jahan was the Shalimar Gardens

20:30

in Lahore. The Shalimar

20:32

Gardens included seven terraces

20:35

with water flowing through each of them. Each

20:38

terrace had pavilions for royalty to

20:40

relax and enjoy and it also

20:42

included a walled garden for privacy

20:45

as well as a marble throne. The

20:47

Shalimar Gardens still exist today and

20:50

is used for special occasions and concerts.

20:53

Shah Jahan also ordered the construction

20:56

of the Jumma Masjid in Delhi. It

20:58

is still in use today and is one of the

21:01

largest mosques in India. The

21:04

Peacock Throne Another

21:06

interesting building project from

21:08

Shah Jahan was this magnificent

21:11

throne that he had built that became

21:14

known as the Peacock Throne. The

21:16

Peacock Throne was modeled after

21:19

what Shah Jahan thought Prophet

21:21

Salaman, Alayhi Salam's throne might have

21:23

looked like. The throne was called

21:25

the Peacock Throne because of the bejeweled

21:28

peacock statues on the throne sides.

21:30

This throne was ornate and

21:32

extravagantly designed. It was

21:35

covered in gold and jewels.

21:37

It was set on a marble pedestal

21:40

and had silver steps leading up to

21:42

it. It also had golden

21:44

feet encrusted with jewels. And

21:47

the Peacock statues which the throne

21:49

was named after had open tails

21:51

that were covered in gold and decorated

21:54

with diamonds and other precious stones.

21:57

It took seven years to complete

21:59

this throne. throne and obviously used

22:02

large amounts of gold and precious

22:04

stones in its construction. This

22:06

peacock throne was extravagant

22:09

even by Mughal standards and that's

22:11

saying a lot. Ironically,

22:14

the peacock throne was eventually carried

22:16

away by Nader Shah of Persia when he

22:18

invaded Delhi and in Shah Allah

22:21

we will discuss that in a future episode.

22:25

Dealing with his subjects Shah

22:28

Jahan used to meet his subjects at Diwani

22:31

Naam located in the Red Fort.

22:33

Diwani Naam means Hall of Public

22:36

Audience and this is where the emperor

22:38

would listen to appeals and pass judgments.

22:41

From there he would go to Diwani Kas

22:43

which means the Hall of Audience for

22:45

Special People. There he would take

22:47

his time to meet with courtiers, nobles,

22:50

ambassadors and other important visitors.

22:54

From there Shah Jahan would relocate

22:56

to Shah Burs the Royal Tower

22:58

where he would meet with his closest advisors

23:01

to discuss matters of state. Finally

23:04

he would retire to his harem where he would

23:06

take lunch before holding court for

23:08

the women of the harem. The

23:11

EIC and VOC. In 1602

23:16

the various Dutch trading companies

23:19

merged into one large company.

23:21

I'm going to try to get this pronunciation

23:23

correct. It was called Verinigda

23:27

Ostendische Compagnie or

23:29

the Dutch East India Company or

23:31

simply VOC for short. The

23:33

VOC had much more capital

23:36

than the individual companies and could

23:38

offer investors a much higher rate of

23:40

return. Meanwhile

23:42

the EIC, the British East

23:45

India Company was having trouble raising

23:47

more funds. They even had to

23:49

issue arrest warrants to pressure investors

23:52

who had pledged to pay but had

23:54

not yet paid. The

23:56

English would continue to have difficulties

23:58

raising funds for many more years. years. Part

24:01

of the problem for the English was that there was

24:03

much more interest in the new American

24:06

colony of Virginia than there was

24:08

in the East Indies. The

24:10

EIC suffered a setback when

24:12

the Dutch attacked their factory, which

24:14

was really a trading station in

24:16

the Malucas. The Malucas

24:18

are Indonesian islands off the coast

24:20

of Papua New Guinea. After defeating

24:23

the English in the Malucas, the Dutch also

24:25

tortured and killed several

24:28

Englishmen working at the factory. The

24:30

Dutch continued to harass and undermine

24:33

the EIC's ventures in Indonesia

24:36

until finally the East India

24:38

Company decided to leave the Dutch with Indonesia

24:41

and seek their fortunes elsewhere. This

24:44

is what led Captain William Hawkins to seek

24:46

an audience with Jahangir in 1608,

24:49

which we discussed in Episode 3 of this

24:51

series. This meeting between

24:54

William Hawkins and Emperor Jahangir

24:56

led to a three-year license from

24:59

the Mughals which allowed the EIC

25:01

to operate from Surat. This

25:03

was the beginning of the EIC's

25:06

long relationship with the Mughals and

25:08

with India. Unlike the Portuguese,

25:11

the English East India Company was

25:13

not violent in its early endeavors

25:15

in India. The English knew

25:17

it was pointless to start an armed conflict

25:20

with the Mughals. Even though

25:22

the Mughals didn't have a good navy,

25:24

they had an enormous land

25:26

army that could easily crush

25:29

any English military. During

25:31

these early years, the EIC

25:34

was very careful to respect Mughal

25:36

laws and avoided angering their

25:38

hosts. In addition to

25:40

the Mughals, the EIC also

25:42

opened trade talk with two other Indian

25:45

states. These were the Deccan

25:47

Sultanate of Golconda, which they

25:49

used for trading fabrics, as well as Patna,

25:52

which they used for trading saltpeter, which

25:54

was itself used to make gunpowder. Over

25:57

the years, the EIC evolved.

27:27

This

28:01

time the settlement, soon known simply

28:03

as Madras, flourished. The

28:05

Naik, or governor, who leased

28:08

the land, said he was anxious for the

28:10

area to flourish and grow rich, and

28:12

had given Day the right to build a fort

28:14

and castle, to trade customs

28:17

free, and to perpetually enjoy

28:19

the privileges of Mintich. These

28:21

were major concessions that the more powerful

28:24

Mughals to the north would take nearly

28:26

another century to yield. William

28:30

Dalrymple, the anarchy, the

28:32

relentless rise of the East India

28:35

Company.

28:37

War with the Portuguese The

28:41

Portuguese had already established trading

28:43

bases in Surat and Gujarat. When

28:46

he was emperor, Akbar the Great

28:48

was genuinely interested in establishing

28:51

and maintaining ties with the Portuguese.

28:53

He had even invited some of their priests

28:56

to the palace when he invaded Gujarat in 1572.

29:00

All of this was discussed in the previous

29:02

season in episode 15. The

29:06

Portuguese also had another settlement

29:08

in Hugli which was established in 1537. Hugli

29:12

is near modern day Calcutta in west

29:15

Bengal India and sits on the

29:17

Bagarati River which flows south

29:19

into the Bay of Bengal. Now,

29:22

even though they were supposed to be there for

29:24

trade, the Portuguese had become very

29:27

aggressive. Their factories

29:29

in Hugli were heavily fortified. They

29:31

attacked and taxed other

29:34

ships passing through the area. They

29:36

had even captured local people and

29:39

forced them into slavery and have forcibly

29:41

converted some of the locals to Christianity.

29:46

For all their faults, the Mughal

29:48

government never had

29:51

a policy of forcibly converting

29:53

their subjects to Islam. But

29:55

what really did the Portuguese in was

29:58

that they did not pay homage to Shah Shah

30:00

Jahan when he became emperor. Back

30:03

before he became emperor, when he was

30:05

the rebel prince kotam and he was running throughout

30:07

India, the Portuguese did not

30:10

offer him any help. We discussed

30:12

this in a previous episode. But

30:14

now that Shah Jahan was the emperor and

30:16

the Portuguese still did not send him

30:19

any gifts, well this was too much for Shah

30:21

Jahan. With all of their other

30:23

transgressions, this was an insult

30:26

that Shah Jahan just could not let

30:28

slide. In 1632,

30:30

Emperor Shah Jahan ordered Qasim

30:32

Khan, the governor of Bengal, to

30:35

expel the Portuguese.

30:37

Qasim Khan used a boom to block the

30:39

Portuguese from escaping down the river and

30:41

then he besieged their fortress for

30:44

three months. He set

30:46

mines underneath the fort and when one

30:48

of them went off, it killed several Portuguese.

30:52

The fort fell to the Mughal forces and

30:54

thousands of Portuguese were killed in the

30:56

fighting, somewhere between 4000 and 10,000. All

31:00

of the Indian slaves were being held captive

31:03

within the fort were set free and

31:05

the Portuguese survivors were forced

31:07

to march back to Agra which was an 11

31:09

month journey.

31:12

The Portuguese were brought before Shah Jahan

31:15

who gave them the opportunity to accept the

31:17

slam. Most of them refused

31:20

and they were promptly enslaved and given

31:22

to the various Mughal nobles. However,

31:25

some of the worst Portuguese offenders

31:28

were thrown into prison and tortured

31:30

to death. As for the Portuguese

31:32

settlements in the west and Goa

31:35

and Diu, they couldn't do anything.

31:37

They were completely powerless

31:39

to help their comrades in the east. From

31:42

that point forward, the Portuguese

31:44

were never a real threat to the Mughals.

31:47

In 1640, the East India

31:50

Company was allowed to establish a new

31:52

factory for the English and the Hukli.

31:55

All things considered, these first four

31:57

years of Shah Jahan's reign from 1640

31:59

to 1640, 1628 to 1632 were fairly easy. But his ambition

32:01

would lead him to extend himself further than

32:09

he probably should have. In the next

32:11

episode, we'll discuss Shah

32:13

Jahan's attempts to expand into Central

32:16

Asia and the Deccan and the breakdown

32:18

of his relationship with his son and

32:21

future emperor, Arangzeb.

32:27

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33:41

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33:44

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33:49

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi

33:53

wa barakatuh.

34:05

We fought the DRA and Soviets for

34:08

control of the Kunar Valley. The

34:10

area borders Pakistan and is very mountainous

34:13

and forested. Many of the

34:15

mountains are over 5000 meters

34:17

high and are permanently snow-capped. We

34:20

operated in the Siwat district along

34:22

the Kunar River. There, the

34:25

mountains are not as high and the key

34:27

terrain feature is the Kunar River and the

34:29

highway which parallels it. In

34:32

September 1982, we ambushed

34:34

a supply column which was traveling from

34:37

Jalalaba to Kunar. The

34:39

column was about 8 kilometers in length.

34:43

I had 22 Mujahideen armed

34:45

with two RPG-7s, four

34:47

AK-47 Kalishnikovs

34:50

and 16 bolt-action Enfield

34:52

rifles. I set

34:54

up the ambush on the high ground north of the

34:56

Kunar River at Kande. I

34:59

divided my force into a support group

35:01

and an ambush and attack group. The

35:04

support group was on the high ground

35:06

while the ambush and attack group was below

35:08

them next to the road. When

35:11

the column came, we let it pass. I

35:14

wanted to attack near the end of the column.

35:17

As the head of the column reached Ziraibaba,

35:20

which is 6 kilometers northeast of Kande,

35:22

a contact signaled us. We

35:25

then opened the fire on the column with our

35:27

RPGs. An armored vehicle

35:29

turned off and left the road to fire at us.

35:32

It hit an anti-take mine that we had

35:35

planted there. We also hit

35:37

it with RPG-7 fire. We

35:39

also hit a ZIL truck. Our

35:42

action split the convoy. Half

35:45

of the convoy went on to Kunar and

35:47

the rest returned to Jalalabad. We

35:50

didn't have enough firepower to continue

35:52

the fight so we withdrew. Besides

35:55

taking out the armored vehicle and truck,

35:57

we killed 6 enemy. I

35:59

had one. one Mujahideen wanted.

36:30

An irregular group of 5 to 7 men

36:32

began long-range small arms fire

36:35

on our forces and then withdrew

36:37

to the northeast. Our subunits

36:39

went in pursuit of them. At 1600

36:42

hours, the second air assault

36:44

company commanded by senior

36:47

lieutenant Doibey made contact

36:49

with approximately 40 Mujahideen.

36:52

The enemy was deployed in a well-organized

36:55

defense occupying about a kilometer

36:57

of frontage. The battalion commander

36:59

ordered the right flank first

37:01

air assault company to envelop

37:04

from the right the enemy force

37:06

which is defending in front of the second

37:09

company. Block the enemy

37:11

route of withdrawal to the northeast.

37:13

Prepare to destroy the enemy in concert

37:16

with the second company. I was

37:18

a senior lieutenant at the time and commanded

37:20

the first air assault company. It

37:23

took me a half hour to form up

37:25

my platoons and begin the maneuver.

37:27

During this time, the second company

37:30

sustained casualties but the enemy

37:33

began to withdraw. By 1700 hours,

37:36

I had maneuvered my platoons into blocking

37:39

positions covering a Mujahideen

37:41

breakout to the northeast. I

37:43

personally positioned each platoon

37:46

behind adobe walls working

37:48

consecutively from the northeast

37:51

to the north. When I finished positioning

37:54

my forces, my command post

37:56

element and I were at the extreme

37:59

right flank of my platoons. I had

38:01

seven soldiers, including myself,

38:03

in the command group. Before I could

38:06

reposition, approximately 70 enemy

38:08

soldiers approached my command post. My

38:11

six soldiers and I took the enemy

38:13

under fire. At that point,

38:16

I lost radio communications with both

38:18

battalion headquarters and my

38:20

subordinate platoons. However,

38:23

I still had radio

38:25

contact with brigade headquarters. The

38:27

brigade commander demanded the

38:30

exact coordinates of my position in

38:32

order to call in artillery fire. However,

38:35

I was unable to determine

38:37

my precise location. I could

38:39

only give an approximate location, which

38:41

I felt would be accurate to within 50 meters.

38:45

The artillery refused to shoot the

38:47

mission without more precise data.

38:50

The enemy force attacked three times.

38:53

During the third assault, the command

38:55

post was running out of ammunition. Each

38:58

member of the command group, at my direction,

39:00

simultaneously threw a grenade and

39:03

broke contact with the enemy, and

39:05

withdrew to the first platoon position.

39:08

Even when we had joined forces

39:10

with the first platoon, we did not

39:12

pursue the enemy, because of his clear

39:14

numerical superiority. Enemy

39:17

losses were 20 killed. My

39:19

company had no casualties. Lieutenant

39:22

Colonel S. V. Zelensky, First

39:25

Air Assault Company.