Paperback : $56.08
By the 1660s, the mighty Mughal Empire controlled the Indian subcontinent and impressed the world with its strength and opulence. Yet hardly two decades would pass before fortunes would turn, Mughal kings and governors losing influence to rival warlords and foreign powers. How could leaders of one of the most dominant early modern polities lose their grip over empire? Sudev Sheth proposes a new point of departure, focusing on diverse local and hitherto unexplored evidence about a prominent financier family entrenched in bankrolling Mughal elites and their successors. Analyzing how four generations of the Jhaveri family of Gujarat financed politics, he offers a fresh take on the dissolution of the Mughal empire, the birth of princely successor states, and the nature of economic life in the days leading up to the colonial domination of India.
By the 1660s, the mighty Mughal Empire controlled the Indian subcontinent and impressed the world with its strength and opulence. Yet hardly two decades would pass before fortunes would turn, Mughal kings and governors losing influence to rival warlords and foreign powers. How could leaders of one of the most dominant early modern polities lose their grip over empire? Sudev Sheth proposes a new point of departure, focusing on diverse local and hitherto unexplored evidence about a prominent financier family entrenched in bankrolling Mughal elites and their successors. Analyzing how four generations of the Jhaveri family of Gujarat financed politics, he offers a fresh take on the dissolution of the Mughal empire, the birth of princely successor states, and the nature of economic life in the days leading up to the colonial domination of India.
Introduction; 1. Prelude: The Mughal Empire, 1526–1750; 2. Courtly mutualism: the emperor's jeweler Shantidas Jhaveri, 1628–1658; 3. Political commensalism: Manekchand Jhaveri and bankrolling bids to the throne, 1658–1707; 4. Interlude: cultivating financial crisis under Aurangzeb, 1660s–1719; 5. Expedient extortion: the governor's golden goose Khushalchand Jhaveri, 1719–1730; 6. Competitive coparcenary: Vakhatchand Jhaveri and brokering politics, 1730–1818; 7. Postlude: Bankrollers of Mughal succession, 1750–1818; Conclusion; Appendices; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.
Sudev Sheth explores how a Gujarati family of jewelers became unwitting partners in the collapse of the Mughal Empire.
Sudev Sheth is Senior Lecturer in History at the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches across the School of Arts & Sciences and the Wharton School.
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
