49
Vijay Singh, Raja of Jodhpur, was left to fend for himself after his army deserted him.
… The Kingdom of Marwar in Jodhpur (now in Rajasthan, northwest India) was noted for insubordination towards the fading Mughal Emperors …
The Kingdom of Marwar in Jodhpur (now in Rajasthan, northwest India) was noted for insubordination towards the fading Mughal Emperors, but in the 1750s it fell under the control of the Maratha to the south, paying a high price for their help in resolving a tangled dispute over the crown.
Picture: © Piyashi Ghosh, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted October 31 2018
50
A harassed mother Raven vows bloody revenge on a venomous Snake, but the wily old Jackal has a better idea.
The Fables of Bidpai are morality tales similar to the animal fables of Aesop, with a touch of the Arabian Nights. They were first published in England in 1570, but originated in India, and spread to the West from an Arabic translation made by Ibn al-Muqaffaʻ (724-?759) of Basra. In the tale below, retold for the sake of brevity, a distraught mother learns that justice doesn’t have to involve confrontation.
Picture: © Marathekedar93, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted October 29 2022
51
William Sleeman passes on an anecdote from one of the Persian classics, to show that truth should not be used for evil ends.
… In a lengthy chapter entitled ‘Veracity’, William Sleeman discussed attitudes to truth and lies among the people of India …
In a lengthy chapter entitled ‘Veracity’, William Sleeman discussed attitudes to truth and lies among the people of India. As an illustration, he retold this story from the ‘Gulistan’ or ‘Rose Garden’ of the Persian poet Saadi Shirazi (?1210-?1292).
Picture: © Mostafameraji, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted October 14 2018
52
The Sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra welcomed his guests from Christian England with an unexpected gesture of friendship.
… In 1601, Sir James Lancaster set out in four ships for India and the Far East, seeking trading partners for England on behalf Queen Elizabeth I and the newly-formed East India Company …
In 1601, Sir James Lancaster set out in four ships for India and the Far East, seeking trading partners for England on behalf Queen Elizabeth I and the newly-formed East India Company. He visited the Kingdom of Achin (Aceh) in the north of Sumatra the following year, where the Sultan was graciously pleased to receive this emissary from a backward, cold and infidel land far, far away.
Picture: By Johannes Vingboons (1616–1670), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted November 21 2022
53
Following a historic embassy in 1792-93, Chien Lung, the Emperor of China, despatched a haughty letter rebuffing King George III’s offer of trade.
… In this passage, the man who later became India’s first Prime Minister reflects on the fading of empires …
Glimpses of World History (1934) was written for his daughter by Jawaharlal Nehru while he was in gaol for protesting against a tax on salt. In this passage, the man who later became India’s first Prime Minister reflects on the fading of empires, recalling the groundbreaking Macartney embassy to China in 1792-93 and the haughty response by the Emperor, Chien Lung.
Picture: By Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.. Source.
Posted September 6 2020
54
Arthur Wellesley watches on as one of his soldiers is rescued from a watery grave.
Arthur Wellesley (not yet the Duke of Wellington) spent the years 1797 to 1804 in India, confronting the Maratha Empire that threatened Indian princes and the British alike. Wisely, he learnt to make war as the Maratha did, and acquired a proper respect for the elephant.
Picture: © T. R. Shankar Raman, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted February 24 2018