A Short History of India

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1907. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... the ruins of Nadir's empire, interfered in the affairs of the Punjab, and though once compelled to retreat, finally occupied and sacked Delhi. The fourth invasion was by the Marhattas, who brought down the silver ceiling of the am-khash, and plundered the whole country up to the banks of the Indus, and talked of a Hindu Empire. Nominal Supremacy of the Emperor of Delhi--No empire can last under such repeated shocks. The Mughal Empire was altogether broken, but still the emperor of Delhi was regarded as the emperor of India. His sanads or patents were sought for by the most powerful. Money was coined in his name, and he held nominally the highest place in India; but his power hardly extended otherwise beyond the walls of his palace. CHAPTER XII CAUSES OF FALL OF MUGHAL EMPIRE Conciliatory Attitude of Early Mughals to Hindus.--During the period between the fall of the Pathans and the rise of the Mughals, a friendly intercourse seems to have sprung up between the Hindus and their conquerors. The fierce spirit of proselytism, which characterized the Muhammadans during the Imperial Pathan period, the spirit to which we owe the conversion of nearly a third of Bengal, half the Rajput races, the greater part of Kasmir, and vast tracts in Malwa, Guzerat, and the Deccan, had, to a great extent, abated. Intermarriage with the Hindus, and their employment in the higher offices of the state and as military leaders, as well as the adoption of various Hindu customs by numerous Muhammadan families, marked what seemed the beginning of an amalgamation of the races, or, at least, of mutual toleration. Akbar's Toleration.--Akbar, with a profound insight into human character, adopted a policy which emphasized this spirit of toleration between the races that had already sprung up in ...