Treasure Seekers: Empires of India Page #2

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As he explored Afghanistan,

this ruthless nomad who was perfectly

capable of

putting entire cities to the sword,

became a keen student of flowers.

All sorts grow in these foothills;

I once counted them and found

We named one the rose scented tulip

because it smelt

rather like a rose;

it grows all by itself

on the Sheikh's plain.

Joy was to sit peacefully in one of

his beautiful highland gardens

and write poetry.

He built no fewer than

ten gardens in Kabul.

Before long, Babur's seven wives had

produced him eighteen children.

He was devoted to all of them

but it was his first born son,

Humayun, who he was determined would

inherit a great kingdom.

Babur bided his time, watching and

waiting for his opportunity in India.

Finally, in 1526, it arrived.

The Sultanate of Delhi was overtaken

by internal strife.

Babur realized his moment had come.

It would be now or never.

Babur marched into Northern India

with 12,000 men.

The sultan of Delhi marched to

meet him

with 100,000 men

and 1,000 armored elephants.

They met on the plain of Panipat

north of Delhi.

Babur's trump card was

the discipline of his troops

and his Turkish artillery.

The Indian elephants charged

but were met with explosions

of canons and mortar.

They panicked, spun, and stampeded.

The whole army fell into disarray.

Just a few hours after it began,

the battle became a rout.

The Indians, including their leader,

were massacred as they ran.

Babur had just pulled off

an astonishing military feat.

Finally, Hindustan was his.

With Hindustan in his grasp,

one of the first things Babur did was

to send Hindustani dancing girls

to entertain his wives

in their harem in Kabul.

It was a gracious gesture.

His wives, covered and restrained,

their faces painted stiffly white

in the central Asian style,

must have been astonished.

Out of meetings like this, of the

stark world of central Asian Islam

with the lush anarchy of India, would

arise the glories of the Mughal style.

As Babur took stock of

his new possession,

even he well versed in plunder

was stunned.

The astonishing treasuries

of Hindustan

contained the Kohinoor diamond.

Its name, he learned meant

"mountain of light."

He was told it was worth enough

to feed the entire world

for two and half days.

Offered it as a gift,

Babur refused and left it

with his son Humayun.

Suddenly he was less interested in

the riches

than in how to govern

this strange new land.

But as he surveyed Hindustan, his

enthusiasm for it started to melt away.

There is no beauty in its people,

no graceful social intercourse,

no poetic talent or understanding,

no etiquette, nobility or manliness.

The arts and crafts have no harmony

or symmetry.

There is no ice, cold water,

good food or bread in the markets.

The peasantry and common people

parade around stark naked.

Hindustan is a place of little charm.

But Babur was determined

he would build Hindustan into

something worthy of his dynasty.

He would introduce Mughal order

and symmetry

into what seemed to him

a chaotic and senseless land.

He made the princes of Hindustan,

the Rajputs,

submit to him and laid foundations

for the future empire.

And it dawned on Babur that

it was no longer enough to be

a successful conqueror.

To fulfill his dreams for his heirs,

he had to become a wise ruler as well.

A sacrifice to god was necessary.

In an extravagant public ceremony,

Babur swore off drink.

He had his drinking vessels crushed

and distributed the gold and silver

to the poor.

At the age of 43, Babur had achieved

his dream of empire.

He settled into Hindustan and

continued work on his autobiography

the first ever written

in the Moslem world.

I have simply set down what happened.

I have reported every good and evil

of father and brother,

every fault and virtue of

relative and stranger.

May the reader excuse me.

And everywhere Babur built the square,

symmetrical gardens called 'charbagh'

which were the perfect expression

of Mughal beauty.

The radiance of nature bound by the

rigid geometrical order of Islam.

And it was in his gardens

that he reflected on his turbulent

life and his successes in battles,

both with enemies and himself.

The temptations of alcohol

had been almost overwhelming.

Two years ago my craving

for a wine party

was such to bring me to

the verge of tears.

This year, praise God, that desire

has completely left my mind.

The one thing that never left

his mind was his homeland, Fergana.

One day as he ate a melon he found

himself crying

as its flavor brought back memories

of the fresh uplands

of his childhood.

He confessed to his youngest daughter

that he wanted to retire

and turn the reins of power

over to Humayun.

But In 1530, four years after

the conquest of Hindustan,

Humayun fell sick.

His doctors gave him up for dead.

It was a catastrophe

the death not only of a beloved son

but the heir to Babur's dynasty

and empire.

Babur had learned the wisdom of

sacrifice.

But what on earth could he offer God

to persuade him to spare his son?

Priests and advisors came with

suggestions:

He could sacrifice the Kohinoor.

But Babur knew it was a worthless

bauble compared to the life of his son.

He decided only one sacrifice

could possibly compare.

For days, he prayed fervently

to Allah

to take his own life

in exchange for Humayun's.

Soon after, Humayun recovered and

sure enough, Babur fell sick.

He stayed true to his oath and

refused all offers of treatment.

He'd made a deal with Allah

a life for a life.

Who was he to renege?

He turned his face to the wall.

Three months later he died, aged 47.

Babur had ruled India

for only four years,

but the dynasty he founded

would rule it for almost 300.

Akbar, Babur's grandson,

would for the first time

unite the subcontinent.

Shah Jahan, Babur's great great

grandson, would build the Taj Mahal.

The Mughals laid the foundations of

the India we know today.

They were able to create

a large empire within India;

they were able to establish the

great institutions of empire

through their army, their especially

important domestic

and other alliance policies

with the Rajputs.

It was a very creative fusion.

Over the generations,

Mughal India would become

synonymous with opulence,

refinement, and wealth.

Before long it attracted the hungry

gaze of yet other treasure seekers.

This time they would come from

further west.

Just over three hundred years

after Babur died,

India was swallowed

by the British empire.

By the end of the 19th century,

Britain dominated most of the world

but India was its most

valued possession.

Queen Victoria called it

the jewel in her crown.

The man who gave all this to Britain

was an unlikely conqueror

a tormented soul

who came from nowhere,

driven only by an unwavering

ambition.

His name was Robert Clive.

in London.

Robert Clive is fighting

for his survival.

He has laid the foundations of

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