India in the Persianate Age: 1000–1765

Historians are under enormous pressure to produce narrative histories of precolonial South Asia that will not offend Hindu Nationalists. If Muslims aren't thoroughly otherized, one’s book may receive scathing reviews and even be effectively banned from the Indian book market. Given this political environment, histories of the region can easily fail to cohere. The author has to tiptoe around too many controversial issues. Because Eaton specializes in Persian studies, he can't possibly please Hindu nationalists, so he can at least do his best to put forward a compelling and convincing narrative. He presents evidence and insights I haven't seen before. He explains how jungles were cleared, barren land was populated, and previously nomadic people were sedentarized and eventually came to identify as Muslim or Sikh--something that has really puzzled me over the 25 years I've been reading about India. I am especially intrigued by his argument that the later Mughal Emperors who abandoned the Indian conception of sacred kingship in favor of more orthodox Islamic conceptions of governance were trying to delegitimize millenarian tendencies in Islam but in process undermined their own legitimacy. He could have pushed this argument further and said that by abandoning the concept of charismatic leadership, the last Sultans lost any incentive to do what one needs to do in order to rouse admiration and political support.

Professor Eaton's synthesis of India's "medieval" history is a masterpiece of solid research and interpretation. While giving adequate attention to familiar themes and regions, the book includes thoughtful and thorough investigations of the often over-looked Deccan and Peninsular Indian regions. The modern view of "Hindu"-"Muslim" confrontation or conflict is also seriously complicated by the recognized scholar who challenges the conventional colonial and nationalist historiographies. Highly readable.

The internecine feuding never ended bar a few breaks in limited parts only. This at least must be the conclusion to come to. Unsure if the author over emphasises the feuding, because enormous wealth was created along the way.

This is a very good book, perhaps the best available for the period it covers. The author is a good writer, and the book reads well. Anyone studying India, 1000-1765, will find it of great value. But there is one problem, and it is not the author's fault. No one can know all of the written languages of the period the book covers. Thus Professor Eaton occasionally has to depend on the research of others to ease his way in areas beyond his linguistic capacity. Unfortunately, some of this secondary research is either out of date, of dubious value, biased, or just plain wrong. And so, one who depends upon it runs the risk of recycling useless information.

Fairly balanced and hard to put down.

I am a student of Dr. Eaton's and he had me read this book for my independent study on India. This is a great book for undergrads and even graduate students. He said it is basically like a textbook, but it is way more accessible and a pleasure to read. It is even user friendly for a general audience. I recommend it and not just because I'm his student, it's a good scholarly book.

Professor Eaton writes a detailed book on early India history which I found insightful and detail. Having lived in India for ten years I am fond of the subject matter. The book is full of interesting details which I have not come across in previous India history books. In addition, Professor Eaton's book offers ideas for future trips to the subcontinent.

Yuval Hariri in his Home Deus writes that the purpose of history is to set ourselves free from history. And this book does that for me. It set me free from the propagandist historical view of the English Historians who were writing history not out of an attempt to accurately understand the past but only to strengthen their power. Through their policy of "divide et impera". The kind of mischief this has played is something that is still strongly being seen today in India. And between its neighbors that were once part of what India was thought of as. What this book does is atleast for me, free me of the need to buy into one propaganda over the other. The author has based his historical reading on significant research of contemporary sources without allowing the prejudices/biases of the current age affecting the past and that is kind of rare in historical writings about India. The author also unlike so many white (or even anglophone Indian) historians doesn't have a sort of condescending/patronizing or hard to pin down in words, tone, that causes discomfort and feels that the person isn't viewing you and your ancestors as equal. One of the other takeaways from this book was how any empire/regime/tyranny seeks to justify itself is through turning History as a tool for hatred of the other. This is extremely potent and works very well if you're the tyrant. It worked splendidly for the English. And it seems to be working well for the current Indian dispensation. But in both cases, the hate hides the loot.

A very good book published by Penguin with a great deal of detailed history about India 1000 - 1765 , however it concentrates upon Indian history and culture , and it will fill many gaps in peoples knowledge , as it did mine , but does not touch very much upon outsiders in India such as the Portuguese or the British , though it does upon the Mughals , who were themselves originally outsiders from Central Asia. A master piece of Indian history.

It is a great book of history, particulary of this period, i.e. medieval India. It enlightens thematically about general trends as well as internal affairs and developments.

The book provides an excellent account of Indian history for the period 1000-1765, using a wide range of available sources including works by the author. It is particularly good on the pre-Mughal sub-period. As an Indian economic historian, albeit of a later period, I gained in terms of both knowledge and perspective of economic and social changes over the long period. I recommend it highly.

LIBRO ESCRITO POR UN ESCRITOR ENTENDIDO EN LA MATERIA ,ES EN INGLES

The period traditionally styled as “Muslim Period” of Indian history is always controversial to write about and given the scale (period of nearly a millennium) and scope (all of the Indian sub-continent) it is a Herculean task. Prof Eaton though has done a remarkable job of putting together one of the most comprehensive single volume histories of the period one is likely to find. At the outset, the author clarifies the title as a means of countering the sectarian overtones introduced by British historians when they trifurcated Indian history into the Hindu, Muslim and British periods. Clearly great effort has gone into narrating not just the temporal sequence of battles and reigns of monarchs but drawing upon extensive research and variety of sources to paint a textured picture of polity and administration of the key states that held power in the vast subcontinent. By far the most valuable aspect of the book is the use of socio-economic and even demographic factors to explain historical events and patterns. For example none of the older history books have clearly articulated the crucial role played by the Mongol invasions of Central Asia which drove thousands of Persian speaking Turk and Central Asian cavalrymen, administrators, Sufis and literati streaming into India, in providing crucial military and administrative power enabling the slaves of the Ghurid rulers to conquer all of North India and set up the Delhi Sultanate. The rise of the Rajput warrior lineages from the effervescence of North India’s “military labour market” is another fascinating phenomenon. These insights make for new approaches to interpret and understand the changes that came about in India over the tumultuous period. While largely balanced and nuanced, one can’t but help notice the slightly apologistic tones the author adopts when explaining the political motives behind the selective iconoclasm and temple - razing encountered in both the Sultanate and Mughal periods. But apart from this a marvellous piece of history writing.