For five centuries, Birbal has been one of the best-loved figures in the folklore of India. Polished like gemstones in the river of time, The Birbal Tales wit and insight have delighted children and grownups from Kerala to Kashmir. Now the complete collection comes to the West, after years of loving research and creative, and historically accurate, restoration. Moseleys Birbal Tales have won The National Writers Club First Prize for Fiction and the University of Southern Louisianas First Prize for Juvenile Fiction. This timeless classic is a wonderful gift for children and a treasury of humor and wisdom for adults. Testimonials Absolutely beautiful. I can see why you have a devoted following. - Duval Y. Hecht, President, BOOKS ON TAPE, INC. I have read Moseley's Birbal Tales and must say I was utterly enchanted. The stories are beautifully retold in a style that is not only charming in English but could have come straight from a collection of Persian tales at the Mughal court. Moseley has certainly captured the fantasy court world in which stories of this type are usually cast. He continues in the finest tradition of the Mughal qissagu (storyteller). I trust he will offer more volumes in this collection to the undoubted delight of his readers. - Wheeler M. Thackston, Professor of the Practice in Persian and Other Near Eastern Languages, HARVARD UNIVERSITY Delightful! - Swapna Vora, Editor, INDIAN EXPRESS, North American Edition At a time when thousands of intellectuals and professionals are migrating from India to the USA in search of wealth, Moseley has traveled to India to collect priceless gems from her immortal tradition and folk wisdom. Devoid of any high-sounding Brahmanic dogma, these tales have entertained and taught people of all levels for hundreds of years. Rendered again in the most lucid style, reading these tales is like reliving one's childhood. The book will fill the void for Indians now living in Diaspora and will give a new dimension of India to its Western readers. - Ved Prakash Vatuk, D. Litt, Director FOLKLORE INSTITUTE, Berkeley & Former Professor of Folklore, UC Berkeley It is so rare to have a book that will charm children, please adult readers, satisfy curiosity about foreign folk tales, and inform any reader regarding a different culture. But here is a book that does it all. - Ted Maas, ALLIANCE HOUSE, INC. James Moseleys collection of Birbal Tales capture the wit and wisdom of the famous Indian courtier while maintaining the simple poetry of those told orally for generations across India. - Maryann Mahajan, INDIA POST.COM Moseleysprose evokes the magical world of Akbars courtin witty, charming stories, which are still popular with children in India. Historical notes are appended. - BOOKLIST There are so many wonderful books for very young children, but there is too little good literature for middlings from age seven to eleven. This book, which adults can enjoy as well as children, brings praises from a Harvard Professor to a Hollywood Producer. Interestingly, although the tales are indeed charming and amusing, they are not fictional, but true stories of a wise man who really lived in long ago India in the palace of the Emperor Akbar. Birbal served his Emperor with wit and wisdom, and he became so renowned that even today parents and grandparents use these clever adventures as morality tales. - IndoLink.com This book is very promising. - Vandana Kumar, Editor, INDIA CURRENTS MAGAZINE, California Traveling throughout India for many years, the author collected many tales from the oral tradition surrounding the 14th-century Great Mughal Emperor, Akbar, and his wise advisor, the commoner Birbal. These short sto

Reprint of the original, first published in 1871. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1873. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

Volume 2nd Abbreviations viii Preface ix I. Introductory 1 II. Akbar 21 III. Jahangir 90 IV. Shah Jahan 108 IV. Aurangzeb 120 V. Conclusion 150 Bibliography 154 Bibliography of Volume i 162 Index 174 Index of Volume I 176 Book Summary Foreword The administrative machinery of the Delhi Sultanate was run mainly by three ministries—the Diwan-i-Wizarat, the Diwan-i-’Arz and the Diwan-i-Risalat. While some work has been done on the first two, an in-depth study of the Diwan-i-Risalat–which dealt with religious matters, stipends and pious foundations—has largely remained a desideratum. Mr. A. D. Khan’s work goes a long way in filling this gap in our historical literature. With his extensive knowledge of the contemporary and modern literature, he has tried to put the institution of sadarat in its proper historical perspective. His contribution deserves approbation by all those interested in medieval Indian history and culture. Discussing the origin of the office of sadr, Khwandmir observes in his Nama-i-Nami that Malik Shah Seljuqi had established this office as he was desirous of having a learned man at the court to represent the cases of Syeds and ‘ulama' and to manage pensions, stipends and endowments. In course of time the office of sadr became the chief authority dealing with all religious matters and provided institutional liaison between State and Religion. Mr. Khan has very ably traced the evolution of sadarat in medieval India and has shown how the scope and conspectus of its work differed from period to period. The Diwan-i-Riyasat was headed by two important officers, the Qazi-ul-Quzat and the Sadr-us-Sudur. During the Sultanate period these two offices were entrusted to the same person who thus came to exercise great authority in judicial matters while his patronage to scholars, religious men and the indigent people enhanced his prestige. The muhtasib (Censor of public morals), who functioned under the aegis of this department, enjoyed some economic powers also pertaining to the market. Thus the institution of sadarat became a very influential wing of the administrative machinery and both the pulpit and the chair came to be controlled by the sadr. Notwithstanding all this authority, it would be wrong to think that the sadarat or the ‘ulama' bound to the state chariot regulated or influenced the policies of the State. Beyond creating a lashkar-i-du’a and providing state help to khanqahs and madrasahs, the sadarat had no say in administrative matters as such. It enjoyed religious prestige but wielded no political power. The Sultans were guided by exigencies of the political situation and formulated zawabit (state laws which had nothing to do with shari’at laws) to administer the country. The advice of Syed Nuruddin Mubarak Ghaznavi, Qazi Mughis and others was never heeded by the Sultans. Barani’s political realism made him appreciate that in matters of government the Sultans looked to the precepts of the legendary heroes of Iran rather than the religious precepts and principles of the jurists. The Delhi Sultanate maintained the Diwan-i-Sadarat with all enthusiasm and extended all patronage to its functionaries but the strings of administration were entirely in the hands of secular authorities. The function of the institution of ihtasab was to check immoral behaviour at public places. Under rulers who were themselves sunk in debauchery—like Kaiqubad, Mubarak Khalji and others—the muhtasib had to watch helplessly rapid deterioration in public morality. Under ‘Alauddin Khalji the institution of ihtasab gained unprecedented prestige. The Sultan’s strong measures against drinking, prostitution etc. strengthened the functioning of the Department. Maulana Ziauddin Sunnami’s Nisab al-Ihtasab gives a very good idea of the matters dealt with by the Department during this time. His book became popular in Muslim lands also. Mr. Khan’s work will be read with interest as it does not merely deal with the theoretical aspect of the institution of sadarat but gives a very lively account of the actual role of individuals involved in its functioning at different levels. He attempts an analysis of the different approaches of the ‘ulama and sufis of the period and traces its interaction in the broader framework of medieval history. It is hoped that Mr. Khan’s work will be read with keen interest by all students and scholars of the history of medieval India. K. A. Nizami (Nizami Villa, Aligarh)

Reconstructs Indian regional history, from the rooting of Arab principality in Sind to the arrival of colonial rule in eastern India. Regional History of Medieval India: Society, Culture and Economy is a compilation of twenty chapters written on various themes associated with regional history during the medieval period. The volume offers varied, but comprehensive studies relating to medieval Indian History from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. The volume is based on extensive use of contemporary sources (including hitherto unknown), studied both at the macroscopic and microscopic levels. It is divided into five main sections namely, literary sources, state and administration, society, culture and economy, art and architecture and religion and mysticism. Contributors: C.M. Agrawal, Syed Mohammad Amir, S. Chandni Bi, Balwant Singh Dhillon, S.M. Azizuddin Husain, Mohammad Idris, Shahabuddin Iraqi, Arshad Islam, Saiyid Zaheer Husain Jafri, Syed Jamaluddin, Gulfishan Khan, M. Ifzalur-Rahman Khan, Sumbul Halim Khan, Yaqub Ali Khan, Nishat Manzar, Jigar Mohammed, S. Liyaqat Hussain Moini, Tasneem Suhrawardy, Rashmi Upadhyay, S.P. Vyas

The book is meticulously edited by Dahiya whorendered the original Anglo-Nordic script in modern english without disturbing the original diction and structure and has relied upon the works of Charles Jonston`s the system of Vedanra and on Lawrence Dawson in The Nuttall Encyclopaedia for transliteration and standerdization of spelling of proper names. This book is a must for all Research Centers, Institutes, Universities and Libraries and gives a contemporary account of the Muslim period in India.