Joby Fernandez
Audrey TruschkeAlright folks, let’s try again with some specificity — Float me your questions about Mughal history and let’s see what we can do...
Friends, this was fun, but I do have to get to work now. Sorry for not being able to answer all the questions due to time constraints. We'll do this again soon.
Manoj Gramath@audreytruschke you are rocking it here without the trolls getting in the way.
Reading through Q&A seems good as or easier than reading your books. I have bought them a few weeks ago but still sitting on the to read pile
Thank you.
Reading through Q&A seems good as or easier than reading your books. I have bought them a few weeks ago but still sitting on the to read pile
Thank you.
Tarique Anwar ✅@audreytruschke how they managed to rule for such a long time?
@tariqueanwar How did the Mughals rule for so long?
One answer: They didn't, really. After 1739, when Nadir Shah trampled all over Delhi, Mughal authority was more in theory than in practice. The theory mattered, of course. But that's another question, namely: Why did people find Mughal power a useful model long after the Mughals had ceased to wield land-based authority?
driveAKar@audreytruschke A friend who was a student of history felt that Akbar was one of the greatest kings ever. What is your opinion?
@driveAKar Q: Was Akbar one of the greatest kings ever?
A: It depends on how you define "great." I remain skeptical and critical of modern value assessments of the Mughal past. I would counter with another question: Why does it matter to you (or your friend who posed the question) whether Akbar was great or not? What rides on that answer, in 2019, for you?
@audreytruschke nothing in 2019 really. And with the current environment in India about the Mughals, nothing at all.
Just seeking an opinion about him in historical perspective and what he was perceived to be as a ruler in his time or after.
Just seeking an opinion about him in historical perspective and what he was perceived to be as a ruler in his time or after.
Ryche ❌@audreytruschke In your opinion, best single incident / episode from the Mughal era to make a movie on?
@Ryche Q: What is the best incident / episode from Mughal India on which to base a film?
A: Depends on genre. And, really, why choose among the stars in the sky? For tragic love, Aurangzeb and Hirabai. For power couple love, Nur Jahan and Jahangir. For dark drama, the Sayyid brothers rise and fall. For daring drama, Shivaji's escape from Aurangzeb's court. For horror, the sieges of Chittor (Akbar) or Bijapur (Aurangzeb). For family drama, Jahangir's rebellion. I could go on at some length...
nevermind ✅@audreytruschke who was the first moghal to enter Asia and the reason for his visit to conquer or called on.
@audreytruschke no answer ? 🥴
@imtiazuddin Depends on what you mean by "moghal."
@audreytruschke
**Mughal empire
**Mughal empire
Ali@audreytruschke ik this might be hard to answer but just a few questions.
1).Was that an invasion?
2). Were they a boon or a bane?
3). How was their behaviour towards the local populace as compared to other comparable sultanates.
1).Was that an invasion?
2). Were they a boon or a bane?
3). How was their behaviour towards the local populace as compared to other comparable sultanates.
@Kasheer Q: Did Babur conduct an invasion when he established the Mughal Empire?
A: Yes, but of the Delhi Sultanate, not of India. There was no India, in political terms, to invade in 1526. Babur invaded and overthrew another Muslim-led polity.
@audreytruschke the other two questions?
Koshy George@audreytruschke Are the Mughals descendants of the Mongols? How are these two groups related?
@Koshy Q: Are the Mughals descendants of the Mongols?
A: Yes. The Mughals--as we call them--claimed descent from both the Mongols and the Timurids. They and everybody else in their time considered the Timurid lineage more illustrious, so that was usually emphasized. It's really an accident of modern historiography that we refer to them as the Mughals.
" It's really an accident of modern historiography that we refer to them as the Mughals."
Can you expand a little on this, would the term Mughal be foreign to the "Mughals"? Is their a term they themselves used to refer to their dynasty?
Arshid Nabi@audreytruschke what was the main reason for the downfall of Mughals
Mubarak H Sheikh@audreytruschke
Madam,
Why didn't Janhagir allow EIC to open a factory in India though he was requested by Captain Hawkins?
Madam,
Why didn't Janhagir allow EIC to open a factory in India though he was requested by Captain Hawkins?
Sam ChoudhuryHow many Mughal rulers were "Non-Indian"?
Did any Mughal ruler go back to his country? Like the British went back?
@Samchoudhury Q: How many Mughal rulers were non-Indian?
A: It depends on how you define Indian. If you mean a resident of India, all Mughal rulers were Indian. If you mean someone who spoke an Indian language, they were all Indian (Persian being an Indian language at this point in time). If you mean sometime with Rajput blood, from Jahangir forward they were Indian (although note that by this definition most modern Indians aren't Indian, curiously).
Thank You Audrey
This brings up a million more question 😊
Will keep bugging you every now and then
Riaz Ahmed 
@audreytruschke how many battles were fought by Aurangzeb in his lifetime?
Sharada Ramanathan@karmariaz @audreytruschke and was he really antagonistic towards the arts?
@karmariaz Q: How many battles did Aurangzeb fight?
A: I'd have to count it all up; a lot.
@audreytruschke thank you Audrey
#IndiahatesCAA_NRC_NPR@audreytruschke how exactly and effectively we could chase the history and how much imagination comes into effect when historians try to draw a history on the basis of some findings
@st_in Q: How much imagination comes into play when historians construct narratives about the past?
A: It depends on the historian to some degree. When historians go too far in this regard, they usually get criticized. For my comments on tellings of Mughal history that are overly imaginative rather than solidly historical, see: https://openthemagazine.com/lounge/books/mughal-lite/
Mughal Lite - Open The Magazine
INDIA IS GRIPPED by Mughal fever these days. Seemingly obsessed with premodern India’s most famous empire, the saffron brigade works tirelessly to scrub Modi’s India clean of vestiges of the Mughals by writing them out of school textbooks, renaming cities and roads, and neglecting Mughal monuments. When Hindu nationalists are not marginalising the Mughals, they … Continue reading "Mughal Lite"
@audreytruschke but why nobody take any effort to create awareness about the imagination part of history creation and its implications in the present era especially when vested groups use history as a tool to curb freedom and knowledge selectively the main victims of this kind of restrictions are women and societies with minimal means for education
Cvisuali
The Wayfarer1..was Akbar truly benevolent and tolerant towards all religions?
2. we have read about Akbar and birbal when we were children. were they both really close ?
Nandha@audreytruschke Any specific reasons as to why Din-i-elahi didn't take off much?
@ionhandshaker Q: Why didn't the din-i ilahi take off much.
A: Because it was not intended to be a large-scale phenomenon. The din-i ilahi was not a new religion, despite its reputation as such in the popular sphere; note that historians are basically in agreement on this point. Akbar's din-i ilahi was an imperial discipleship program designed for an small cadre of Mughal elites.
Traveling Salesman 
@audreytruschke How did the Mughals see the world? Did they have any idea of the scientific revolution going on in Europe at the time...Did they know about the colonization of the Americas etc.?
Ankit@audreytruschke Professor who according to you is the most miss represented Mughal king/queen? And (this isn't directly a question about the Mughals) what first got you interested in this particular period of history?
@TheStyleWallah Q: Who is the most mis-represented Mughal royal figure?
A: Aurangzeb Alamgir.
Protyush Nandi@audreytruschke What is the economic condition oof the farmers during the Mughal period?
Sourabh@audreytruschke Why did the various Mughal emperors through time, not establish a significant naval presence?
Vishnu Varatharajan@audreytruschke I'm stretching the what-ifs to an event that happened very long ago. How do you judge Dara Shikoh? Is it possible to use historical tools to speculate how the Mughal-Maratha relations would have turned out had Dara Shikoh became the emperor instead of Aurangzeb?*
* I visited Khooni Darwaza ten days ago, so I got reminded of him when I saw your toot.
Nikaroo@audreytruschke Were there any consequences to Salim (Jehangir) for murdering Abul Fazl?
It seems like a parallel story of MBS in our present time?
It seems like a parallel story of MBS in our present time?
...- .. ...- . -.- 
* Administrative reforms under Mughal rule. (Adopted from others like Sher Shah Suri; innovated on existing and new ones)
* Art and culture
Wahid Noor@audreytruschke what type of education and training system was there in Mughal period? Which were the most famous educational institutions and centres? How was respect, recognition and status accorded to teacher's and instructors in that society ? What did Mughal emperors do for education of masses and Science for society?
Asher Syed@audreytruschke Is it true that Aurangzeb invaded Golconda because Abul Hasan Qutb Shah was aiding Shivaji in his rebellion against the mughals?
Deepanjana@audreytruschke Can you tell us a little bit about Aurangzeb's relationship with Zeb-un-Nissa and what led to her being imprisoned?
masroor_syed@audreytruschke is there some document or article that shows the linguistic proof of AMT? I have seen some videos on YouTube on the similarity between Sanskrit and Russian and Turkish.
Muhammed Hussain@audreytruschke which was the last military victory won by the Mughals?
@audreytruschke Its sad to see so called western historians trying to be apologists of murderers and religious fanatics. We will never forget what was done to us because in form of Gyanvapi Mosque we have proof of our bloody past. We will over the time reclaim what is ours. So you can be cheerleader of likes of Auranzeb but now hindus have woken up from their deep slumber.