Blindspot

The Delhi Sultanate period (1206-1526) is commonly portrayed as an age of chaos and violence – of rapacious, plundering kings, turbulent dynasties, and the aggressive imposition of Islam on India. But it was also the era that saw the creation of a pan-Indian empire, on the foundations of which the Mughals and the British later built their own Indian empires. The encounter between Islam and Hinduism also transformed, among other things, India’s architecture, literature, music and food. Abraham Eraly brings this fascinating period vividly alive, portraying the many kings-mad, brilliant, astute, cruel-who ruled during this period, and discussing the political, social and cultural developments that transformed India. Combining erudition with powerful storytelling, analysis with anecdote, The Age of Wrath is a superb book.