Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. India, Iran and Anatolia, 10th–16th centuries; 2. The rise of Muslim empires; 3. The legitimacy of monarchs and the institutions of empires; 4. The economies in c.1600; 5. Imperial cultures; 6. Golden ages: profane and sacred empires; 7. Imperial culture in the golden age; 8. Quests for a phoenix.

Promotional Information

A comparative study of the politics, religion, and culture of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires between 1300 and 1923.

About the Author

Stephen F. Dale is a Professor in the Department of History at Ohio State University. His previous publications include Indian Merchants and Eurasian Trade 1600–1750 (Cambridge University Press, 1994) and The Garden of the Eight Paradises: Babur and the Culture of Empire in Central Asia, Afghanistan and India 1483–1530 (2004).

Reviews

'In sum, this is a vivid, learned, yet approachable comparative study of three remarkable Muslim empires at the height of their power and prestige, positioned carefully in their historical context. Scholars of the Islamic world used to believe that it reached its apogee in the early centuries after the Arab conquests, during the period of the early Abbasid caliphate. Dale's book provides ample grounds for suspecting that things may not be quite that simple.' David Morgan, The Times Literary Supplement

'Professor Dale deploys an impressive range of contemporary and modern sources in taking us through the intertwined history of the three empires.' Asian Affairs