দ্য সার্পেন্টস্‌ টুথ

Empire of the Moghul #5

by Alex Rutherford, Jasy Mary Quiah (Translator)

নতুন মোগল সম্রাট শাহজাহান একশত মিলিয়ন আত্মা নিয়ে গর্বিত অত্যন্ত সমৃদ্ধশালী একটি সাম্রাজ্যে রাজত্ব করে গেছেন । সিংহাসন প্রাপ্তির ক্ষেত্রে ব্যবহার করেছেন পূর্বপুরুষদের ভয়ংকর সিংহাসন অথবা কফিন, ঐতিহ্য : চেঙ্গিস ও তৈমুরলেইনের বংশধর। মোগলরা ভারতে আসার পর থেকে ভাই-ভাইয়ের আর পুত্র লড়েলে পিতার সাথে পুরস্কারের আশায় আর শাহজাহানও এর। ব্যতিক্রম ছিলেন না। রাজত্বকালের প্রারম্ভেই শাহজাহানের জন্য সময় হয়ে পড়ে সিংহাসন সুরক্ষার জন্য শত্রুদেরকে নির্মল করে দেয়ার। এর পরিবর্তে, সুন্দরী পত্নী মমতাজের মৃত্যুতে ভেঙে পড়ে ধ্যান-জ্ঞান দিয়ে শুরু করেন। তাদের নিপুণ ভালোবাসার নিদর্শন স্বরূপ এক মহাকাব্যিক স্তম্ভ নির্মাণ কাজী : তাজমহল । দুঃখ ভারাক্রান্ত হৃদয়ে পুত্রদের কাছ থেকে বিচ্ছিন্ন হয়ে পড়েন শাহজাহান। তাই তাদের মাঝে গড়ে ওঠা প্রতিদ্বন্দ্বিতীর বস্তুত ঘূণার আঁচ পাননি তিনি, এরপর সম্রাট অসুস্থ হয়ে পড়ার পরে শুরু হয়। গৃহযুদ্ধ–নির্মম, নিষ্ঠুর আর নিয়ন্ত্রণের অযোগ্য সাম্রাজ্যের ভিত্তি কেঁপে ওঠা শুরু করে ।

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, India, War

400 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

Alex Rutherford is the pen name of Diana Preston and her husband Michael. Both studied at Oxford University reading History and English respectively. They are keen travellers and have now clocked up visits to over 140 of the world's countries.

Says Diana 'our greatest love is India where we've spent at least a year of our lives. Our research into the building of the Taj Mahal for our non-fiction book 'A Teardrop on the Cheek of Time', led us to explore the early history of the dynasty which built the Taj – the Moghuls. To help us get inside the heads of the founders of the Moghul dynasty for our fiction quintet 'Empire of the Moghul', we've read all the chronicles of the time. Over the years we've also retraced the steps of the Moghuls from the Ferghana Valley in Kyrgyzstan – home to the first Moghul emperor, the boy-king Babur – to Iran and to the blue domes and minarets of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, across the red deserts to the Oxus River, over the Hindu Kush to Kabul and Afghanistan and down through the Khyber Pass to the plains of northern India.

'In fact, apart from on one occasion when we were stranded on a remote island off the coast of Borneo and forced to hide from pirates, some of our hairiest moments when travelling have been when researching our non-fiction books. While working on our book about Captain Scott and the race for the South Pole, 'A First Rate Tragedy', the Russian research vessel on which we were sailing into Antarctica's Ross Sea was nearly lost in one of the worst storms in Antarctic history with 140 knot winds (over 240 kilometres per hour) and 20 metre high waves. The life rafts washed overboard and the superstructure iced up like the inside of an old fridge, putting us in danger of capsizing. On another occasion while researching our book on one of our favourite characters the buccaneer-naturalist William Dampier, 'A Pirate of Exquisite Mind', we set out in his footsteps to cross the Darien Isthmus in Panama with local Indian guides. We had to dodge FARC guerrillas, Colombian paramilitaries and the deadly fer de lance snake, in the latter case wading waist high in rivers – our guide claimed snakes can't bite and swim at the same time!'

Reviews

[Raja Subramanian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Serpent’s Tooth is the fifth book in the series Empire of the Moghul written by Alex Rutherford. Like all the other four books in the series, this one too, does not disappoint. This one chronicles the life of Shah Jahan after he has taken control of the Moghul Empire after a bloody struggle of putting down his half-brothers (covered in Book 4; The Tainted Throne). Nearly everyone will remember Shah Jahan for two things – Deep love for his wife Mumtaz & the Taj Mahal! For those who want to know Shah Jahan the Man, Shah Jahan the Emperor who led campaigns from the front, Shah Jahan the Father, Shah Jahan and his political follies, and many other things – this is the book to read.

As with all his books in the series, Alex Rutherford’s narration of the events is gripping and brutal. The various aspects of Shah Jahan’s personality comes out powerfully in the story. The story does not completely dwell on his deep love for his wife and his obsession for building the Taj. In fact I liked it that several other aspects got more prominence. The fact is that Shah Jahan did get immensely distracted after the passing away of Mumtaz and it affected the empire in more ways than just the building of a fabulous monument with its attendant costs and human misery.

One cannot but wonder what if Shah Jahan spent more amounts of time with his sons, all of them, with nearly equal times? Would that have contributed to a stronger bond among the brothers? Or would it have still culminated in the deep alienation that Aurangzeb felt? What if Dara had been sent on more military missions to gain experience on aspects of war? What if Shah Jahan had recognized that Aurangzeb was becoming less tolerant towards other religions and had spent time to counter it? The book makes you wonder, and that I think comes only from a master story teller.

Akbar had advocated that girls born in the Moghul family would not be married so as to not create potential distress points along the extended family that could affect the safety of the dynasty. The life of Jahanara highlights the fate of most girls born in the royal family. They cannot fall in love, they cannot marry, they cannot experience motherhood and they simply have to take care of the father, the younger siblings and so on. The episode of the scarring of Jahanara is narrated with sensitivity.

I found the book exciting to read. I discovered that I knew very little of Shah Jahan and his life. This book and the entire series is a must-read for people who like history, historical novels, etc. Now I hope that Alex Rutherford comes out with the sixth book in the series featuring the stern, austere Aurangzeb who is often portrayed as a religious bigot. Surely there must be more to learn about the other side of Aurangzeb!

[Ankit Hawk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shah Jahan the fifth mughal emperor, the prodigy prince of last two novels has finally found the throne to rule India in “The Serpents Tooth” the fifth novel in the series. The changeover of the reign has not come without cost. It is not physical cost but has embedded in the Mughul Empire for long and which will hunt them till the end. Every prince had a chance to change the savage tradition of “Throne or Coffin” but none did.

So how Shah Jahan will manage threat from his sons knowing well aware that one of his children or all of them will ultimately revolt against him. One of the them will be serpent in the hiding waiting for the opportunity. Waiting for slight weakness. Waiting for the serpent to spread the poison and take the throne for themselves.

Shah Jahan is historically famous for building Taj Mahal. One of the seven wonders of the world. The memorable love story between Shah jahan and Mumtaz, the emperor and empress, that gave the monument meaning and craving for any love couples. Mumtaz had died early, at least in terms of modern era, but if she had been alive thing might have been different.

Read the complete review at Critichawk

[Raghavan Muthukrishnan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems like moghul's have spent 90% of their life in Haram's. Except the first & 2nd book, the reading interest in every series goes on reducing. Have dropped my idea to read the 6th book in the series.

[Carol D'Lima · Rating 2 out of 5]

This final book of the Quintet didn't live up to my expectation.. it was dragged throughout.. and didn't complete my journey of the Finale!

[Dhananjayan Jayabal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book missed lot of historical facts

[Richa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entire series, of which this is the 5th and last, was gracing my bookshelves for quite some time. Unfortunately, bad weather and seepage ruined the first 4 books... and I was left with the fifth.

I felt a sense of great loss then, chiding and accusing myself of lax and negligence towards my books. After finishing this book, my regret and sorrow has increased manyfold.

A wonderful book that manages to weave in the magic of fiction through the historical facts, in the process resurrecting the era and the people and their feelings. The author has been able to justify the actions in a very commendable way. The characters one felt were the 'villians' of history, are amazingly seen as human, and hence flawed, acting out of individual insecurities. Without having ever met the various actors in this long saga, Rutherford succeeds in being the best representer for them. Long after their death.

A wonderful series. Worth a read if not for the pleasure of the vision it provides, surely for the beautiful way it brings to life Mughal history.

[Shrikanth Venne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 5 th book of moghul empire is the best book after the 3rd book ruler of the world. In this book the author's narration kept me going. Author tried to give narration through Nicholas ballantyne eyes. He tried to explain samargarh battle between aurangzeb murad and dara sukoh all son of shah jahan and death of dara sukoh. By doing this author has succeeded well in narration. This book shows true love, betrayal, treachery and hungry for power. overall loved reading this book so it's a good goodread... ☺️

[Naman Arora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly a very well written account of the life story of Shah Jahan from the moment of his coronation till his very death.
It takes some time to read through the initial stages of the story which is a monotonous and banal account of the battles in the Deccan Campaign, but after that it's a very captivating plot; the construction of the Taj Mahal, the Northern Campaign and the blood feuds of the members of the Imperial Family. All of which keep the reader engrossed till the unfortunate end.

[Debrup Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading about the Mughal emperors, their architecture, their reigns, and the often treacherous ways in which they ascended to their thrones- these used to be fascinating during school days. I loved history as a subject because of this.

And I had wondered ever since, if there was someone who had written about the Mughal rulers, in the form of a story, a credible story built on facts, yet juicy unlike the bare bones history books.

I had read some of Dalrymples works on this quest. And even though I loved them, esp the last Mughal, I always wanted to know more about the big ones, Akbar, ShahJahan, Aurangzeb, the people who have shaped my lands destiny.

I stumbled upon this book and immediately loved it. I finished it in benaras on a 4 day vacation. Loved it to the hills.

Maybe the author (s) could have cut down a little on the descriptions of the wars, and maybe written a little more on the palace intrigue and conspiracy.

Dara as a character does not come out fully fleshed.

Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb and Jahanara come alive so much into ones imagination once the book is finished.

Overall, a lovely read, and reason enough to explore other books in this series.

[SUBRATA DATTA · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Aurangzeb would only divide our people, setting Hindus against Muslims. If he ever became emperor, his intolerance would scar this land just as fire once scarred this face of mine.” This is just a dialogue put on the lips of Jahanara. She might never have said that. But the import of her statement could not have been truer.
The Mughals came from the steppes of Central Asia and conquered much of Hindustan. But in establishing one of the most powerful and glorious dynasties in history they became part of India. After five generations – particularly after Akbar – Mughals were as much Indians as everybody. Indian history, culture and art will not be complete without the contributions of the Mughals.
But all this was threatened by the narrow, puritanical world view of Aurangzeb.
If that was how Aurangzeb saw his role as emperor of Hindustan (not as the land of Hindus, but as the land south of the Indus), the country reaped a bitter harvest 300 years later when the land was divided along religious lines. At a terrible cost.
And legacy of that bitterness continues.
What if Mumtaz did not die at childbirth at the age of thirty eight?
History of India would surely have been very different.
For one, we would not have the Taj Mahal.
But if that was a loss – and it would have been a loss – gains would have been greater.
Shah Jahan would not have become such an emotional wreck that had such a debilitating effect on the affairs of the State. The erudite, liberal, broad-minded Dara Sukoh would have succeeded Shah Jahan. The narrowness of Aurangzeb would have been lost in the forgotten pages of history.
But that is idle guess work. History is useless unless it guides our steps in our journey into the future.
What does the future hold? Who knows? But the strict interpretation of Islam that Aurangzeb held so dear in his heart is finding increasing echo in large swaths of the world more than 300 years after the last Great Mughal has been laid to rest. ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Qaida, Al Nusra, Jamait-e-Islami and what you have.
Of the five books in the Empire of the Moghul series I liked this one best. One of the reasons is that it has all the drama that a playwright can imagine. An emperor who presides over the destiny of 100 million people is utterly heart-broken by the death of his wife. In an age when emperors took multiple wives – for both physical and diplomatic reasons – Shah Jahan had only one wife. That speaks volumes of his love for his wife. A distraught emperor built a mausoleum for his wife that drained his treasury but which, 350 years later, became the very symbol of the nation. An old emperor, incarcerated by his own son, bereft of his empire and everything that went with it, is gazing forlornly from his confinement to the tomb of his wife.
Which playwright could have imagined a tragedy more poignant?
Not for nothing the Bengali Noble Laureate poet imagines the Taj Mahal as a teardrop on the cheek of time.
Very good read.

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors have surpassed themselves. What a wonderful and moving description of love and separation. I could actually feel Shah Jehan's suffering at the death of his only lover, friend, and guide and the urgency and desire to fulfil her dying wish. Her dream, her paradise on earth, a symbol of love, an open challenge to all lovers. Can their love survive the finality of death? Can their love be ever worthy of such brilliance as the Taj? Could they match and surpass such a timeless monument the great Taj represents?

What I really love about the story is that it hardly deviates from actual events as the story is more or less based on facts. Yes there are some fictitious characters but they are seldom critical. Most fictitious characters are like alter egos of the rulers giving further insights to their often isolated personalities.

Shah Jehan’s reign and his family discord was a watershed moment in the history of India, setting the scene for the demise of the great Moghul dynasty in India. The authors have portrayed conceivable set of historical events building up to to the last novel in this great series. I wait with baited breath…...

[Vyshakh Rajachandran · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book is really good.but i think its a kind of drab at the start.Wading through the pages,the plot began to blossom and ultimately become nail biting.I should thank Diane Preston and her husband Michel who writes under the pseudonym Alex Rutherford.Even though omitting some happenings the author have tried his level best to squeeze the maximum fruit from it.
The atrocities and treason by Aurengazeb are typically garnished by finely refined words.
Ultimately,the death of sons,plight of Shah jahan and oath of Aurangazeb as the sixth Moghul emperor is really pathetic.The description given at each instances invoke the prodigy and skills of author in providing psychological realism through simple style of story telling.
Eagerly waiting for the next sequel.

[Akshat Solanki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always liked reading historical fictions.
It's one of them and a must-read in my bookshelves.
The story is of Shah-Jahan, his children Shuja, Dara, Aurangjeb, Murad and three girls. (I forgot their names)
The author has written about the then time in a particular manner and that keeps you hooked until the end.
Especially, the feelings, loneliness of Shahjahan is written in a great manner and that's what demanding of this book.
It's must read and will offer details about Moghul empire and the time of 17th century.

[Aniruddha Das · Rating 3 out of 5]

And another one bites the dust. This book started out boring me so much that I was on the verge of tears. However, midway through the book, my love for history took over. The fighting scenes and the intimate scenes are so repetitive and boring that they almost put you to sleep. I skipped pages in between because it was all about somebody pulling his horse left while another was swinging his sword to the right! I'd definitely not recommend this book to anyone who is not a history enthusiast.

[vrenzy goel · Rating 4 out of 5]

love this series.
it really saddens me, how most of the Mughal artifacts, most ancient Indian paintings, gems from temples and taj mahal, everything, a lot of the books, poems and illustrations were stolen by Britain and still reside in that country. our history still stolen and reserved in foreign lands.

the writing is brilliant, so is the way the story has been constructed. simply brilliant.
I would love to visit Agra again, to relive the stories and incidents.

[Shilpi Saha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shahjahan......his love for Mumtaz.....how the favourite of Akbar was a great king till he lost love of his life....how he crumbled after that......ignored his kingdom and kids.........really the great king Shahjahan was this weak? His thoughts about his wife touches you but his tactlessness in handling Aurangzeb frustrates you too. A great lover ....a not so great emperor.

[Bobby D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was intended to be the last in the Empire of the Mogul series written under a pen name by Diana and Michael Preston. There has since been published a sixth book. THE SERPENT’S TOOTH is a sweeping epic with personal insights of the 5th Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666 and reigned for 30 years from 1628 to 1658). Early in his reign his wife Mumtaz Mahel died in childbirth (her 14th). Jahan had only the one wife and all of his children were full brothers and sisters. This the emperor thought would make it impossible for the jealousy and rebellious to continue as they had with previous Emperors. Jahan himself came to power by killing his half-brother rivals.
Upon Shah Jahan’s wife’s death he began to build a monument for her final resting place… the TAJ Mahal. This project and his grief consumed much of his reign leaving fatherhood an assumed role. He unintentionally played favorites between has sons causing friction, jealousy and ultimately Jahan’s downfall. His third surviving son Aurangzeb was a devout fundamentalist Muslim and very opposed to his older brother Dara and Emperor Jahan’s more secular tolerance of their subjects religions. The 3rd son Aurangzeb headed a rebellion while Jahan was still alive and defeated and killed his older brother Dara and his younger brother Murad who had even sided with Aurangzeb in the rebellion. Jahan lived 8 more years till the age of 74 under house arrest with son Aurangzeb as Emperor. Jahan was cared for by a daughter Jahanara who remained loyal to him (she was disfigured during a fire in the palace). Her younger jealous sister Rushanara joined Aurangzeb’s rebellion and enjoyed power upon his becoming Emperor.
One interesting narrative trick by the authors is the use of an English character Nicholas Ballantyne to describe much of the family and military conflict as viewed from the outside (fighting on the losing side of the rebellion in support of Dara). This character helps because much of the actual history of this time was written by visiting Europeans. Ballantyne’s observation of the royal family dynasty provides an interesting sub-plot and understanding of this period in history. As in previous books in the series Diana and Michael Preston provide a brief history review and a chapter by chapter comparison with the actual history as they bring their historians’ eye to this fictional series.
I have now read the first five books in the series and enjoyed them all. I was quite surprised by this even though I have also liked most of Diana Preston’s non-fiction books. It has occurred to me that even though I knew something of the Moghul Empire I was unware of the individual emperors and their family rivalries and personal stories. Although the stories mostly leave out the average subject of the Empire and those oppressed under its rule I became quite invested in the various characters that challenged for the thrown.

[Arun Divakar · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a steady and incremental growth in their fortunes and luck, the Mughal empire was plateaued by the time the throne passed on to Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan’s father Jahangir had come to power by competing fiercely against his brothers and Shah Jahan himself put his own half-brothers to the sword to ascend the throne. The lives of both father and son were an illustration that what goes around comes around. They did end up paying the price for their actions in the end and in very bloody ways too. Another thing common between the two was the reliance on women, opium and alcohol which pretty much was their undoing. While under Jahangir, his wife Mehr-un-Nissa was the defacto ruler when the emperor was incapacitated, Shah Jahan mourned his wife’s passing until the empire was falling to bits all around him. The reign of Shah Jahan is a good example of how not to administer a large empire and how the lack of a strong central ruler can bring stagnation to an empire. It goes back to what a former boss of mine once said – ’If you ain’t smart enough to do your job, someone smarter than you will come along and take it from you.’ In the emperor’s case, that someone was his own son – Aurangzeb.

From the time he loses his wife Mumtaz, the emperor is obsessed with building a memorial for her which finally took form as the splendid Taj Mahal. The construction of this magnificent tomb and the fuss around it take up a good part of the story. The interesting parts come later in the story as the drama that goes on in Shah Jahan’s family between his sons and daughters escalates. As Shah Jahan dips into melancholia, his children are growing but the emperor spares little thought for them. This comes back to haunt him after his sons become grown men. The Mughals also had an interesting philosophy about their claims for succession to the throne which went - Takht ya Takhta and which literally meant the throne or the coffin and almost every Mughal child came to adulthood subscribing to this ideology. By the time Aurangzeb came to power following a bloody and long military coup, Shah Jahan had lost his empire and his family. He died in house arrest, a mentally broken man.

From the intense battles during the times of the first emperors, the scenes have shifted more towards brooding and power plays within the family in the series now. A quick and interesting read.

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fifth book of the Empire of the Moghul series, The Serpent’s Tooth begins a little before the critical Deccan campaign of 1631, when Mumtaz Mahal—then pregnant with her fourteenth child, Gauhar Ara Begum—accompanied Shah Jahan to Burhanpur. She dies shortly after giving birth, and Shah Jahan falls apart: the Prestons (Michael and Diana Preston write as Alex Rutherford) use Mumtaz Mahal’s death and Shah Jahan’s resultant despair as a pivotal point of this particular story. Their contention seems to be (and it makes sense, at least in the fictitious story that this is) that a man so deeply in love with his wife grieved so deeply that he was no longer able to hold his family together, or see how his actions were serving to perhaps alienate some of his own offspring.

The book progresses across the years, from Mumtaz Mahal’s death to the construction of the Taj Mahal, the rising rebelliousness of Aurangzeb, and his eventual usurpation of the throne. There are some obviously fictitious elements (one fairly major character, Nicholas Ballantyne, for instance); and the authors have taken some liberties with how they interpret events or describe them—the well-known incident of Jahanara being seriously burnt, for example, is based not on fact, but on an imagined reason. Overall, though, the book is based fairly solidly on fact.

Of course, if you’re writing a novel and not non-fiction (even narrative non-fiction), you have to build dialogue and action and tension. The authors do this to varying levels of success. For me, the prolonged and highly descriptive battle and skirmish scenes got a little boring, but what I really liked was the way they are able to show the emotions, the dilemmas and conflicts that pulled and pushed around the throne.

There are a few minor errors here and there. ‘Zinderbad’, for instance; or the fact that the women of the haram (I like that the Prestons call it haram and not harem) don’t really practise purdah in the all-enveloping (pun intended) sense it was: Mumtaz Mahal would not have had male hakims touching her or even seeing her.

On the whole, though, this was a book I enjoyed. It was a good combination of solid fact and well-written historical novel, the characters skilfully etched, their motivations believable, and the dynamics surrounding the throne vivid.

[Shihab Azhar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, the only reason I am still reading this series is because I have spent so much time and effort reading the books that I figured I might as well see it to the bitter end.

The main reason I am disappointed is that this, like the story of Jahangir, is perhaps one of the most interesting periods in the history of the Moghuls, other than perhaps the actions of the Sayyid brothers. This book covers a period when there must have been plenty of intrigue, with, as the author's note at the end points out, a whole host of members of the court weaving complex webs, akin perhaps to the fiction of King's Landing in A Game of Thrones. But all of that is missing in the book - instead, it focuses on mostly Shah Jahan and his inability to deal with the loss of his wife. His sons pop up sometimes - abruptly and apparently with a lot of anger and mistrust, but there is little context given for why they hate each other. A bit more detail into why they hate each other so much would have helped provide a good counterpoint to the emperor's conviction that blood brothers should live in harmony. Instead, Dara comes off as a buffoon, Aurangzeb as a petulant teenager who is convinced that daddy does not love him, Murad as a cowardly lush, and Shah Shuja....well, he pops up once to declare war and then runs off after losing to his nephew. Instead we learn about a fictitious incident of incest, a slow-developing love story with a fictional character, and watch Shah Jahan deteriorate into a helpless doddering old fool until he dies. So much potential existed to make this a spell-binding story, but the author ignored all of it. And in terms of character development - suffice to say that a fictional character got most of the character development in the book, closely followed by the Taj Mahal, which is mentioned more times than Shah Shuja, Suleiman and Sipihr combined.

This therefore is a difficult read - you know there is so much happening behind the scenes but none of it actually comes out. Even the easiest bit of intrigue - the betrayal of Dara Shikoh - is told ex post through exposition by a roving scout.

I'm still going to finish this series because I've gotten too far to turn back, but I go into the final volume with very low expectations.

[Juhi Bansal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shah Jahan was the 5th ruler of the Mughal dynasty and the second ruler who lived the most. He could have transformed India into a rich land of culture and heritage of both the Hindu and the Muslim communities. But alas, his emotional turmoil over the death of Mumtaz not only made him lonely and depressed but separated him from his children in a way that he never got a chance to rekindle the relationship. It resulted in internal rivalries and civil wars.

However, as per me, this all still does not justify Aurangzeb's actions - killing Dara and Murad mercilessly and incarcerating his father for seven long years.

It is difficult to understand how the hunger for power makes someone so blind that they revolt against their blood. Before this book, the entire series consists of fights between stepbrothers. And all the more reason, this one was very shocking because it talks about the jealousy and hatred brewing in Aurangzeb's heart since his childhood days. Mentioning the incident where Mehrunissa captured him and his full brothers, Shah Jahan first calls out for Dara, and not Aurangzeb, shows the level of hatred he had for his father and elder brothers for so long.

I guess this kind of hatred comes when a person feels neglected and ignored and tries to overpower everything to show that he is the only now.

Historians say that if Dara Shukoh would have been the 6th Mughal emperor, there were high chances that the British Empire would not have colonized India. It would have also resulted in less Hindu-Muslim riots, given that Dara was very inclusive of all religions.

I need to read more about Dara Shukoh and hence bought a book by Supriya Gandhi.

But meanwhile, the way Alex Rutherford has depicted Aurangzeb and his character will send shivers down your spine. He somehow reminded me of Khilji and his craziness.

This book is worth spending a weekend on. The second book in the series I liked a lot after "Brothers at War". Somehow, for me, Humayun still was the best amongst this entire group of the Mughal dynasty.

[AVM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly, as eloquently glimmering above the previous ones as the Taj itself.

I had always thought of Shah Jahan as one of the weaker Mughal rulers, mainly due to the pinnacle of his reign being the Taj and not much being spoken of his battles and administration. In truth, the only reason I started reading the book was to get it over with so I could move on to the much-awaited Aurangzeb.

Needless to say, this proved me wrong. Reading this made me do my own research, and improved my opinion of Shah Jahan enough for him to make it to the list of the Mughal rulers I regard most, probably even second to Akbar.

I've been a fan of the series but I've always found a pattern in the way each of the previous ones start off well, gain momentum, lose it halfway, gain it again, lost it again and finally end on a high note. With each of the preceding books of the series, I had those moments where I'd put down the book to lift it more than a few days later.

But not this one. The only flaw I could notice is some grammatical errors, omitted words, extra spaces... But it was such an engaging read that I'm willing to overlook all of that. Mostly, I couldn't put the book down - and if I did, it was because I knew the inevitable and wasn't prepared to handle it. Articulate, angst-y, yet beautiful. A brilliant story of love and loss.

One could easily call it one of the best books in the series, and it wouldn't be a lie.

[Avinash Veeraraghav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the big 6 Mughal Emperors, Shahbuddin Muhammad Khurram - or, Shah Jahan - ended up becoming my favorite as a result of reading this book. Shah Jahan leads the Mughal Empire in fights with rebellious provinces in Bijapur and Golconda, aided by his wife, Mumtaz Mahal (originally Arjumand) at every step of the way. Unfortunately, after her husband's victories there against the powerful Abyssinian General Malik Ambar, Arjumand dies of childbirth. Devastated, Shah Jahan has modern-day India's most famous landmark of all, the Taj Mahal. Along the way, Shah Jahan is assisted by his daughter, the knowledgeable Jahanara, and she helps him gain his strength back. Europeans, most notably Nicholas Ballantyne, continue to have prominent roles in this book. Unfortunately, as we all know, Shah Jahan falls ill in 1657, and although the reader will of course sympathize with the tolerant and like-minded Dara Shukoh, history tells us that the powerful yet ruthless Aurangazeb is the one who emerges victorious, jailing his father in the process. Taktya Takhta continues to haunt the family. Like I said, Shah Jahan became my favorite of the Mughal Emperors, and this was my favorite book of the series. Yet, I can't help but wonder how different things would've been had Dara emerged victorious.

[Ananya Mandal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Independent of the Emperor Shah Jahan, this could be a story of a King/ruler. A man whose step mother poisoned his Emperor father against him in his youth, who loved a commoner and loved her so dear, who finally became the king and created a vast empire and beauty around him. A man who had four strong sons and 3 daughters from a single Empress, a man whose hair turned white overnight after he lost his wife and love, who built a white marble wonder for her tomb and who almost gave up his throne in despair. A man who watched as he fought depression how his sons grew up murderous and covetous of the throne, a man imprisoned by his own third son who sends him the head of his eldest son as a cruel gift.
This story is one which is material for a saga and I have read other authors who have treated it as such (The Taj by Colin D'Silva for example). Alex Rutherford has treated this as a continuation of their Empire of Moghul series and thus leaves you wanting more. This is the penultimate book in the 6 book series.
Three stars 🌟 from me because of the abridged version of this Epic. Style and flow of the writing is smooth and captivates you from first to last.

[Zaib Rizvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fifth of the six book series on Mughal Empire is about the life of Shah Jahan - the fifth Mughal ruler. It is the most sad and heart stirring story and worst part is it is true. Mughal dynasty is fill with stories of brothers against brothers, warfare and bloodshed but before Shah Jahan it was never about son against father. I loved the fact that unlike previous three books, this book was not divided between life of two emperors. It was mainly based on Shah Jahan’s life as emperor - loss of his wife and rebellion of his son. It is very sad to read about his suffering and sorrow. Author has done justice to his life. I felt that this book was as compelling and interesting to read as the first book - Riders from the North. Just a note to my non- muslim friends, Aurangzeb’s practice of Islam was an extremist take and very far from the real teaching of Islam. Islam places parents and sibling in very high esteem and his behaviour as shown is despicable. But, i guess Mughal ancestry of Thorn or Coffin plagued every Mughal emperor.

[Partha · Rating 5 out of 5]

অসাধারণ চাকচিক্যের মোড়া,মহাসাগরের মতো বিশাল সাম্রাজ্যের এক অধিপতি যিনি কিনা তার স্ত্রী,পুত্র ও কন্যা দ্বারা সমৃদ্ধ।একে একে সবই তার কাছ থেকে চলে যায় তার বিশাল সাম্রাজ্য,মণি,মুক্তা,কন্যা পুত্র যার সূচনা হয় তার প্রিয়তমা স্ত্রীকে দ্বারা।
স্ত্রীর মৃত্যুর পর নিজেকে বিচ্ছিন্ন করে তিনি তার অধিকাংশ সন্তানদের থেকে দূরে সরে যান।ফলশ্রুতিতে আপন পুত্র কন্যাদের মাঝেও মেরুকরণের সৃষ্টি হয়।যার অন্তিম পরিণতি ছিল রক্তাক্ত।
নিজের জীবনের শেষ আটটি বছর ছিল তার জীবনের সবচেয়ে কষ্টের সময়।একদা ময়ূর সিংহাসনে আসীন তাজমহলের মত অন্যতম সপ্তাশ্চর্য নির্মাণের পৃষ্ঠপোষক সম্রাট এর স্থান হয় তার প্রিয়তমা স্ত্রীর পাশেই।
গল্পটার নাম সার্পেন্ট টুথ ছিল এবং গল্পের অন্তিম মূহূর্তে তা সেরকমই ছিল মনে হচ্ছিল যেন এক বিষধর সাপ দংশন করছে বারবার।
তবে শেষ পর্যন্ত এটা এক প্রেমিকের প্রেমিকা হতে বিচ্ছেদ এর সারমর্ম ই বলা যায়।শোক যার কাছ শেষ পর্যন্ত সব কেড়ে নেয়।
এম্পায়ার অব দ্য মুঘল এর বাকি ৪ টা হতে এটাকে আলাদা অবশ্যই করতে হয়।বাকি ৪ টায় অভিযান এর অনেক বেশি বর্ণনা পাওয়া যায় কিন্তু এটা এক কথায় একটা ট্রাজেডি।

[Zainy Hassan Ziya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Serpent's Tooth continues the saga with the reign of Shah Jahan, Jahangir's son, who is renowned for commissioning the Taj Mahal. Rutherford captures the grandeur and tragedy of Shah Jahan's life, from his passionate love for Mumtaz Mahal to the devastating power struggle with his sons. The novel is rich in historical detail, depicting the architectural splendor, the opulence of the Moghul court, and the brutal reality of fratricidal conflict. Rutherford's storytelling is engaging, bringing to light Shah Jahan's visionary legacy and the costs of his ambition. This book is a poignant and dramatic continuation of the Moghul dynasty's epic story

P.S - do read “A teardrop on the Cheek of Time” by the same author which solely focuses on the relationship between Khurram, Arjumand and the Taj Mahal

[Tamam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fifth book of this six book series and the worst of the five. A lot of the actions basically happen behind the scene. Nonetheless, I am happy that I have gone through it. Due to the TV series Akbar the Great, which I watched with a certain eagerness in my childhood, I have learnt about Babur, Humayun, and Akbar. But Jahangir and Shah Jahan always lacked focus.

This book is on Shah Jahan. Many know him only for Taz Mahal, yet he had a very eventful and adventurous life.

This book opens the gateway to the reign of Aurangzeb. I don't know much about him. But the way he merilessly got rid of brothers to ascend the Mughal throne had always mesmerized me. I am really eager to dive into the sixth and last book on this series.

[Kushan Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the books in this series, this is probably the best. Maybe it's because it's the best story. For a long time, Shah jahan has fascinated me: his delusions, his obsession of making Taj mahal to fulfill his wife's dying wish, his struggles with sanity and reality and his tragic end after being betrayed by his own son. This book quenches my thirst of knowing him and in the process tells a great story of love, loss, betrayal and greed. The fact that almost all of it is real and not formulaic fiction makes it all the more fascinating.