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The Mughal empire was one of the largest centralized states in the premodern world and this volume traces the history of this magnificent empire from its creation in 1526 to its breakup in 1720. Richards stresses the dynamic quality of Mughal territorial expansion, their institutional innovations in land revenue, coinage and military organization, ideological change and the relationship between the emperors and Islam. He also analyzes institutions particular to the Mughal empire, such as the jagir system, and explores Mughal India's links with the early modern world.
John F.
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Hailian Chen’s pioneering study presents the first comprehensive history of Chinese zinc—an essential base metal used to produce brass and coin and a global commodity—over the long eighteenth century. Zinc, she argues, played a far greater role in the Qing economy and in integrating China into an emerging global economy, than has previously been recognized. Using commodity chain analysis and exploring over 5,800 items of archival documents, Chen demonstrates how this metal was produced, transported, traded, and consumed by human agents. Situating the zinc story within the human-environment framework, this book covers a broad and interdisciplinary range of political economy, material culture, environment, technology, and society, which casts new light on our understanding of early modern China.
From the mid-16th to the early 18th centuries the Mughal empire was the dominant power in the Indian subcontinent. Contrary to what is sometimes suggested, John Richards argues that this centralised state was dynamic and skillfully run. The studies here consider its links with the wider early modern world, and focus on three related aspects of its history. The first concerns the nature of imperial authority, in terms both of the dynastic ideology created by Akbar and his successors, and the extent to which this authority could be enforced in the countryside. The second aspect is that of fiscal and monetary policy and administration: how did the Mughals collect, track and expend their vast re...
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