Vikrant Vyas

The Glory Devoured       The armies of Bahadur Shah and Humayun clashed at the battle of Mandsor 1535 where the defection of a trusted general Rumi Khan to the Mughal side resulted in the defeat of Sultan Bahadur.         Following his defeat Bahadur Shah fled to Mandu, the capital of Malwa at the time. But the Mughal Badshah was determined to exterminate his enemy.       The Sultan was relentlessly pursued by Humayun like a bloodthirsty hound chasing down a hare all the way from Mandu, crossing Pavagadh and Khambhat till Diu on the Kathiyawad coast.    Humayun's chase of the Sultan finally came to an end upon the arrival of news of the rise of Sher Shah Suri in far off Bihar. Little did Humayun know that his own dynasty would soon spiral down into an abyss for years to come!  Bahadur Shah fleeing  from Khambhat   The Portugese Affair        Bahadur Shah while battling Humayun had sought ...

The Renegade Prince         The year was 1525, in the dead of the night, a 20 years old royal prince sneaked out of Ahmedabad , the then capital of the Gujarat sultanate. Prince Bahadur had a hanging sword on his head as his brother and heir to the throne of Gujarat, Sikander was conspiring to eliminate him. Bahadur in order to evade any mishap ventured out of Gujarat and headed Northwards.  Ahmedabad established in 1411 by Sultan Ahmed Shah The Enchanting Offers      After a brief stay at Chittor, Bahadur went to Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi to seek a favorable position at his court. But Sultan himself was in a precarious situation as the news of Babur's invasion of Hindustan had just arrived.   Looking at the illustrious and royal background of prince Bahadur, he was offered the throne of Delhi by some of the nobles who were fed up of the weary Lodhi Sultan. Another proposal offering him the seat of Jaunpur sultanate also came, b...

The Scourge of God      Temujin was a petty tribal leader indulged in skirmishes with other tribes in the vast steppe landscapes of Mongolia. The quarrels amongst tribes were common owing to the remarkably low annual rainfall and scanty resources. It was in 1206 that Temujin, having grown sufficiently powerful, gathered an assembly of all the Mongolian tribes and announced himself the supreme leader of them all, adopting the name Genghis Khan.          Under the leadership of this Great Khan and his successors, Mongols became a force to be reckoned with, expanding out of their homelands and conquering vast territories.      The Mongol Empire was a thundercloud that  covered an area of 24 million sq.km stretching from Korea to Europe in length and Russia to Persia in width. In 13th century around 25-30 percent of the global population lived under the rule of the Great Khan of Mongolia.  The Art and The Artist The Fugitive p...

The Golden Pillar          Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq(1351-88) was on a hunting expedition in the Topra region of modern day Haryana. While searching for game, his hunting party came upon a huge monolithic pillar. The Sultan was highly impressed by its fine polishing and lusture. He called it "Minar-i-Zarin" i.e. the golden pillar.  Topra pillar          One similar pillar was also discovered in Meerut(UP). Curious Sultan when inquired about the pillars, was informed by the locals that these giant structures were infact "walking sticks" of Bhim, the strongest of the Pandavs from Mahabharat times. Firoz Shah finding them to be valuable,ordered his men to transport the pillars which stood 42 feet in height and weighing almost 27 tons each to his capital.  Meerut pillar  The Enigma Code      Firoz Shah was restless even after bringing the pillars to Delhi, he had noticed some strange engraving on both the pillar...

        In the bustling and raucous lanes of South Delhi rests quietly an ill-fated Mughal Emperor.     The life story of Humayun (1530-40/56)  is packed with struggles.  After the death of Babur(1483-1530), a vagabond prince from Central Asia, his son Nasiruddin Muhammad Humayun Mirza, eventhough designated heir to the Mughal throne had to confront his brothers Kamran,Hindal and Askari who also wanted their shares in the still infant empire.           After ruling for a little over a decade, Humayun had to face the Afghan menace Sher Shah Suri(1540-45). Sher Shah decisively defeated the Mughal emperor at the battle of Chausa(1539) and the battle of Kannauj(1540).       Humayun had to escape to Iran and remain in exile for 15 long years before returning to reclaim his lost legacy. He acquired Delhi from Sikander Shah in 1555.    Little over 6 months must ...