"Annemarie Schimmel’s entire book is imbued with this sense of wonder, leading us through a rich verbal and visual survey of the Mughal Empire from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries."

Clio

"This is a splendid book, fittingly enough for a history of one of the world’s great empires and a worthy memorial to its distinguished author. . . . This is a wonderfully vivid portrait of a fascinating age."

The Scotsman

"Schimmel was a respected scholar of Islam, best known for her studies of Sufism and of Persian poetry, whose love of her field was as deep as her knowledge. . . . Richly illustrated . . . Because of its extensive notes, glossary, and bibliography, this book could be used as an undergraduate text. It will be better appreciated, however, by amateur readers-lovers of culture, art, and history. Highly recommended."

Library Journal

"A concise but extremely competent historical overview . . . a delight . . . an excellent introduction to Mughal history, art and culture, from the bazaar to the harem, and the poetic assembly to the battlefield."

South Asia News

"An excellent cultural history of one of the great cosmopolitan court cultures, full of vivid ancedote and pertinent quotes."

The Independent

"This masterly study of Mughal civilization offers . . . an assured overview that gives even the monoglot reader a sense of the values of Mughal poetry and prose. . . . A broad but concise introduction to Indo-Islamic culture."

Times Higher Education Supplement

"This parting gift which Schimmel has left behind once again shows her mettle as a powerful and prolific writer of extraordinary worth. . . . It is an encyclopedic work possessing something of everything and very useful as a ’handbook of Mughal history and culture.’ . . . The work is particularly significant becasue of its success at capturing the bygone grandeur of the Mughal period as well as a vivid view of medieval social life with such profundity of thought that the age comes alive for readers. The illustrations and the rich miniature paintings not only provide a visual delight but present numerous beautiful and rare images, some of which are hitherto largely unseen and unknown. . . . The book is a welcome addition to the world of scholarship--a unique dictionary of Mughal history and a culture for which Schimmel will long be remembered."

Mansura Haidar | Sixteenth-Century Journal