18th century

The Joona Warra (Old Fort), Poona

This is a late 19th century photograph of the Shaniwar Wada in Pune by an unidentified photographer. Shaniwar Wada, was once the royal residence of the Peshwas. In 1828 a great fire started inside the palace complex tarnished most of the fort, leaving only the heavy granite ramparts, teak gateways and some building ruins. The… Read more »

Map of the Mughal Empire

This map of Mughal India created by Matthew Seuter in 1745 is titled Imperii Magni Mogolis. The map charts out the extent of the Mughal Empire, extending to Persia and Kandahar (In the west) and Burma and Thailand (In the east). To the south it extends to the Malabar coasts and also points out the… Read more »

Farrukhsiyar, Gold Fanam

The great-grandson of Aurangzeb is best known for setting a series of unfortunate events in motion. Thanks to Muhammed Farrukhsiyar’s tenuous hold on the throne of the empire, his reign (1713 to 1719 CE) marked a crucial shift in power from the emperor to the court ministers or kingmakers. The ones in question here were… Read more »