''The Great Moghuls'' is a 1990

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

documentary series covering the dramatic story of the rise of the

Moghul Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

(1526–1857) of India. Over six generations, from father to son, the Great Moghuls captured, consolidated and profoundly influenced control of the sub-continent of India. The six-part series was written and presented by

Bamber Gascoigne Arthur Bamber Gascoigne (24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022) was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster on ''University Challenge'', which initially ran from 1962 to 1987. Early life and education Gasco ...

based upon his 1971 book of the same name. It was produced and directed by Douglas Rae and filmed on location in India.

Description

''The Great Moghuls'' is a six-part series of half-hour films devoted to the lives of the most important Mughal emperors, beginning with the founder of the dynasty,

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

(reigned 1526–1530) and ending with

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

(r. 1658–1707). The second Mughal ruler,

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern ...

(r. 1530–1556), does not have his own film, but his successor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

(r. 1556–1605) gets two. The series' script was written by Bamber Gascoigne. Gascoigne based the series on his book ''The Great Moghuls'' (NY: Harper & Row, 1971).

Episodes

1. "Babur"

Through the

Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing pa ...

in 1526 came the founder of the great Moghul Empire, Babur. He rode around with a small band of followers seizing villages and cattle. By the time he came into India, he had built up a sizeable army and had firearms which helped him to win battles that enabled him to crown himself

Emperor of India Emperor or Empress of India was a title used by British monarchs from 1 May 1876 (with the Royal Titles Act 1876) to 22 June 1948, that was used to signify their rule over British India, as its imperial head of state. Royal Proclamation of 22 ...

2. "Humayun"

In Akbar's great palace city at

Fatehpur Sikri Fatehpur Sikri () is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated 35.7 kilometres from the district headquarters of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar, serving th ...

near

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

we discover how a Great Moghul lived. Also examined are Akbar's first contacts with Europeans and his obsession with religion.

3. "The Young Akbar"

When the second Emperor Humayun died suddenly, his thirteen-year-old son was crowned Emperor. He was called Akbar, meaning "Great". He would grow up to amply deserve the name, for he was the greatest of the Great Moghuls.

4. "Aurangzeb"

Aurangzeb murdered two brothers to inherit the throne and imprisoned his father. He greatly extended the Moghul Empire, but

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

resistance to his attempts to impose Islam hastened his decline.

5. "Jahangir"

The stability of the previous reign continues, and

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

(r. 1605–1627) — more the aesthete and less the man of action than his father—is the right person to enjoy it. Meanwhile, drama is provided by the rivalries which surround the emperor, especially between his wife and son.

6. "Shah Jahan"

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

(r. 1628–1658) was something of an enigma. After murdering several relatives to secure the throne for himself, he built the world's most famous monument to love, the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

Availability

The series was made available on six VHS videocassettes or DVD (ca. 30 min. each; sd., col.; 1/2 in; Falls Church, VA : Landmark Media).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Moghuls 1990s British documentary television series 1990 British television series debuts 1990 British television series endings Babur Channel 4 documentary series Cultural depictions of Akbar Cultural depictions of Jahangir Cultural depictions of Shah Jahan Cultural depictions of Aurangzeb British English-language television shows Television shows set in India Works about Mughal Empire