History of India, Volume VI
From Akbar to European Supremacy
Overview
Published in 1907 as part of a multi-volume collaborative history, Volume VI covers India from Akbar’s reign through Mughal decline to European colonial competition. The 380-page volume presents Mughal zenith, indigenous Muslim historians’ accounts of Islamic rule, early European settlements, and 17th-century struggle for supremacy.
Edited by Iranologist A. V. Williams Jackson, with contributions from Stanley Lane-Poole (Mughal history), Henry Elliot (Persian chronicle translations), William Wilson Hunter (early European contact), and Alfred Lyall (colonial expansion).
Contents
Akbar’s Reign (1556-1605): Administrative reforms, religious tolerance, Din-i-Ilahi synthesis, mansabdari system, Indo-Persian cultural flowering
Mohammedan Historical Accounts: Persian chronicles by Indian Muslim historians describing their own dynasties—indigenous perspectives beyond European interpretations
Mughal Decline: Post-Aurangzeb fragmentation, provincial rebellions, Maratha expansion, Persian/Afghan invasions
European Arrival: Portuguese, Dutch, French, English trading companies establishing coastal footholds
Colonial Competition: 17th-century European struggle for Indian supremacy through naval power, diplomacy, and exploitation of political fragmentation
The Collaborative Method
The volume assembles specialist scholars: Jackson’s Persian expertise, Lane-Poole’s Islamic history, Elliot’s translation work, Hunter’s administrative knowledge, Lyall’s colonial insider perspective. This polyvocal approach, innovative for 1907, incorporated indigenous sources alongside European accounts—though filtered through imperial assumptions about which texts mattered and how to interpret them.
Digital Access
This Internet Archive edition preserves a significant example of early 20th-century Indian historiography—valuable both for Mughal-era documentation and for understanding how colonial scholars constructed narratives of Indian history.