வந்தார்கள் வென்றார்கள் -மதன்

Good book by Madhan.He really had done a great research & reading to write this book.This book details the conquest of India by different kings.Starting from King Timur to Bahdur sha  the author narrates the important events in a simple Tamil and in a interesting way.

Qutub Minar construction started by Qutb-ud-din Aibak
and completed by Iltutmish

I was fascinated  by the rein of Babur , he was a wonderful king with great courage.Like Babur many of the Persian kings were fascinated by India but none of them conquered and ruled India like Babur and latter his descendants.Another interesting information is the kings marriage with different religions women for strategic reason, in fact some had nearly 20 wives!!

Emperor Humayun tomb

Apart from the stories of kings , i liked the information about Rajputs, very courageous and high morale men. The wives of Rajputs self-immolate themselves when their husbands died at the battlefield(interesting), in fact in some cases the whole backyard was destroyed before the arrival of the enemy troops.Akbar, another fascinating character, he was the only king who understood very early in his rein that without respecting the religious sentiments of Indians one can not rule it .Under his kingship the empire flourished in all front.A great reign.

Somnath Temple was destroyed and looted
 many times by different kings

Many muslim kings destroyed hundreds of Hindu temples.Emperor Jahangir spoilt the reputation and goodwill created by his father. Akbar and created storm among Hindus by ordering to destroy to all the temples built within 10 years and introducing "again" the heavy taxes on Hindus.

Taj Mahal constructed by Sha Jahan

The list of Mogul emperors

Name	Life Time	Children
Babur	1483-1531	Humayun,Askari Mirza, Hindal Mirza,Gulrukh Begum,Kamran mirza
Humayun	1508-1556	Akbar,Muhammad Hakim
Akbar	1542-1605	Jahangir,Khanzada,Sha Murad,Daniyal,Shakarunnisa Begum,Aram Banu Begum
Jahangir	1569-1627	Sha Jahan,Khusrau Mirza,Parvez,Shahrayar,Jahandar,Sultan Nisar Begum,Bahar Banu Begum
Sha Jahan	1592-166	Aurangzeb,Dara Shikoh,Shah Shuja,Murad Baksh,Jahanara Begum,Roshanara Begum
Aurangzeb	1618-1707	Muhammad Azam shah,Bahadur Sha-I
Bahadur Sha-I	1643-1712	Azimu-sh-Shan,Rafi'u-sh-shan,Jahandar Shah,Khujista Akhtar
Jahandar Shah	1664-1713	Alamgir-II
Farrukhsiyar son of Azimu-sh-Shan	1683-1719	-
Rafi'u-d-Darjat son of Rafi'u-sh-shan	1699-1719	-
Shah Jahan II(Rafi'u-d-daula) son of Rafi'u-sh-shan	1696-1719	-
Muhammad Shah	1702-1748	Ahmad Shah Bahadur
Ahmad Sha Bahadur	1725-1754	Bedar Bakht
Alamgir-II	1699-1759	Shah Alam-II
Shah Jahan-III	Unknown	-
Shah Alam-II	1728-1806	Akbar Shah-II
Akbar Shah-II	1760-1837	Bahadur Shah Zafar
Bahadur Shah Zafar **	1775-1862	6 sons and 4 daughters

Babur was the descendant of the great Genghis Khan.

** Bahadur Shah Zafar was the only Mogul emperor to be captured in a photograph.Apart from the mogul emperors ,there were many great kings and rulers ruled the different parts of India.Among them notables were Chhatrapati Shivaji and Rajputs specially Rana Pratap Singh.

Shalimar gardens constructed by Sha Jahan

Some interesting facts:
=>Babur was uneducated , in fact he did not know how to read and write.
=>Humayun was very soft and kind hearted because his nature he faced so many unwanted problems
=>The story of Sher Sha Suri
=>Akbar married even  Hindu girl(s)!!
=>After Akbar all the emperor came to power through conflicts(mini battle)
=>Sha Jahan's desired to built black marble building(Black Taj mahal) after his death but his son Aurangzeb was   not interested as it needs lots of resources and ultimately they buried him inside the Taj mahal itself!
=>Sha Jahan's reign was the golden period for Mogul architecture
=>Aurangzeb was very much interested in animals ,he kept diary to write about his observation.
=> Roles played by eunuchs in our history for example the story of Malik kafur.
=> Nur Jahan's role in Jahangir's reign
=>Punishments by the Mogul empires were
     -Blinding the eye
     -Making elephant to stamp on the head
     -Peel off the skin when the prisoner is alive
     -Make the victim an opium addict (slow death)
     -Cutting the tongue off    

Other references :
Fatehpur Sikri 
List of Rajputs

Overall a great book!A must for every Indian.Madan , i knew him through Madan's Q& A in Ananda Vikatan.This book was a compilation of chapters which published in Ananda Vikatan weekly.The authors sense of humor is visible through out the book.He makes the history more interesting than text books of our schools.