Free Empire of the Moghul: The Serpent's Tooth by Alex Rutherford

that many years ago the Persians helped our great-great-great grandfather Babur in his struggle against the Uzbek leader Shaibani Khan … that the Persians rescued Babur’s sister from the Uzbeks and sent him a drinking cup made from Shaibani Khan’s skull. It can’t be true … When were the Moghuls ever in such thrall to the Persians, Father?’
    But it was Aurangzeb, sitting a little behind the other two, who answered. ‘The story’s true, as you’d know, Shah Shuja, if you ever bothered to read the chronicles – especially Babur’s own account. You’d also know that one of the reasons Humayun finally won back Hindustan was because the Persians loaned him an army.’
    ‘I am impressed, Aurangzeb. Your tutors told me you were studious but I didn’t realise how much. Perhaps one day you’ll be a great scholar,’ said Shah Jahan.
    ‘A scholar? No – I’ll be a warrior like you!’
    ‘Perhaps.’
    ‘I mean it, Father.’ Aurangzeb’s serious young face was flushed. ‘What I read tells me the Moghuls won Hindustan by the sword – not by the pen. That’s how we’ll keep it.’
    Shah Jahan suppressed a smile. Aurangzeb’s sense of humour was not strong and his feelings were easily bruised – something his brothers, who often teased him, understood only too well. ‘I’m sure you will be whatever you wish to be.’
    As Shah Jahan looked at his family, reunited once more, his eyes met Mumtaz’s and she gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod – her signal to broach the subject that they had talked of deep into the night.
    ‘Dara Shukoh, Tuhin Roy praised your tact and discretion in Persia. You acquitted yourself as a man, not a boy, and your mother has a suggestion for how we might declare this to all the world.’
    ‘What do you mean, Father?’ Dara Shukoh’s clear hazel eyes looked from Shah Jahan to Mumtaz.
    ‘It is time for you to marry. Your mother has suggested your cousin Nadira as your bride. She has noticed how much you like her …’
    Dara Shukoh’s somewhat abashed but delighted expression showed that Mumtaz hadn’t been wrong. So did the knowing grins on the faces of Shah Shuja and Aurangzeb. Even though he hadn’t been aware of the attachment till now, Shah Jahan was pleased. If one day Dara had to take other wives for dynastic reasons it was good that his first marriage should be to a woman for whom he cared. He hadn’t been much older himself when he’d been betrothed to Mumtaz. And it was a good alliance for the dynasty. Nadira was the daughter of his half-brother Parvez, whose passion for drink and opium had killed him at the age of only thirty-eight at a time when conflict had divided the dynasty. A union between Nadira and Dara Shukoh would heal at least some of the wounds of the past and bind the wider imperial family closer. She was also beautiful – short but voluptuous – and with a ready wit that she had already showed was a match for Dara’s agile mind at the family gatherings where Mumtaz had observed their mutual attraction.
    ‘Well, Dara, what do you say?’
    ‘It would make me very happy to marry Nadira,’ Dara replied, his voice betraying a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment – the latter doubtless fuelled by his brothers’ smirking scrutiny.
    ‘I’m glad you approve. I’ll start planning your wedding. It will be a welcome distraction during these final weeks of waiting for your new brother or sister to join us,’ said Mumtaz, looking down on her swollen belly.
    Shah Jahan lay back against the cushions, already visualising the splendour of the marriage procession. The ceremony would take place as soon as possible after their victorious return to Agra. It would mark not only the nuptials of a beloved son and an imperial prince but also the true start of his own reign when, with the rebels of the south subdued, he could begin to take the Moghul empire forward to new splendours and new conquests.

    ‘Majesty, Rai Singh has located a large Bijapuran