Customer Reviews

Warrior Empire - The Mughals (History Channel)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This 90-minute program about India's Mughal (or Mogul) Empire, which lasted from 1526 to 1858, focuses on the battles and weaponry of the Mughals under the emperors Babur, Akbar, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb, with attention also to Mughal architecture, including the Taj Mahal. You'll learn a great deal about the making and use of the composite bow, armor for elephants, swords, matchlock guns, cannons, and rockets, and you'll see demonstrations of many of the weapons.

I was disappointed that virtually nothing was said about religion or government in the Mughal Empire--where Muslims ruled a largely Hindu populace--but if you're particularly interested in the Mughals as warriors, you'll probably find this program quite interesting.

(The documentary "Ancient India" includes about ten minutes near the end about the Mughals.)

I just watched this today and I loved it. In 90 minutes, this provides you with a great introduction to the Mughals, their origins as nomadic peoples and how this shaped their style of conquest. Particular attention is paid to the innovative weapons they either brought from Central Asia or adopted from the locals. I am not a military history fan but I found the weapon demonstrations most interesting and enlightening.

Those of you familiar with the Mughals may agree that covering 3 + centuries of history in 90 minutes can only amount to massive omissions. For example, they did not go over the cultural legacy left by the Mughals apart from their exquisit architectural legacy. They also overlooked how the Mughals expanded the reaches of Islam throughout the subcontinent. Their contributions to poetry, literature, painting and language are also overlooked. It didn't bother me as much because everything they included was of interest, though more politically and militarily speaking than anything else.

I wish they came up with several volumes of this dinasty rather than the 90 minute documentary but for now it is the best I've found. Highly recommended.

For an amateur like me this was a good intro to the subject of the Mughals, about all I'd known about before was that one of them built the Taj Mahal. It focuses mainly on their military exploits and weaponry, and is a bit light on the other history, but for a segue in to the subject it's fine. The section on the amazing gigantic canon, which had a range of 20 miles (the same as the 16 inch guns on the WWII battleships like the Missouri), was worth watching the video just for that. At 90 minutes, it's half an hour longer than the typical one-hour special. Overall, an interesting and entertaining intro to the subject. I'd be interested in a good recommendation for a book on the period from anyone who knows this particular period.

This documentary went into depth on the Mughal weapons, and their power. Pretty scary to see how their little composite bows stacked up to the long bow. These guys must have been a real terror.

Firstly, I should state that I knew very little about the Mughals which is why I bought this DVD. I agree with the others who gave this film 4- and 5-stars. However, there is a negative no one has pointed out yet, so I will.
For some of the battle scenes the History Channel used the same kind of cheesy CGI that was used for Decisive Battles of the Ancient World. But this is just a quibble. It's entertaining. It's informative. Buy it. You won't be sorry.

Not what I exactly thought it would be. Considered to be a bit short on the history of the dynasty and focussed more on the militaristic feats. A bit of a disappointment to someone who is reasonably well versed with the history of India.

This is a great HISTORY CHANNEL Video. I love the historical link between Tippu Sultan's rocket innovation and Francis Scott Key's "Star Spangled Banner."

Can't reallly review this. Got it and just as it got good the thing froze on us.