Oxford Indian Society has invited the well known writer and Historian William
Dalrymple to give a talk on
'The Last Mughal and the Indian Mutiny:
The fall of a dynasty, Delhi 1857'

Time: 1pm, 11 June 2008
Place: Bernard Sunley Theatre,St Catherine's college, Oxford

Descendants of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, the Mughals were a dynasty that ruled
India for over three centuries. They have had a lasting impact on the
subcontinent's cuisine, language and architechture. The latter by building
monuments such as the Taj Mahal. William Dalrymple, acclaimed historian and
author, will discuss the fall of this dynasty, as personified by the tragic
figure of Emperor Bahadurshah Zafar, the eponymous Last Mughal of his latest
book. Zafar's departure as Emperor marked not only the end of a great dynasty,
but the failure of the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and the establishment of the
British Raj.

Dalrymple's interests include India, the Middle East, Mughal rule, the Muslim
world and early Eastern Christianity. All of his six books have won major
literary prizes. More recently, Dalrymple has published a book of essays about
South Asia, and two award-winning histories of the interaction between the
British and the Mughals between the eighteenth and mid nineteenth century. He is
the co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival. For more information visit
http://www.williamdalrymple.uk.com

For more information please contact ois@herald.ox.ac.uk