Episode 5: The Meeting of Two Oceans

The fifth episode of the story of India takes us to the time of the Renaissance in Europe, when India was the richest, most populous civilization in the world.

We visit the desert cities of Rajasthan and travel among the fabulous Mughal cities of Delhi, Agra and Fatepur Sikri. At the Taj Mahal—just voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World by 100 million voters worldwide—Wood demolishes an old myth about the Taj and offers a startling new theory about its construction.

Exploring the legacy of the Mughal empire that stretched across today's political borders Michael Wood tells the tale of the early Mughals, starting with the redoubtable Babur, founder of the dynasty, and his grandson Akbar the Great, "one of the very greatest figures in history", a Muslim king who tried to make India a multi racial and multi-religious state.

His aim was to achieve a Hindu-Muslim equilibrium based on the brotherhood of mankind with no one religion holding the ultimate truth - a message for our own time if ever there was one.

The story of the Mughals has some of the most fascinating characters in all of history but ends in tragedy as two brothers fought over Akbar's legacy, in a battle that in the end broke Akbar's dream. While waiting in the wings to pick over the spoils were...the British.

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Episode Credits

Written and Presented by Michael Wood
Producer: Rebecca Dobbs
Editor: Gerry Branigan
Music: Howard Davidson & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Filmed and Directed by Jeremy Jeffs

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Top photos left to right:

1. First Mughal mosque, Panipat
2. Golden Temple, Amritsar
3. Fatehpur Sikri
4. Taj Mahal, Agra

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1. Overview
2. Beginnings
3. The Power of Ideas
4. Spice Routes & Silk Roads
5. Ages of Gold
6. The Meeting of Two Oceans
7. Freedom

Places visited in Episode 5: