It is 1494, and the new ruler of Ferghana, Babur, faces a seemingly impossible challenge. He is determined to equal his great ancestor, Tamburlaine, whose conquests stretched from Delhi to the Mediterranean, from wealthy Persia to the wild Volga. But he is dangerously young to inherit a crown, and treasonous plots, tribal rivalries, rampaging armies, and ruthlessly ambitious enemies will threaten his destiny, his kingdom, even his survival. Already an acclaimed international bestseller, Raiders from the North chronicles the rise and fall of one of the most powerful and magnificent dynasties the world has ever known. Full of breathtaking bloodshed and treachery, this is historical adventure at its very best. “Rutherford's glorious, broad-sweeping adventure in the wild lands of the Moghul sees the start of a wonderful series. . . . Breathtaking stuff.” ― Manda Scott, author of The Boudica Quartet “ Raiders from the North is a rousing, rampant gallop through the golden age of one of the world's greatest empires. . . . This series will conquer readers as utterly as a Moghul army.” ―Nicholas Nicastro, author of Empire of Ashes “A swift and exciting book that brings to new life a story that history had nearly forgotten.” ―Michael Curtis Ford, author of The Fall of Rome “A historical novel filled with authentic historical characters that give the readers a glimpse into the savagery and ruthless ambition of the Moghul rulers.” ― Deseret News “A totally absorbing narrative filled with authentic historical characters and sweeping action set in an age of horrifying but magnificent savagery. The writing is as compelling as the events described and kept me eagerly leaping from one page to the next.” ―Wilbur Smith “Brilliant and bloodthirsty.” ―The Northern Echo (UK) “Rollicking.” ― The Hindustan Times (India) “A compelling series of novels.” ― Deccan Herald (India) “The pace is fast, and Rutherford carries off the battle scenes with élan.” ― Business Standard (India) “Alex Rutherford has set the bar high for his sequels.” ― The Daily Mail (UK) “The books belong to the bigselling genre of historical fiction -- where skimpy facts are fleshed out with vivid descriptions and adorned with the glittering brocades of imagination.” ― The Times of India “An engaging, well-balanced work . . . [with] a certain cinematic helf to it, with a TV documentary-like treatment of the dramatic and the historic.” ― New Delhi (India) ALEX RUTHERFORD is the pen name for Diana and Michael Preston, whose nonfiction has been awarded the Los Angeles Times Science and Technology Prize and been praised worldwide. They live in London. As Rutherford they are author of the Empire of the Moghul series, beginning with Raiders from the North and A Kingdom Divided . Raiders from the North Empire of the Moghul By Alex Rutherford St. Martin's Griffin Copyright © 2011 Alex Rutherford All right reserved. ISBN: 9780312573225 Chapter 1 Death Among the Doves In a small dusty fortress in Central Asia in the summer of 1494, the baked-mud battlements, grey as elephant’s hide in daytime, were pinkening before Babur’s eyes with the sunset. Far beneath, the Jaxartes river gleamed a dull red as it flowed westward across the darkening plains. Babur shifted his weight on the stone step and returned his attention to his father, the king, who was pacing the fortress walls, hands clasped against the turquoise fastenings of his robes. His face was working excitedly as he launched into the story his twelve-year-old son had heard so many times before. But it was worth the retelling, Babur reflected. He listened carefully, alert for the new embellishments that always crept in. His lips moved with his father’s when the king reached the climax – the one part that never changed, each of its grandiose phrases sacrosanct. ‘And so it happened that our ancestor the great Timur – Timur the Warrior, whose name meant “Iron” and whose horses sweated blood as he galloped through the world – won a vast empire. Though he was so cruelly injured in his youth that one leg was longer than the other and he walked with a limp, he conquered from Delhi to the Mediterranean, from wealthy Persia to the wildernesses along the Volga. But was that enough for Timur? Of course not! Even when many years were upon him, he was still strong and robust in body, hard like a rock, his ambition boundless. His final enterprise was ninety years ago against China. He rode out with the thunder of two hundred thousand horsemen in his ears and victory would have been his, had Allah not summoned him to rest with him in Paradise. But how did Timur, this greatest of warriors – greater even than your other ancestor Genghis Khan – do all this? I see the question in your eyes, my son, and you are right to ask it.’ The king patted Babur’s head approvingly, seeing that he held his complete attention. Then he resumed, voice rising and falling with poetic fervour. ‘Timur was clever and b