"A fascinating window into one of South Asia's most creative historical periods."
— Holly Donahue, Virginia Quarterly Review
"A significant contribution to the understanding of medieval, pre-modern India."
— Muslim World Book Review
"This work is the single most useful and reliable volume on medieval north Indian cultural history available today. . . . Alam's book will undoubtedly benefit students of history, literature, and religion."
— Syed Akbar Hyder, Journal of Asian Studies
"Alam works on a large canvas with sweeping brushstrokes, seeking to relate the political theory of Muslim states in South Asia . . . to the broader sweep of medieval and early modern Islamic thought. . . . Alam has created a powerful framework for rethinking not only the creation and spread of Mughal political culture but also its ramifications into the eighteenth century and beyond."
— Robert Travers, Eighteenth-Century Studies