Chapter seven examines cultural production and religious institutions in seventeenth-century royal courts, both Muslim and Hindu. Beginning with art and architecture commissioned by Jahangir and Shah Jahan, we then discuss elite lifestyles of both men and women. The opulence of court life attracted international visitors and led to cultural exchange leading to the introduction of chilis and other American plants. Next we examine non-Mughal cultural production in Rajput kingdoms whose attitudes toward the Mughals varied. Lifestyles of elite Rajput and Nayaka women are examined next, before we consider the courtly skills and sciences, such as letter-writing and astrology, that were admired in the Deccan sultanates, where literature with Sufi themes flourished. Royal patronage of three religious sites concludes the chapter.

Chapter three focuses on south India from the mid-fourteenth through mid-fifteenth centuries with an emphasis on Vijayanagara. We consider the rise and fall of this powerful kingdom including its military nature and its cultural orientation. While the rulers of Vijayanagara cast themselves as exemplary Hindu kings, they also embraced Islamicate cultural expression in their courtly dress and their palace buildings. The robust economy of Vijayanagara allowed for successful territorial expansion facilitated by active and successful trading. Contemporary with Vijayanagara was the Muslim ruled Bahmani kingdom situated to the northwest. The prime minister Mahmud Gawan’s ability to control its two dominant factions, nobles from Iran on one hand and Indian Muslims on the other, is among the topics explored.