episode / view more episodes
The Meeting of Two Oceans
The fifth episode takes viewers to the time of the Renaissance in Europe, when India was the richest, most populous civilization in the world. Michael Wood visits the desert cities of Rajasthan and travels among the fabulous Moghul 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 new theory about its construction. Exploring the legacy of the Moghul empire that stretched across today's political borders, Wood tells the tale of the early Moghuls, starting with the redoubtable Babur, founder of the dynasty, and his grandson Akbar the Great, 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. The Moghul story, which contains some of the most fascinating characters in all of history, ended in tragedy as two brothers fought over Akbar's legacy in a battle that destroyed Akbar's dream. Waiting in the wings to pick over the spoils were ... the British.
