Malik Ambar: The Dark Fated One
The life of the Ethiopian who arrived in India as a slave but rose to become a powerbroker and kingmaker.
Prof. Sunil Khilnani profiles the life of Malik Ambar, an Ethiopian slave who rose to become a power-broker and king maker.
Malik Ambar's story challenges some of our familiar perceptions of slavery. He was part of a tradition of military slavery which created elite warriors, educated and nurtured by their masters and treated almost like sons. Once freed, his power base grew. He took on the mighty Mughal Empire of the north using sophisticated guerrilla tactics and an ability to harass his enemy under cover of darkness.
Emperor Jahangir became obsessed with the Ethiopian, calling him "the ill-starred Ambar" and "Ambar of dark fate". A painting commissioned by Jahangir shows the Ethiopian's severed head on a spear and the Emperor firing arrows into it. However, as Prof. Khilnani reveals, all is not what it seems in that image.
Sunil Khilnani contrasts the rise to power of a black African in 16th century India with contemporary Indian attitudes towards people of African descent - a racism even shared by Mahatma Gandhi during his South African years.
Producer: Jeremy Grange.
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A list of objects, people and places inspired by the series.
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Maths expressed as poetry
Aryabhata is the 5th century Sanskrit mathematician who wrote his theories in verse.
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What would the ancient sage and father of medicine's top tips for a healthy life be?
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The Ethiopian slave who became a king maker
Duration: 03:22
Broadcasts
Tue 2 Jun 2015 13:45大象传媒 Radio 4 FM- Tue 9 Feb 2016 14:15大象传媒 Radio 4 Extra
- Wed 10 Feb 2016 02:15大象传媒 Radio 4 Extra
Remarkable individuals who shaped India, and sometimes the world.
Professor Sunil Khilnani introduces the second series of Incarnations.
Incarnations - The Podcast
Download all the episodes from the series and listen at your leisure.
Incarnations: Art and Music
The artists who created the illustrations and music for the series.
Podcast
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Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
The history of India told through the lives of 50 phenomenal people.
