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 six examines developments from 1550 to 1650, with attention paid to aspects of early modernity. We begin with the careers of the Mughal emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan and then to a consideration of trade during their reigns, especially the maritime textile trade that brought Europeans to Gujarat’s ports. Active merchant-traders, both Indian and European, illustrate the diversity of Mughal commercial activity. We then turn to the Bahmani successor states in the Deccan, Bijapur and Golconda, focusing on their artistic production, multicultural nobility, and flourishing trade. Following this is an overview of the post-1565 Vijayanagara kingdom and its successor states. An account of the textile production, European enclaves, and maritime trade along India’s southeastern coast concludes the chapter.