BOOK REVIEW 59 even influenced buildings done much later under colonial rule in India. The strong influence of Fatehpur Sikri, for instance, is all too evident in Lutyens* work of the capitol complex in Delhi. The opening chapter of the book explores these origins and identifies the Delhi Sultanate, the Tughlaqs, the non-Islamic and Iranian inspirations for what became clearly identified as the Mughal style. It follows the historical chronology of events which are inevitably structured around the history of the six emperors. Significantly, the book has moved away from the pedantic approach that normally plagues books on the history of architecture where architectural styles and features are described in page after page of text. Asher, instead, weaves one strand of historical events into the other strand which identifies the architectural achievements of the age. Her chapter on Babur relates how he was really a creator of gardens and had left behind only three mosques of which, after December 6 last year, now only two survive. Considering that the many gardens he laid out too have disappeared there is precious little left to remember him by. The chapter on Akbar engages one from the beginning as the author takes her narration from his Purana Qila fort residence to Nizam al-Din Auliya (now misnamed Nizamuddin) and to the completion of Humayun's tomb, to Agra and many of the buildings within that fort. In thi? form. of narration the reader gets an overview of the period where the minor and lesser known monuments are given a historical context. Under the caption 'sub-imperial* the author discusses the many important Mughal period buildings that were put up on the periphery of the empire by the Hindu and Muslim nobility. while the Mughal emperor was the highest authority, his power depended on carefully balanced and constantly fluctuating relationships with his own nobles and local rulers be they Hindu or Muslim. By extension these non-imperial works often aided the spread of styles favoured by the centre. There follows an interesting account of the works of Raja Man Singh who is described as a Hindu patron and Mughal agent. He was responsible for building palaces, temples, mosques and gardens. Indeed, ironically this Hindu ruler built temples 'that reflect contemporary Mughal taste arcuated, vaulted and domed interior corridors flanked by elaborate bracketed pillars that are very specifically Mughal in appearance.* In Raj Mahal he built a temple and a mosque; another mosque was built in Lahore by him. Apart from these structures, Man Singh also maintained the shrine of a saint in Hajipur. The Mughal period indeed had witnessed a complexity of building styles patronised by a large variety of patrons. Yet in all this variety there was a common aspect that linked them all to group them under a single Mughal style.