About the Book

A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE DECCAN PLATEAU FROM THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY TO THE EIGHTEENTH.
In Rebel Sultans, Manu S. Pillai narrates the story of the Deccan from the close of the thirteenth century to the dawn of the eighteenth. Packed with riveting tales and compelling characters, this book takes us from the age of Alauddin Khilji to the ascent of Shivaji. We witness the dramatic rise and fall of the Vijayanagar empire, even as we negotiate intrigues at the courts of the Bahmani kings and the Rebel Sultans who overthrew them. From Chand Bibi, a valorous queen stabbed to death, and Ibrahim II of Bijapur, a Muslim prince who venerated Hindu gods, to Malik Ambar, the Ethiopian warlord, and Krishnadeva Raya on Vijayanagar’s Diamond Throne—they all appear in these pages as we journey through one of the most arresting sweeps of Indian history.

About the Author

Manu S. Pillai is a historian and the author of the award-winning The Ivory Throne (2015), Rebel Sultans (2018), The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin (2019), False Allies (2021), and most recently Gods, Guns & Missionaries (2024). Formerly Chief of Staff to Dr Shashi Tharoor MP, he has in the past worked with a peer at the House of Lords in Britain, and with the BBC on their 'Incarnations' Indian history radio series. Written over six years and researched in three continents, Manu’s first book The Ivory Throne won the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar. He holds a PhD in history from King's College London.