Mughal rulers had a deep, almost unshakeable belief in astrology. And it stemmed largely from culture, says MJ Akbar. His new book ‘After Me, Chaos: Astrology in the Mughal Empire’ dwells on how the ancient science shaped many decisions of each of the Mughal emperors.

Babar had limited belief in astrology but it was still there. Humayun, during whose time the empire was just 14 years old and on the verge of collapse, too was a believer in it. The real Mughal period began with Akbar and lasted over 150 years. “It was because principally one of the most important foundational value systems was that they did not confuse religion with culture,” MJ Akbar told StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale. Religion can be dated to a certain time but culture is eternal, as old as humankind,

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