History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v5.c86.s2.4

v5.c86.s2.4

The most exact parallel to the Mughal Government is supplied by the mediæval Italian kingdoms, as described by the great German historian Ranke: "We here see the whole character of the Italian principality, as it existed in the 15th century: based on judiciously-calculated political relations, it was absolute and unlimited in the power of its internal administration, surrounded by splendour, closely connected with literature, and jealous even of the very appearance of power... The whole power and all the resources of a country produce a Court, —the centre of the Court is the prince; finally, then, the ultimate product of all this gathered life is the self-sufficiency of the sovereign." [*Hist. of Popes*, Bohn's ed., ii. 66.]