About the Author

Catherine Asher is a specialist in Islamic and Indian art and teaches at the University of Minnesota. She is well known for her work on the Mughal dynasty, and is now increasingly working on the patronage of their successors and predecessors. Her other interest is in the shrines that develop around deceased Sufi saints, and the appeal such complexes have for devotees. Her books include Architecture of Mughal India (2008), India before Europe (co-authored with Cynthia Talbot, 2006) and Perceptions of South Asia's Visual Past (1994).