Alex Rutherford

Alex Rutherford is the joint pen name of British writers Diana Preston and Michael Preston. Diana studied history at the University of Oxford, while Michael studied English there, and together they have travelled extensively through India, Central Asia and the Middle East. Their research for a nonfiction study of the Taj Mahal led them to investigate the wider history of the Mughal dynasty. They subsequently retraced routes associated with the early Mughal rulers, travelling from the Ferghana Valley and Samarkand through Afghanistan and the Khyber Pass to northern India.

Writing as Alex Rutherford, the Prestons created the six-volume Empire of the Moghul series, beginning with Raiders from the North. The novels chronicle the rise and development of the Mughal Empire through rulers including Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. Combining dynastic rivalry, military conquest, court politics and family conflict, the series follows the dynasty from its Central Asian origins to its establishment as one of the dominant powers of early modern India.