EPISODE · Jun 9, 2026 · 7 MIN
The warrior who overcame the mighty Mughals - Stephanie Honchell Smith
from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed
Trace Malik Ambar’s historic rise from enslaved youth to brilliant military tactician and kingmaker in the Indian sultanate.--In 1624, Mughal Emperor Jahangir received word of yet another defeat at the hands of his greatest enemy: Malik Ambar. Jahangir was so obsessed with defeating his rival, he commissioned a painting of himself shooting an arrow at Ambar’s skull. So, who was this brilliant tactician? And how did he come into power? Stephanie Honchell Smith shares Ambar's rise from enslaved youth to kingmaker.Lesson by Stephanie Honchell Smith, directed by Layron DeJarnette, Gumboyo.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/from-enslaved-to-kingmaker-malik-ambar-s-legendary-rise-to-power-stephanie-honchell-smithDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/from-enslaved-to-kingmaker-malik-ambar-s-legendary-rise-to-power-stephanie-honchell-smith/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.gumboyo.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Doug Henry, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, LadyGeek, Marin Kovachev, Penelope Misquitta, Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Hoai Nam Tran, Kack-Kyun Kim, Michael Braun-Boghos, zjweele13, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea, Aaron Henson, Rohan Gupta, Begum Tutuncu, Brian Richards, Jørgen Østerpart, Tyron Jung, Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús and Karthik Cherala. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
Trace Malik Ambar’s historic rise from enslaved youth to brilliant military tactician and kingmaker in the Indian sultanate.--In 1624, Mughal Emperor Jahangir received word of yet another defeat at the hands of his greatest enemy: Malik Ambar. Jahangir was so obsessed with defeating his rival, he commissioned a painting of himself shooting an arrow at Ambar’s skull. So, who was this brilliant tactician? And how did he come into power? Stephanie Honchell Smith shares Ambar's rise from enslaved youth to kingmaker.Lesson by Stephanie Honchell Smith, directed by Layron DeJarnette, Gumboyo.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/from-enslaved-to-kingmaker-malik-ambar-s-legendary-rise-to-power-stephanie-honchell-smithDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/from-enslaved-to-kingmaker-malik-ambar-s-legendary-rise-to-power-stephanie-honchell-smith/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.gumboyo.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Doug Henry, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, LadyGeek, Marin Kovachev, Penelope Misquitta, Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Hoai Nam Tran, Kack-Kyun Kim, Michael Braun-Boghos, zjweele13, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea, Aaron Henson, Rohan Gupta, Begum Tutuncu, Brian Richards, Jørgen Østerpart, Tyron Jung, Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús and Karthik Cherala. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The warrior who overcame the mighty Mughals - Stephanie Honchell Smith
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