Between Conquest And Conscience: Empire-Making In Alex Rutherford’s Raiders From The North”

Abstract

This essay examines the complex relationship between conscience and conquest in Alex Rutherford's Raiders from the North, paying special attention to Babur's moral, psychological, and emotional development as he changes from a Timurid prince who has been uprooted to become the ruler of the Mughal empire. The story explores the inner world of a ruler caught between dynastic ambition, moral struggle, and the burden of legacy, going beyond triumphalist depictions of imperial founders. The study explores how Rutherford reimagines historical fiction to emphasize identity formation, cultural interactions, and the emotional burden of empire-making, all while situating it within postcolonial and psycho-historical frameworks. The story presents power as inextricably linked to weakness, uncertainty, and moral quandaries rather than exalting imperial domination. By doing so, Raiders from the North offers a complex portrayal of leadership, legacy, and historical memory while subverting colonial imagination and heroic stereotypes. By placing conscience at the center of conquest and portraying empire as a complicated and profoundly human undertaking rather than a straight line of climb, the book thus reinterprets the rules of historical fiction.