362 A BRIEF SURVEY OF HUMAN HISTORY

.her son Joseph II (1765-1809). Under the former the Aus-
trian dominions included Austria, Moravia, Hungary, Bohe-
mia, Silesia, Syria, Carinthia, the Tyrol, Belgium, and Milan.
Though Frederick of Prussia presently seized Silesia, Maria
Theresa had compensation in the acquisition of a part of
Poland. Her son, Joseph II, was ambitious to build up a
homogeneous state out of the welter of nationalities (Slav,
Magyar, German, Italian, and Flemish) on the basis of his
enlightened despotism. At the commencement of his reign
he declared, " I have made Philosophy the legislator of my
Empire. Her logical principles shall transform Austria."
But in spite of his earnestness he died a disappointed mo-
narch, proposing for his tomb in Vienna the unenviable epi-
taph : * Here lies Joseph who failed in all that he attempted.*
He failed because he was an idealist far in advance of his
country. The more realistic rulers of Russia and Prussia
were more fortunate than Joseph II.

Peter the Great of Russia (1682-1725) and Frederick the
Great of Prussia (1740-86) were both Enlightened Despots
like Joseph II of Austria. All of them tried to aggrandise
their countries, as well as their dynasties, after the fashion
of Louis XIV of France. In doing so they laid the founda-
tions of their national greatness and menace, which we shall
follow up in a later chapter. But before we close our survey
of Grand Monarchy we must have a glimpse of its Asiatic
replica, viz. the Mughal Empire in India.

This Empire, as readers know, was founded by Babur (a
descendant of Timur and Chengiz Khan) as the result of ihis-
great victory at Panipat (1526) over Ibrahim Lodi, ruler of
Delhi. Babuls descendants occupied the throne of Delhi un-
til the great Mutiny in 1857. But their rule was effective
over the greater part of India only till the death of Bahadur
Shah I (1712). Aurangzeb and Bahadur Shah were con-