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Theme 9 - Kings and Chronicles - The Mughal Courts (c. sixteenth-…
Theme 9 - Kings and Chronicles - The Mughal Courts (c. sixteenth- seventeenth centuries)
1. The Mughals and Their Empire
The name Mughal derives from
Mongol
.
They referred to themselves as
Timurids
(descendants of the Turkish ruler Timur on the paternal side)
Babur
was related to
Ghenghiz Khan from his mother’s side
.
Nasuruddin Humayun
(1530-40,1555-56) Expanded but lost to
Sher shah Sur
, Took refugee in
Safavid Court
, Defeated Surs again.
Died
a year later.
Many consider
Jalaluddin Akbar (1556-1605)
a greatest mughal emporer. Expanded the empire.
Akbar's successors
Jahangir (1605-27), Shah Jahan (1628-58) and Aurangzeb (1658-1707)
contd to expand but slowly.
After
Aurangazeb's death in 1707
, the power of the dynasty
diminished
.
Regional powers
acquired autonomy.
In
1857, Bahadur Shah Zafar II
, was
overthrown
by the British.
2. The Production of Chronicles
Chronicles
are important source of information.
All rulers wanted to have an account of their prosperity.
2.1 From Turkish to Persian
Mughals were
Chaghtai Turks
(descent from the eldest son of
GhengizKhan
.) by origin.
So, Even
Babur used Turkish
, as it was his mother tongue.
Akbar
made
Persian
a leading language. Language of Administration.
Many people learned persian but mixed with local languages like
Marathi, Rajasthani, Tamil.
New language
Urdu
emerged by mixing
Persian + Hindavi
.
Akbar Nama
written in persian.
Babur Nama
translated from Turkish to persian.
Ramayana and Mahabharatha
translated to persian.
2.2 The making of manuscripts
Mostly all chrionicles are hand written
Manuscripts.
kitabkhana
- Place like library where all the manuscripts are kept and new manuscripts written.
Involved no.of people
Paper Makers
Scribes or Calligraphers
Gliders
(to illuminate pages)
Painters
(to illustrate scenes)
Book Binders
Calligraphy
Considered as
skill of importance.
Practised using
different styles.
Nastaliq
was Akbar's favourite.
Qalam
--> Trimmed reed.
Siyahi
--> Carbon ink.
3. The Painted Image
Chronicles contained
miniature paintings
alongside texts.
Usually Calligraphers left blank pages to fit paintings later in the manuscripts.
They considered paintings as a live document.
4. Akbar Nama and Badshah Nama
Contained an avg of 150 double-page paintings which described:-
battles
sieges
hunts
building constructions
court scenes
etc..
Abul Faz'l
worked on Akbar Nama for 13 years.
Fell to a conspiracy and then murdered.
Akbar Nama
is based on the following sources:-
Waqai
(record of events)
Official documents
Oral testimonies
(of learned people)
Abdul Hamid Lahori
(Abul Faz'l's pupil) has written the
Badshah Nama
5. The Ideal Kingdom
5.1 A divine light
Mongol Queen
Alanqua
- impregnated by ray of sunshine.
Most paintings portray Emperors wearing
Halo
(light over the head)
5.2 A unifying force
Idea of
Sulh-i Kul
(Absolute peace) was imposed over the state.
Akbar abolished
Pilgrimage tax, Jizya
in 1964,1965
5.3 Just sovereignty as
social contract
Life
Property
Honour
Faith
Imaginary symbols like Jahangir killing the poverty
6. Capitals and Courts
6.3 Titles and gifts
Titles
Turbans
6.2 The Mughal court
Strict rules
Respect measured by proximity to the emperor
Axis Mundi
pillar of earth support
Kornish
- ceremonial Salutation
Shahjahan introduced
Chahar Taslim
(4 times) and
Zaminbos
(kissing theground)
Jharoka Dharshan
6.1 Capital cities
Frequently on the move
Fatehpur sikri
- AKbar - coz
Muinuddin Chishti
Dargah
Akbar transferred to
Lahore
and
watched the region for 13 years
Shah-jahan accumulated money to pursue his passion for building
Shajahanabad
7. The Imperial Household
Harem
(Sacred place)
Distinction between Beghams and Agachas
Women gained high positions after Nur Jahan
8. The Imperial Officials
Recruitment and Rank
Mansabdars
with
Zats
(Salary)
Sawar
indicates no.of.horsemen
Mansabdar with 1000 zats considered as nobles.
Nobles participated in military campaigns.
Information and empire
Agents (
wakil
) of nobles prepared news from the court
Imperial post
(by horse and by foot )
Provincial administration
The governor or the subadar
was the head of the provincial administration
Each
provinces (subhas)
were divided into
Sarkars
managed by
Faujdars
Persian
was the language of administration, but
local languages were used
for village administration
10. Questioning Formal
Religion
Akbar
participated in the debates held in the
Ibadat khana at Fatehpur Sikri
Debates
were between learned
Muslims, Hindus, Jainas, Parsis, and Christians
Akbar
moved away from Islamic way of worship to
Focus on light and Sun.
9. Beyond the Frontiers
Jesuits at the Mughal court
End of 15th century
Portuguese merchants
interested in
trade and spreading Christianity.
The Jesuits were seen very
close to the emperor.
Akbar
invited them to know about Christianity in his court.
The Ottomans: Pilgrimage and Trade
Marked by the concern to
ensure free movements for merchants and pilgrims
in the territories under
Ottoman (Turkish)
control.
Mecca and Medina
were located here.
Qandahar
was always a bone of contention between the Safavids of Iran and the
Mughals.