The Mughal Empire

Court historians were commissioned by the Mughal kings to compose accounts. The events of the emperor’s reign were chronicled in these accounts. In addition, their authors gathered large amounts of data from across the subcontinent to aid the kings in the administration of their territory. These books have been dubbed chronicles by modern historians writing in English because they give a continuous chronological account of occurrences.

The Mughals and their Empire

• The word Mughal stems from the Mongols, yet the Mughals referred to themselves as Timurids, as they were paternal ancestors of the Turkish monarch Timur
• Mughal was a name used by Europeans to identify Indian kings in the sixteenth century
• Conquests and political alliances between the Mughals and local rulers created the empire out of a number of Indian regional states
• The warring Uzbeks drove the empire’s founder, Zahiruddin Babur, from his Central Asian birthplace of Farghana
• He made his home in Kabul at first
• In search of new lands, he ventured deeper into the Indian subcontinent in 1526
• Nasiruddin Humayun (1530-40, 1555-56) was his successor, who enlarged the empire before losing it to Sher Shah Sur, who exiled him
• He sought sanctuary in the court of Iran’s Safavid king
• Humayun overcame the Surs in 1555, but he died a year later
• Jalaluddin Akbar (1556-1605) not only enlarged but also solidified his empire, making it the largest, most powerful, and wealthiest nation in the world at the time
• He was successful in expanding the borders to the Hindu Kush mountains, putting an end to the Uzbeks of Turan (Central Asia) and the Safavids of Iran’s expansionist plans
• Jahangir (1605-27), Shah Jahan (1628-58), and Aurangzeb (1658-1707) were Akbar’s three capable successors, albeit their personalities differed greatly
• Territorial expansion continued under their watch, but at a considerably slower pace
• The many instruments of government were maintained and consolidated by the three monarchs
• The dynasty’s power began to wane after Aurangzeb’s death in 1707. Regional authorities gained greater autonomy instead of the capital cities of Delhi, Agra, and Lahore

The Production of Chronicles

• The Mughal emperors’ commissioned chronicles are a valuable resource for learning about the empire and its court
• The ruler, his family, the court, and nobility, as well as battles and administrative structures, were all included prominently in the chronicles
• Their titles, such as the Akbar Nama, Shahjahan Nama, and Alamgir Nama, imply that the empire and the court were synonymous in the authors’ minds with the emperor’s history

From Turkish to Persian

• The Mughals’ mother tongue was Turkish, and Babur penned poetry and his memoirs in it
• Because of cultural and intellectual ties with Iran, as well as a slew of Iranian and Central Asian migrants seeking work at the Mughal court, Akbar decided to make Persian the court’s primary language
• Under the Sultans of Delhi, Persian, along with Indian languages, particularly Hindavi and its regional dialects, became a language of the court and literary writings
• The king spoke Persian, which later became the official language at all levels of government
• Persian affected the language of official records in Rajasthani, Marathi, and even Tamil, even when it was not explicitly used
• Persian was rapidly Indianized, and a new language, Urdu, arose as a result of the interaction of Persian and Hindavi
• Babur’s memoirs were translated into Persian Babur Nama from Turkish
• The Mahabharata (Razmnama) and the Ramayana were also translated into Persian from Sanskrit manuscripts

The Making of Manuscripts

• In Mughal India, all books were manuscripts or handwritten books. The imperial Kitab khana was the epicentre of manuscript creation
• A manuscript is created by a team of people who execute a range of responsibilities
• Papermakers were needed to prepare the manuscript folios, scribes or calligraphers were needed to copy the text, gilders were needed to illuminate the pages, painters were needed to illustrate scenes from the text, and bookbinders were needed to gather the individual folios and place them within ornamental covers
• The Mughal emperor’s power was exemplified in the finished book
• People who were involved in the actual preparation of the book were given titles and honours
• Calligraphy, or the art of handwriting, was a valuable skill. It was practised in a variety of styles. The Nastaliq, a fluid style with long horizontal strokes, was Akbar’s favourite

The Painted Image

• Images that described an event in visual form were included alongside the written text in chronicles describing the events of a Mughal emperor’s reign
• The scribe provided open areas on adjacent pages for paintings to accompany what was expressed in words
• These paintings were miniatures that could be passed about and mounted on manuscript pages for viewing
• Paintings of the emperor, his court, and the people were a cause of ongoing contention between monarchs and Muslim orthodoxy representatives, the Ulama
• The depiction of human beings is forbidden in Islam
• The Prophet condemned the naturalistic depiction of living beings because it implied that the artist was attempting to take the power of creation
• This was thought to be a function reserved solely for God
• Various social groupings interpreted the body of Islamic tradition in different ways
• During decades of empire development, Muslim monarchs in numerous Asian regions commissioned artists to paint their portraits and life scenes
• Iran’s Safavid kings were patrons of the best painters
• Painters like Bihzad helped to spread the Safavid court’s cultural prestige throughout the world
• Artists from Iran were introduced to the Mughal court, including Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad

Conclusion

The Mughal Empire was built as a result of successful conquests and alliances. This was founded and led by Zahiruddin Babur, followed by Nasiruddin Humayun, Jalaluddin Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb, after whom the empire weakened. Chronicles provide relevant details about the Mughal empire, including the families of rulers and the courts during a particular period. The Mughal Empire created a shift from Turkish to Persian language. It also focused on manuscripts. Several people were employed in order to create a manuscript. Images were also given due importance and were painted to accompany texts. The Mughal Empire continues to influence various activities and practises in India.