Describe the process of manuscript production in the Mughal court.
All books in Mughal India were Manuscripts i.e., they were handwritten. The centre of manuscripts productions was the imperial ‘KitabKhana’. This ‘KitabKhana’ was a scriptorium – a place where the emperor’s collections of manuscripts were produced.
The creation of manuscripts involved a number of people performing variety of tasks:
1. Paper makers were needed to prepare the folios of the manuscript.
2. Calligraphers to copy the text
3. Glider to illuminate the pages.
4. Painters to illustrate scenes.
5. Book binders to gather the individual folios and set them with an ornamental covers.
The finished manuscripts were a work of intellectual wealth and beauty it exemplifies the power of its patron, the mughal emperor to bring such beauty into being.
In what ways would the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor?
In many ways the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor:
1. The royal throne depicted the higher status of the emperor.
2. The canopy was the symbol of the Mughal monarch.
3. Each courtier has a definite place to seat. It reflected his position in the court, the closer the seat to the emperor the more his important increased. When the king was seated on his throne, no courtier could change his seat or go outside without the permission of the emperor.
4. There were special norms for reception, courtesy and speech to regulate the systems and control of the court.
5. Good conduct and courtesy was expected from diplomatic envoys.
6. The dazzling decoration on special occasions and the abundant expenses enhanced the power, authority and dignity of the king.
7. The Jharoka Darshan was introduced by Akbar. He wanted to broaden the popular faith in the imperial authority. After performing his devotional prayers, he would go a small balcony facing the east. The crowd of the people had the view of the emperor. It was called as the Jharoka Darshan.
Assess the role played by women of the imperial household in the Mughal Empire.
The domestic world of the Mughals was termed as the ‘harem’. The origin of the word ‘harem’ lay in the Persian language where it meant a sacred place. The Mughal household consisted of the following:
1. Wives and concubines of the emperor.
2. The near and distant relatives of the emperor such as mother, step-mothers, sisters, daughters, daughter-in-law, aunts and children.
3. Slaves and female servants.
Two Kinds of wives: Mughal rulers had two kinds of wives. Begums and Aghas. The Begums came from royal and aristocratic families. On the other hand, the Aghas were those wives who were not noble by birth. Begums enjoyed a higher status than Aghas.
Control over financial resources and architectural projects: The Mughals queens and princesses exercised a significant control over financial resources. Jahanara and Roshanara, daughters of Shah Jahan, earned an annual income that of Mansabdars. Jahanara also got revenue from the port city of Surat. They also designed many architectural projects. For example Jahanara designed the bazaar of Chandini Chowk in Delhi.
Contribution in writing of history: Gulbadan Begum, the daughter of Barber wrote a book entitled ‘Humayunama’. It gives a glimpse into the domestic world of the Mughals.
Role of Elderly Women: They played the role of mediation. They resolved the conflicts that existed between princess and the kings.
What were the concerns that shaped Mughal policies and attitudes towards regions outside the subcontinent?
Political relations between the Mughal emperors and neighbouring countries of Iran and Turan were dependent upon control of the frontier designed by Hindukush Mountains.
Qandhar was a bone of contention between Safavids (Iran) and the Mughals. This fort city was initially under the control of Humayun. Akbar reconquered it in 1595 C.E. Although Safavids maintained their diplomatic relation with the Mughals but they continued to stake claim over Qandhar.
The main objective of Mughals relations with the Ottoman Empire was to maintain a free movement for pilgrims and merchants in the territories under control of the Ottoman Empire. This was true especially for the Hijaz i.e., that area of Ottoman Arabia where Mecca and Madina, important pilgrim centres were located. Mughal emperors generally combined commerce and religion.
Jesuit Missionaries in the Mughal Courts: Europe came to know about India from the accounts of Jesuit missionaries, travellers, merchants, etc. Jesuit account is the earliest impression of the Mughal court recoded by Europeans.
They held discussions with Akbar on Christianity and debated with Ulema’s about its virtues. Two other Jesuit missions were sent to Mughal Court in 1591 and 1595 C.E.
Discuss the major features of Mughal provincial administration. How did the centre control the provinces?
The Mughal state had province which were called the Subas. These Subas were looked after the Diwan, Bakshi and Sadar. The head of the provincial government was the governor (subedar) who reported directly to the emperor.
Each Subas was divided into various sarkars. Then there were districts which were looked after by faujdars. Then there was pargana, that is, sub-district. It had three semi-hereditary officers such as the qanungo (keeper of the revenue record), the chaudhari (in charge of revenue collection) and the qazi. Each department of administration had a large number of clerks, accountants, auditors and messengers. Besides there were technically qualified officers who functioned in accordance with fixed rulers and procedures.
Discuss, with examples, the distinctive features of Mughal chronicles.
Some distinctive features of Mughal chronicle are:
1. Chronicles commissioned by the Mughal emperors are an important source for studying the empire and its court. They were written in order to project a vision of an enlightened kingdom to all those who came under its umbrella. The authors of Mughal chronicle focused on events-linked to life of the ruler, their family, court and nobles, wars and administrative system.
2. These chronicles were written in Persian. This language flourished as a language of the court and of literary writings, alongside north Indian languages, especially Hindavi and its regional variants. As the Mughals were Chaghtai Turks by origin, Turkish was their mother tongue.
3. There were chronicles narrating the events of a Mughal emperor’s reign contained, flanking the written text, images that described an event in visual form.
4. When scenes or themes in a book were to be given visual expression, the scribe left blank spaces on nearby pages; paintings, executed independently by artists, were inserted to accompany what was described in words.
To what extent do you think the visual material presented in this chapter corresponds with Abu’lFazl’s description of the taswir (Source 1)?
Drawing the likeness of anything is called taswir, visual material presented in this chapter are coloured paintings few buildings like Buland Darwaza are shown. This visual material corresponds quite a lot with Abdul Fazl’s description of the taswir.
1. This picture is the proper presentation of the things shown in the picture.
2. These express great interest of the Mughal rulers for paintings and architecture.
They made every possible effort to encourage this art and even established royal art room for this purpose.
3. After looking at the given pictures we can say that most proficient artists were available in that age. Their creations could be kept in front of great creations of European artists who achieved popularity in whole of the world.
4. Abul Fazl described painting as a magical art and these pictures look like that they had the power to make inanimate objects look as if they possessed life.
What were the distinctive features of the Mughal nobility? How was their relationship with the emperor shaped?
One important pillars of the Mughal state was its corps of officers also called the nobility.
Features:-
1. The mobility was recruited from diverse ethnic and religious groups the mobility consisted of Indian Muslims and Educated Hindus etc.
They were described as a ‘Guldasta’ and were loyal to the Emperor.
2. The nobles were given Mansabs which indicated his Zat (salary) and accordingly he was required to maintain the number of housemen (Sawar).
3. The nobles participated in military campaigns with their armies and also served as officers of the Empire in the provinces.
4. Each military commander was supposed to maintain a cavalry- the main striking arm of the Mughal army. All the horses were marked with are imperial insignia (dagh).
5. The Emperor personally received changes in rank, titles and official postings of his nobles.
6. Akbar also established spiritual relationships with a select band of his nobility by treating them as his disciples (Murids).
7. Some nobles were stationed at the court and they were a reserve force to be deputed to a province or military campaign.
The relationship between the nobles and the Emperor was based on loyalty towards the Emperor they were duty bound to appear twice daily morning and evening, to express submission to the emperor in the public audience hall they shared responsibility for guarding the Emperor and his household round the clock.
Identify the elements that went into the making of the Mughal ideal of kingship.
The elements that went into the making of the Mughal idea of kingship were:
1. A Divine Light – Mughal chronicles shows that the power of Mughal kings comes directly from god. Abul Fazal places Mughal kingship as the highest station in the higher hierarchy of objects receiving light emanating from god, who then become the source of spiritual guidance for his subjects. Therefore Mughal artist, from the 17th century onwards, began to portray emperors wearing the “Halo”.
2. A Unifying Force – The Mughal Emperor is portrayed as a great unifying force by the Mughal chronicles. In the empire their lived many ethnic and religious communities, Hindus, Jains, Zoro Christians and Muslims, but the Mughal emperors stood above all religious and ethnic groups, mediated among them, and ensured that peace and justice prevailed, and ensured that peace and justice prevailed. This was the ideal of Sulh-i-kul (absolute justice and peace) and it was the cornerstone of enlightened Mughal rule.
3. Just Sovereignty as Social Contract – Abul Fazal defined Mughal sovereignty as a social contract: the emperor will protect the four essences of his subject, namely – life (jaan), property (maal), honour (hames), and faith (din) and in return demands obedience and share in resources (tax).
Only just sovereign were thought to be able to honour the contract with power and divine guidance.
4. Justice – The highest virtue of Mughal monarchy was the idea of justice and a number of symbols were created for visual representation of the idea of Justice.
As an example, one of the favourite symbols used by the artist was the motif of lion and the lamb peacefully resting to each other. This was meant to signify a realm where both the strong and the weak could exist in harmony.