Jahangir Nama Ba Jon’s history

1. Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
Jahangirnama ans
History Of Modern China (1840-1960) (University of Delhi)
Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
Jahangirnama ans
History Of Modern China (1840-1960) (University of Delhi)
Downloaded by Khyati Kumari (khyatikumari883@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|20485688

2. HISTORY OF INDIA-V 1600-1750
Critically analyse the use of Persian Autobiographical/Biographical sources (Jahangirnama or Ma'asir-i
Alamgiri), in constructing narratives around 17th century Mughal monarchs
The Mughal dynasty (1526-1857) was one of the longest reigning dynasties in India before the
colonisation by the British. Historians have always been fascinated by the Mughal Empire's complex
history. They can examine different aspects of Mughal history with the aid of a wide range of imperial
discourse encompassing the fields of chronicle, painting, architecture, and numismatics. Although
Persian was not the sole language used during the Mughal era, a vast array of Persian texts—many of
which are autobiographies of the mughal monarchs—dominate Mughal historiography. Babur, the
founder and the first Mughal ruler, narrated extensively about the places he conquered, military
matters, family chronicles, plants and animals in his autobiographical account ‘Baburnama’ written in
Turkish, later translated in Persian by Akbar. Following his great-grandfather’s tradition of writing
imperial memoirs, Abu’l-Muzaffar Nuruddin Muhammad Jahangir penned down his autobiography or
the ‘Jahangirnama’ providing a substantial narrative of his reign and his personal reflections on various
facets of life including art and politics. This essay focuses on critically interpreting Jahangirnama and
using it as a historical account for creating narratives around the 17th century.
“When I became emperor it occurred to me that I should change my name [Salim] lest it should be
confused with the caesars of Rum (qayasirat-i-rum). An inspiration from the beyond suggested to me
that the labour of the emperor is world domination (jahangiri), so I named myself Jahangir.”1
- Jahangir
The ‘Jahangirnama’ is the autobiography of the fourth Mughal emperor, Jahangir, composed in the
memoir genre. It is also known as ‘Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri’ (which literally translates to the regulations of
Jahangir) since they were considered to be the emperor's own guidelines for the maintenance of the
empire2
. Although it was originally written in Persian, Western academics with an interest in Mughal
history have translated it multiple times up to this point. The most well-known of these are James
Anderson and Francis Gladwin's initial translations and the full translation done by Alexander Rogers
and Henry Beveridge. Beginning with his accession in 1605, Jahangir wrote the memoirs personally until
his illness in his 17th year of rule forced him to hand over the writing duties to Mutamid Khan, who
carried them until Jahangir's 19th year of rule (1624).
The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri stands as the most significant source for reconstructing Mughal history in the
1 (Lefevre 2012, 256)
2 (Thackston 1999, 9)
Downloaded by Khyati Kumari (khyatikumari883@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|20485688

3. reign of Jahangir, who had been derided, for very long, as a ‘political lightweight’ ruler with ‘weakness
of will and resolution’, dominated by his wife Nur Jahan. As a heavy drinker and opium consumer,
Jahangir is also seen of as an unworthy king who was born into prosperity and discovered ‘a path
strewn with roses’ only because he was the son of Akbar, the ‘most glorious sovereign of the age’
(1556-1605)3
. Recent scholarship, notably that of Wheeler M. Thackston, Corinne Lefevre, and Ebba
Koch, has attempted to look past the infamous image of Jahangir, established by the European writings
of the seventeenth century and the Mughal chronicles written under Shah Jahan, by focusing on him as
a political sovereign who also had a deep interest in art and natural sciences. The art historians have
added to this by highlighting the aesthetic tactics used by Jahangir to support his imperial claims.
The memoirs of Jahangir follow a chronological sequence somewhat similar in orientation to
Baburnama. They are extremely direct and informal, devoid of any ‘professional’ characteristic and
include a straightforward narrative of the emperor's daily life in addition to administrative information
and details about wars, conquests, titles of imperial servants and official laws. The royal ideology of
Jahangir's opinions on numerous political, religious, and social matters is reflected in Jahangirnama. His
scientific mind and experiments, meetings with sufis and his addiction to opium and wine also find
detailed description in his memoirs. Jahangir's prose with poetic quotations, which were often
proverbial in nature, was one of the distinctive features of his Persian literary writing style. He is also
known for quoting classical Persian authors like Firdawsi and Baba Ferghani. His sensitivity to Indian
culture is evidenced by the use of Turkish, Hindustani, or Kashmere phrases throughout his Persian
memoirs and by the fact that he was conversant with Hindustani poetry and its imagery4
.
The imperial nobility is highlighted the greatest in Jahangir's memoirs since they interacted with the
monarch the most. They had received a number of titles as a reward for their individual achievements.
Titles like "Khan," "Mirza," "Shaykh," "Khwaja," and others appear frequently in Jahangirnama. The
Rajput nobles of the court were entitled as raja, rao, rai, meaning sovereign. Sometimes, titles were
given that were especially related to a certain event, such as when Shamsi Toshakchi received the title
of Khoshkabhar Khan after receiving good news. Even Mihrunnisa, the wife of Jahangir, had titles like
Nurmahall and Nurjahan, which were named after her husband, Nuruddin. Each Mughal dynasty
emperor was granted a fixed posthumous Persian title, which Jahangir regularly used when referring to
them.
The accounts of Jahangirnama are helpful in understanding the political culture under Jahangir. He
ruled the Mughal Empire when it was at the height of its power and prosperity, modelling himself on
the foundations of excellent military expansionist policies as well as religious and administrative
approaches laid down by his father.
3 (Lefevre 2007, 452)
4 (Lefevre 2007, 461)
Downloaded by Khyati Kumari (khyatikumari883@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|20485688

4. Considering Akbar's carefully thought-out military expansion strategy, Jahangir saw conquering
Transoxiana and Deccan as the main goal of his future policy5
. Although some advancements were
made in southern and eastern Bengal, Jahangir achieved virtually little in the military sphere and is
frequently mocked for his incapacity to be an expansionist. Coming to the religious aspect, Jahangir
presents his father's kingdom as a haven of tolerance and thus approves his sulh-i kul policy and the
working of ibadat-khana. His adoption of the honorific title"nur-ud-din," or "light of religion," made it
very evident that he adhered to the illuminist philosophy of sovereignty, which was ultimately
supported by Akbar6
. Jahangir actually adopted a stance toward non-Muslims and their respective
religions that was very similar to his father's. He even banned the slaughter of animals on fixed days of
the week. However, there were times when he appeared to be appeasing the traditional Muslim elite
and other times when he displayed a limited level of tolerance for some well-known individuals. One
such contentious matter is his interactions with Sikhs and the murder of Guru Arjun Dev.
As for administration, Jahangir inherited the dual-ranking system of Zat and Sawar (personal and
horseman rank respectively) chalked out during Akbar’s reign with an addition of certain new features.
The memoirs also provide a fair idea about the division of the Mughal Empire, firstly into sixteen large
administrative provinces called soubas which were ruled by subadars or the provincial governors. These
subas were further divided into Sarkars, which were maintained by Fawjdars, and then into Parganas,
which were governed by Amil or agents, in charge of collecting taxes from all the villages within the
pargana. In this ostensibly highly centralised organisation, the ruler was the ultimate decision-maker in
every situation.
In order to strengthen the legitimacy of his power, Jahangir made several references from Chingiz Khan
to Akbar in his memoirs, drawing dynastic legacies, a strategy that was typical of early mediaeval India.
Lefevre argues that the mentions of conquering Timurs aided in validating Mughal claims on
Transoxiana.
A rigorous study of the Jahangirnama contradicts the widely held idea that Jahangir showed little
participation in the matters of kingship. He orders multiple copies of the first volume of Jahangirnama
to be sent across various parts of the empire as a ‘manual for ruling’. The significance Jahangir places
on the royal dispensation of justice is evident from the way he writes about it in Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri-
“After my accession, the first command issued by me was to have a chain of justice hung so that if those
charged with administering the courts were slack or negligent in rendering justice to the downtrodden,
those who had suffered injustice could have recourse to the chain and pull it so that sound would cause
awareness.” In order to implement justice and command respect, three kinds of instruments were at
5 (Lefevre 2007, 469)
6 (Lefevre 2007, 463)
Downloaded by Khyati Kumari (khyatikumari883@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|20485688

5. the monarch's disposal: law, force, and symbol. Jahangir was influenced by the Akhlaqi literature and its
idea that justice should aim to keep the various factions in society in a state of equilibrium while
preventing the society from degenerating into chaos. He paid close attention to the type and
application of punishment in order to maintain justice, as suggested by various passages of the
memoirs, with the exception of a few cases of disproportionate chastisements. Nevertheless, despite
Jahangir's claims to the contrary, rigorous courtly rituals and overly dramatised public chastisements
created an impenetrable barrier between him and his subjects. In addition to his primary responsibility
as a protector, Jahangir also took steps to ensure the wealth and welfare of his citizens by forbidding a
number of taxes7
. His activities in the domain of charity were also very active and wide-ranging.
A careful study of the memoirs suggests that the ladies of the imperial harem were highly active, in
contrast to the widespread conventional idea that they were isolated and rigidly domesticated and had
little part to play in politics and governance. In addition to accompanying the emperor on all of his
journeys and hunts, imperial women administered their own estates, issued paperwork, maintained
communications, and planned extravagant entertainments. ‘A woman shooting publicly was rare; a
woman shooting with such expertise was unheard of’, writes Ruby Lal about Nur Jahan. But Nur Jahan’s
skill with a gun wasn’t the only reason the empress stood out. Jahangir expresses his affection for
Nurjahan, praising her outstanding skills, shrewdness, and knowledge, as well as her actual
involvement in the activities of the court.
Jahangir's forebears left him more than just administrative practices and methods. Jahangirnama
reveals his ‘naturalist bent of mind’, which was passed down to him as a dynastic personality trait along
with his intense interest and curiosity in flora, fauna, and minerals. Jahangir, according to Thackston,
was ‘a keen observer of the world around him’ who enjoyed ‘close observation of animals’, best
demonstrated in his in-depth account of a crane family. The interdisciplinary discourse between natural
scientists and art historians is brought about by Jahangir himself - he explains the advantages of a
combined method, written and visual, in representing natural phenomena8
. The painter Ustad Mansur
became one of the best artists to document animals and plants which Jahangir either encountered on
his military exhibitions or received as donations from emissaries of other countries. His masterpieces
earned him the title of Nadir-al-Asr, i.e., ‘unequalled of the age.’ Mansur was the first to paint dodo in
colours, apart from being the first to illustrate the Siberian crane. His famous works include images of
tulips, lilies and other flowers.
Jahangir also carried out a number of scientific experiments to broaden his knowledge, provide a
rational explanation for odd facts, or refute conventional wisdom. This includes testing of the efficacy
of bitumen for broken bones on a chicken or the relative salubrity of the air in Ahmadabad and
7 The proscription of a number of taxes was the object of the first of the twelve decrease Jahangir promulgated right after
his accession; (Lefevre 2007, 471)
8 (Koch 2009, 298)
Downloaded by Khyati Kumari (khyatikumari883@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|20485688

6. Mahmudabad9
. Jahangir also had a compulsive need to represent, measure, enumerate, and classify
everything in his realm in order to assert his supreme authority over everything. “From the beginning
of my twelfth year, A.H. 988 [1580-81], until the end of the present year (...) [March 1617], 28,532
animals were taken in my presence. Of this total, I shot with my own hand 17,16[7] animals…” 10
Jahangir was indeed a world-seizer, living up to his name by elevating the imperial collections, which
contained a wide variety of gems such as rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, as well as objects of
natural curiosity like elephant tusks and fragment of a meteor. Along with his various commissioned
paintings, his large collections of elephants and horses, manuscripts, Chinese porcelains and books are
also very famous.
There is an abundance of Mughal paintings during the regnal years of Jahangir. The memoirs of
Jahangir are also adorned with paintings of the major events of his reign, hunting parties and court life,
and several acts of the emperor’s generosity. Lefevre believes that these depictions gave the viewer-
reader compelling pictures of Jahangir's privileged relationship with the divine, his superiority over
others as well as his control over everyday life11
. One means of showing his divinity was the use of
"halo" around him. The popular image of ‘Jahangir embracing Shah Abbas’ clearly portrays the
hierarchical relationship between the Mughal emperor and Shah Abbas. While Jahangir was supported
by a lion, Shah Abbas was supported by a lamb. In the picture ‘Jahangir shooting the head of Malik
Ambar’ by Abul Hasan, Jahangir is meant to be seen as symbolising the forces of goodness and light
while Anbar, those of darkness and evil. Jahangir's use of imagery, both in this painting specifically and
generally, shows his affinity with Salomon, especially in light of the latter's function as a just law-giver
who rules over the animal realm and makes peace with nature's adversaries. In ‘Jahangir killing
poverty’, Jahangir's depictions of the lion and lamb coexisting peacefully on the same plain or the black
shadow symbolising "poor" being eradicated under his rule reflect some of his ideals. The emperor was
also keen on using his illustrations as a way of establishing a link with the great spiritual leaders of the
time. Several of his paintings show Jahangir visiting the Muslim shrine at Ajmer as well as conversing
with Hindu sages like Sanyasi Jadrup. The paintings of Jahangir and the stories narrated through them
are significant in understanding his life and character more clearly.
Jahangir's life and reign have been the subject of numerous narratives, the majority of which paint a
picture of an unworthy ruler who is alcoholic and addicted to drugs. However, recent and more in-
depth analyses of ‘Jahangirnama’ present a multifaceted portrait of Jahangir as a king, naturalist,
hunter, aesthete, patron of the arts, and collector, making him appear to be a deserving monarch, if not
the most illustrious one. Moreover, from a thorough understanding of Jahangir's memoirs, it is clear
9 (Thackston 1999, 24)
10 (Lefevre 2007, 477)
11 (Lefevre 2007, 483-84)
Downloaded by Khyati Kumari (khyatikumari883@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|20485688

7. that he was more than just "the son of Akbar" or "the father of Shahjahan," and that there are other
significant aspects to his identity and existence. He comes across as a thoughtful, compassionate, and
artistic leader whose leadership was marked by outstanding cultural accomplishments. As Lefevre puts
it, ‘Jahangir was not the founding father of canonical Mughal ideology, but he certainly has to be given
credit for being one of its master-craftsmen’.
References:
Koch, Ebba. 2009. “Jahangir as Francis Bacon's Ideal of the King as an Observer and Investigator of
Nature.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 19:293-338.
Lefevre, Corinne. 2007. “Recovering A Missing Voice From Mughal India: The Imperial Discourse Of
Jahangir (R. 1605-1627) In His Memoirs.” Journal Of The Economic And Social History Of The Orient 50
(4): 452-489.
Lefevre, Corinne. 2012. “The Majālis-i Jahāngīrī (1608-11): Dialogue and Asiatic Otherness at the Mughal
Court.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 55:255-286.
Thackston, Wheeler M., ed. 1999. The Jahangirnama. New York, Oxford: Freer Gallery Of Art, Arthur M.
Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
Downloaded by Khyati Kumari (khyatikumari883@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|20485688