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Beautiful..!

Lovely but watch out for fatwahs :-)

They are hindus in India....

The Mughals adopted the Hindu symbol of an umbrella as denoting sovereignty.The swords of Mughal emperors carry an engraved umbrella with Quranic ayats inside the dome part of it ! Another Hindu symbol that the Mughals adopted was a sun or a halo painted behind their heads like those of Hindu Gods. The principle of fore-shortening was introduced by Jehangir in Mughal paintings by inviting painters like Abdus Samad from Persia.Mughal painting reached it's zenith under emperor Jehangir. It's principle characteristic is elaborate borders and finely painted features. They had a separate department called "Surat khana" that was devoted to paintings exclusively.

Joanna: All Muslims don't go around issuing, or obeying, fatwas - just a small minority of noisy fanatics. There certainly were no fatwas at that time.

In fact, Akbar had issued the famous Decree of Infallibility at Fatehpur Sikri.

Pulin: Somehow I have missed this decree of Akbar. Please tell me what was it about. Thank you.

Can someone please identify who is who in this painting? The man in the middle is definitely the young Akbar, top left seems to be his tutor Bairam Khan, top right could be his mother Hamida Begum (?) who supervised the construction of Humayun's tomb, and the lady at the bottom right could be the Rajput queen from Amber. Does that make sense?

@ Asad Ahmed: Akbar, tired of the fanatical mullahs in his court, who prevented him from imparting concessions to Hindus, proclaimed the decree of Infallibility at Fatehpur Sikri which was, "The Emperor can do what he wishes as long as it is not violating the tenets of Quran." "In case there is a dispute in the interpretation of the tenets of Quran, Emperor's decision shall be final."

Arshiya Kapadiya: Thanks. digvijay Singh Kushwaha: Thanks.

@Mr Trivedi: Would'nt you attribute this decree to 'religious shaastraarth' that Akbar made Holy people of different religions engage in in his presence at his marvellous capital Fatehpur Sikri ? This inter-faith dialaogue that he encouraged led to his coming out with the (controvercial among Muslims) Din-i-Ilahi as well.Far ahead of his times, he wanted to unite his subjects into a faith drawing good stuff from all world religions. A most unique character from history,Akbar was born in a Rajput household in Sindh, to a Sunni father and a Shia mother.He was a descendent of Amir Taimoor on one side and Gengis Khan on the other and grew up with strong Sufi traditions.Besides he was un-encumbered by the religious fanaticism on account of being un-lettered.

Asad Ahmed : Image details - Akbar and Jahangir by Racinet, Paris 1801 "Chromolithograph of Mogul Emperor Akbar and Jahangir, Lithographed by Chataignon, Imp. Firmin Didot Cie, Paris, 1801A.D on white heavy paper. Size:12.5X15.0 cms. The illustration is from a series of volumes by Albert Racinet, first published between 1801 and 1805. The twelve-volume series showed all forms of human dresses and costumes habits across the world. It won prizes in 1806 and at the London Universal Exhibition 1851 was judged the most perfect typographical production of all countries and all times. Source : Columbia University

@Asad uncle: Bairam Khan and Akbar are correct but the other two are difficult to guess. Bottom right could not be the Rajput princess from Amber because the dress does not match. If Akbar allowed his Rajput wife (just as his other wives of others religions) to practice their faith it is unlikely that Jodhbai would have taken to wearing 'suthaniya' (Pyjamas) which was essentially a Muslim garment. Till the mid-twentieth century servant women who wore churi-daar, Shalwars,were called suthaniyawali (means Muslim) as distinguished from those who wore lehengas who were called gararawali (meaning Hindu) in Jaipur and other Rajput Kingdoms. The palace of Jodhbai is the grandest structure in Fatehpur Sikri aside of the Turkish Sultana's palace and the panchmahal.The walls of Jodhbai's palace are full of carved bells in 'bas relief' and it has a big carved pot for the Hindu holy shrub the 'tulsi' in the huge court-yard. It speaks volumes about her exalted position in the Mughal harem. Akbar had bestowed her with the title of Marium-u-Zamani and her cenotaph ,completed by her son Jehangir, is near Akbar's mausoleum Sikandra on Delhi Road in Agra.

@Digvijay Singh: Religious and inter-religious debates were always on in Akbar's Ibadat Khana a building at Sikri that no longer exisits now. Being uneducated (or so he would like all to believe) he found this a convenient way of learning. But as far as the Decree of Infallibility is concerned, my reading and belief tells me that he was hampered by the mullahs in political decisions e.g. abolishing Jiziya tax or pilgrimage tax that was imposed upon his Hindu subjects. And if he tried to do that, he was effectively blocked by the mullahs. Hence he found it necessary to come out with this Decree to block mullahs. In modern parlance, one would cite the quote, 1. "The boss is always right. 2. In case he is wrong, refer to rule #1." He had realised that he cannot govern a country without earning the goodwill of the majority. He was descendent from Amir Timur from his father's side and of Genghis Khan from his mother's side. Daughter of Chagtai Khan - the 2nd son of Genghis was married to Amir Timur. Akbar's Grandfather Babar was the 5th generation descendent of Amir Timur.

Thank you, Pulin. I knew of Akbar's decree to curtail the power of the Mullahs but was not aware of the title "Decree of Infallibility". The best description of all these sensible (rather intellectually- driven) changes is by Abul Fazal, but the Mullahs finally got him by conspiring with Prince Salim who got his friend the Raja of Orchha to do the actual job. Incidently, another historian (whose name I don't recall - Badayuni?) of the same period has written Akbar's history describing him as a heretic etc - which is lot of nonsense. They had stored Akbar's favorite books around his grave in Sikandra but they were all destroyed during the Jat disturbances. He used to have the books read for him late in the night, mark the line himself where reading was finished, and always paid the readers.The remarkable thing about him was that, even though illiterate, he firmy believed in reasoning. Our modern leaders can learn something from him.

It appears that Akbar was trying to get rid of the rude turko-mongol aspects of his lineage in his pictures and trying to look like a Rajput. Life is ironic.

I don't think Jalaluddin Akbar, or other Moghuls, ever tried to shake off their Tukic - Mongol lineage since they always included their Chughtai ancestry with their titles and used the Turkic language at home until the end. However, this is true that Akbar realized quite early that, being the Emperor of India (and having sworn enemies like the Afghans who had expelled his father Humayun from India), he must assimilate Indian culture and traditions. After all, he was born under the protection of the Raja of Amberkot (or Amarkot) in Sind while Humayun was being chased by Sher Shah Suri's troops. The influence of his Rajput Queen was evident from him (and his son Jahangir) abandoning the beard, discontinuing the ritual of circumcisson, outlawing killing of animals on certain days of the week, tolerance of other religions, and a general liberal attitude in state affairs. The only policy of Akbar that is questionable is that he banned all royal Princesses from being married - since the sons-in-law could pose a threat and challenge the line of succession. Hence, no Mughal princess (until after Aurangzeb) was ever married and led to some glaring scandals. For example, Aurangzeb's favorite sister, Roshan Ara Begum, used to keep a dozen young males, dressed as females, in her palace. Rumors have it that the Roshan Ara Gardens in Delhi, that still exist, were built with the same thing in mind.

@ Asad: Thanks Asad for adding the information on royal princesses. I was not aware of that. I would agree with you that Akbar never did try to shake of his Turkic inheritance. As I said earlier in one of the above notes, that he realised long ago that he cannot rule an empire without earning the goodwill of the majority. Raja of Orchha was Bir Singh Deo who was ordered by Salim to get rid of Abul Fazal, which Bir Singh did when Abul Fazal was travelling to Agra from Deccan on the orders of Akbar. I would doubt if Akbar was illiterate. I think he pushed that idea in order to gain more time, e.g. a petition might be given to him, he would scan it diagonally (quickly) and then hand it to the guy next to him to be read out to him, in which time he thought out his response. This is my take on it.

@Asad **Trying to shake off** Look at Akbar's pictures, do they look like a turko-mongol to you? Compare with prior pictures from Babar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RhinoHuntBabur.jpg Its a pity there was only one Akbar.

Satyakam : This picture is an artistic representation by Racinet in 1801 (see my comment above) !! Not true to life. ...The illustration is from a series of volumes by Albert Racinet, first published between 1801 and 1805......

Thanks for the clarification RBS. That indeed makes sense then. I did not expect Akbar's ethnic features to have changed so drastically from Babar's time. But what did Racinet model his Akbar on?

From previous miniatures, I would guess. From Akbar Nama and Tazuk - i - Jahangiri or Jahangir Nama.

To add to above, Satyakam, please visit the page of Airawat Tours Pvt Ltd on FB>Photos>Miniature Painting. Look at the first 4 painting from Akbar Nama and you would see the resemblence with the Akbar above.

Yes the only reference of a marriage of a Mughal princess is that of Najib-u-Nisa begum (Dara Shikoh's daughter ?) to the caretakers of the mausaoleum of Hazrat Ali (a.s.). from Karbala and they were Syeds.They had fled persecution and were granted asylum here in India in Aurangzeb's court.Aurangzeb was instrumental in getting this alliance coming about. Though women in the Mughal court had been Shia earlier too ,including Akbar's mother Hamida Bano Begum but a Mughal- Syed alliance was a unique one.It led to the formation of the Najafi dynasty who later became Nawab Nazims of what is today West Bengal , Bangladesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. This dynasty's capital was Murshidabad. Understandably this dynasty had matrimonial alliances with Oudh and Lucknow.Both those courts vied with each other in supremacy of their culture and of course Lucknow won hands down.

The account of visiting travellers of the period of Akbar are baffling indeed like those of Father Antonio Monserrate. When the Portugeuse priests (missionaries) presented Akbar with a painting of Mother Mary.....the emperor prostrated in front of it. The padris did not know how to react ! Akbar used to perform 'Surya Namaskar' in the mornings too.No Mughal child was circumcised after prince Salim (later Jehangir). He gave generous grants to several Hindu temples.Though the later Sikh gurus were troubled by the later Mughals but the grant for the Harimandir (now Harmandir saheb) also came from Akbar. The holiest Sikh shrine at one time housed statues of Hindu Gods which were later removed.

Coming back to the interesting question on Akbar's education raised by Pulin, I checked my copy of 'Humayun Nama'. It was written by Gulbadan Begum, the sister of Humayun, on an instruction by Akbar himself. The book does not directly refer to his lack of education, perhaps out of respect, but describes the circumstances in which Akbar grew up that may have prevented him from receiving proper schooling. Humayun after being defeated by Sher Shah on the banks of the Ganges, fled to Lahore, tried to negotiate with the Afghan, and then found out that his own brother Kamran Mirza (by another mother) was plotting against him. He had a dream there that a saint was telling him that he will soon have a son and he should be named "Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar". Humayun fled southwards to Bhakkar,then entered the Jaisalmer desert only to find that Sher Shah had instructed the Raja Maldeo to capture him and hand him over to Sher Shah. Humayun fled again under very difficult conditions (lack of water) and went to Amarkot where the Rana welcomed him kindly, gave him a house inside the fort, and provided all necessary supplies - even 2000 troops - because he had his own score to settle. Gulbadan Begum pays rich tribute to the generosity of the Rana. The queen Hamida Bano Begum was very pregnant and had to be left under the care of the Rana while Humayun moved again towards Thatta (in southern Sind). Finally, the infant Akbar was born in Amarkot, brought to him during his run, but the troops of Mirza Askari (another brother allied to Mirza Kamran) were still chasing him. At one point, Humayun hads to escape in such a hurry that the Queen was able to join but the young prince was left behind. Thus Akbar was captured by Askari's troops and taken as a hostage to Qandahar. No one paid attention to his education there. When Humayun returned victorious from Persia, they removed the child to Kabul in Mirza Kamran's custody. When Humayun's troops started attacking the Fort in Kabul, Kamran placed the young Akbar in front, and Humayun had to stop his 'top-khana' from bombardment. Finally, Humayun was able to expel Kamran, and Akbar rejoined his father. All this turmoil in those early years, and the neglect of uncles like Mirza Kamran, may have prevented him from receiving proper education. Bairam Khan (actually Bahram Khan) was appointed his tutor afterwards but that was mainly in the art of politics ('siyasat)' and war. Other contemporary writers bluntly state that Akbar could not read or write. This does not mean that he was not 'educated' in the true sense. In fact, after reading about his actions and views about governance, I recalled Aristotle's words that "there never will be good governments until kings are philosophers - or philosophers kings". As an aside, Kamran was captured and blinded. As they say: "with brothers like these, who needs enemies". That is where her book ends abruptly!

Gulbadan Bano Begum's account is quite lucid.Many thanks indeed. Tumultuous times those were. I am also not sure about Akbar being actually illiterate.He had all the means to acquire education later in life too.Maybe Behram Khan imparted training to him which was of a military and diplomacy nature only. When Behraam Khan became too big for his boots he was dispatched to Haj and then murdered. There are several sanads that existed in the pothi-khana of Jaipur which were farmaans and sanads personally written by the Mughal emperors with their personal seals and signatures too.The Jaipur Maharajahs were hereditary commanders-in-chief of the Mughals for generations altogather. Few communications have signatures of the emperors also.That is the most valuable possession in their possession more than any jewellry. Now it is bound in volumes and in a British Bank in safe custody. Seals of the mughals were on precious stones like emerald mounted on gold with carving and the script used to be Persian as per the tradition of those times. Mughals had adopted Persian as a court language on account of it being refined like no other.There was no Turkish spoken in the courts and neither was Arabic.

Yes, Digvijay, Persian being more sophisticated was adopted as the court language, but the language used at home (specially for confidential matters) was Turkic. This was at its height when the Moghul court was disintegrating into Shia and Sunni factions so that the Shia faction used Persian while the Sunni faction (including the King) used Turkic.

Indeed uncle that is news to me that Turkic was spoken by the Mughals confidentially/personally among themselves although they had indianised themselves by inter-marriage and alsoadopted the culture of India .That Turkic was being spoken inspite of 330 yrs of their reign which changed India forever in admirable. By the time of the last Mughal emperor Urdu had blossomed and was taking shape with stalwarts like Ghalib, Momin,Zauq and Daagh embellishing it just as Meer had before them. Urdu replaced Persian as a court language of all north Indian courts including Lucknow. The Urdu of Delhi is however rated higher as that of Lucknow was pretentious.....which it is to this day ! The personal body-guards of the mughal emperors used to be "lady Abyssinian (today's Ethiopia) guards"

Digvijay:Very true. Urdu emerged as a beautiful mixture of all these languages - Persian, Turkic, Hindi, Arabic etc. Also Delhi Urdu is more 'authentic' than the Lucknow or Hyderabadi version. The personal bodyguards of the Mughal Emperors also included sturdy Uzbek women. I know that for sure since Aurangzeb - the pious 'Faqir' - made one of them pregnant!

@Digvijay singhji the concepts of forshortening,shadows and perspective show their presence i the mughal paintings of the 1600's where we have Christian missionaries,traders from England,spain visiting the mughal court in the reign of Jahangir and there is a developing correspondence between the mughal court and the west.so the paintings start having depth in place of the flat style prevelant before,persian style is flat like what we see in Baburnama,So the new ideals in paintings were taken from the European paintings not from persian,Abdus samad accompanied Humanyu to india and with Mir Sayed ali were the heads of the painting Ateliers in the initial developing stage of the mughal empire.

@Shubha Phanishayee: :)) thanks.

Legend of Emperor Akbar Once, Emperor Akbar was sitting in a mosque, reading the Koran. He posted his guards before the mosque because he wanted absolute peace. At some point during his reading he glanced out the window and saw a young woman running desperately back and forth. She seemed to be looking for someone or something. Suddenly, this young woman entered the mosque and began to search. In her desperation to find whatever she was looking for, she did not see the emperor and tripped over him as he sat, bumping him so hard that the Koran flew out of his hands and landed on the floor. Akbar was so disturbed that he called for his guards: “Bring me that young woman!” When the guards brought the woman before him, Akbar was furious: “Before I have you hanged, tell me what you were so preoccupied with that you did not even notice when you ran over me. ” The woman shook with fear to hear her death sentence. But then she collected herself and said: “My dear emperor, please excuse me, but I was searching for my lover. I had heard that he had come to town, and because I love him, I was so fixed on finding him that I was looking everywhere without seeing anyone or anything else. I did not mean to offend you.” This made Akbar even angrier: “How dare you disturb me while I am reading the holy Koran! Looking for a lover! Hang her immediately!” Since she had nothing left to lose, the young woman spoke out: “Dear emperor, may I ask you whether you were actually reading the Koran? If I am so attentive to searching for my lover—who is, after all, merely a mortal man—that I cannot see anything or anyone else, how much more fixed would you be if you were actually searching for the supreme lover, God? If you had actually been reading the Koran, you would not have noticed my tripping over you. So I think you were not actually reading but were only making a show of it!” Akbar saw the woman’s point and set her free. The lesson: Absorbing the mind in Krishna while rendering devotional service is the whole point of bhakti-yoga, and those who become mentally absorbed have an excellent chance at purification. Shri Krishna speaks about this in the Bhagavad-gita, chapter 18, text 58: “If you become conscious of me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by my grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness, but act through false ego, not hearing me, you will be lost.” Shrila Prabhupada wrote: “For one who acts in Krishna consciousness, Lord Krishna becomes the most intimate friend. He always looks after his friend’s comfort and he gives himself to his friend, who is so devotedly engaged twenty-four hours a day to please the Lord.... One should note very carefully that one who is not active in Krishna consciousness is losing himself in the material world, in the ocean of birth and death.” How wisely Srila Prabhupada chose the phrase “Krishna consciousness,” which means nothing less than absorption in Krishna.