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Settled, Sacred and All-Powerful: Making of New Genealogies and Traditions of Empire
under Akbar
Author(s): Ruby Lal
Source: Economic and Political Weekly , Mar. 17-23, 2001, Vol. 36, No. 11 (Mar. 17-23,
2001), pp. 941-943+945-958
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4410400
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Settled, Sacred and All-Powerful
Making of New Genealogies and Traditions
of Empire under Akbar
The Mughal 'empire' as we know it today came into being in Akbar's time. This was when the
monarchy, the court, the palaces were all established on a grand scale. But the process
of establishing Mughal forms - including its practices, institutions, cities, imperial splendour -
occurred over a period of time. By the latter half of Akbar's reign, the empire had
become increasingly well rooted and by then had come to be presented as sacred. Another
related development in the process of imperial construction was the emphasis on its
disciplinary aspect, which in turn had deep implications on the domestic world of the divine monarch.
RUBY LAL
n the strict sense of the term, the Mughal however, lay in the cohesiveness that heAkbar's genealogy, his court, his mar-
'empire' in India came into being in was able to bring to his rule, his court, andriages, and an officially commissioned royal
Akbar's time. The Mughal monarchy, his 'domestic world'. This paper will history as part and parcel of the procedures
the court, the palaces were all established therefore examine several new directions adopted in the making of the empire. In
on a grand scale during his reign. This was that Akbar charted in building up a new addition, it examines certain selected sites
a grandeur that was splendidly displayed, philosophy of empire.2 that came to be disciplined through impe-
,and carefully consecrated. This paper at- The second purpose of the paper is to rial regulation and 'design'. The regal
tempts to outline some of the processes investigate the different meanings that complex at Fatehpur-Sikri, the royal body
that went into the construction of this different arenas of Mughal life came to of the emperor, and the imperial book of
grandiose realm. have in these altered circumstances: in regulations (the Ain-i Akbari) are taken as
It raises two sets of queries. The first other words, to examine the implications instances to discuss issues related to 'dis-
deals with the strategies and mechanisms of settled structures and secure imperialciplining' as a central aspect of the making
that went into the establishment of 'empire'power for different aspects of Mughal oflife.
the Mughal monarchy.
It must be clarified at the outset that al-
at this early stage. The exercise is intended
to bring into focus the policies that sig- though the life of the emperor (and those
around him) in the splendid courts and
nalled the emergence of an 'empire': its Abu-I Fazl's Construction
palaces of Agra and Fatehpur-Sikri was
court, its memorialisation, and a particular
of Akbar's Genealogy
kind of 'domestic world'. The paper under-obviously unlike the wandering, peri-
scores the point that what we know as patetic lifestyle of his predecessors, yet the Genealogies are important legitimising
Mughal forms today - practices, institu- shift from peripatetic to settled structures instruments. As far as sources of legiti-
tions, cities, imperial splendour - were
was only partial. Between 1556 and 1739,macy for ruling dynasties in pre-modern
times were concerned, the most common
one historian has said, "an emperor would
gradually built. If the Mughal empire is all
about its appearance, as some have sug- leave the capital and begin a tour for oneways were usually the establishment of a
gested, then it must be noted that, thator more of the following reasons: to glorious genealogical attachment, and/or
image itself - its colours, contours, and a claim of divine providence or sanction.
hunt, to put down a rebellion, to check the
lines - had to be drawn and constructed administration of a province, to conquer Genealogies were, therefore, regularly
over time. A major part of this exercisenew areas, to reconquer old ones, to visitconstructed by royal families.6 Babur took
took place under Akbar's kingship. a shrine, to attend a festival or to escapeextra care to delineate his noble ancestral
An assessment of Akbar's contribution the midsummer heat of northern India."3 connections in the Baburnama - the wan-
The Mughal emperors, therefore, continued
in building the grandeur of his empire does derer and the poet padshah wrote his
not detract from a recognition that otherto spend a good part of their time in tents.
autobiography suggesting a subtle inclina-
Muslim polities had preceded Mughal rule Indeed, Aurangzeb, "the most peripatetiction for the Timurid side, without, how-
in Hindustan, and that some of their of the seven emperors" according to Blake,ever, completely negating the Chingizid
methods, systems, and ways were inheri-emphasised the significance of repeated blood in his veins. Humayun followed
ted by the Mughals. In fact, part of Akbar'smovement.4 The Ain-i Akbari providessuit, keeping his reverence for both lines,
contribution lay in the fact that he was abledetails of the arrangement and functions though for him the practice of the methods
"to develop, refine, and systematise theof these tent cities erected whenever Akbar laid down by his forefathers was more
elements of state organisation he had travelled.5 crucial than the invocation of their names
inherited from India, and west and central This paper is divided into several sec- alone. Unfortunately, he never wrote any
Asia."1 The singularity of Akbar's reign, tions that examine the construction of memoirs, but the close attention that he
Economic and Political Weekly March 17, 2001 941

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paid to the ways of his ancestors may be cradle of preparation, that the broidery the
of beginning of the manifestation (aghaz-
gleaned from several histories of his time. existence was bestowed on her Majesty
i zuhur) of his Majesty (Akbar), ...passing
Genealogy itself was not enough for Alanqua, so that she might become worthy
through divers stages revealed to the world
of that world-illuminating Light.8
Akbar's purposes. His father and grand- from the holy womb of her Majesty
father had already established their rule in Miryam-makani for the accomplishment
Thus the family tree was drawn, to place
Hindustan. The stressing of lineage and of things visible and invisible."ll
at its centre the all important birth: the
the glory of their ancestral connections is centre came at the end, as it were. As theWhy is a whole chapter devoted to this
certainly more evident in the case of Babur little known Mongol princess - "the cu-
quotation shows, Abu-l Fazl presented the
and Humayun; perhaps their need of this pola of chastity and veil of purity"12 as
notable ancestors in the Mongol as well
was greater than Akbar's. The former two Abu-l Fazl calls her - in the midst of this
as the Timurid-Chingizid lines as existing
had to lay the foundations of kingship in detailing of Akbar's lineage? What are the
for a larger, divine purpose: that of prepa-
a land and among peoples that were un- possible sources for this story? These ques-
ration for the birth of Akbar at the right
known to them, distant from their previous time and place. tions bear reflection for a moment.
domains in central Asia. Akbar, who carried It is in this context that the discussion Abu-l Fazl's construction of the genea-
forward the processes of the move towardsof the virtuous mother of Akbar appears:logical background leading to Akbar's
a new 'empire', needed more than such only because the 'holy nativity' occurred glorious birth is fascinating. Some of the
straightforward claims of high connec- due to her agency. So her contribution layfeatures of the chronicler's depiction
tions or inheritance. He needed a rather in aiding the conception of a messiah-likeclosely resemble a number of Biblical
larger declaration of grandeur and son. This proposition fits in perfectly well episodes. Alanqoa's supernatural concep-
uniqueness in the interests of imperial with the larger genealogical point made by tion seems to be drawn closely after the
power. Among other things, this came Abu-l
in Fazl in the Akbarnama; the ances- immaculate conception of Virgin Mary.
the form of a commissioned history, the tors were privileged, and the genealogy The Jesuit missionaries may have contrib-
awesome, only because Akbar was the uted somewhat to this delineation.13 The
famous panegyric account of Akbar' s reign,
the weighty Akbarnama, and its equally result of it. Thus: first of them arrived at Akbar's court in
weighty and bulky counterpart - the im- February 1580. This first mission came
The apparition of the results of hopes from
perial gazetteer called the Ain-i Akbari, under the guidance of Rudolf Aquaviva,
the embryonic sac of desire, and emer-
both written by his close associate stayed in Fatehpur-Sikri for three years and
gence of the light of fortune from the
Abu-l Fazl. What is significant here, when auspicious ascension point - the most holyreturned in 1583. A second mission arrived
compared to the declarations of grand nativity (occurred)...from the sublime veilin Lahore, the new capital, in 1591 for that
familial attachment in the earlier reigns, and consecrated curtain of her Highness,year. Father Jerome Xavier led the third
is the nature of the proclamation of im- cupola of chastity - screen of modesty mission
- to Akbar's court in 1594.14
perium in the form of a great, settled polity, saint of seclusion... mistress of the world, One of the members of the first Jesuit
the centre of all power and the provider -perfect teacher- paragon of purity...lamp Mission, Father Anthony Monserrate, a
of all good. of the holy family...bridal chamber of theSpanish monk wrote a whole commentary
Abu-l Fazl says at the beginning of the auspicious harem...spring-flower of on his visit to Akbar's court. It is a rich
Akbarnama, "I might reduce to writing the justice...splendour of sanctity and love...account, especially of the conversations
auspicious description of the King of veiled matron of meekness and modesty
between Akbar and the Jesuit priests. Two
- screened and curtained one of honour
manifestation and reality, the leader of passages from the Commentary serve to
and greatness... enveloped in celestial veils
religion and realm (din- u- dunya), - and illustrate the very detailed nature of many
- her Majesty Miryam Makani, chaste one
might bring together his beautiful and awful of the exchanges. On one Christmas, when
of church and state, Hamida Banu Begam...9
attributes and the praises of his Majesty Akbar visited the fathers, Monserrate wrote:
and perfection..."7 Then he describes the Abu-l Fazl's genealogy traced Akbar's
"They (Jesuits) adorned thei'r chapel with
empire: its machinery, people, and prac- descent from the earliest possible begin-
rich silken curtains. They made models of
tices - with a persistent focus on Akbar nings. Akbar's ancestors included Adam,
the grotto where Christ was born, of the
- the monarch as the centre of all things. then the biblical prophets, followed crib
by in which his mother laid him, and of
In Abu-l Fazl's account, Akbar did not Joseph and his son, Turk - thereby moving
the mountain on which the shepherds
need to draw on any vital connection; he to the first Turco-Mongol figure. There-
watched. He (Akbar) examined everything,
who was divinely ordained did not require after, Abu-l Fazl listed the Mongol kings
and began to talk about the birth of
such legitimacy. The chronicler says, Christ."15
till the ninth generation, when the ruling
...it is by the weddings of heavenly sires house was defeated and dispersed by an Later in the Commentary, recounting the
and earthly mothers, and after various cycles enemy to find refuge in a mountain valley,
time when Akbar advanced into Kabul to
of lunar aspects, and of applications...of Mughulistan. At this point the chronicler
check the troubles with his half-brother
conjunctions of the superior and inferior gives us a full chapter on the famous event
Mirza Hakim, Monserrate wrote,
planets, risings and settings...that the unique
of the divine impregnation of a Mongol
one comes forth from the secret inner The King stayed at the halting-place until
princess, Alanqoa. She was married to the
chambers into the palace of manifestation... the whole army had crossed the Indus. In
king of Mughulistan but became a child-
The man of experience knows that many order not to remain inactive he spent his
less widow owing to the premature death
years must elapse before a ruby develop time partly in artisan-work, partly in dis-
of her husband. As the princess lay sleep-
in the embryonic sac of the mine and arrive cussions. His learned men initiated a debate
ing one night, a light entered her body and
at maturity, so as to be fit for a royal regarding holy books, whereupon he
impregnated her. Triplets were born of this
diadem...it was after thousands of years ordered the sacred volumes to be brought
immaculate conception10 : "that day. wasand the Priest to be called...The Priest
had been spent, womb after womb, in the
942 Economic and Political Weekly March 17, 2001

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thereupon addressed the king as follows:- Therefore he sketched continual connec- another reason. Akbar comes in this record
...all Christians recognise the Law, the to parallel - to be like - the uncle of the
tions between the emperor and his ances-
Psalms and the Gospel, attributing equal tors, as well as between the emperor and
prophet himself. 'Divinity' is close at hand,
trustworthiness and authority to all three, one might say: indeed, this claim to divin-
Quranic-mythical exemplars, as we shall
as being given by God. They (Christians)
see below. In all of these comparisons, ity or near-divinity is one of the issues
devoutly reverence and worship one un-
Abu-al Fazl brings out the elevated, divine
which we find subject to scathing attack
divided Trinity of Father, Son and Holy
Ghost-One God. They recognise Jesus status of his emperor - because of whom in the history written in hiding during his
Christ alone, the Son of God made through the Mughal lineage itself came to acquirelifetime, by the conservative courtier,
the Virgin Mary, as the giver of the Gospel an unparalleled position. Badauni. It is in this context that we might
law, to whom all other law-givers, though Thus a central feature of this increas- more fully understand the insertion of the
sent by God, even Moses and David and ingly stableMughal polity is Akbar's own episode of Alanqoa's immaculate concep-
the other prophets, yield place in humble distinguished presence. This is displayed
tion in the drawing up of Akbar's gene-
submission. 16
very forthrightly indeed in the claims made
alogy. It would appear that the most sacred
Thus questions of genealogy - the con- about the sacred and sublime nature of the
connections had to be developed in re-
ception of 'the son of God made through monarchy. Though both genealogy and counting the birth of the new, 'all pow-
the Virgin Mary', the birth of Christ, and divine intervention may be seen at workerful' emperor. Hence Abu-l Fazl devoted
the undivided Trinity - all made their way
in the creation of Akbar' s empire, one has substantial space to princess Alanqoa, and
into the discussions of Akbar with the a sense of them being peculiarly inverted. drew connections between that earlier
Jesuit missionaries. The records of the It.appears as if it is not Akbar who derivesmiraculous conception, and its logical,
Jesuit fathers suggest a remarkable open-
legitimacy from a distinguished lineage, awaited ending - the divine birth of Akbar.
ness of exchange17 between Akbar and but his the lineage itself that derives legiti- The reproduction of earlier knowledge,
Christian guests. However, any hypothesis Turco-Mongol, Baburi, Timurid, Chin-
macy from him. It is he who radiates divinity
of a direct connection between Abu-l Fazl' s gizid, Quranic and other, in a new com-
and confers legitimacy on others (past and
genealogical sketch and 'Jesuit inspira- present). In other words, the fact that the bination, is not all there is to this new
tion' must remain tentative. For there were, emperor is divine, and extraordinary, makes
genealogy, which we might even call an
at the same time, other possible sources his precedents look extraordinary too. He ideology for imperial governance. Perhaps
and points of reference for the court chroni- is the reason for the existence of that one of the most significant aspects of the
cler. The example of the Mahabharata, distinguished lineage, not the other way
Akbarnania is the way in which it garners
translated and illustrated in the Akbariaround. It is wondrous because of him. its information to point towards the sanc-
atelier as the famous Raznnamneh, may be If Akbar radiated divinity, he also sharedtity of the emperor. Even in a 'minor'
cited as a case in point. Kunti, one of the
the qualities of his lineage. So if "Amirextract on Chingiz Khan, the notions of
protagonists in the epic, conceives a son
Sahib Qaran (Timur) from his earliest yearsdivine intervention are present:
by way of an 'immaculate conception' up-to the flower of his youth, was occupied Though this great man (Chingiz Khan) be
in practising the art of hunting and the in the eyes of the vulgar and even to the
and here, precisely through the rays of the
Sun. The possibility of Kunti's episode methods of war and battles",18 it was elite, at first glance, a leading exponent of
being the stimulus for Abu-l Fazl's writing
recorded that Akbar too was engaged in divine wrath, yet to the far-reading view
very similar activities in the early part of of the wise, elite of the elite, he is an
is as large (or small) as the discussions with
the missionaries at Akbar's court. How- his reign. Again, it has been suggested that emanation of Divine blessings. Why should
ever, in the present state of our knowledge,the visual folios of the Dastan-i Amir not a potentate who hath such a kinsman
we shall have to let the matter rest: it is Hamzeh (or the Hamzanama, the stories (biradar) in blood and in spirit by his side
as his director to dominion and fortune,
a question that requires further research.of Hamzeh, the uncle of the prophet), the
brush with the head of Majesty the highest
The point that needs to be emphasisedearliest major illustrated manuscript at-
zenith of conquest and rule?21
is that of the very exceptional character oftributed to Akbar's patronage, tells us
the genealogy drawn up by Abu-l Fazl for
It need scarcely be stated that Chingiz
"something of his personality at the time.
Khan becomes the 'emanation of divine
his imperial patron, Akbar. The details of He (Akbar) might justifiably have been
Akbar's genealogical tree, as constructed blessings' in this message because he was
entertained by its (Hamzanama) parallels
in the Akbarnama, show that Abu-l Fazl with his own life."19 Akbar's forefather. Akbar gives rise to the
greatness of his forefathers, as his mere
paid close attention to the ancestral con- The stories of the Hamzananzeh relate
presence will contribute - in this interpre-
nections of his forefathers. The specific to Hamzeh, the uncle of the prophet him-
(and detailed) account of Akbar's fore- self, who 'travelled throughout the world' tation - to the prosperity of his subjects
and his successors.
fathers in Abu-l Fazl's writing is signifi-to spread the doctrines of Islam. Milo
cant. His fulsome description of Timur andCleveland Beach has written that the
II
the descendants of the Timurid line sug-Hamzanameh "obviously appealed erior-
gests that the inversion of the genealogicalmously to the young and energetic em- The Sacred and Sublime
tree, as it appears in theAkbarnama, cannotperor, himself occupied with extending Monarch
be understood in any simple, straightfor-Islamic control over a predominantly Hindu
ward manner. Though the chronicler drew country."20 How greatly Akbar was How
in- did the emperor come to be the
a central place for Akbar in his ancestralspired to spread Islam by the escapades of
fulcrum of all power? What were the
line, in terms of his extraordinary, godlyHamzeh is hard to establish, but the com-
characteristics of this sacred and sublime
being, yet the emperor's special persona parison between the Quranic-mythical monarchy? There are several special
could not be demonstrated in a void. Hamzeh and the emperor is crucial attributes
for of the emperor that pervade the

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entire discussion in the Akbarnama, as can Akbar comforted Jiji Anageh: "Be of the glories of the lord of the universe. How
then can an incidental reference be suffi-
be seen from a detailed recapitulation of good cheer," he apparently said to her, "for
the extraordinary magical qualities ascribed the celestial light of khilafat shall abide cient'? Give all that thou hast, and purchase
to Akbar by Abu-l Fazl. To begin, consider in thy bosom and shall bestow on the light eyes, and behold the world-adorning quali-
ties of our spiritual and temporal king so
these remarks allegedly heard by Abu-1 of thy sorrow the effulgence of joy. But
see that thou reveal this secret to no that thou mayest know what is kingship,
Fazl himself from the "sacred lips of his
and what is the meaning of sovereignty !3
Majesty":22 one, and thou dost not proclaim untimely
I perfectly remember (says Akbar) what this mystery of god's power, for hidden Akbar possessed these qualities, there-
happened when I was one year old, and designs and great previsions are unfolded fore god granted him the divine kingship.
especially the time when his Majesty therein."27 Hence everything was written of as magical
Jahanbani (Humayun) proceeded towards Note some other instances of the appear- or divinely ordained. The regularity with
Iraq and I was brought to Qandahar. I was ance of great marvels in the childhood of which such constructions appear in the
then one year and three months old. One Akbar. According to Abu-l Fazl, though official history (and also some other accounts
day Maham Anaga, the mother of Adham Akbar 'used his tender age as a veil and of the time) renders the episodes as almost
Khan (who was always in charge of that commonplace, everyday occurences in the
lived secluded', yet, as god had willed that
nursling of fortune), represented to M life of the emperor: 'the worshippers of
the actual state of the great man be made
Askari (Humayun's step-brother), "It is
manifest, he, therefore, involuntarily did truth do not regard it as strange'.
a Turki custom that when a child begins
unusual works, "each of which was a The Akbarnana, of course, brims with
to walk, the father or grandfather or whoever
represents them, takes off his turban and competent witness to his lofty nature such miraculous episodes. Here is one
strikes the child with it, as he is going (shahide ast'adil)."28 Among these, one more instance:
along, so that the nursling of hope may was that Akbar came out on the roof of
One day he (Akbar) had gone from Dihli
come to the ground... At present his Majesty a house in the city (which Abu-l Fazl does to hunt in the district of Palam, and there
Jahanbani is not here; you are in his room, not name) to glance at the hostile army an enormous and terrific (sic.) serpent,
and it is fitting you should perform this (which he does not speak of either). Thesuch as might move the heart of the daring,
spell which is like sipand (henna) against size of the army was too large and couldappeared on the line of road. On this
the evil eye. The mirza immediately took not possibly be defeated. But after a glance occasion his Majesty exhibited the miracle
off his turban and flung it at me, and I fell of Moses, and without the hesitation which
Akbar said that their men would disperse
down." "This striking and falling", his comes even to generous hearts, put forth
the army. Abu-l Fazl comments:
Majesty deigned to observe (says Abu'l his white hand (allusion to white hand of
Fazl), "are visibly before me (Akbar con- His entourage who knew of his far sight Moses) and approaching the serpent,
tinues). Also at the same time they took and had often beheld his marvels, rejoicedcourageously and in the strength of a sacred
atthis tidings... Things like this look strange intimation, seized its tail with his holy
me for good luck to have my head shaved
to custom-worshippers and formalists. Buthand and quelled it.31
at the shrine of Baba Hasan Abdal. That
journey and the taking off my hair arethe worshippers of truth, and the esoteric
present before me as in a mirror."23 do not regard this occurrence or hundredsThe following story, recorded by Nizam
like it as strange when coming from one ud-Din Ahmad's in his Tabaqat-i Akbari,
Akbar's falling down after being struck reproduces Abu-l Fazl's idea of the
so eminent temporally and spiritually29
was inevitable. Abu-l Fazl was recounting emperor's magical attributes:
(emphasis mine).
the childhood of a divine emperor. Ac-
cording to this picture the beginnings ofIt is through such examples of an ex-The beginning of this year (24th regnal
traordinary childhood, which reveal magi-year) was on Thursday the 13th Muharram
the special traits of Akbar had to be seen
cal, near divine qualities, that Abu-l Fazl987 A.H. (12th March 1579). In the begin-
as early as his childhood. So it is hardly
surprising that the good omen of 'comingbrings out the uniqueness of Akbar. Hening of this year the emperor travelled
towards the capital by successive marches,
to ground' occurred. makes clear that god grants the gift of a
hunting along the way. It so happened that,
Consider another instance of Akbar's great imperial power only when a very a
at this time, people suffered great privation
large number of accomplishments have
'illuminated border of miracles (karamat)', from excessive rain. His Majesty called for
this one from when Akbar was eight months
been gathered in one individual. Akbara mirror, and breathed three times on it
old.24 Abu-1 Fazl records that there was clearly was the repository of these external with his auspicious breath, and then placed
a lot of contention among the nurses who and internal, physical and spiritual, godlythe mirror on fire. The rain immediately
fed Akbar in his infancy. Jiji Anageh, in and human, qualities. At one place, stopped, and the people escaped from the
particular, was opposed by others, espe- Abu-l Fazl's lists Akbar's extraordinary distress caused by it.32
virtues as follows:
cially by Maham Anaga. At one point, the The sacredness of the emperor was visible
chronicler says, Jiji Anageh was disturbed It is clear to the wise that a few among thein everything: the emperor himself was
to learn that the nurses had reported to holy qualities (requisite) are, magnanimity, "the spiritual and temporal khedive"33
Humayun that "Mir Ghaznavi's wife (i e, lofty benevolence, wide capacity, abun- (khidive-i surat-u-ma'ni34), 'the khedive
herself) was practising incantations so that dant endurance, exalted understanding,of the world'35 (khidive-i jahan36),
innate graciousness, natural courage, jus-
his Majesty, the prince of mankind (Akbar), 'khedive of the age'37 (khidive-ijahanl38),
tice, rectitude, strenuous labour, proper
should not accept anyone's milk but her 'the unique jewel of the Caliphate'39
conduct, profound thoughtfulness, laud-
own".25 At this time, says the official able overlooking (of offences), and accep-(gawhar-i yekta-i khilafat40), 'the holy
historian, Akbar became "vocal, and
tance of excuses...The holy personality ofmind'41 (batin-i quddusi42), and his 'holy
Messiah-like (and like Christ spoke in thethe shahinshah is a fount of perfect quali- personality' was 'pure and chaste'43 (zat-
cradle)".26 Abu-l Fazl then goes on to write ties, and a mine of holy principles. Vol- i muqqadasi, afif-u-pak44). By extension,
that this was the moment when the infant umes would not be sufficient to describe Akbar's court was a 'sublime court'45

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(darbar-i mu'alla46), 'sublime cortege' evokes (and shares) the larger context of foundation for what later became official
(mawqib-i mu'alla), 'sublime threshold' Akbar's 'sacred' empire; a similar evoca-'history' writing. Gulbadan Banu Begum,
(astan-i mu'alla, darbar Izadi), 'fortunate Bayazid Bayat (an officer during the time
tion as that of Abu-l Fazl, though not quite
and prosperous court' (darbar-i dawlat- as all pervading as in the latter's of Humayun) and Jawhar (Humayun's
u-Iqba147), and/or 'holy court'48 (darbar- Akbarnama. ewer- bearer) among others were asked to
i mu'alla49). In the same way, as we shall record their memories for the Akbarnama.
The following titles for Mughal royalty,
see in the next chapter, the Shahinshah's Clearly such assignments became com-
used consistently in the Tabaqat-i Akbari,
family were a 'sublime family'50 (dudman-i mon by the time the empire came to be
underline the point about the 'consecrated'
vala51), his haram, the 'haram of fortune'52 language of the chronicles. Nizam-ud Dinwell established. The number of histories,
(Shabistan-i Iqbal53), and his women, 'the Ahmad's memoir describes Akbar as the illustration of those histories, the trans-
veiled ones of the curtains of fortune'54 Khalifa-i Ilahi (divine caliph),63 Babur lations
as and production of visual manu-
(niqab guzin-i sardiq-i dawlat55), 'chaste Firdaws Makani, Hamideh Banu Begum scripts of epic works at Akbar's atelier are
secluded ladies'56 (pardeh giyan, 'Iffat-i as Hazrat Maryam Makani, Humayun as
all testimony to this.66
qubab57), and/or 'cupola of chastity'58 Jannat Ashyani, and the royal consorts Theasproducts of Akbar's atelier (scat-
('Iffat-i qubab59). (The reference to fortu- hazrat-i-sarapardeh-i-saltanat (majestic, tered examples of which may be found in
nate in several of these terms has the highnesses, veiled ones of the king- museums and libraries across the world)
implication of 'blessed by god') Similarly, dom64).65 The recurrent use of these -names outstanding examples of unique work-
Fatehpur-Sikri was the "Ka'ba of fortune" is suggestive: the language reverberates a artistic skill and talent that have
manship,
and the 'centre of the caliphate'.60 time, and a royal environment, of sacred- now spread out all over the world's
Consider also the use of certain other spiritual associations. museums as extraordinary reminders of
names in this account of the divine king- In the language of the contemporary that extraordinary era - underscore the
ship of the Mughals. Akbar was called chronicles and memoirs are embedded the point about the changed nature of Mughal
Hazrat, Shahinshah, his Majesty, the king sense of omnipotence that came to sur-records and writing. Art historians suggest
of kings thus being honoured with the round the third Mughal ruler. This sacro-that the earliest artists employed by the
honorific of the prophet (Hazrat) himself. sanct apex of the Empire is represented asMughals were hired both from Iran and
Babur's posthumous title was Giti-sitani- having impacted on everything around himHindustan. Humayun on his return to Delhi,
i Firdaws Makani (conqueror of the world in such a way that the entire environment had brought back artists and craftsmen
abiding in paradise). Ghufran-i qubab was radiated with his halo, so to speak. from the court of Shah Tahmasp. "In 1549
(cupola of pardon or absolution) and The sacred underpinnings of the genealogy at least two painters, Mir Sayyid 'Ali and
Jahanbani Jannat-i Ashyani (guardiandrawn of up in theAkbarnama, like the sacred 'Abd-us-Samad, came to the Mughal court
the world whose nest is paradise) were associations of other terms commonlywhich was then in Kabul, moving to India
used for Humayun. Hamideh Banu Begum employed for the Mughal rulers, are reflec-with Humayun when he returned to Delhi
was addressed as Maryam Makani. tive of this effervescence. The divine glow in..1555."67 These two painters remained
The names of Babur and Humayun of the monarch also seems to have been influential in the training and evolution of
reflected in many other small and large
referred to here were posthumously given. what has been called the 'Mughal style'.68
There is some uncertainty about the date
aspects of his rule as the following sectionsHowever, as time passed, several artistic
will show.
of Hamideh Banu's new name.61 Maryam traditions were combined to satisfy the
means Mary and the epithet may be ren- royal palate. The earliest manuscript at the
dered in various ways - she who dwells Ill Akbari atelier, the Hamzanameh, was
with Mary, is of the household of Mary,
The Establishment of Imperial directed by Mir Sayyid 'Ali and 'Abd-us-
and who is of equal rank with Mary. Grandeur Samad, but the paintings are of a different
However, the point to be noted is the character than any other known works by
Though some attributes, such as a glo- these two artists before they moved to
frequency with which these, traditionally
rious genealogical connection, literary Hindustan.69
marked, sacred, even 'heavenly', names
are used in the accounts written in Akbar's pursuits, and the centrality of great royal The next work after Hamzanameh, the
time. Even in Gulbadan Banu Begum's 'traditions', were obviously central to the Tuti-nameh (Tales of a Parrot) includes
unusual account, the reader finds a con- conception of the courts of all the early paintings in Hindu, as well as Persian
tinuous application of these posthumous Mughal rulers, the indicators of regality styles. Milo Cleveland Beach calls it an
honorific names for the padshahs, Babur under Akbar were unprecedented in several "immediately eclectic, innovative, and
and Humayun. It is interesting to note that respects. One of the most obvious of these, distinctive a production".70 The varied
the begum who had lived through the reigns though it has seldom been remarked upon, interests and styles represented in the
of the three Mughals, uses their posthu- is the maintenance of extensive records Mughal workshop may be seen in the
mous names commonly. The Tabaqat-i and accounts of all imperial activities. illustration of several other manuscripts
Akbari of Nizam-ud Din Ahmad, another such as Nurud-Din 'Abd ul-Rahman Jami's
Let us first note the changes in the nature
contemporary chronicler, who wrote of of memoir writing from the time of Babur Nafahat ul-Uns, which was copied for
Akbar's reign at his own initiative, is also and Humayun to that of Akbar: a move Akbar at Agra in 1603,71 the Razmianieh,
resplendent with divine-sacrosanct lan- from the personal, (auto) biographical genre
a Persian translation of the Mahabharata,72
guage. This first Bakhshi of the empire of Babur, towards full-fledged commis- (the British Library copy dated 1598)
continuously refers to 'the most erudite sioned histories. Khvandamir, who in Khamseh of Nizami, (the British Library
Sheikh Abul Fazl' and his "chronicle for compliance with the order of Humayuncopy dated 1595)73 and the Deval Rani
all times."62 Nizam-ud Din's language toowrote the Qanun-i Humayuni, laid the Khizr Khan of Amir Khusraw Dihlavi

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(1253-1325), an Indian Muslim poet. of the raja of Pannah, but was planning
departments report; what His Majesty eats
Among others are, Anvar-i Suhayli (Lights and drinks; when he sleeps, and when to
he go into retirement. Akbar, who pos-
of Canopus) of 1570, which contains il- rises; the etiquette in the State hall; the time
sessed "the niceties of music, as of other
lustrations for Persian translation of the His Majesty spends in the Harem...The
sciences, . whether melodies of Persia, or
increase or decrease of taxes; contracts;
Sanskrit Indian tales, from which Aesop's the various songs of India, both as regards
sale, money transfers...Marriages, births;
fables were derived, and the 'Ajayib-ul- ...extraordinary phenomenon...After the theory and execution unique for all time",86
Makhluqat (wonders of Creation and the diary has been corrected by one of His ordered that Tan Sen should be enrolled
Oddities of Existence), a 13-century text Majesty's servants, it is laid before the among the court musicians. Tan Senjoined
by Qazvini that was copied and illustrated.74 emperor, and approved by him. The clerk the court and 'received exaltation.'
In about 1580s, when the first Jesuit Mission then makes a copy of each report, signs H M the Shahinshah was pleased and
arrived from Goa, the Jesuit fathers brought it,. when it is also signed by the parwanchi, poured gifts of money into the lap of his
with them Christopher Plantin's Royal by the Mir 'Arz, and by that person who hopes. His cap of honour was exalted above
Polyglot Bible, an eight volume work laid it before His Majesty. The report in this all others. As he had an upright nature and
state is called yad-dasht, or memorandum.81 an acceptable disposition he was cherished
printed sometime earlier in Antwerp. This
Bible became a source for several inno- The Ain-i Akbari, the well known gaz- by a long service and association with
vations, and the painters Basawan and
etteer of the empire, shows the extent to H M, and great developments were made
Manohar adapted certain motifs fromwhich official archives were maintained. by him in music and in compositions.87
the text.75 This supplement to the official account of Thus Tan Sen was ennobled and his
At this time some other famous compo- the reign contained in the Akbarnama, is music ripened with this patronage.
sitions were cast: the Tarikh-i Alfi (a his- divided into five books and covers details Tan Sen, and others - Abu-l Fazl and
tory of the first thousand years of Islam), of the official regulations on a vast rangehis brother, the poet Fayzi (malik ush
the Baburnama (illustration of the auto- of subjects: from the duties of shu 'ara,88 poet-laureate), Raja Todar Mal
biography of Babur),76 and the Tarikh-i institutionalised establishments (like the a renowned administrator, 'Abd-ur-Rahim
Khandan-i Timuriya(n), more popularly imperial household, mint, army82 and so Khan-i Khanan, the son of Bayram Kha
called the Timurnama. The last manuscript and later the prime minister of Akbar
forth), to very specific details on the twenty
is a history of Timur and his descendants empire, to name a few, came to form th
eras used in various parts of the world, the
till the time of Akbar. It contains one court laureates - an important set of clos
fruitery (including detailed subsections like
theof
hundred and thirty three illustrations, sweet fruits of Hindustan), forms friends
of and supporters of the emperor. I
which the first eighty three are devoted to
amusement, required etiquette, muster small
of ways, the settled court was begin
men and animals, and the like.83 Book
Timur's life and the last eight to Akbar.77 ning to acquire the mature, awesom
This combination of themes and artistic Four covers astronomical, medicinal and
Mughal grandeur, as we understand it today
philosophical concepts. Book Five in-
innovation may also be seen in a spectacu- The presence of a set of court-based, gifted
lar, very tiny Divan of Anvari manuscript cludes, among other matters, the wise renowned, accomplished "learned men o
of 1588. Its fifteen illustrations are minute, the time"89 brings out the 'magnificen
sayings of Akbar.84 The range of subjects
'jewel like'78; this dainty work is thefound in this document alone is staggering.
content' that was now supposed to con
epitome of the Mughal artistic splendour The Ain-i Akbari would serve to be the stitute the imperial court.
under Akbar, the pictorial vista on a size exemplar of records for Akbar's empire. In this, now settled empire, the natur
no more than that of a stamp.79 When Its comprehensiveness of data sends out of wars too underwent a change. Consid
an important message. Maintaining simi-the submission of Baharji, the ruler o
found, it was "protected in a little silk bag,
extremely frayed, appealingly striped in Baglana, an influential landlord in that par
lar detailed information in all possible areas
green and black."80 The number of manu- (and affairs) now becomes a requisite in of Gujarat, immediately after the conques
scripts produced in Akbar's workshops of Surat (1567). In this connection,
the procedures (political-institutional-ad-
ministrative) of the empire. Here is the
was vast. Only a few have been cited here Abu-l Fazl writes: "one of the great favours
as examples to highlight the point about
making of the 'tradition' of official ar- which has been bestowed on this Khedive
the institutionalisation of the arts that were of God-knowers is that whoever withdraws
chives in the empire of Akbar; and the
to become important in the process of the himself from obedience to him (Akbar)
establishment of a quasi-bureaucratic State,
making of the splendid monarchy. albeit one that still depended heavily on either becomes a vagabond in the desert
personal connections. The regulations in
Independently of the illustrations, autho- of destruction, and is brought to be in need
of the threshold which is high as heaven.
the imperial archives mark an important
rised manuscripts, such as the Ain-iAkbari
make a potent statement about the central- Or else he descends into the whirlpool of
departure from the customary laws prac-
ity of maintaining records, an extension of evils and is conveyed by his own bad deeds
tised by the wandering forefathers of Akbar.
disciplinary methods that were now in- The Majesty of the new Mughal impe- into the (Akbar's) Presence." Abu-l Fazl
creasingly enforced in the court and empire rium was elaborated in various ways. We provides the example of a dissident Sharaf-
of Akbar. In Abu-l Fazl's words: have another example of this in an event ud-Din Husiyn Mirza whom Baharji had
that has been widely discussed in recent brought along, "with a chain round his
Keeping records is an excellent thing for
Indian popular literature and films - the neck".90The details of the rebellious mirza
a government. Though trace of this office
'coming of Tan Sen to the holy court'.85
may have existed in ancient times, its higher may be gleaned from the detailed account
objects were but recognized in the presentTan Sen, was the "foremost of the age in theAkbarnama.91 The point being made
among the kalawants (maestro, in this
reign.. Their (kotal, supernumeraries) duty by the author is simple. It has to do with
is to write down the orders and doingsinstance
of referring to master musician) of the benefits of surrendering to Akbar. Those
His Majesty and whatever the heads of Gwaliar."
the At the time, he was at the court who submitted were welcomed heartily,

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promoted to high mansab ranks (as is well should be driven together from 'near theline: that was a sign of the divine hand.
known in the case of several Rajput chief- mountains on the one side, and from the The Mughal dynasty had arrived.
tains). Those who failed to comply were. river Bihat (Jhelum) on the other.' Officers
'conveyed by their own bad deeds into his were appointed to every quarterof each IV
(Akbar's) presence.' district. Several thousand footmen from
The Disciplined Sites:
Between 1556-1562, Akbar had to settle the towns and villages of the Lahore prov-
Emperor, Court and Quarters
affairs with his guardian and vakil (prime ince were appointed to drive the game. A
minister) Bayram Khan. He also had to wide space within ten miles of Lahore was The construction of imperial power lay
contend with Hemu, the prime minister of very largely in its move to discipline its
selected for collecting the animals.96 Akbar
Adil Shah Sur, in fact, an aspirant to an himself went to the hunting ground and parts. We have already noticed the attempt
independent kingship in Hindustan, which viewed the arrangements: "various modes to control its various areas by the main-
led to the battle of Panipat.92 It was at tenance of extensive records and regula-
of hunting were displayed...there was plea-
this time that Akbar lost Qandahar (1558), sure from morning till evening and from tions. There were other more central and
but also gained a foothold in Rajputana evening till morning."97 The Tarikh-i Alfi intimate domains in which disciplinary
(1558-59).93 From the 1560s onwards says that such a great hunt had never occur-
measures were enforced in important new
Akbar still had to grapple with several red either before, or afterwards, and that ways. Let us begin by examining Akbar's
rebellions; of Sharaf-ud-Din Husiyn and imperial capital (1571-1585), Fatehpur-
50 thousand beaters were employed for it.98
'Abd-ul-Ma'ali (1562), 'Abd-ul-lah Khan We are told that Akbar continued to Sikri, which includes an extensive section
Uzbik, the governor of Malwa ( 1564), 'Ali of women's quarters.
oversee many big and small activities whilst
Quli Khan and.Bahadur Khan in the east- the hunt continued. During the one month,Fatehpur-Sikri, Akbar's finest surviving
ern provinces (1565-67), and those of the in which the officers and other personsimperial complex, was built outside a little
mirzas who held Sambhal (the descen- were actively engaged in driving the game,
town named Sikri, not far from Agra. For
dants ofTimur, and hence considered them- "His Majesty was chiefly engaged inAkbar's
es- contemporaries, and for scholars,
selves to be the rivals of Akbar).94 tablishing the foundations of justicetravellers,
and and tourists since then, Fatehpur-
However, the 'conquests' came steadily in keeping inward and outward Sikri appears as the most 'splendid'
from the 1570s.95 The military contests civilisation."99 One illustration of this monument
is of Akbar's empire. An Akbari
had become much more one sided than as follows. During the chase Hamid Bakri, historian Muhammad ArifQandahari gives
before. There was a difference between thea yasavul "had become evil-minded", and a detailed description of the construction
wars fought by Babur and Humayun, and tried to shoot an arrow against a servant process, the design, and planning of
those of Akbar. As stated in an earlier of the court. This was reported to Akbar, Fatehpur.101 Abu-l Fazl, in keeping with
who ordered capital punishment for Bakri
chapter, warring was a lifestyle for the first his genre of history writing, focuses on the
two Mughal padshahs. They lived in a the special sword for Qulij Khan, "in
and emperor in a discussion of this physical
continuous emergency, as it were. Byorder the that he might relieve that unruly one
space. Amongst others, Father Monserrate,
time Akbar was nominated to the throne, of the burden of his neck."100 The case the
of Jesuit missionary at Akbar' s court, and
the foundations of the empire had been Bakirand Qulij Khan is one example among De Laet provide interesting information.
laid. Wars were now aimed at territorial many that illustrates the demands made onDe Laet's Description of India and Frag-
consolidation. They acquired a more a pre-modern monarch, and the detailed ment of Indian History recounts a popular
organised form as well. Much careful personal interventions that went into run-
story of why the city was built.
planning went into most of them. Armies ning the affairs of his empire.
On arriving at Agra, Achabar (Akbar) was
were amassed and deployed in favourable Court-laureates, splendid hunts, awe-
overcome by the desire for a male heir, for so
positions and planned formations. Though some, detailed chronicles, steady con- far he was without a son. Hence he vowed to
organising and strategically situating thequests, the construction of an extraordi-go on foot as a pilgrim to Assemere (Ajmer)
armed men was not a new phenomenon, nary lineage, the grand monarch himself,to the tomb of the prophet Hoge-Mondea
the frequency and regularity with which and as we shall see in the section imme- (Khwaja Muinuddin). On his return he
warring armies were carefully deployed diately below, the emperor's court andvisited a certain dervish called Scheech-
was a novel feature of the empire, now quarters - these are only some examplesSelimr (Shaikh Selim) at or near Tzickeri
of the growing splendour and lustre of(Sikri)... The prophet told the king that he
disciplining itself at all fronts. Similarly
Akbar's rule. would have three sons, and that one of the
political alliances were more widely sought,
and strategies were discussed at greaterThe evidence cited above points to the royal concubines was already pregnant. She
gave birth to a son, whom Cheek-Selim
length. Elephants, cannons, forts, as wellgrowth of leisurely circumstances, an
as trained armies were maintained as cru- (Shaikh Selim) called by his own name
environment of settlement and stability
Sultan Selim... Having thus obtained his
cial arms of the empire, not arbitrarily(and the ensuing majestic confidence),
desire the king had a splendid palace built
gathered when the need arose. which may be found only in its incipientfor himself near Tzickery (Sikri) and surroun-
Hunting was another common royalforms in the last years of Humayun. Babur ded the town with a stone wall. He also
activity under Akbar and provides a simpleand Humayun remained wandering gave the name Fettipore (Fatehpur) to the
example of the growing pomp and gran-padshahs; Akbar became emperor on a city, because there God had given him
deur of the Mughal imperial regime. Agilded throne. For this grand and success- what he wished.102
hunting expedition organised near Lahore ful monarchy even the articulation of Ralph Fitch, the English traveller, who
on March 11, 1567, provides one small affiliation with a prestigious lineage was
arrived a year before Fatehpur-Sikri was
example of the pomp of Akbar's empire. not quite so crucial as before. From nowabandoned (1584) by Akbar, wrote of Agra
An order was issued that birds and beasts on it was enough to be born in Akbar's'and Fatehpur as "...two. very great cities,

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Figure 1: Plan of Fatehpur-Slkri The details of the new construction at
Sikri - architectural, historical, spiritual -
have a great deal to tell us about the changes
that came with the shift from the peripa-
tetic life of the earlierpadshahs. Consider
the architectural layout of the complex, a
widely dispersed site, containing both
official and non-official quarters, as indi-
000~~,; cated in the plan surveyed and drawn by

Attilio Petruccioli (Figures 1 and 2).107
There are some formal structures that are
outside the main palace complex. These
have not been indicated in Petruccioli's
layout. Hada Mahal and Todar Mal's
Barahdari, for instance, "belong to the
category of isolated pleasure pavilions of
a compact kiosk type with a centralised
plan placed in the context of garden or
water architecture".108 There are other
buildings outside the main complex:
hammams (marked as baths in Figure 2),
bazaars (nos 75, 77), caravansarais (103),
'and several towers, the most discussed
being the Hiran Minar (100) which is
"studded with (imitation?) elephant tusks...
its decoration with elephant tusks was
clearly meant to underline its special sta-
tus, since it refers to the emperor as captor
S-_ and dominator of elephants - his exclusive
prey".109
The Imperial Complex is an 'irregular
agglomeration of courtyards enclosed by
Key to plans 15 Mosque known'as the Stonecutters' Mosque more or less fragmentary colonnades, of
Many apocryphal names have been given to the 17 Jami Masjid
various ad-Din
buildings of Fatehpur-Sikri, causing much confusion. 18 Tomb of Shaykh Salim groups ofChishti
buildings... arranged in
The plans reproduced here have the same 19 Tomb of Nawab Islam Khan echelon formation on the east-west axis.' I 10
numbering system that appears in our Fatehpur- 22 Elephant Gate with House of the Kettledrum
Sikr: A Sourcebook, where only structures whose 25 Unidentified gate It is possible that there were several "axes
names are known from contemporary descriptions, 30 Mosque known as the Nagina Masjid of significance (Bedeutungsachsen),"
or whose functions are easily identifiable, were 31 Unidentified gate
included in the key. Here, however, we have added 33 Unidentified gate along which the entire structure was ori-
a number of buildings mentioned in our text that 36 -unidentified pavilion ("Panch Mahal") entated, suggests Ebba Koch.1ll An 'axis
have yet to be condusively identified. We have also 37 Unidentified gate
substituted English translations for some Persian 38 Unidentified pavilion ("Maryam's House") of imperial appearances' 12 runs through
names. 40 Unidentified garden the entire complex, for example, connect-
43 Unidentified viaduct
ing in the main, the Divan-i Khass (63),
Surveyed and drawn by Attilis Petruccisli. 46 Harem(?)
the roof pavilion and the Khvabgah (not
Source: A Petruccioli's Plans as published in Michael Brand and Glenn D Lowry (eds), Akbar's India.Art
from the Mughal City of Victory (London 1985-86), pp 42-43. indicated in the plan, hence marked x), and
the Anup Talau (56). If the Imperial com-
either of them much greater than London of the grand design of a new monarchy. plex plan, along its north-south axis is
and very populous".103 It has been recorded that Akbar had this followed, then the location of some of these
Modem scholarship has asked a varietycity and the Imperial complex built asstructures a and the axis of significance that
of questions about Fatehpur-Sikri. Most of thanksgiving to Shaykh Salim Chishti, Ebba Koch speaks of, emerges clearly.
these have been concerned with the archi- owing to whose blessings a son was bor When entered from the State Hall (66),
tectural layout, the material and splendourto him. The Shaykh lived outside this littlea rectangular courtyard, a water tank in the
of the complex. Most recently, Ebba Koch town then named Sikri; it was in his hospicesmiddle (referred to as Anup Talau in
has suggested the importance of detailedthat Prince Salim was born.105 There is Akbar's a contemporary texts, marked 56 in
telling political statement about aspirationsthe plan) will be seen. Several structures
art historical studies that stress stylistic
analysis and formal comparisons to be able to permanence in the construction of the mentioned above are set around it. Some
to explore the functions and the meanings court and palaces at Fatehpur-Sikri. This of these are numbered in the plan. The
of the buildings.104 is about a strong kingship, made stronger Daulatkhana-i Khass or Khvabgah (x) is
The forms and architectural intricacies already by the birth of an heir: a kingship"usually identified as the private imperial
are no doubt significant. But there is a that is 'here to stay'. The proclamation that living quarters. The small chamber at the
more crucial point that emerges if we bear Sikri makes is much larger than one guided top is traditionally accepted to be Akbar's
in mind that the Sikri complex was a part by a desire for legitimacy. 06 bedroom".l 13 This structure juts onto the

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Figure 2: The Imperial Palace Complex was manifested not merely in the grand
stone palaces, but also in the monarchical
. ;~ . : :'. f.-.. .
'Ill ~-- - -- L1n o aim of disciplining the entire space. Some
of the travel accounts point to this disci-
.., ...
:t:.-?
... L;r. *.
.L plining of spaces in Akbar's time.
Monserrate comments:
Their (Akbar's palaces) total circuit is so

large that it easily embraces four great
royal dwellings, of which the king's own
^ ^--^ ^ 'I '- .... - palace is the largest and the finest. The
second palace belongs to the queens, and
; gJxL1 r- -
the third to the royal princes, whilst the
fourth is used as a store house and maga-
zine... There is another great building, as
^ :......' --p " : large as the palace, in which is the tomb
of Pirxecolidezcamus (Pir Shaikh-ul-
Islam, i e, Selim Chishti)...The other build-
ings erected by Zeladinus (Akbar) in various
parts of his dominions are of equal
magnificence...and some circular baths
three hundred feet in circuit, with dressing
rooms, private apartments and many water
channels...Here he himself bathes.116
Monserrate' s narrative shows the strictly

47 Baths attached to No 46 84 Unidentified baths
planned allotment of the palaces and of
50 Akbar's Private Palace(?) ("Jodh Bai's Palace".) 85 Unidentified tank
51 Baths attached to No 50 88 Waterworks adjacent to Elephant Gate
different quarters. He points to the same
56 Anup Talau tank 89 Well attaached to waterworks
kind of monarchical control in his discus-
60 Chawoar game board 92 Unidentified baths sion under other headings too, such as the
63 Unidentified pavilion ("Divan- Khass") 94 Unidentified baths counsellors, the embassies, the officers,
66 State Hall 98 Unidentified baths
67 Baths attached to No 65 100 Unidentified tower ("Hiran Minar") sources of revenue, justice, and other
70 Unidentified baths 103 Caravaanserai matters in the empire of Akbar.117
71 Unidentified tank 104 Unidentified garden In De Laet's Description of India and
72 Unidentified step-well 106 Maydan(?) Fragment of lndian History, a similar sense
74 Unidentified gate 107 Mosque known as Nawab Ibrahim's Mosque
75 Bazaar 108 Unidentified baths of order appears. In the first line on the
76 Chahar Suq marketplace section on political and civil government,
77 Bazaar
.De Laet notes: "The emperor of India is
Source: Same as for Figure 1. an absolute monarch: there are no written
laws: the will of the emperor is held to be
the Panch Mahal, and the Divan-i khass. the law".'18 The above observation may
rim of Anup Talau's. Then the popularly
called Turkish Sultana's housell4 (notto the extended plan of Fatehpur-well be an impression of a later time but
Moving
numbered or indicated) is located we find that through the haram,the point that De Laet makes about the
in the
Sikri,
environment of prescription and command
following the unidentified baths, a passage
centre of the courtyard, inclining eastwards
(marked 'y'). leads to the more religious-spiritual com-is important. Abu-l Fazl's account too
A wall separates this part of the complex plex - almost square in shape. This areacarries a continuous resonance of kingly
(the courtyard with the pond and the struc- control. Everything revolved around Akbar.
consists of the Jami Masjid (17), the tomb
tures around it) from the haram (not marked of Shaykh Salim Chishti, and the tomb ofIn line with this proposition, Abu-l Fazl
in this plan either). This wall is shown in Navvab Islam Khan. Facing the tomb ofcommented onFatehpur-Sikri to show how
a dark blue thick line on the plan. Along Salim Chishti is the BulandDarvaza, builtthe new constructions were sacred spaces
this wall is an unidentified pavilion called to construct the victory of Akbar overdesigned by the ordained monarch. Thus:
Gujarat (this will be shown as z). The two
the Panch Mahal (36, and facing the central Among the dominion-increasing events was
courtyard); a gallery (now locked) above possible entrances to the entire complex the making of Sikri, which is a dependency
this thick wall connects the Panch Mahal (official and non-official), are either from of Biana, into a great city. As the Khedive
and also overlooks the courtyard from the side of the Buland Darvaza, a popular of the world is an architect of the spiritual
above. Behind this wall is the haram. Most entry for tourists today, or the point where and physical world, and is continually
buildings in this area are clearly marked we began our description of the site. That engaged in elevating the grades of mankind,
in the scheme. These are, for instance, was the Chahar Suq market place (76) and making strong the foundations ofjustice
...so also does he strive for increasing the
Maryam's house (38), Akbar's privateleading to the Imperial Palace, a route that
glory of the earth, and cherishes every
palace, also commonly called Jodh Bai's the retinue of Akbar are likely to have place in accordance with its condition..In
taken.115
palace (50), several baths, tanks, and some a short time there was a great city, and there
unidentified gates. All along the extreme The Sikri complex was intended to be were charming palaces...A great place of
west side (as marked in the plan) may be a register of permanence, whatever its concourse was brought together such as
seen the outer lines of Jodhbai's palace, subsequent history. Its durability and power might move the envy of the world. H M

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gave it the name of Fathabad, and this by monarch.121 O'Hanlon shows how Akbar origin of the existence of the good and the
common use was made into Fathpur.ll9 pure. What sense then could there be in
was able to bring men with varied ethnic
This disciplining of spaces is an impor- backgrounds into the Imperial service. ceremonial ablution being unnecessary after
evacuation of parva and magna, while the
tant aspect of established Mughal kingly Akbar and some of his political associates emission of so tender a fluid should ne-
activity. It was for the first time that defined selected a body of Sufi and akhlaqi themes cessitate it.' It would be more fit, he ar-
zones of activity were so carefully planned. (ethical digests that surface prominently in gued, if men were to perform the ablution
In theory, everyone appeared to have an the chronicles of the time, part of the before having connection... Badauni says
allotted space in the complex: the emperor, literature that a 'noble' man was expected that Abu'l Fazl's brother Shaikh Faizi used
the shaykh, the courtiers, women, servants to read122) and combined these with some to write his commentaries on the Qu'ran
and others. But in practice, a great deal tenets of brahmanic Hinduism; in other not only after he had been drinking, but
happened to make the discipline tilt from words, they appropriated an 'eclectic range 'while he was ceremonially impure'.126
its design: despite declared physical de- of norms for ideal manhood'.123 Through his own example, and other
marcation of the 'public' and 'private' spaces O'Hanlon suggests that Akbar and his regulations and injunctions,'27 O'Hanlon
for the first time, for instance, there was colleagues worked upon "the natural innerargues, Akbar
much intersection, spatially, and in the purity of the male body, and the pogsibili-
promoted a very particular model of ideal
carrying out of particular activities, as the ties for moral and human perfection in all
and spiritual marriage, sought to impose
next chapter will show. After all it was here three homologous world that men inhab-
rigid controls on the extra-marital sexual
that the royal family, maids, servants and ited as governors: the individual body, the behaviour of his servants, including a strong
others lived: children were born, elders household and the kingdom."'24 She car- campaign to discourage the 'Turanian vice'
(and some among the young people) died, ries her argument forward by investigating of homosexual love, laid down codes for
festivities and ceremonies were celebrated, the tripartite notion of balanced, harmo- the proper conduct of women and tried to
the debates in the Ibadat Khana were held, construct new norms around the 'natural'
nious domains as propounded by Tusi and
and 'courtly' intrigues like those of Maham Jalal-ud Din Davani, both of whose texts, purity of the male body. These strategies
were not simply prohibitive or repressive,
Anaga and her son Adham Khan were foiled. the emperor read closely.
but rather actively constructed a very at-
The point about the empire's disciplin- Tusi regarded "the household and the tractive set of norms for elite male virtue
ing schemes - its strictures, rules, regu- kingdom as images of one another in a which emphasised the rights and authority
lations, and physical layout - is an impor- universe of similitudes, each realm being of imperial servants and disciples as hus-
tant one. A most interesting feature of the similarly composed of constituent mem- bands, fathers and rulers of households. In
vast body of 'disciplinary materials' avail- bers in which the noble ruled over and the repudiation of homosexual love, Akbar
able to us is precisely its large number. The regulated the others, and each realm de- also sought to juxtapose his patriarchal and
example of Fatehpur-Sikri adds to our pended upon its well being on the proper hetrosexual model of north Indian male
knowledge about the character of such balance between members so established." virtue to the corrupt practices of Turani
outsiders on the one hand, and the south-
ordered spaces. What needs to be noted And the proper balance between members
here is the correlation between the en- ern, Iranian-influenced courts of the Deccan
came from an equilibrium between three
on the other.128
forcement of control and an empire beingelements of man's inner being: "the Ra-
formed. By laying down the rules for The
tional Faculty or Angelic Soul, the source most fascinating detail that comes
physical spaces, institutions, and otherof thought and judgment, which was lo- through in this entire discussion on the
matters (as the Ain-i Akbari does) thecated in the brain... the Irascible Facultyplace of discipline in the formation of
or Savage Soul, the source of anger...and
'visibility' of the Empire was enormously Akbar' s empire is that there were no bounds
increased. Most disciplinary codes seemlocated in the heart; and the Appetite Facultyto the activities that could be disciplined.
to have been promulgated at the centre, or Bestial Soul, the source of lust, hungerImperial discipline started on a rather
and they were apparently copied at other and desire for sensual gratification, andintimate site, the body (and soul?) of the
levels. This was perhaps the vision when seated in the liver..."125 emperor himself! This might be a rather
well demarcated stone palaces were beingTo achieve a 'perfect', 'balanced state effective way of ensuring dissemination of
built, highly centralised army and bureau-of being' (in Nasirean terms), Akbar setthe sovereign ideal among the 'awestruck
cratic systems, methods of payment, col- forward his own example, by regulating servants,'129 and others. The methodical
lection of revenue, and forms of taxation his body in interesting ways. physical structure (Fatehpur-Sikri), the text
were being designed, imperial mints wereMan's inner moral perfectibility extendedof regulations (Ain-iAkbari), and the body
being constructed, and the lives of noble-to the male body in other ways too. Semen of the emperor may be cited as three
men and royal women (in the court andbegan to acquire a powerful new symbol-striking models of control that will serve
the haram) were being strictly 'instructed'ism. It represented the origin of all that wassubstantially to make the argument about
and regulated. good in the world, and the distillation ofthe magnitude of orderliness (and its di-
It is notable indeed that the propagationan intrinsic male bodily purity that mayverse aspects) in Akbar's Empire.
have reflected akhlaqi belief in elements This section might be best concluded by
of an ideal of regulations at the court began
of divine essence in all men. ThusBadauni
with the body of the emperor himself. This citing an affair recorded by Abu-al Fazl.
described how Akbarintroduced new norms
is something that may be extrapolated from He writes of a musician named Gadai, appar-
in ceremonial ablution. 'The ordinance of
Rosalind O'Hanlon's recent discussion of ently with 25 children from one wife, who
washing the whole body after an emission
the personal identity of Akbar (the em- of semen was considered as altogether was brought before the emperor.
peror as a 'perfect man'120) as a hitherto unworthy of observance.' Akbar's reason- Apropos of this HM said, "A Biluci had
neglected part of imperial strategy of ing was that 'The sperma genitale is the twenty children from one wife and he came
governance under the third Mughal very essence of man, for the semen is the to the court and petitioned saying, and

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people say (sic) this chaste matron has This is a comment on the imperial demand which his Majesty spends his time'.136
become forbidden to me (haram) on account for controlled sexuality. It was a context According to Abu-l Fazl's account of the
of the numerous births. 'What remedy have that would not easily allow expressions of daily schedule of the emperor, the latter
I, and what cure is there for my wretched- romantic love, or the chance of writing retired to his private apartments only when
ness?' We bade him be comforted and
love poems for a bazaar boy, because both 'four gharis (were) left till morning', at
observed that such a thing had not the
of these display a lack of discipline: which point he "launche(d) forth into the
appearance of truth. Wicked story-tellers
must have invented it. If any matrimony
Abu-l Fazl speaks of 'intrinsic baseness' ocean of contemplation".137
(kesh) produced such a good result and (as 'innate
so depravity' in his discussion of Secondly, the following discussion will
large a progeny) it was an honour tohomosexual
the love.133 The entire tendency suggest that while royal marriages were
of Akbari politics, as it developed, was one
parties, and not a case for abstension (hurmat). indeed often conducted for the purpose of
Let him then go on to display hisofown the need for control to maximise power. forging political alliances; they worked to
virility, and the fertility of his spouse."130
There was little place in it for what might consolidate the state in another way: by
be called
Nothing is, of course, thought here of the irrationality, or emotionalism - becoming an important rfark of its strength,
the emotionalism
labour pains and the physical suffering of of love and poetry, for another symbol of regality and new imperial
the woman who bears all these children. On instance - in what was being set up as a power. This point is illustrated, first of all, by
the contrary, the fact of her producing 'so disciplined sexuality. The large number of the sheer number and variety of marriages.
large a progeny' is celebrated. This story Akbar's own mauliages, along with the ab- Finally, with specific reference to the
needs to be read together with an extract on sence of any known (declared) 'loved one' marriages of the Mughals and the Rajputs,
regulations on marriages in theAin-iAkbari. or 'favourite wife', serve as a symbol of this discussion attempts to indicate the
this need for 'controlled' virility and power. process of accommodation on both sides.
Every care bestowed upon this wonderful
A few tentative hypotheses are advanced,
tie between men is a means of preserving
V although these must remain preliminary on
the stability of the human race, and ensur-
account of the limited information avail-
ing the progress of the world; it is a pre- Akbar's Marriages in the
ventive against the outbreak of evil pas- Context of the New Empire able. Nevertheless, it seems important to
sions, and leads to the establishment of make the some suggestions and leave the
homes. Hence His Majesty (Akbar), in as Several historians have referred to the matter for further exploration.
much as he is benign, watches over great 'political marriages' of the Mughal rulers Akbar is famous, as we know, for several
and small, and imbues men with his no- from Akbar on. 134 This section will detail grand marital alliances with the Rajputs.
tions of the spiritual union and the equality
Akbar's marriages (ind those of his family-
Many of these took place in the early part
of essence which he sees in marriage. He members) in order to underline certain
of his reign when the need to cement his
abhors marriages which take place be-
power was greatest. This was the time
features that have perhaps not been ad-
tween man and woman before the age of
puberty. They bring forth no fruit...131
when Akbar's kingdom was not yet a
equately highlighted in the received litera-
ture. The first characteristic, an obvious
dominant imperial entity, and its general
The message of the story is apparent: the circumstances were fluid. Even if this was
one, but one never articulated sufficiently
point of an 'ideal' marriage, as Akbar
in Mughal histories commenting on these
a self-consciously Muslim polity, seeking
counselled Gadai, was reproduction. The
imperial weddings, is the nexus between
legitimacy as a 'Muslim' kingdom, the rules
sub-text of these two citations is crucial:
marriage and production of children. The
that should govern it were not strictly laid
the institution of marriage, and the repro-
following discussion will refer to partsdown,
of either in the Shar'iah or in the laws
duction of offspring were put together into of the illustrious forefathers, or for that
the sovereign's philosophy on marriages,
the official regulations on marriage, and
as recorded in imperial regulations matter,
on in any other source. A great deal
hence made out to be the appropriate,
matrimony, to bring out the importanceof
ofnegotiation, and the making of many new
'sanctioned' form of sexual association.
'traditions', therefore became a necessary
this factor in a very large number of marital
The imperial code on marriage also sets
part of the making of the empire. Some
negotiations. The Mughal policy on mar-
in perspective Akbar's views on other forms
riage fits in well with the promulgationof
of the emperor's marriages themselves
of liaison, as may be demonstrated in the
a philosophy of 'controlled sexuality'.illustrate
In the process of empire formation.
case of the affair of'Ali Quli Khan Zaman
other words, a primary purpose of royal Abu-l Fazl discusses the political wed-
(an official) with the son of a camel driver.
marriages seems to be reproduction. dings of Akbar:
When a report of this liaison was brought A comment of Badaoni's is interesting
to Akbar, his order was ...When (1556) HM [His Majesty]
in this regard. His observation that AkbarJahanbani [Akbar] was at Delhi, he, in
Our court is a Sea of pardon and benefi- limited the time he spent in the haram, 'inorder to soothe tile minds of t/e Zaminidars,
cence. The man who by submitting himself imitation of the usages of the Lamas',135entered into matrimonial relations with
to desire and the society of wicked flatters tells us something about the sexual absti-
them. Among these, Jamal Khan, the cousin
is over powered by the lord of lust and
nence of the emperor. Although the chroni-of Hasan Khan of Mewat, who was one
passion becomes the mark of various dis-
cler makes the point in relation to theof the great zamindars of India, came and did
graces. Let nothing be said now of virility,
extraordinary long lives of the Lamas ofhomage. He had two beautiful daughters.
truth, loyalty, devotion and-sincerity, but HM himself married the elder sister, and
take hold of the thread of prudence...and
Tibet, and therefore, Akbar's practise of
the usages of the Lamas as an incentive,gave the younger in manriage to Bairam Khan
repent of your deeds and amend your evil
Khan-Khanan [Akbar's guardian, and later
doings by good service; send that camel- the information is telling in other ways as
vakil of his empire]138 (emphasis mine).
driver's son, so that we may regard your well. Abu-l Fazl also makes a similar point
deeds as not done, and exalt you by royal about the 'inward and outward austerities' Then in January 1562, Chaghatai Khan,
favours. 132 of Akbar while discussing the 'manner inan intimate courtier of Akbar, discussed

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with him the exceptional loyalty of Raja Rai of Jaisalmer.148 in 1560-61, to the latter's wife, Salimeh
Bihari Mal who was the head of the Thus a large number of political mar-Sultan Begum, is a first striking example.
riages took place within a few years ofThe marriage surely signalled Akbar's
Kachwaha clan. 139 According to Chaghatai
Khan, Bihari Mal had 'been loyal to Akbar's
the accession to the throne. Akbar's loyalty and commitment to those who were
sublime family', and 'had conductedsituation
him- was uncertain at this time, in theclose to the Mughal court. It can have done
self as one of those who were firmly first
boundhalf of the 1560s, on several fronts.
his cause no harm that the Begum was also
to the sublime saddle-straps', but Thehad the daughter of the well-connected Nur ud-
only territory that he held securely was
suffered a great deal on account of "aMirza
compact region between Lahore, Delhi, Din Muhammad Chaghaniyani and the
Sharaf-ud-Din's140 behaviour; the Agralatter
and Jaunpur" - which was the old grand-daughter of Babur.s15
wanted to take possession of Amber 'Hindustan'
which - though this had been ex- Similar considerations seem to underlie
was in Marwar, the seat of Raja Bihari
tended to include Gwalior and Ajmer to other royal marriages, such as the marriage
Mal's ancestors.141 Bihari Mal wasthe then
west.149 Gujarat, central India, of Akbar's sister, Bakhshi Banu to Mirza
brought into Akbar's presence along with and the states of Rajputana were Sharaf-ud-Din. The reasons for this alli-
Khandesh
several relations and leading men of independent.
his Benaras, Chanar and the ance are given as follows:
clan. Akbar's 'discerning glance read provinces of Bengal and Bihar were held ... M (Mirza) Sharafu-d-din Husain, who
devotion and sincerity in the behaviour of by the descendants of the Sur dynasty and was of very exalted lineage...and to whom
the Rajah and his relatives', and the Raja other Afghan families. Similarly southern he (Akbar) gave lofty rank in order that
was elevated as one of the distinguished India was completely outside the sphere he (the Mirza) might be a prop of the
members of the court.142 To cement this of Akbar's suzerainty. Sultanate. As the high connections and the
political alliance, the Raja desired that his Additionally, Akbar had to establish his reputation of the Mirza were visible to all
daughter should be married to Akbar. This own primacy among the Muslim nobility the world...(Akbar) gave him in marriage
was accepted by Akbar, and Bihari Mal that held power in the Mughal domains, the cupola of chastity, the holy fruit of the
conducted the wedding "in the most ad- now that he had shed the tutelage of Bayram Sultanate, Bakhshi Banu Begam, who was
mirable manner and brought his fortunate Khan, his tutor and vice-regent: political HM the Shahinshah's pure sister. By this
alliance the position of the Mirza was
daughter to this station and placed her conflict between different factions was
enormously exalted.152
among the ladies of the harem".143 The once again in evidence. The whole enter-
dominance of the Kachwaha clan was an The genealogical concerns, 'of very
prise was compounded by the fact that this
obvious incentive for Akbar to consolidate 'Muslim' empire was being established exalted
in lineage', 'high connections and
his connection with the local ruler. Akbar's a non-Muslim subcontinent. A great reputation',
deal the potential of the Mirza as
illustrious lineage and the growing gran-of Akbar's marital politics (and those a possible
of 'prop of the state', are clearly
deur of his court was at least equally his successors) involved coming to terms stated. In the marriage of Akbar's daughter,
attractive for Bihari Mal. with this non-Islamic context. What is Shakr-un-Nisa Begum, with Shahrukh
The marriage of Akbar with Bihari Mal's perhaps not sufficiently underscored in the Mirza in 1594,153 the groom was a son of
daughter was followed later by the estab-existing historical literature is the pro- Ibrahim Mirza, and grandson of Mirza
lishment of other such matrimonial rela- tracted process of working out the appro- Sulayman of Badakhshan.154 This was the
tions. Badaoni notes that in 1562-63, when priate policies and standards - what was famous Badakhshani family (of the same
Akbar was pursuing Shah Abd-ul-Ma'ali, legitimate and what was most effective -
ancestry as that of the Mughals) with whom
a rebel, "it was at...[Delhi] that his Majesty's
for the establishment of this new polity.150the Mughals had had close contacts, especi-
intention of connecting himself by mar- Despite these constraints, or perhaps ally during Humayun's reign.155 Akbar's
riage with the nobles of Dihli was first because of them, Akbar wished to expand other daughter, Khanim Sultan, was given
broached, and Qawwals and eunuchs werehis territorial hold by incorporating several in marriage to Muzaffar Husiyn Mirza,156
sent into the harems for the purpose of other parts of northern and central India a son of Ibrahim Husiyn and Gulrukh
selecting daughters of the nobles, and ofinto his domains. The situation, naturally, Begum, Humayun's step-sister.157
investigating their condition".144 In 1568, required a strong political base. It is hardly Such marriages matched important royal
when Akbar was at Mandu (to deal with surprising, therefore, that Akbar sought expectations, in that they strengthened
the troubles regarding 'Abd-ul-lah Khan numerous new marital alliances- 'qawwals relations with illustrious noble families,
Uzbik), several zamindars of the neighbour- and eunuchs were sent into the harems for already known to the Mughals. The mar-
hood of Mandu expressed their allegiance the purpose of selecting the daughters of riage of Shakr-un-Nisa Begum in the
to him. Miran Mubarak Shah, the ruler of the nobles' - to win political allies. Badakhshani household may represent a
Khandesh 'sent valuable presents, with a In the attempt to find legitimacy and classic case of marital alliance with a
written representation to the imperialstability, Akbar and some of his close 'noble' family, which showed a great
court.'145 Later an imperial farman was associates entered into several different potential for loyalty to the future empire.
send to Miran Mubarak, "that he should kinds of marital alliance: those that rein- In these marriages, questions of lineage
send one of his daughters whom he mayforced links with major noble families of and birth remained vital; and many of them
consider to be deserving of doing servicecentral Asian background, and those that were with households that had been con-
to the emperor (sic) to the court". 146 Miran forged connections with well-established nected with the Mughals for a long time.
Shah was joyous, according to Nizam ud- families located in the subcontinent - most But the building political bridges was
Din Ahmad, and considered the proposal prominent among these being the Rajputs. occurring in other directions too.
to be a great honour.147 In 1570-71, AkbarIt will help to examine some of these Akbar's son, Salim, was married into
also married the niece of Raja Kalyan Mal marriages in a little more detail. Akbar's several Rajput households: to the daughter
of Bikaner, and the daughter of Raja Har marriage, on the death of Bayram Khan of Raja Bhagwan Das (son of Raja Bihari

152.58.93.117 on Sat, 18 Mar 2023 14:06:10 UTC
Mal of Amber), and with Jodhbai (the become extinct (a potential concern in the the formation of a grid of marital
towards
daughter of Mota Rai Udai Singh of Jodh- earlier Timurid-Uzbik conflict) wasalliances,
no so to speak - show the range of
pur), as well as to the daughter of Rai political connections that were deemed
longer an overriding fear. The emperor
Raisingh of Bikaner.158 Similarly, Prince needed heirs: and there was something
necessary for the making and maintenance
Sultan Danyal was married to the daughter 'divine' too in the fact that several of these
of the empire. This would explain, too, the
of Rai Mal,159 who was the son of Rai continuation of 'political' marriages well
heirs were the offspring of unions between
Maldeo, a strong ally of Akbar.160 after the empire was triumphantly and
leading Muslim and non-Muslim families!
A statement of the importance of forging securely established.173
Jahangir was the son of Akbar and Harkha
marital alliances, and thus building con- (later called Maryam-uz-zamani), the Akbar's marriages were clearly a part of
nections with newer 'prestigious' fami- daughter of Bihari Mal, the raja of Amber;
the imperial effort to gain legitimacy in the
lies, may be found in Abu-l Fazl's reca- newly found role of 'supreme ruler' of
Shah Jahan, the son of Jahangir and Jagat
pitulation of the marriage of Prince Salim. Hindustan - with aspirations to conquer
Gosain, a grand-daughter of Raja Maldeo
His introductory remarks here are signifi- of Jodhpur. more and more lands on all sides. Hence
cant; that those who are 'profoundly in- Accounts of the marriages of Prince the effort to marry into noble families,
telligent' ought to follow certain methods Murad and Prince Danyal bring outincluding
the the Muslim ones. Hence, too, the
as 'the will of God'. 161 Abu-l Fazl then extended debate on the question of how
same concern with lineage and reproduc-
elucidates five points: the fifth required tion as may be seen in that of Salim. many
Note wives the emperor was allowed.
that in arranging marriages the question of Abu-l Fazl's introductory remark before
Consider the following instance, reported
race be attended to, 'so that there may be his description of Murad's marriage: in Muntakhab-ut-Tavarikh, a history of
good offspring'. 162 "Especially do great rulers approve the reign of Emperor Akbar written in
of it
Thereafter, he describes Salim's mar- hiding
(marriage), for their efforts are devoted to by his severest critic, Mulla Abdur
riage with the daughter of Raja Bhagwan Qadir Badauni, and discovered later in the
the production of unity, and to the remov-
Das Kachwaha, 'who held high office, and ing the dust of complexity by the waterreign
of of Akbar's son:174
who had lofty lineage and abilities'. simplicity. Inevitably does the highly born
At one of the...meetings (in the Ibadat
Abu-l Fazl noted: her "purity adornedher choose a consort, and by that means does
Khana), His Majesty (Akbar) asked how
high extraction, and (she) was endowed he raise up a glorious seed." 168 Murad was
many free born women a man was legally
with beauty and graces; and that it was the married on May 5, 1587 to the daughter allowed to marry (by nikah). The lawyers
wish of her family that she should be of 'Azim Mirza Kukeh,169 a foster brotheranswered that four was the limit fixed by
united to the prince". 163 Though the bride's of Akbar,170 of whom the emperor was the prophet. The emperor thereupon re-
marked that from the time he had come of
'exceedingly fond'.171 Similarencomiums
family is said to have desired the marriage,
the connection with the Kachwaha clan on the reproductive function of marriageage, he had not restricted himself to that
precede the account of Prince Danyal's number, and in justice to his wives, of
clearly fit the requirements of a marriage
whom he had a large number, both free
in the Mughal family. The daughter of wedding:
a "As marriage is a means of cul-
born and slaves, he now wanted to know
'noble' official, who had a 'pure' lineage,
tilating the garden of creation, and is the
what remedy the law provided for his case.
adornment of the social world, especially
and therefore was likely to produce 'good Most expressed their opinions, when the
in a ruling family, HM arranged thatemperor
offspring'. Besides the family was politi- an remarked that Shaykh 'Abd-u'n-
cally important. Akbar had come to knowunion should take place between the prince
Nabi had once told him that one of the
the Kachwaha clan as early as January and the chaste daughter of Sultan Mujtahids had had as many as nine wives.
Khwaja."172 (emphasis mine).
1562 when, after the introduction of Bihari Some of the 'Ulamas present replied that
Mal to Akbar, the first Rajput marriage Clearly, a 'high office', 'lofty abilities', the Mujtahid alluded to was Ibn Abi Laya;
was conducted with them. Several mem- 'purity and high extraction of a family', and that some had even allowed eighteen
were matters of great significance in these from a too literal translation of the Qur'an
bers of that clan had thereafter been ap-
verse (Qur, Sur IV, 3), 'Marry whatever
pointed to high office.164 royal marriages, because this would result
women ye like, and two and two, and three
An intrinsic element in organising
in noble offspring. But the instances of the
and three, and four and four,' but this was
marriages of Bakshi Begum, Shakr-un-
marriages was the desire for offspring, as
improper. His Majesty then sent a message
may be noted in the official statement Nisa
on Begum, Khanim Sultan, of Murad, to Shaykh 'Abd-u'n-Nabi, who replied that
and Danyal, and those of Akbar with the he had merely wished to point out to Akbar
marriage.165 In recording the regulations
daughters of the 'Zamindars of Hindustan', that a difference of opinion existed on this
regarding marriages, Abu-l Fazl emphasised
that the institution was a "means of pre-to use Abu-l Fazl's words, illustrate that point among lawyers, but that he had not
the purposes of marriage were many.
serving the stability of the human race and given a fatwa in order to legalise irregular
ensuring the progress of the world". 166 HeWhat is most striking about these mar- marriage proceedings. This annoyed His
re-stated a version of the same regulation riages is their range. If we recapitulate four Majesty very much...After much discus-
before providing the account of Salim's examples from the above discussion, the sion on this point the 'Ulamas, having
marriage: " If, as in the case of those who point about their diverse nature will be collected every tradition on the subject,
decreed, first, that by mut'ah175 (not by
have chosen celibacy, there be no marriages, clear. The daughters of the following were
nikah) a man might marry any number of
then the great fountain-head of humanity brought into Akbar's haram: Raja Bhagwan
wives he pleased; and, secondly, that mut' ah
shall become choked, and the stream of Das (Rajput chief), Mirza Sulayman of marriages were allowed by Imam Malik.
divine benevolence shall sink into the Badakhshan (Badakhshani royal family), The Shi'ahs, as was well known, loved
sand".167 Reproduction was necessary'Azim
for Mirza Kukeh (foster-brother of children born in mut'ah wedlock more
the purposes of an empire, even if Akbar)
the and Sultan Khvajeh (the Mir-i Hajj).than those born by nikah wives, contrary
These different marital links - which went
preservation of a famous line that might to the Sunnis and the Ahl-i Jama'at.

152.58.93.117 on Sat, 18 Mar 2023 14:06:10 UTC
The debate on legal marriages did not between the requirements of a state (thatparticular, held a position of high rank and
end there. The discussions went on. On are not overtly stated), on the one hand,esteem, and the traditions often equate him
another night, Badauni notes, Qazi Yaqub, with Ram, the pre-eminent Ksatriya cul-
and the tenets of Shari'ah, interpreted and
Shaykh Abu-l Fazl (a favourite courtierhanded down in various customs and tural hero of Hindu Rajput.184
practices, on the other.
and friend of the emperor, also the official During the Mughal period, there were
historian of his time), Haji Ibrahim and Akbar's situation at the time of this two primary units of reference and iden-
others were invited by Akbar for further debate was peculiar. Here was a Muslim tification for a Rajput, according to Ziegler:
discussion. Abu-l Fazl was selected as the monarch at a critical juncture in his life.
one of these was his brotherhood ('bhai-
opponent of the group and he laid before In his enterprise of establishing a far-flung
bamdh') and the other his relations by
the emperor several traditions regarding empire in a new land, he had married marriage (saga). 185 The second unit seems
the mut'a marriages. Badauni was alsoseveral Hindu women. To start with, to be of particular relevance here. The act
Akbar's closest supporters, friends andof marriage united the woman with her
asked for his opinion. He replied that since
conclusions had to be drawn from contra- nobles were Muslim; but the majority of
husband's brotherhood, on the one hand,
dictory traditions and customs, he couldthe population in the country that he now
and created an alliance, on the other.186
only provide the following interpretation: ruled were non-Muslims. The support of
Given the political culture and notions of
that Imam Malik and the Shi'ahs unani- some of these local non-Muslim rulers was the Rajput community that he outlines, it
mously looked upon mut'a marriagescrucialas in the design of the grand empire seems that the marriages of the Rajput
legal, and that Imam Shafi looked upon that Akbar was building. If the Shari'ah women with the Mughals would serve
the mut'a marriages as illegal. Badauniallowed only four marriages, what would both purposes of the saga. The more in-
added, "but, should at any time a Qazi be
ofthe status of his numerous Hindu (and teresting point is the cultural exchange that
the Maliki sect decide that a Mu'tah is indeed many Muslim) wives? What, would develop in times of the perfect "fit",
legal, it is legal according to the common
moreover, was to be the place of a Hindu as Ziegler calls the balance between Rajput
belief, even for Shafi'is and Hanafis."176
wife in a Muslim haram? Many more such valorisation of their local culture and the
This, in Badauni's words, "pleased His questions could be asked? It is this context Mughal demand for service and alle-
Majesty", after which a Maliki qazi wasthat perhaps explains why a debate was giance.187 The bardic tradition equating
appointed, who gave a decree on the spotinitiated at this time regarding the number Akbar with Ram is perhaps the most strik-
and pronounced mut'a marriages legal.177of legal marriages that a Muslim monarch ing instance of this.
There is more to this debate than ques-might conduct. The story of the adoption of 'Hindu'
tion of the number of legitimate marriages With specific reference to marital alli- traditions at the Mughal haram is equally
alone. What is the significance of the threeances in this process of building the empire, fascinating. Badauni reports, grudgingly,
hundred wives (Monserrate)178 or "fivethere is evidence also of accommodation how the sun and the fire became the object
thousand women" (Abu-l Fazl)179 - de-and the appropriation of customs and of worship and veneration, for example. He
pending on one's source - that Akbar ispractices on both sides. It is worth reflect- condemns many of these new practices:
supposed to have had. The emperor'sing a moment on the place that Rajputs
that the face should be turned towards the
chroniclers differ in reporting the numberand Mughals gave each other in their con- rising sun, that men should worship water,
of women in his haram, but they' are struction of the political and ritual world stones, trees, and all natural objects, "even
unanimous in writing about his 'large'during this period. Norman Ziegler writes down to cows and their dung."188 He notes
haram. It is notable that Babur, even in hisof how the local institutions and political
that "in compliment to his wives, the daughters
wanderings and situation of many homes,culture of the Rajputs enabled then to of the Rajahs of Hind", Akbar offered the hom,
is said to have no more than 10 wives. transfer their loyalties to the Mughals, "with
a ceremony derived from sun-worship.189
Humayun probably did not have more thanwhom they formed not only patron-client According to him, Akbar even adopted
ties, but also marital alliances."182
five wives. 180 What purpose does the great 'the sectarian mark, and Brahmanical
increase in the number of marriages con- Ziegler's central argument is that the thread.'190 The chronicler has more detail
tracted by Akbar serve? Akbar' s marriagessupport and loyalty of the Rajputs restedon the practices ofhis 'faithless monarch':
upon a congruence between their tradi-
on such an enormous scale certainly contri-
Another thing was the prohibition to eat
buted to the political and military advance-
tional ideals, myths and symbols, and their
beef. The origin of this embargo was this,
ment of the empire through the cementing loyalties.183 In the course of this discus- that from his tender years onwards the
sion, he points to a very interesting pointEmperor had been much in company with
of alliances with different kinds of poten-
tates. Yet their very number suggests thatof accommodation in the Rajputs' con-rascally Hindus, and thence a reverence for
they were aimed at more than the gaining struction of their cultural conception ofthe cows...became firmly fixed in his mind.
rank, authority and sovereignty. He says:Moreover he had introduced a whole host
of political allies: should they not be taken
as another sign of the omnipotence and
...it is important to note that the Muslim of daughters of eminent Hindu Rajahs into
virility of the empire and its centre?181 was also included within this hierarchical his harem, and they had influenced his
The debate on the number of legally scheme as a Rajput. The traditions gener- mind against the eating of beef and garlic
ally represent the Rajput 'jati' (caste) as and onions.191
married wives at the court of Akbar reveals
both the degree of tension such questionsbeing divided into two categories: Muslim Badauni's list is very long.192 He writes,
(or Turk) and Hindu. This category of
generated, as well as the attempt to amal- of course, as a harsh critic of the emperor
'Muslim' within the Rajput jati did not
gamate different 'traditions', and the com-
include all Muslims, but only those whoand of his advisers "who successfully turned
promises that resulted. What emerges in were warriors and who possessed sover-the Emperor from Islam".193 While it is
this discussion is the fact of a great deal
eignty and power equal to or greater thandifficult to sort out the kernel of truth from
of negotiation among the participants: the Hindu Rajput. The Muslim emperor inthe undoubted exaggeration of his reports,

152.58.93.117 on Sat, 18 Mar 2023 14:06:10 UTC
given what we know from other sources immediate successors of Timur work out
been demonstrated in this chapter through
theirTimurid genealogy and ways, see Lentz.
about the emperor's eclectic interests and various examples. The Aiin-i Akbari, the
Thomas W and Glenn D Lowry, Timur a7nd
commitments, the details provided by royal women's dwellings, and the 'bodythe Princely Vision: Persian Art and Culture
Badauni are suggestive. Whatever else, his of the divine monarch', provide classic
in the Fifteenth Century (Washington, DC.
severe criticism is an indication of the illustrations of the varied arenas that the 1989). See also Chapter 1 of my Oxford
D Phil thesis, 'The Domestic World of the
difficulties Akbar faced in negotiatingnewly
the emerging Mughal imperial power Mughals in the Reigns of Babur, Humayun
sought to 'discipline'.
many obstacles he faced in the establish- and Akbar'. For works on Western Royalty
ment of a new, 'Muslim' empire in thisThis context of imperial magnificence, and questions of genealogy, see, Paul
Magdalino (ed), The Perception of the Past
non-Muslim land. and disciplining, had deep implications for in Twelfth Century Eur-ope (London and Rio
the domestic world of the 'divine' mon- Grande, 1992). An excellent collection on
VI arch. The 'domestic' was now radically the question of genealogy and medieval
chronicles is by Gabrielle M Spiegel, The Past
Conclusions redefined and re-situated. Akbar's haram
as Text: The Theory and Practice of Medieval
was to become "sacred and hidden" - a Historiography (Baltimore/London, 1997);
Elephants, and the taming of elephants,
sanctum sanctorum, as it were - marking
see especially the chapter, 'Genealogy: Form
were a symbol of the new regime. aThe and Function in Medieval Historiography'.
return to the very origins of the term in
7 Abu-l Fazl Allami, Akbarnamia, 3 Volumes
Akbari chronicles take pride in discussing
early Islamic history. But that must form (tr, H Beveridge, The Akbarnama of Abu-
the Majesty of the elephant, the leisure of subject of another paper. [il
the I-Fazl, Delhi, 1993) - hereafter, Akhalrnama
its gait and elevation - and Akbar's extra- - Vol I, p 25 (emphasis mine).
8 Ibid, I, pp 34-39 (emphasis mine).
ordinary capacity to discipline them.194 Notes 9 Ibid, 1, pp 50-51.
The Ain-iAkbari has a full section devoted 10 Ibid, I, pp 143-80; for a detailed sketch of
[In establishing the connection of the Mughals
to the 'royal' elephants, including their with Islamic societies in West and Central Asia, the ancestry of Akbar, see the first few sections
of Akbalrnama, I.
food, servants in their care, manner of and with the Delhi Sultanate, historians have often
11 Ibid, I, p 180.
riding them and the like.195 The centrality written about administrative apparatus and political 12 lbid, I, Chapter XV.
groupings; see for instance, Satish Chandra, Party 13 Abu-l Fazl started to collect materials for the
of the elephant (as opposed to the horse)Politics at the Mughal Court (New Delhi, 1979,
Akbarnama in 1587, eight years after the Jesuit
in the Majesty of the empire would seem third edition), p viii; and John F Richards, The
arrival. See A S Beveridge (tr), The History
to be another statement of the transition Mughal Empire (Cambridge, 1993), p 3. M Athar
of Humnayun: Humlayunl Nania (Delhi 1902;
Ali discusses in detail the systematisation of
of Mughal rulership from powerful, but rpt, 1994), p 83, fn 1; Akbarnama, I, p 29, fn 4.
preceding administrative practices under the
uncertain, beginnings to unparalleled glory.Mughals; 'Towards an Interpretation of the Mughal 14 AmulfCamps, An Unpublished Letterof Father
Christoval Ce Vega, S J Its Importance for the
The elephants with their slowness andEmpire' in Kulke, State.3
History of the Second Mission to the Mughal
height - their imposing presence - appear I Stephen Blake, 'The Patrimonial-Bureau- Court andfor the Knowledge of the Religion
to have served as the expression of a new cratic Empire of the Mughals' in Hermann of Emperor Akbar (Cairo, 1956), p 7.
imperial pomp and symbol of sovereignty. Kulke (ed), The State in India 1000-1700 15 J S Hoyland and S N Banerjee (tr), The
(Delhi, 1997), p 285. In establishing the Commentary of Father Montserrate (Oxford,
A throne could easily be placed on the 1922) - hereafter, Monlserrate, Commentary,
connection of the Mughals with Islamic
elephant, and thus make possible the kingly societies in west and central Asia, and with p 59.
activity of 'viewing' from on high. The the Delhi Sultanate, historians have often 16 Ibid, pp 136-37 (emphasis mine). Also refer
written about administrative apparatus and to an extract from the letters of Fathers Rudol f
emperor blessed the battlefield with his
political groupings; see for instance, Satish Aquaviva, Anthony Monserrate and Francis
appearance - but now from a height - on Chandra, Part, Politics at the Mughal Colrt Henriques, wlitten fiom Fatehpur-Sikri, in 1580.
an elephant - two symbols at once of the (New Delhi, 1979, third edition), p viii; and to the Captain of Daman. This is cited in John
new imperial grandeur. John F Richards, The Mughal Empire Correia-Afonso (ed), Lettersfromn the Mughal
(Cambridge, 1993), p3.M AtharAli discusses Court (Bombay, 1980), p 34 (cf pp 42-43).
This paper has tried to mark the processes in detail the systematisation of preceding 17 Correia-Afonso, Letters, p 34.
involved in the construction of Akbar's administrative practices under the Mughals; 18 Akbarnam7a, I, p 207.
empire, an empire that was increasingly 'Towards an Interpretation of the Mughal 19 Milo Cleveland Beach, EarlyMughal Painting
Empire' in Kulke, State. (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1987), p 60.
well rooted by the latter part of his reign,2 AtharAli also refers to the need, and therefore,
20 Ibid, p 60.
and that came in time to be presented as the presence of a new doctrine of sovereignty 21 Akbarnama, I, p 196-97.
sacred. The Mughal empire and the signs under the Mughals: without this, in his view, 22 Ibid, I, p 396.
of its splendour - its gigantic size, its their success would be impossible to explain, 23 Ibid, I, pp 396-97; cf fn 1, pp 397.
Athar Ali, 'Towards an Interpretation', 24 Ibid, I, p 384.
dazzling court, the panegyric accounts - pp 266-67. 25 Ibid.
were obviously not present from the start;3 Blake, Patrimonial-Bureaucratic, p 300. 26 Ibid, I, p 384, and fn 2. This is Beveridge's
they were built gradually over a period of4 Ibid, p 301. gloss which may or may not be valid.
5 Abu'l Fazl Allami, The Ain-i Akbari, 3 27 Ibid, I, p 385.
decades. The writing of a particular kind Volumes (tr, H Blochmann; Delhi, 1927; 28 Ibid, I, p 629.
of official history writing, the construction reprint, 1994, 1994, and 1997) - hereafter, 29 Ibid.
(and inversion) of a genealogy, and the use Ain-i Akbari, Vol I, pp 47-50. 30 Akbarnamna, II, p 421.
6 See the following for instance: W M 31 Akbarnama, I, p 385.
of an unusual ('sacred') language, are a
Thackston, (annotated and tr), Zahiruddin 32 Khwajah Nizamuddin Ahmad, Tabaqat-i
few illustrations of the methods and Muhammad Babur Mirza, Baburnama, Parts, Akbari, 3 Volumes (tr, B De and Baini Prasad,
I-III, Turkish transcription, Persian edition,
mechanisms used in the making of a grand The Tabaqat-i Akbari of Khwajah
and English translation (Cambridge,
court, and a sacred and sublime monarchy. Nizammudin Ahmad; Delhi, 1936, reprint,
Massachusetts, 1993); W M Thackston, The 1992) - hereafter, Tabaqat - Vol II, p 510-11.
Among the most imposing indications
Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and 33 Akbarnama, II, p 156.
of the process of imperial construction was
Emperor (Washington, DC, 1996); Annette 34 See the Persian edition, Maulawi 'Abd-ur-
Susannah Beveridge, (tr), Zahir-ud-Din
its disciplinary aspect. The strict regimen Rahim (ed) Akbarnamah by Abul-Fazl I
Muhammad Babur Mirza, Baburnama Mubarak I 'Allami, three Volumes (Calcutta,
involved in the governance of the empire 1873-1886), II, p 103; hereafter, Maulawi,
(Delhi, 1997, rpt).
- its courts, quarters, and peoples - has
For an excellent discussion of how the Akbarnamah.

152.58.93.117 on Sat, 18 Mar 2023 14:06:10 UTC
35 Akbarnama, II, p 445. 75 Ibid, p 83; See also, Gauvin Alexander Bailey, Trans-Indus areas, and the Muslim kingdoms
36 Maulawi, Akbarnamah, 1I, p 304. 'The Lahore Mirat Al-Quds and the Impact of the Deccan.
37 Akbarnama, II, p 537. of Jesuit Theatre on Mughal Painting', South 96 Akbarnanma, II, p 416.
38 Maulawi, Akbarnamah, II, p 369. Asian Studies, 13 (1997); and Ebba Koch, 97 Ibid, II, pp 416-7.
39 Akbarnama, III, p 112. 'The Influence of Jesuit Mission on Symbolic 98 Ibid, II, p 416, fn 2.
40 Maulawi, Akbarnamah, III, p 80. Representation of the Mughal Emperors' in 99 Ibid, II, pp 416-7.
41 Akbarnama, III, p 365. Christan W Troll (ed), Islam in India: Studies100 Ibid, II, p 417.
42 Maulawi, Akbarnamah, III, p 252. and Coiimmentaries (New Delhi, 1982). 101 Muhammad ArifQandahari, Tarikh-iAkbari,
43 Akbarnama, II, p 404. 76 Baburnamla, British Library, Ms Or 3714. Muin ud-din Nadwi, Azhar Ati Dihlawi and
44 Maulawi, Akbanmamah, II, p 271. Detached miniatures of this manuscript are Imtiyaz All Arshi (eds), Rampur, 1962,
45 Akbarnamna, II, p 413. in other collections in Canada (private pp 149-50.
46 Maulawi, Akbarnamah, II, p 278. collections), Paris (Bibliotheque Nationale),102 J S Hoyland and S N Banerjee (trs), The
47 All the terms from "sublime court" onwards and the United States (Cleveland Museum Empire of the Great Mogol. A trallslation of
may be found in Akbarnama, II, pp 413-425; of Art and the Pierpont Morgan Library). De Laet 's "Description ofllndia and Fragment
Maulawi, Akbarnamah, II, pp 278, 281, 283, Some other Baburnama manuscripts are: the of Indian History" (Bombay, 1928), pp 147-
284, and 285. South Kensington Baburanam, Ms at the 48, see also, Monserrate, Commentary.
48 Akbarnama, III, p 116. Victoria and Albert Museum in South 103 William Foster (ed), Early Travels in Inldia,
49 Maulawi, Akbarnamah, III, p 83. Kensington, from where it derives its name;1583-1619 (Bombay, 1968), pp 17-18.
50 Akbarnama, II, p 426. The Moscow-Baltimore Baburnama: 57 of 104 Ebba Koch, 'The Architectual Forms' in
51 Maulawi, Akbarnamah, II, p 289. its folios are in State Museum of Eastern Michael Brand and Glenn D Lowry (eds),
52 Akbarnama, III, p 205. Cultures in Moscow, 33 in the Walters Art Fatehpur Sikri (Bombay, 1985), p 123. One
53 Maulawi, Akbarnamah, III, p 145. Gallery, Baltimore, under the entry W 596; of the earliest accounts is by E W Smith, a
54 Akbarnama, III, p 205. and the so-calledAgrah College Baburnama, detailed, four volume survey of Fatehpur
55 Maulawi, Akbarnamah, III, p 145. now at the National Museum in New Delhi. through visual reproductions and descriptions
56 Akbarnama, III, p 569. 77 KhudaBaksh Library, TimurNamna; Bodleian of buildings. In the 1970's, S A A Rizvi and
57 Maulawi, Akbarnamah, III, p 385. Library, Three Persian Manuscripts. V J Flynn wrote another book on Akbar's
58 Akbarnama, III, p 569. 78 Annemarie Schinmmel and Stuart Cary Welch, city, drawing connections between the written
59 Maulawi, Akbaramnah, III, p 385. Anvari's Divan: A Pocket Book for Akbar materials and the architectural site. Several
60 Akbarnama, III, pp 363-4. (New York, 1983), foreword, p 7. other scholars studied the problems concerned
61 Henry Beveridge suggests that Hamideh 79 Beach, Mughal Painting, p 101. with architectural forms of Fatehpur-Sikri.
Banu's title must be translated, rank or station, 80 Schimmel and Welch, Anvari's Divan, Most of them were interested in identifying
and not household, for it was given to her preface, p 9. the sources of the architectural forms,
in her lifetime. See, Akbarnama, I, p 33, fn 81 Ain-i Akbari, I, A'in 10, pp 268-69. questions of pre-Mughal inspirations, if any,
1. Annette S Beveridge, the translator of the 82 Ibid, Volume I, Book One. matters of conservation and the like. See,
Ahval-i Humayun Badshah, suggests that 83 See, Ibid, Books One and Two. chronologically, James Fergusson, History
Hamideh Banu's other name is posthumously 84 Books Four and Five are included in of India andl Eastetr Architecture (London,
given (Humayun, p 83, fn 1). According to Ain-i Akbari, III. 1876); E W Smith, The Mughall Architecture
S A I Tirmizi, the title was bestowed upon 85 Akbarnama, II, p 279. For example, there of Fath-pur Sikri, 4 vols (Allahabad, 1894-
Hamideh Banu after her marriage, S A I have been three full films devoted to the story 98); Percy Brown, 'Monuments of the Mughul
Tirmizi, Mughal Documents 1526-1627 of Tansen, apart from briefer references in Period' in SirR Burn (ed), Cambridge History
(Delhi, 1989), p 30. For a discussion on other films on the Mughals; Jayant Deasi's of India, vol. 4, (1937, reprint, New Delhi,
posthumous titles, see, WheelerM Thackston, Tansen (1943), Niren Lahiri's Tansenl (1958), 1971); John Burton-Page, 'Fatehpur-Sikri'
The Jahangirnama Memoirs of Jahangir, and Vijay Bhatt's Baiju Bawra (1952). in Splendours of the East (Spring Books,
Emperor of India (New York, 1999), p xiii. Details of these films may be seen in Ashish 1970); Satish Davar, 'Do India's
62 Tabaqat, I, introduction, p xiii. Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen (eds), Archaeologists Know WhatThey Are Doing
63 Translation mine. Encyclopaedia of Indiani Cilnema (revised and 'Can Fateh-pur Sikri Still Be Saved
64 Translation mine. edition, Oxford, 1999). in Design (April 1971); R A Jairazbhoy, A
65 Tabaqat, II, pp 78, 96, 110 and 559. The
86 Akbarnamnia, II, pp 279-80. Outline of Islamic Architecture (Bomba
87 Ibid. ForTansen's life and careeras a musician,
translations of some these titles, not provided 1972); S A A Rizvi and V J Flynn, Fathpu
here, have been given in an earlier extract. see Bonnie C Wade, Imaging Soiund An Sikri (Bombay, 1975); See also, already cite
66 See, M Hidayat, Hosain (ed), The Qanun- Ethnomusicological Study of Music, Art and two excellent anthologies; Brand and Lowr
i Humayuni of Khwandamir, Persian text; Culture in Mlughal India (Chicago and Fctehpur Sikri; and by the same editors
Bibliotheca Indica, Work no 260, Issue London, 1998), especially pp 108-17. Akbar's India: Art fiomn the Mughal City
no 1488, New Series (Calcutta, 1940), 88 Aim-i Akbari, I, p 618. Victory (London, 1985-86).
preface, p xv; Beveridge, Humayiun, p 76.89 For details of the court-laureates, see, Ibid, 105 Akbarnama, II, pp 503 and p 530.
67 Beach, Mughal Painting, introduction. p 3, I, pp 606-82. 106 Although suggestions of this settle
and Chapter I, pp 8-9. 90 Akbarnama, III, pp 41-3. permanent nature of Akbar's rule are oft
68 Ibid, p 3. 91 Ibid, III, Chapter VI. made in current historiography, yet they ar
69 Ibid, p 11, and pp 60-1. Mir Sayyid 'Ali and
92 The details of the relationship between Akbar mostly indicated in passing or in the conte
'Abd-us-Samad had worked under the and Bairam Khan may be found in the of the benefits that came with that settlemen
patronage of Shah Tahmasp whose Safavid Akbarnamla, II, pp 91-204; and John Briggs viz, the arts, architectural magnificenc
dynasty though centred at Tabriz, had (tr), History of the Rise of the Mahomedan extended administration, trade, economy a
replaced the Timurids in 1502. Bokhara Power had in India (London 1829), Vol II. The such like. In 'Akbar's India', Michael Brand
thence become a refuge for the Timurid accounts of the wars and conquests may be and Glenn D Lowry, say, for instance, "Th
artists who were taken from the old Timurid seen in all secondary works on Akbar: for main reward for his (Akbar's) daring
capital of Herat by the Uzbiks. Bokhara which instance, Vincent Arthur Smith, Akbar the initiatives was an overall stability in th
was closely linked with Timur, was conquered Great Mogul 1542-1605 (Oxford, 1919); empire that allowed for considerable
by the Uzbiks. Hamzanameh shows the Barnber Gascoigne, The Great Moglhuls refinements to be made in almost all areas
continuing presence of Bokharan artistic ideas (London, 1971); and S M Burke, Akbar: The of Mughal political and cultural life...Neither
at the Mughal court (Ibid, pp 65-67). Greatest Mogul (New Delhi, 1989). Babur nor Humayun ever had the luxury of
70 Beach, Mughal Painting, p 15. 93 Burke, Akbar, p 41. that long a stay in any one place." (Brand
71 Nur-al-din 'Abd al-Rahman Jami, Divan, 94 Ibid, pp 50-4. and Lowry, Akbar's India, p 124). The
British Library, Ms Or 1362. 95 Ibid, Chapter II, Rebellions, Conquests and observation with regard to the requirements
72 Nakib Khan, Razmnameh, British Library, External Affairs. Akbar's major conquests of arts and artistic activity is correct - it
Ms Or 12076; British Museum, Mss BM henceforth were those of Gondwana, a suggests the ease of space and settlement,
1921-11-15-012; BM 1921-11-15-013; BM territory in Central India, ruled by Rani and the leadership that Akbar took in the
1930-7-16-01, and BM 1958-7-12-019. Durgavati (1564), the Rajputana, especially development of those fields.
73 Nizami, Khamsa, British Libraiy, Ms Or 12208. the capital Chittor of the Mewar rulers (1567- 107 These are taken from Ibid.
74 Beach, Mughal Painting, pp 69-72. 68), Bengal (1574-76), then Kashmir, Kabul, 108 Koch,Architectural Forms, p 123. The details

152.58.93.117 on Sat, 18 Mar 2023 14:06:10 UTC
of the buildings may be gathered from this One Thousand and was appointed the Sadr
by Badaoni. They add well to the points we have
article. been making above; Muntakhab, II, p 405. (Chief Judge, Chancellor), an office he held
109 Ibid, p 125. See the architectural details. 133 Akbarnama. I1, p 104. O'Hanlon ascribes the till his death. (Ain-i Akbari, I, p 466).
110 Ibid. 173 In a preface to the Jahangirnama (memoir
phrase 'the wicked ways of Transoxiana' to
111 Ibid. Abu-al Fazl in this context; O'Hanlon, of Jahangir, the son and successor of Akbar),
112 Ibid. Kingdom, p 17. Muhammad Hadi says, "In 994 (1586), at
113 Glenn D Lowry, 'Urban Structures and 134 See, A L Srivastava, Akbar the Great: an auspicious hour, His Majesty (Jahangir)
Functions', in Brand and Lowry, Fatehpur- Political History, 1542-1605, Volume 1 was affianced to the daughter of Raja Udai
Sikri, p 15. (Agra, 1962), pp 62-63; K S Lal, The Mughal Singh, whose nobility, status, army, and
114 "...the so-called 'Turkish Sultana's chamber' Harem (Delhi, 1988), p 25; John Richards, power were superior to all the rajas of India.
and the cloistered verandah around it are the Mughal Empire, pp 19-25; and R Nath, Private His Majesty Arsh-Ashyani (Akbar) went with
structures which Badauni calls by the name Life oftheMughals 1526-1803 (Jaipur, 1994), the ladies of the harem to the rajas house for
of hujra-i Anuptalau. The cloisters, apart chapter 3, to take only a few examples. the marriage and celebration. Raja Udai Singh
from being used to seat the people called for 135 Muntakhab, II, p 335. was the son of Raja Mal Deo, who was one
interview by the emperor, also shielded the 136 Ain-i Akbari, I, p 163. of the major rajas of puissance, and whose
area of the daulatkhana-i Anupltalau from 137 Ibid, I, p 164. army numbered eighty thousand horsemen.";
the daulat-khana-i khas", S Ali Nadeem Rezavi, 138 Akbarn-ama, II, p 76. Thackston, Jahangirnama, Preface to the
'Revisiting Fatehpur Sikri: An Interpretation 139 Ibid. II, p 240. Jalangirnana by Muhammad-Hadi, p 6.
174 'Abd-ul- Qadir Badauni, Muntakhab-ut-
of Certain Buildings' in Irfan Habib (ed), 140 Married to Akbar's daughter, Bakhshi Banu.
Akbar and his India (Delhi, 2000, 2 edn), 141 Akbarnama, II, p 240. Tavarikh (Mawlawi Agha Ahmad (ed),
p 176. Nadeem Rezavi's article is extremely 142 Ibid, II, p 242. Bibliotheca Indica). II, p203; cited in,
useful for an understanding of the several 143 Ibid, II, pp 242-43. A in-i Akbari, I, pp 182-84. A version of the
buildings within the Fatehpur Sikri complex. 144 Muntakhlab, II, p 59. quotation above may also be found in
115 Brand and Lowry, Akbar's India, see the 145 Tabaqat, II, p 285. Muntakhab, II, pp 211-13.
discussion on the Elephant Gate, pp 45-46. 146 Ibid. 175 Literally, 'enjoyment; in law, temporary
There is majorcontroversy among the scholars 147 Ibid, II, p 285. According to the Akbarnama, marriage, also called nikah al-mut'a, a
about the functions of some of these it was Miran Mubarak Shah who wanted his marriage which is contracted for a fixed
structures. The details of the debate may be daughter to be included among Akbar's period', P J Bearman et al (eds), The
gathered from the literature cited in the haram, Tabaqat, II, p 285, fn 1. Encyclopaedia of Islam (Leiden/ Boston/
footnotes. The functional aspects,148 theNath, Private Life, p 23. Koln, 2000), p 294.
character and utility of some buildings149 Richards,, Mughal Empire, p 12; G B 176 Muntakhab, II, pp 212.
that
we need to take into account is more or less Malleson,AkbarAnd the Rise OfTheMughal 177 Ibid, II, p 212-13.
established. It is certain, for instance, that Empire (Oxford, 1896), p 91. 178 Monserrate, Commentary, p 202.
the haram was the haram, and that the 179 Ain-i Akbari, I, p 46.
150 It is true that over time the local potentates
Divan-i am, the Divan-i khass, the mint had seemed to have come to terms with the 180 See, Beveridge, Humayun, Appendix A.
governmental functions. The nature of some political situation where the Mughals 181
wereWith regard to the size and organisation of the
structures, however, still remains uncertain. now becoming the pre-eminent power inharam, K S Lal suggests that Akbar followed
The Turkish Sultana's House, the Panchl Northern India. But this too was not an the precedents of the Sultans of Delhi. "In
Mahal, Maryam's House, Jodh Bai's palace overnight development. As we know, certain the Sultanate period it was believed that the
are some examples that have aroused alliances happened quickly, others took much size of the harem determined the importance
considerable disagreement among historians, longer. The Mughals were not unknown to and stature of the ruler." Lal then cites the
architects and other scholars. the Hindustani rulers. There had been
followingexamples: Ghiyas-ud-Din ofMalwa
116 Monserrate, Commentary, pp 199-200 connections between them, through direct(1469-1500) whose haram had 1,600 women;
117 Ibid, pp 199-209. wars in some cases, as early as the time ofKhan-i Jahan-i Maqbul, a vazir during the
118 De Laet, Description, p 93. Babur's raids into Hindustan. Akbar was Sultanate, who boasted of 2,000 women in
119 Akbarnama, II, pp 530-31. strengthening his association with some of his haram. Lal also quotes Qazi Mughis ud-
120 Rosalind O'Hanlon, 'Kingdom, household these dynasties, while with others (Marwar),Din who advised Sultan Ala ud-Din Khalji
and body: history and the construction of a he would battle for years to come. (1296-1316) to increase the expenses of his
north Indian 'patriotism' under Akbar', 151 Beveridge, Humayunz, Appendix A, p 276. haram by a tenfold because " a large and
152 Akbarnama, II, p 197.
(Indian Ecotonmic and Social History Review, magnificent harem would inspire awe and
forthcoming), p 1. 153 Akbarnaima, III, p 990. enhance respect for the king in the minds
121 Ibid, p 1. 154 Ibid, Index, p 54. of the people"; Lal, Mughal Harem, p 25.
122 See, for instance, Nasir-al din Tusi, The 155 For details, see Chapter I of my doctoral While Lal's Mughal Harem is an extremely
Akhlaq-i Nasiri, G M Wickens (ed), The thesis, 'The Domestic World'. problematic and tendentious work, the point
Nairean Ethics (London, 1964). 156 Akbarnlama, III, p 990. he makes here may be worth considering.
123 O'Hanlon, Kingdom, p 2. 157 Ibid, III, Index, p 43. The Akbari situation is not very different
124 Ibid, p 2. 158 Nath, Private Life, p 23. from what is recorded about the pre-Mauryan
125 Ibid, pp 2-3. 159 Akbarnama, III, p 1040. kings, Ajatsatru and Bimbisara, each of whom
126 Ibid, p 15. 160 Ain-i Akbari, I, pp 330, 331, 474 and 475. is supposed to have had "hundreds" of wives.
127 This might also be illustrated through Akbar's 161 Akbarnama, III, p 677. The question that needs to be asked is what
numerous marriages, and the discussion 162 Ibid. political purpose the legend, or actuality, of
regarding their legitimacy, by Abu-l Fazl. 163 Ibid, III, p 678. such a large number of wives served.
See specially, Regulations Regarding 164 Akbarnamna, II, p 244 182 Norman P Ziegler, 'Rajput Loyalties During
Marriages, in Ain-i Akbari, I, p 287-88. 165 Ain-i Akbari, I, p 287. the Mughal Period' in John F Richards (ed),
128 O'Hanlon, Kingdom, p 12. See some other166 Ibid. Kingship and Authority in South Asia
fascinating examples in ' Abd-ul- Qadir 167 Akbarnama, III, p 677. (Madison, 1978), p 263.
Badauni, Muntakhab-ut-Tavarikh, George S 168 Ibid, III, p 791. 183 Ibid, p 276.
A Ranking, W H Lowe and Sir Wolseley 169 Ibid. 184 Ibid, p 269.
Haig (tr and eds), (Delhi, 1986) - hereafter, 170 Mirza Kukeh was the son of Akbar's wet 185 Ibid, p 253.
Muntakhab - Vol. II, pp 311-12, on court 186 Ibid, p 254.
nurse Jiji Anageh; more details will be found
etiquette, wine drinking, and on prostitutes. 187 Ibid, p 276.
in Akbarnama, 1II, Index, p 18, see the entry,
129 O'Hanlon, Kingdom, p 7. The details on the 'Aziz Kokaltash (Mirza) Khan A'zim. 188 Muntakhab, II, p 268.
relationship between the emperor and his 171 Akbarnama, III, p 61. 189 Ibid, II, p 269.
servants, through a medium of a strict 172 Ibid, III, p 806. The Khvajeh came from 190the
Ibid, II, p 268.
'masculine' imperial code, may be seen from line of renowned saint Khvajeh Asir-ud-Din191 Ibid, II, p 312.
O'Hanlon's article. Ahrar. Sultan Khvajeh was appointed 192 Pages 314, 332, and 335 also contain similar
130 Akbarnama, III, p 378. Mir-i Hajj (the leader of the Pilgrims discussion, Muntakhab, II.
131 Ain-i Akbari, I, p 287. Caravan), and commanded a numerous party 193 Ibid, II, p 214.
132 Akbarnama, II, pp105-6. Also see two of courtiers during a pilgrimage to Mecca. 194 Akbarnama, II, Chapter XVIII.
interesting orders of the emperor, as recorded On his return he was made Commander of 195 Ain-i Akbari, I, see pp 123-38.

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Settled, Sacred and All-Powerful: Making of New Genealogies and Traditions of Empire

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000~~,; cated in the plan surveyed and drawn by

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Their (Akbar's palaces) total circuit is so

Monserrate' s narrative shows the strictly

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