Mughal stories in Miniatures

Paintings from the past tell stories and these stories give glimpses into the social, political and cultural aspects of a particular period. The miniature paintings of Jahangir are some of the finest sources of Mughal history. These paintings commissioned by Jahangir allow us to understand a bit more about his personal qualities and the ideas he held as an emperor.
A scene portraying the darbar of Jahangir. The image is illustrated in a way that gives the maximum focus to the Emperor; Source: Pinterest

A scene portraying the darbar of Jahangir. The image is illustrated in a way that gives the maximum focus to the Emperor; Source: Pinterest

Another very popular image that attempted to portray the divinity and superiority of Jahangir is the image of “Jahangir embraces Shah Abbas”. Shah Abbas was the contemporary ruler of the Safavid Empire. The image shows the two rulers standing atop a globe in a close embrace. This suggests that that the Mughal empire under Jahangir was on friendly terms with the Safavid Empire. At the same time, the image clearly portrays the hierarchical relationship between the Mughal emperor and Shah Abbas. While Jahangir was supported by a lion, Shah Abbas was supported by a lamb.

The Mughal emperor Jahangir has often been regarded as a weak ruler by many scholars. Jahangir’s history was, for a long time, regarded crucial only to understand Akbar’s reign during the later years or to explain Shahjahan’s accession to the Mughal throne. Many historians also formerly believed that Jahangir held no interests in political matters, and lived under the shadow of his wife, Nur Jahan. However, the historical account of his reign, the Jahangirnama, seems to tell a different story.

 In this story, we are going to explore a few paintings included in Jahangirnama and understand the stories narrated through them.

The illustrations of Jahangirnama include paintings of the major events of Jahangir’s reign, hunting parties and court life, and several acts of the emperor’s generosity. The majority of paintings commissioned by Jahangir focused on his public life, two moments being particularly emphasized: the darbar or the audience, as the centre of his authority over his subjects; and the homage paid by the monarch to holy places or saintly figures. The latter kind of paintings were, perhaps, an attempt of the monarch to acquire a sense of spiritual legitimacy over the masses.

A comparison between the paintings under Akbar and Jahangir reveal that while scenes from battles dominated the former, no known battle scenes were illustrated under Jahangir’s reign. This shows that while Akbar was determined to showcase his physical prowess, Jahangir did not share the same sentiments as his father.

Yet, judging by the recurring appearances of the kind of specific imagery, it appeared that Jahangir, just like Akbar, was keen on using his illustrations as a way of establishing a link with the great spiritual leaders of the time. Several of his paintings show Jahangir visiting the Muslim shrine at Ajmer as well as conversing with Hindu sages like Sanyasi Jadrup.

In several illustrations, the use of animals like sheep, goat along with lions in the same frame, was a subtle attempt of symbolizing the peace and justice guaranteed by Jahangir to his subjects.

Yet another fascinating thing about Jahangir’s portraits is that they reveal the social and political situation of the country. It was during Jahangir’s time when the European traders and Jesuit Missionaries first travelled to India. The paintings confirm this because many of the illustrations found in Jahangirnama, share similarities with the European artistic styles of the medieval period. These included allegory, naturalism and several other themes, found majorly in European paintings.

Hence, the illustrations of Jahangir’s memoirs marked a significant departure from the works of his predecessors. The purpose of these illustrations was to provide the viewers with powerful images of Jahangir. As revealed in the passages of his memoirs itself, Jahangir followed the Aristotelian concept of “inner senses” which argues for the superiority of sight over hearing.

The paintings of Jahangir and the stories narrated through them are significant in understanding the life of a ruler, a ruler who lived by the ideals of justice but alas, remains unjustly treated by history and time.

A unique aspect of Jahangir’s paintings was the use of ‘halo’ around the emperor, something which was not found in any illustrations of his predecessors.  The halo symbolized that the emperor is no ordinary human rather a divine entity. This kind of halo is present in images like “Jahangir presenting books to the Sufi Sheikhs”.

In “Jahangir embraces Shah Abbas”, Shah Abbas, the Safavid ruler is shown as a submissive figure, when compared to the Mughal Emperor, Jahangir; Source: Pinterest

In “Jahangir embraces Shah Abbas”, Shah Abbas, the Safavid ruler is shown as a submissive figure, when compared to the Mughal Emperor, Jahangir; Source: Pinterest

The Halo around Jahangir, seen in “Jahangir presenting books to the Sufi Sheikhs”. Source: Pinterest

The Halo around Jahangir, seen in “Jahangir presenting books to the Sufi Sheikhs”. Source: Pinterest

Jahangir, conversing with Sanyasi Jadrup; Source: Columbia.edu

Jahangir, conversing with Sanyasi Jadrup; Source: Columbia.edu

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