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.

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.