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Mughal History: Key Figures, Texts, and Culture
1. Mughal Royal Family & Relations
- Gulbadan Begum
- Daughter of Emperor Babur.
- Wrote the historical account ‘Humayun Nama’.
- The text details the history of Babur and Humayun, including the battle between Humayun and his brother, Kamran.
- Highly respected by Emperor Akbar, who commissioned her work.
- Maham Anaga
- Foster mother and influential political advisor to Emperor Akbar.
- Established the educational center ‘Madarsa-e-Begum’ in Delhi.
- Also constructed the Khairul Manzil Mosque.
- Dara Shukoh
- Eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan.
- Authored ‘Mazma-ul-Bahrain’ (The Confluence of the Two Seas), exploring parallels between Sufism and Vedanta philosophy.
- Translated the Upanishads into Persian, titling it ‘Sirr-i-Akbar’ (The Great Secret).
- Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana
- A nobleman and poet in Akbar’s court.
- A prolific scholar skilled in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Sanskrit, and Hindi.
- Made a significant contribution to Hindi literature; most famous for his collection of couplets, ‘Rahim Satsai’.
2. Important Historical Texts & Their Authors
Chronicles of Reigns
- Baburnama: Autobiography of Babur, written in Chagatai Turkish.
- Translation: Translated into English by John Leyden and William Erskine.
- Humayun Nama: Authored by Gulbadan Begum.
- Akbar Nama: Authored by Abul Fazl; took approximately seven years to complete (1590-1596).
- Tabaqat-i-Akbari: A history of Akbar’s reign, authored by Khwaja Nizamuddin Ahmad.
- Padshah Nama / Badshah Nama: Official history of Shah Jahan’s reign, authored by Abdul Hamid Lahori.
- Shahjahannama: A chronicle of Shah Jahan’s life, authored by Inayat Khan.
- Alamgir Nama: History of the early years of Aurangzeb’s reign, authored by Muhammad Qazim.
- Masir-i-Alamgiri: A history of Aurangzeb’s reign, authored by Saqi Mustaid Khan.
- Tazul Maasir: Authored by Hasan Nizami.
- Tughluqnama: Authored by Amir Khusro (It was incorrectly matched to Ibn Battuta in the source data).
- Futuhat-i-Alamgiri: Authored by Ishwardas Nagar.
- Tarikh-i-Dilkusha: Authored by Bhimsen Kayestha.
- Nushkha-i-Dilkusha: Authored by Bhim Sen.
Other Significant Historical Works
- Tabaqat-i-Nasiri: Authored by Minhaj-us-Siraj-Juzani.
- Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi: Authored by Ziauddin Barani.
- Chahar Chaman: Authored by Chandrabhan Brahman.
- Iqbal Nama-i-Jahangiri: Authored by Muitamad Khan.
- Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh: Authored by Sujanrai Bhandari.
3. Translation Efforts & Literary Works
- Anwar-e-Suhaili: A Persian translation of the Sanskrit Panchtantra, attributed to Hussain Kashfi.
- Ayar-i-Danish: Another Persian translation of the Panchtantra, done by Abul Fazl.
- Mufarrih-ul-Qulub: Persian translation of the Sanskrit Hitopadesha, done by Tajul Mali during Akbar’s reign.
- Rihla: The travelogue written by Ibn Battuta.
4. Language, Script, and Culture
- The official court and administrative language of the Mughal Empire was Persian.
- Nastaliq: A prominent and elegant style of Persian calligraphy used in medieval India.
- Emperor Aurangzeb was skilled in writing the Nastaliq script.
- Akbar’s reign is considered a golden age for Hindi poetry due to his policy of acceptance and patronage.
5. Regional Rulers and Poets
- Raja Sawant Singh: The ruler of Kishangarh who was a poet-king. He wrote devotional verses in praise of Lord Krishna under the pen name Nagri Das.
- Keshavdas (1555-1617): A renowned Sanskrit scholar and Hindi poet, famous for his works ‘Rasik Priya’ and ‘Ram Chandrika’.
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