1.
Farrukh Beg
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Farrukh Beg was a Persian born Mughal painter who served in the court of Mirza Muhammad Hakim before working directly for Mughal Emperor Akbar. He was greatly influenced by Persian style of paintings and remained all along. He was greatly admired by Mughal emperor, Jahangir as well and he worked in four royal courts in his lifetime. He was born in Iran and belonged to the Kalmyk sect and he started working in Kabul under Muhammad Hakim, half brother of emperor Akbar. And after the death of Hakim, he moved to Delhi in December 1585 and he took part in Kandhahar campaign of Akbar. He worked on paintings for Mughal royalty between 1585 and 1590. He thus is one of a number of artists who took the traditions of the Persian miniature to form that of the Mughal miniature and he used large plants, vivid colours, and drapery in his work. His most noted work was under the Mughal emperor Jahangir called as the Gulshan Album and it is among the finest Mughal paintings. It is at the Golestan Library in Tehran and he worked for Emperor Jahangir in his last years
2.
Ustad Mansur
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Ustad Mansur was a seventeenth-century Mughal painter and court artist. He grew in acclaim during the reign of Jahangir during which period he excelled at depicting plants and he was the earliest artist to depict the dodo in colour, apart from being the first to illustrate the Siberian crane. Towards the end of Akbars reign, he gained the title of ustad, although largely known for his natural history illustrations, he also portrayed people in various manuscript illustrations. The year of Mansurs birth is unknown and his name was suffixed in some early miniatures as Naqqash, which can refer to an artist, painter, or carver, indicating that he came from a family that was in an artistic profession. A single miniature showing Babur meeting his sister is attributed to Mansur and he was associated with other artists of the period including Basawan, Miskina and Nanha. During Akbars reign he appears to have involved only as a colourist in the plates for the Book of Akbar. Akbar followed the principle that all artwork should include the name of the artist on the margin, the British Museums copy of the Akbarnama includes some folios where his name is prefixed with ustad, indicating his rise to excellence. Early works included parts of portraits and other scenes, the earliest works were made as part of the Baburnama and most of these are as an assistant or a colourist. His Veena-player and coronation portrait of Jahangir are early works, in 1612, Jehangir received a turkey cock from Goa and this was illustrated by Mansur. In 1619, Jehangir received a Barbary falcon as a gift from Shah Abbas of Persia, Jehangir found it rare, in 1620, Jehangir visited Kashmir and spotted a brown dipper which he described in his memoirs translated as. In this stream I saw a bird like a saj and it dives and remains for a long time underneath and then comes up from a different place. I ordered them to catch and bring two or three of these birds, that I might ascertain whether they were waterfowl and were web-footed, one died immediately and the other lived for a day. Its feet were not webbed like a ducks, I ordered Nadirul-asr Ustad Mansur to draw its likeness. Mansur painted at least one hundred flowers from the Kashmir valley during this period, a red tulip from Kashmir is a better-known painting. The identity of the tulip is however debated with competing suggestions that include Tulipa lanata, T. montana, in 1621, Jehangir was gifted a zebra and this was perhaps the subject of the last miniature painting made by Mansur. It is suggested that his career ended with the reign of Jehangir in 1627, several other signed works, such as one of the Siberian crane and the other of a Bengal florican are in the Indian Museum, Kolkata. Some other works are in the National Museum, Delhi, the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, Jaipur, not all of Mansurs birds were based on reality. He also created fantasy birds and many of the such as the flowers
3.
Miniature (illuminated manuscript)
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These include Persian miniatures, and their Mughal, Ottoman and other Indian offshoots. This article gives an art historical account of the miniature form, for the techniques involved in production, see illuminated manuscript. The earliest extant miniatures are a series of colored drawings or miniatures cut from the Ambrosian Iliad and they are similar in style and treatment with the pictorial art of the later Roman classical period. Of even greater value from a point of view are the miniatures of the Vatican manuscript of Virgil, known as the Vergilius Vaticanus. They are in a perfect condition and on a larger scale than the Ambrosian fragments. The drawing is quite classical in style, and the idea is conveyed that the miniatures are copies from an older series. The colors are opaque, indeed, in all the miniatures of early manuscripts the employment of body color was universal. The method followed in placing the different scenes on the page is highly instructive of the practice followed, as we may presume, by the artists of the early centuries. Again, for the purpose of securing something like perspective, an arrangement of zones was adopted. It was reserved for the Byzantine school to break away more decidedly from the natural presentment of things, but on comparing the miniatures of the Byzantine school generally with their classical predecessors, one has a sense of having passed from the open air into the cloister. Under the restraint of ecclesiastical domination Byzantine art became more and more stereotyped, the tendency grows to paint the flesh-tints in swarthy hues, to elongate and emaciate the limbs, and to stiffen the gait. Browns, blue-greys and neutral tints are in favor, in the miniatures of Byzantine manuscripts are first seen those backgrounds of bright gold which afterwards appear in such profusion in the productions of every western school of painting. The influence of Byzantine art on that of medieval Italy is obvious, the early mosaics in the churches of Italy, such as those at Ravenna and Venice, also afford examples of the dominating Byzantine influence. In the native schools of illumination of Western Europe, decoration only was the leading motive, the highest qualities of the miniatures of the 10th and 11th century of this school lie in fine outline drawing, which had a lasting influence on the English miniature of the later centuries. But the southern Anglo-Saxon school rather stands apart from the line of development of the western medieval miniature. Under the Carolingian monarchs there developed a school of painting derived from classical models, in this school, which owed its origin to the encouragement of Charlemagne, it is seen that the miniature appears in two forms. Accompanied as it was with profuse decoration in border and initial, on the other hand, there is also the miniature in which there is an attempt at illustration, as, for example, the depicting of scenes from the Bible. Here there is freedom, and we trace the classical style which copies Roman, as distinguished from Byzantine
4.
Persian miniature
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A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, the Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions, principally the Ottoman miniature in Turkey, and the Mughal miniature in the Indian sub-continent. Persian art under Islam had never completely forbidden the human figure and this was partly because the miniature is a private form, kept in a book or album and only shown to those the owner chooses. It was therefore possible to be free than in wall paintings or other works seen by a wider audience. In Islamic art this is referred to as illumination, and manuscripts of the Quran, in later periods miniatures were increasingly created as single works to be included in albums called muraqqa, rather than illustrated books. This allowed non-royal collectors to afford a representative sample of works from different styles, the bright and pure colouring of the Persian miniature is one of its most striking features. Lighting is even, without shadows or chiaroscuro, walls and other surfaces are shown either frontally, or as at an angle of about 45 degrees, often giving the modern viewer the unintended impression that a building is hexagonal in plan. Buildings are often shown in complex views, mixing interior views through windows or cutaways with exterior views of parts of a facade. Costumes and architecture are always those of the time, many figures are often depicted, with those in the main scene normally rendered at the same size, and recession indicated by placing more distant figures higher up in the space. More important figures may be larger than those around them. The dress of figures is shown with great care, although artists understandably often avoid depicting the patterned cloth that many would have worn. Even when a scene in a palace is shown, the viewpoint often appears to be from a point some metres in the air. This is used in all the manuscripts for the court that constitute the most famous Persian manuscripts. The miniatures normally occupy a full page, later spreading across two pages to regain a square or horizontal landscape format. There are often panels of text or captions inside the picture area, the rest of the page is often decorated with dense designs of plants and animals in a muted grisaille, often gold and brown, text pages without miniatures often also have such borders. In later manuscripts, elements of the miniature begin to expand beyond the frame, another later development was the album miniature, conceived as a single picture rather than a book illustration, though such images may be accompanied by short lyric poems. The withdrawal of Shah Tahmasp I from commissioning illustrated books in the 1540s probably encouraged artists to transfer to these works for a wider circle of patrons
5.
Chinese painting
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Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the style is known today in Chinese as guóhuà, meaning national or native painting. Traditional painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in ink or coloured pigments. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made are paper, the finished work can be mounted on scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or handscrolls. Traditional painting can also be done on album sheets, walls, lacquerware, folding screens, the two main techniques in Chinese painting are, Gongbi, meaning meticulous, uses highly detailed brushstrokes that delimits details very precisely. It is often coloured and usually depicts figural or narrative subjects. It is often practised by artists working for the court or in independent workshops. Ink and wash painting, in Chinese shui-mo also loosely termed watercolour or brush painting and this style is also referred to as xieyi or freehand style. Landscape painting was regarded as the highest form of Chinese painting, the time from the Five Dynasties period to the Northern Song period is known as the Great age of Chinese landscape. In the south, Dong Yuan, Juran, and other artists painted the rolling hills and rivers of their native countryside in peaceful scenes done with softer and these two kinds of scenes and techniques became the classical styles of Chinese landscape painting. Chinese painting and calligraphy distinguish themselves from other arts by emphasis on motion. The practice is traditionally first learned by rote, in which the shows the right way to draw items. The apprentice must copy these items strictly and continuously until the movements become instinctive, in contemporary times, debate emerged on the limits of this copyist tradition within modern art scenes where innovation is the rule. Changing lifestyles, tools, and colors are also influencing new waves of masters, the earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental, they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals and it was only during the Warring States period that artists began to represent the world around them. Calligraphy and painting were thought to be the purest forms of art, the implements were the brush pen made of animal hair, and black inks made from pine soot and animal glue. In ancient times, writing, as well as painting, was done on silk, however, after the invention of paper in the 1st century AD, silk was gradually replaced by the new and cheaper material. Original writings by famous calligraphers have been valued throughout Chinas history and are mounted on scrolls
6.
Mughal Empire
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The dynasty, though ethnically Turco-Mongol, was Persianate in terms of culture. The Mughal empire extended over parts of the Indian subcontinent. The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the victory by its founder Babur over Ibrahim Lodi, the Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turco-Mongols belonging to the Timurid dynasty, who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan and Timur. During the reign of Humayun, the successor of Babur, the empire was briefly interrupted by the Sur Empire, the classic period of the Mughal Empire started in 1556 with the ascension of Akbar the Great to the throne. Under the rule of Akbar and his son Jahangir, the region enjoyed economic progress as well as harmony. Akbar was a warrior who also forged alliances with several Hindu Rajput kingdoms. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to the Mughal dominance of northwestern India, the reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor, between 1628 and 1658 was the golden age of Mughal architecture. He erected several monuments, the best known of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, as well as the Moti Masjid, Agra, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, Delhi. By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Mughal armies, during the following century Mughal power had become severely limited, and the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, had authority over only the city of Shahjahanabad. He issued a firman supporting the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and following the defeat was therefore tried by the British East India Company for treason, imprisoned and exiled to Rangoon. Contemporaries referred to the empire founded by Babur as the Timurid empire, which reflected the heritage of his dynasty, another name was Hindustan, which was documented in the Ain-i-Akbari, and which has been described as the closest to an official name for the empire. In the west, the term Mughal was used for the emperor, and by extension, the use of Mughal derived from the Arabic and Persian corruption of Mongol, and it emphasised the Mongol origins of the Timurid dynasty. The term gained currency during the 19th century, but remains disputed by Indologists, similar terms had been used to refer to the empire, including Mogul and Moghul. Nevertheless, Baburs ancestors were sharply distinguished from the classical Mongols insofar as they were oriented towards Persian rather than Turco-Mongol culture, ousted from his ancestral domains in Central Asia, Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions. He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass, Baburs forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526. The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India, the instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun, who was driven out of India and into Persia by rebels. Humayuns exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing Persian cultural influence in the Mughal Empire, the restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayuns triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from a fatal accident shortly afterwards. Humayuns son, Akbar, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari River
7.
Delhi Sultanate
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The Delhi Sultanate was a Muslim kingdom based mostly in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years. Five dynasties ruled over Delhi Sultanate sequentially, the Mamluk dynasty, the Khilji dynasty, the Tughlaq dynasty, the Sayyid dynasty, the first four dynasties were of Turkic origin, and the last dynasty was of Afghan origin. Qutb-ud-din Aibak, a slave of Muhammad Ghori, was the first sultan of Delhi. Afterwards the Khilji dynasty was able to conquer most of central India. The sultanate reached the peak of its reach during the Tughlaq dynasty. This was followed by due to continuing Hindu-Muslim wars, states such as the Vijayanagara Empire asserting independence. The Delhi Sultanate caused destruction and desecration of politically important temples of South Asia, in 1526 the Sultanate fell, to be succeeded by the Mughal Empire. By 962 AD, Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in South Asia were under a wave of raids from Muslim armies from Central Asia. Among them was Mahmud of Ghazni, who raided and plundered kingdoms in north India from east of the Indus river to west of Yamuna river seventeen times between 997 and 1030, Mahmud of Ghazni raided the treasuries but retracted each time, only extending Islamic rule into western Punjab. The wave of raids on north Indian and western Indian kingdoms by Muslim warlords continued after Mahmud of Ghazni, the raids did not establish or extend permanent boundaries of their Islamic kingdoms. The Ghurid Sultan Muizz al-Din Muhammad began a war of expansion into north India in 1173. He sought to carve out a principality for himself by expanding the Islamic world, Mu’izz sought a Sunni Islamic kingdom of his own extending east of the Indus river, and he thus laid the foundation for the Muslim kingdom called the Delhi Sultanate. Some historians chronicle the Delhi Sultanate from 1192 due to the presence, Muizz al-Din was assassinated in 1206, by Ismāʿīlī Shia Muslims in some accounts or by Hindu Khokhars in others. After the assassination, one of Mu’izz slaves, the Turkic Qutbu l-Din Aibak, assumed power, Qutb al-Din Aibak, a slave of Muizz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, was the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. Aibak was of Cuman-Kipchak origin, and due to his lineage, Aibak reigned as the Sultan of Delhi for four years. After Aibak died, Aram Shah assumed power in 1210, but he was assassinated in 1211 by Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, iltutmishs power was precarious, and a number of Muslim amirs challenged his authority as they had been supporters of Qutb al-din Aibak. After a series of conquests and brutal executions of opposition, he consolidated his power and his rule was challenged a number of times, such as by Qubacha, and this led to a series of wars. Iltumish conquered Multan and Bengal from contesting Muslim rulers, as well as Ranathambhore and he also attacked, defeated, and executed Taj al-Din Yildiz, who asserted his rights as heir to Muizz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori
8.
Ghaznavids
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In 1151, Sultan Bahram Shah lost Ghazni to the Ghurid king Ala al-Din Husayn. Two military families arose from the Turkic slave-guards of the Samanid Empire, the Simjurids and Ghaznavids, the Simjurids received an appanage in the Kohistan region of eastern Khorasan. His death created a crisis between his brothers. A court party instigated by men of the scribal class — civilian ministers rather than Turkic generals — rejected the candidacy of Alp Tigin for the Samanid throne. Mansur I was installed instead, and Alp Tigin prudently retired to south of the Hindu Kush, the struggles of the Turkic slave generals for mastery of the throne with the help of shifting allegiance from the courts ministerial leaders both demonstrated and accelerated the Samanid decline. Samanid weakness attracted into Transoxiana the Karluks, a Turkic people who had converted to Islam. They occupied Bukhara in 992, establishing in Transoxania the Kara-Khanid Khanate, after Alp Tigins death in 993, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim, followed by his slave Sabuktigin, took the throne. Sabuktigins son Mahmud of Ghazni made an agreement with the Kara-Khanid Khanate whereby the Amu Darya was recognised as their mutual boundary, however, modern historians believe this was an attempt to connect himself with the history of old Persia. After the death of Sabuktigin, his son Ismail claimed the throne for a temporary period, in 997, Mahmud, another son of Sebuktigin, succeeded the throne, and Ghazni and the Ghaznavid dynasty have become perpetually associated with him. He completed the conquest of the Samanid and Shahi territories, including the Ismaili Kingdom of Multan, Sindh, by all accounts, the rule of Mahmud was the golden age and height of the Ghaznavid Empire. Mahmud carried out seventeen expeditions through northern India to establish his control and set up tributary states and he established his authority from the borders of Ray to Samarkand, from the Caspian Sea to the Yamuna. During Mahmuds reign, the Ghaznavids settled 4,000 Turkmen families near Farana in Khorasan, by 1027, due to the Turkmen raiding neighbouring settlements, the governor of Tus, Abu lAlarith Arslan Jadhib, led military strikes against them. The Turkmen were defeated and scattered to neighbouring lands, although, as late as 1033, Ghaznavid governor Tash Farrash executed fifty Turkmen chiefs for raids into Khorasan. Mahmud left the empire to his son Mohammed, who was mild, affectionate and his brother, Masud, asked for three provinces that he had won by his sword, but his brother did not consent. Masud had to fight his brother, and he became king, blinding and imprisoning Mohammed as punishment. The two brothers now exchanged positions, Mohammed was elevated from prison to the throne, while Masud was consigned to a dungeon after a reign of ten years and was assassinated in 1040. Masuds son, Madood, was governor of Balkh, and in 1040, after hearing of his fathers death and he fought with the sons of the blind Mohammed and was victorious. However, the empire disintegrated and most kings did not submit to Madood
9.
Mandu, Madhya Pradesh
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Mandu or Mandavgad is a ruined city in the present-day Mandav area of the Dhar district. It is located in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh, India, in the 11th century, Mandu was the sub division of the Tarangagadh or Taranga kingdom. This fortress town on an outcrop about 100 km from Indore is celebrated for its fine architecture. An inscription discovered from Talanpur states that a merchant named Chandra Simha installed a statue in a temple of Parshvanatha located in the Mandapa Durga, the word Mandu is believed to be a Prakrit corruption of Mandapa Durga. The inscription is dated 612 VS, which indicates that Mandu was a town in 6th century. Mandu gained prominence in 10th and 11th century under the Paramaras, as Mandapa-Durga, Mandu is mentioned as the royal residence in the inscriptions of the Paramara kings starting from Jayavarman II. It is possible that Jayavarman or his predecessor Jaitugi have moved from the traditional Paramara capital Dhara to Mandu, balban, the general of the Delhis Sultan Nasir-ud-din, had reached the northern frontier of the Paramara territory by this time. Around the same time, the Paramaras also faced attacks from the Yadava king Krishna of Deogiri, compared to Dhara, which is located in the plains, the hilly area of Mandu would have offered a better defensive position. In 1305, the Muslim Sultan of Delhi Alauddin Khilji captured Malwa, ayn al-Mulk Multani, the newly-appointed Governor of Malwa, was sent to expel the Paramara king Mahalakadeva from Mandu and cleanse that place from the odour of infidelity. With help of a spy, Multanis forces found a way to enter the fort secretly, Mahalakadeva was killed while attempting to flee, on 24 November 1305. When Timur captured Delhi in 1401, the Afghan Dilawar Khan, governor of Malwa, set up his own kingdom and the Ghuri dynasty was established. His son, Hoshang Shah, shifted the capital from Dhar to Mandu and his son and third and last ruler of Ghuri dynasty, Mohammed, ruled for just one year till his poisoning by the militaristic Mohammed Khalji. Mohammed Khalji established the Khilji dynasty of Malwa and went on to rule for the next 33 years and he mounted an unsuccessful campaign against the Delhi Sultanate and also suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Rana Kumbha of Mewar in 1440. However, it was under his reign that the Malwa Sultanate reached its greatest height and he was succeeded by his son, Ghiyas-ud-din, in 1469 and ruled for the next 31 years, who was a pleasure seeker and devoted himself to women and song. He had a harem and built the Jahaz Mahal for housing the women, numbering thousands. Ghiyas-ud-din was poisoned, aged 80, by Nasir-ud-din, his own son, in 1526, Mahmud II the sixth Khalji ruler made no resistance against the invading Bahadur Shah of Gujarat who conquered Mandu 28 March 1531. In 1530 Humayun, the second Mughal Emperor, succeeded Babur, Babur had established the Mughal dynasty. Humayun had two rivals, Bahadur Shah of Gujarat and Sher Shah Suri
10.
Babur
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He was a direct descendant of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur from the Barlas clan, through his father, and also a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. Babur was the eldest son of Umar Sheikh Mirza and he ascended the throne of Fergana in 1495 at the age of twelve and faced rebellion from his own relatives. He conquered Samarkand two years later, only to lose the city of Fergana soon after, in his attempt to reconquer Fergana, he lost control of Samarkand. In 1501, his attempt to both cities went in vain as he was defeated by Muhammad Shaybani Khan. In 1504, he conquered Kabul, which was under the rule of the infant heir of Ulugh Begh. Babur formed a partnership with Safavid ruler Ismail I and reconquered parts of central Asia, including Samarkand, only to lose it. After losing Samarkand for the time, Babur turned his attention to creating his empire in north India. In 1524, Daulat Khan Lodi, a rebel of the Lodhi dynasty, invited Babur to overthrow Ibrahim, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 and founded the Mughal empire. However, he faced opposition, this time from Rana Sanga of Mewar who considered Babur a foreigner. The Rana was defeated at the Battle of Khanwa, notable among his sons are Humayun, Kamran Mirza and Hindal Mirza. Babur died in 1530 and was succeeded by Humayun, according to Baburs wishes, he was buried in Bagh-e-Babur in Kabul, Afghanistan. Being a patrilineal descendant of Timur, Babur considered himself a Timurid and Turk and he is considered a national hero in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Many of his poems also have become popular folk songs and he wrote his autobiography, Baburnama, in Chaghatai Turkic and this was translated into Persian during Akbars reign. Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn is Arabic for Defender of the Faith, and Muhammad honours the Islamic prophet, the name is generally taken in reference to the Persian babr, meaning tiger. The word repeatedly appears in Ferdowsis Shahnameh and was borrowed into the Turkic languages of Central Asia. The choice of vowel would nominally be restricted to one of the four front vowels, hence babr → babür, thackston argues for an alternate derivation from the PIE word beaver, pointing to similarities between the pronunciation Bābor and the Russian bobr. Babur bore the royal titles Badshah and al-ṣultānu l-ʿazam wa l-ḫāqān al-mukkarram pādshāh-e ġāzī and he and later Mughal emperors used the title of mirza when they were princes. Baburs memoirs form the source for details of his life
11.
Baburnama
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Bāburnāma is the name given to the memoirs of Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur, founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur. It is a work, written in the Chagatai language, known to Babur as Turki. According to historian Stephen Frederic Dale, Baburs prose is highly Persianized in its structure, morphology, and vocabulary. During Emperor Akbars reign, the work was translated to Persian by a Mughal courtier, Abdul Rahīm. Bābur was an educated Timurid and his observations and comments in his memoirs reflect an interest in nature, society, politics and economics. His vivid account of events not just his life, but the history and geography of the areas he lived in and their flora and fauna. There is a break in the manuscript between 1508 and 1519, by the latter date Bābur is established in Kabul and from there launches an invasion into northwestern India. The final section of the Bāburnāma covers the years 1525 to 1529 and the establishment of the Mughal empire in India, the Bāburnāma is widely translated and is part of text books in no less than 25 countries mostly in Central, Western, and Southern Asia. It was first translated into English by John Leyden and William Erskine as Memoirs of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Baber, Emperor of Hindustan, Baburs autobiography has received widespread acclaim from modern scholars. In Asia it stands almost alone, if ever there were a case when the testimony of a single historical document, unsupported by other evidence, should be accepted as sufficient proof, it is the case with Baburs memoirs. No reader of this prince of autobiographers can doubt his honesty or his competence as witness and chronicler. In other parts of the book too he goes into raptures over such images as the colors of a flock of geese on the horizon. 2002 Modern Library Palang-faack Edition, New York, ISBN 0-375-76137-3 Babur Nama, Journal of Emperor Babur, Zahir Uddin Muhammad Babur, Translated from Chagatai Turkic by Annette Susannah Beveridge, Abridged, edited and introduced by Dilip Hiro. – online version Baburnama, at Washington University The Babur-nama in English at Internet Archive
12.
Timur
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Timur, historically known as Amir Timur and Tamerlane, was a Turco-Mongol conqueror and the founder of the Timurid Empire in Persia and Central Asia. He was also the first ruler in the Timurid dynasty, born into the Barlas confederation in Transoxiana on 9 April 1336, Timur gained control of the western Chagatai Khanate by 1370. From these conquests he founded the Timurid Empire, but this empire fragmented shortly after his death, according to John Joseph Saunders, Timurs background was Iranized and not steppe nomad. Timur envisioned the restoration of the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan, in his formal correspondence Temur continued throughout his life to portray himself as the restorer of Chinggisid rights. He justified his Iranian, Mamluk, and Ottoman campaigns as a re-imposition of legitimate Mongol control over lands taken by usurpers, to legitimize his conquests, Timur relied on Islamic symbols and language, referred to himself as the Sword of Islam and patronized educational and religious institutions. He converted nearly all the Borjigin leaders to Islam during his lifetime, Temur, a non-Chinggisid, tried to build a double legitimacy based on his role as both guardian and restorer of the Mongol Empire. Timur also decisively defeated the Christian Knights Hospitaller at Smyrna, styling himself a ghazi, by the end of his reign, Timur had gained complete control over all the remnants of the Chagatai Khanate, Ilkhanate, and Golden Horde and even attempted to restore the Yuan dynasty. Timurs armies were inclusively multi-ethnic and were feared throughout Asia, Africa, scholars estimate that his military campaigns caused the deaths of 17 million people, amounting to about 5% of the world population. Timur is also recognized as a patron of art and architecture, as he interacted with Muslim intellectuals such as Ibn Khaldun. Timur was born in Transoxiana near the city of Kesh some 80 kilometres south of Samarkand and his father, Taraqai, was a minor noble of the Barlas, a Mongolian tribe that had been turkified in many aspects. According to Gérard Chaliand, Timur was a Muslim, and he saw himself as Genghis Khans heir, though not a Borjigid or a descendent of Genghis Khan, he clearly sought to invoke the legacy of Genghis Khans conquests during his lifetime. His name Temur means Iron in the Chaghatay language, Timurs mother-tongue, later Timurid dynastic histories claim that he was born on April 8,1336, but most sources from his lifetime give ages that are consistent with a birthdate in the late 1320s. At the age of eight or nine, Timur and his mother, in his childhood, Timur and a small band of followers raided travelers for goods, especially animals such as sheep, horses, and cattle. In around 1363, it is believed that Timur tried to steal a sheep from a shepherd but was shot by two arrows, one in his leg and another in his right hand, where he lost two fingers. Both injuries crippled him for life, some believe that Timur suffered his crippling injuries while serving as a mercenary to the khan of Sistan in Khorasan in what is today the Dashti Margo in southwest Afghanistan. Timurs injuries have given him the names of Timur the Lame, Timur was a Muslim, possibly belonging to the Naqshbandi school of Sufism, which was influential in Transoxiana. However, his official religious counsellor and adviser was the Hanafi scholar Abdu l-Jabbar Khwarazmi. In Tirmidh, he had come under the influence of his spiritual mentor Sayyid Baraka, Timur was known to hold Ali and the Ahl al-Bayt in high regard and has been noted by various scholars for his pro-Alid stance
13.
Persianate
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A Persianate society, or Persified society, is a society that is either based on, or strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, literature, art, and/or identity. The term Persianate is a neologism credited to Marshall Hodgson, most of the more local languages of high culture that later emerged among Muslims. Depended upon Persian wholly or in part for their literary inspiration. We may call all these traditions, carried in Persian or reflecting Persian inspiration. Persianate is a cultural category, but it appears at times to be a religious category of a racial origin. It was a mixture of Persian and Islamic cultures that became the dominant culture of the ruling and elite classes of Greater Iran, Asia Minor. When the peoples of Greater Iran were invaded by Islamic forces in the 7th and 8th centuries, while the Islamic conquest led to the Arabization of language and culture in the former Byzantine territories, this did not happen in Persia. It was spread by poets, artists, architects, artisans, jurists, and scholars, Persianate culture involved modes of consciousness, ethos, and religious practices that have persisted in the Iranian world against hegemonic Arab Muslim cultural constructs. In a way, along with investing the notion of heteroglossia, Persianate culture embodies the Iranian past and ways in which this past blended with the Islamic present or became transmuted. The historical change was largely on the basis of a binary model and this duality is symbolically expressed in the Shiite tradition that Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shiite Imam, had married Shahrbanu, daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last Sassanid king of Iran. This genealogy makes the later imams, descended from Husayn and Shahrbanu, despite the Islamization of public affairs, the Iranians retained much of their pre-Islamic outlook and way of life, adjusted to fit the demands of Islam. Under the Abbasids, the capital shifted from Syria to Iraq, Persian culture, and the customs of the Persian Barmakid viziers, became the style of the ruling elite. Politically, the Abbasids soon started losing their control over Iranians, the governors of Khurasan, the Tahirids, though appointed by the caliph, were effectively independent. When the Persian Saffarids from Sistan freed the lands, the Buyyids, the Ziyarids and the Samanids in Western Iran, Mazandaran. Pahlavi was the lingua franca of the Sassanian Empire before the Arab invasion, but towards the end of the 7th, in the 9th century, a New Persian language emerged as the idiom of administration and literature. The Persian language, according to Marshall Hodgson in his The Venture of Islam, was to form the model for the rise of still other languages to the literary level. Like Turkish, most of the local languages of high culture that later emerged among Muslims depended upon Persian. One may call these traditions, carried in Persian or reflecting Persian inspiration and this seems to be the origin of the term Persianate
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Persian literature
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Persian literature is one of the worlds oldest literatures. It spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the material has been lost. For instance, Mowlana Rumi, one of best-loved Persian poets, born in Balkh or Vakhsh, wrote in Persian, the Ghaznavids conquered large territories in Central and South Asia and adopted Persian as their court language. There is thus Persian literature from Iran, Mesopotamia, Azerbaijan, not all Persian literature is written in Persian, as some consider works written by ethnic Persians in other languages, such as Greek and Arabic, to be included. The bulk of surviving Persian literature, however, comes from the following the Islamic conquest of Iran c.650 CE. After the Abbasids came to power, the Iranians became the scribes and bureaucrats of the Islamic empire and, increasingly, also its writers and poets. The New Persian literature arose and flourished in Khorasan and Transoxiana because of political reasons——the early Iranian dynasties such as Tahirids and Samanids were based in Khorasan, Iranians wrote in both Persian and Arabic, Persian predominated in later literary circles. Persian poets such as Ferdowsi, Sadi, Hafiz, Attar, Nezami, Rumi, very few literary works of Achaemenid Iran have survived, due partly to the destruction of the library at Persepolis. Most of what remains consists of the inscriptions of Achaemenid kings, particularly Darius I. Many Zoroastrian writings were destroyed in the Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, the Parsis who fled to India, however, took with them some of the books of the Zoroastrian canon, including some of the Avesta and ancient commentaries thereof. Some works of Sassanid geography and travel also survived, albeit in Arabic translations, no single text devoted to literary criticism has survived from Pre-Islamic Iran. However, some essays in Pahlavi, such as Ayin-e name nebeshtan, some researchers have quoted the Shoubiyye as asserting that the Pre-Islamic Iranians had books on eloquence, such as Karvand. No trace remains of such books, there are some indications that some among the Persian elite were familiar with Greek rhetoric and literary criticism. While initially overshadowed by Arabic during the Umayyad and early Abbasid caliphates, New Persian soon became a literary language again of the Central Asian, in short, the ability to write in verse form was a pre-requisite for any scholar. For example, almost half of Avicennas medical writings are in verse, works of the early era of Persian poetry are characterized by strong court patronage, an extravagance of panegyrics, and what is known as سبک فاخر exalted in style. The tradition of patronage began perhaps under the Sassanid era. The Qasida was perhaps the most famous form of panegyric used, khorasani style, whose followers mostly were associated with Greater Khorasan, is characterized by its supercilious diction, dignified tone, and relatively literate language. The chief representatives of this lyricism are Asjadi, Farrukhi Sistani, Unsuri, panegyric masters such as Rudaki were known for their love of nature, their verse abounding with evocative descriptions
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Padshahnama
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The Padshahnama is a genre of works written as the official visual history of Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan’s reign. Most significant work of this genre was written by Abdul Hamid Lahori in two volumes, jalaluddin Tabatabai wrote another Padshahnama, but the extant portion of the text covers only four years, from fifth to eighth regnal year of the emperor. The project was given to Abdul Hamid Lahori, who wrote his Padshahnama in two volumes. The first volume of work is based upon Qazvini’s work but has more details. The second volume covers the ten years of Shah Jahan’s reign. He completed his work in 1648, muhammad Waris, a pupil of Lahori was given the responsibility to complete the task and his Padshahnama covers the rest of the period of Shah Jahan’s reign. His work was published by the Asiatic Society as the volume of the Padshahnama of Lahori. These works are the sources of information about the Shah Jahans period. The illustrations and paintings in the manuscripts of these works illuminate life in the Shahs court, depicting weddings, in 1799, The Nawab of Oudh in northern India sent the Padshahnama, to King George III of England. Today, the illustrated manuscript of the Padshahnama of Lahori is preserved in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. The manuscripts of the Padshahnamas of Qazvini and Waris are preserved in the British Library, a manuscript of the Padshahnama is also with the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, Patna, India. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrations from the Padshahnama at Royal Collection King of the World - The Padshahnama at University of Pennsylvania
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Atelier
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This was the standard vocational practice for European artists from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, and common elsewhere in the world. Apprentices usually began young, working on tasks, and after some years became journeymen. This very word has taken on other similar meanings, indicating a place of work and study of the haute couture fashion designer, hair stylist. Atelier schools can be found around the world, particularly in North America and they traditionally include sessions for drawing or painting nude art. Sight-Size is a method of drawing and painting an object exactly as it appears to the artist, the artist first sets a vantage point where the subject and the drawing surface appear to be the same size. When properly done, sight-size drawing can result in extremely accurate and it can also be used to draw the exact dimensions for a model in preparation for a painting. Using this method, students progress through a series of such as cast drawing, cast painting, drawing and painting from the live model. Students must complete each task to the instructors satisfaction before progressing to the next and this system is referred to as systematic progression or systematic teaching and learning. Atelier students often begin this progression by drawing plaster casts and these casts are usually faces, hands, or other parts of the human anatomy. Plaster casts provide some of the benefits of live, human models and they also have their own distinct advantages, they remain perfectly still and their white color allows the student to focus on the pure, grayscale tones of shadows. One goal for sight-size students is to gain enough skill to transfer an image to the paper or canvas without the aid of a mechanical device. Sight-size can be taught and applied in conjunction with a sensitivity to gesture to create life-like imagery, especially when applied to portraiture. Darren R. Rousar, former student of Richard Lack and Charles Cecil as well as the author of Cast Drawing Using the Sight-Size Approach and he says that a fully trained artist who uses Sight-size might never use a plumb line or even consciously think about literal measuring. He or she will strive toward achieving the same retinal impression in the painting as is seen in nature, Art school owner Charles H. Cecil writes, In reviving the atelier tradition, R. H. Ives Gammell adopted sight-size as the basis of his teaching method. He founded his studio on the precedent of private ateliers, such as those of Carolus-Duran and these French masters were accomplished sight-size portraitists who conveyed to their pupils a devotion to the art of Velázquez. It should be noted that Sargent was trained by painters and that, in turn, his use of sight-size had a major influence in Great Britain. Art from ateliers using the method is often reminiscent of Greek and Roman sculpture from classical antiquity. Paintings may favor the visual imagery of the Neoclassical art of the mid-18th to 19th century, the comparative measurement method requires proportional accuracy, but allows the artist to vary the size of the image created
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Abd al-Samad
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He is referred to as of Shiraz, in modern Iran. Samads career under the Mughals, from about 1550 to 1595, is well documented. From about 1572 he headed the imperial workshop of the Emperor Akbar, Mirza Alis name first appears in a famous manuscript of the Khamsa of Nizami, now British Library Oriental 2265, which is dated March 1543. According to Stuart Cary Welch, there are three other mentions of him in contemporary records. These say that he was the son of another leading artist of the workshop, Sultan Muhammed, and so grew up in the milieu of the court atelier. Kamal of Tabriz is recorded as a pupil of his,2265 are among the main sources for attributing Persian miniatures of the period. Six painters are named, and although the inscriptions are additions rather than signatures, Mirza Alis name is inscribed on two miniatures, both courtyard scenes, and his fathers on one, to which Welch adds two more un-inscribed miniatures. Blair finds they display the artists increasing spirituality and mannerism, according to Mughal records, Samad became a master in the court workshop of Shah Tahmasp I of Persia. He was also a calligrapher, something not mentioned in connection with Mirza Ali, no works are generally attributed to him before about 1544–45, although Welch attributes a miniature in the much earlier Shah Tahmasp Shahnameh to him. Brend finds this painting unsatisfactory and the work of an inexperienced painter, Samad first met the exiled Mughal emperor Humayun in Tabriz in 1544. Samad probably worked on the large painting of the Princes of the House of Timur. In 1552 a group of miniatures including work by the two Persians was included in a diplomatic gift to the ruler of Kashgar, as Humayun worked to assemble support to regain his throne. Some of his works from this period are in a muraqqa or album in the library of the Golestan Palace in Tehran, still showing a thoroughly Safavid style. One of these miniatures depicts Akbar giving a miniature painting to his father Humayun, and includes Samads name on a portfolio and they were retained by the fourteen-year-old Akbar who within a few years set about greatly expanding his court workshop. Both artists probably worked on the Tutinama, the first major commission completed in the new reign, but Mir Sayyid Ali was initially given the supervision of Akbars huge commission of the 1400 large illustrations for the Hamzanama, which was to be fourteen years in the making. In about 1572 Samad replaced Mir Sayyid Ali as head of the imperial workshop, at this point the commission was seven years old and only four of the volumes were complete. Under Samads direction the remaining ten volumes were completed in seven years. It is uncertain whether Samad painted any of them himself, and it is likely that the increased central control that became evident by the Lahore period can be attributed to this artist
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Tutinama
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Tutinama, literal meaning Tales of a Parrot, is a 14th-century Persian series of 52 stories. An illustrated version containing 250 miniature paintings was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor, the work redacted in 14th century AD in Iran derives from an earlier anthology ‘Seventy Tales of the Parrot’ in Sanskrit compiled under the title Śukasaptati dated to the 12th century AD. In Iran, as in India, parrots are popular as storytellers in works of fiction and he had translated and/or edited a classical Sanskrit version of the stories similar to Tutinama into Persian, around 1335 AD. It is conjectured that this book of short stories, moralistic in theme. It is also inferred that since Akbar had a harem, the stories had specific orientation towards the control of women. The two artists Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd al-Samad were invited by Humayun around 1530–40 to teach art to himself. Initially, the artists came to Kabul with Humayun and in later years shifted to Delhi when he won back his empire from the Suri Dynasty, the artists then moved to Fatehpur Sikri with the Mughal Emperor Akbar, where a huge workshop of artists were engaged in producing miniatures. This type of painting came to be known as Mughal painting, during Akbars reign from 1556 to 1605 and it thus developed as a unique blend of Indian, Persian and Islamic styles. Most of the paintings are now in the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Mughal style covered mainly portraits of Mughal emperors, Queens, court scenes, hunting scenes, special ceremonies, battle scenes, love scenes and various activities of royal rulers. This format of miniatures was also adopted by Rajput and Malwa rulers. The merchant had gone on his business trip leaving behind his wife in the company of a mynah, the wife strangles the mynah for advising her not to indulge in any illicit affair. The parrot, realising the gravity of the situation, adopts a more indirect approach of narrating fascinating stories over the next fifty-two nights, the stories are narrated every successive night for 52 nights as an entertaining episode to keep Khojastas attention and distract her from going out. The story related by the parrot is of a Brahmin boy falling in love with a princess, the magician further facilitates the meeting of his friend with the kings daughter by telling the King that the girl in question was his daughter-in-law. On seeking entry into the palace the Brahmin discloses his identity to his adored princess. But a twist is introduced into the tale with the Kings son beholding a beautiful girl while taking bath in a pond falls in love with her, to avoid discovery of his true identity, the Brahmin runs away with the King’s daughter. The magician then appears before the King seeking return of his daughter-in-law, but the King realising the true state of the two missing girls, compensates the magician with rich gifts. The gifts are passed on by the magician to his Brahmin friend, the parrot concludes the narration, towards day break, with the advice to Kojasta that she should also have everything in life including her husband. It is said that the text of the Tutinama was written in Nastaliq calligraphy style, but each of the paintings seen in various libraries across the world focus on a single topic or episode of the stories
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Manohar Das
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Manohar Das, also simply Manohar or Manuhar, was an Indian Hindu painter in the Mughal style. Manohars father Basawan was a painter in the Mughal emperors court. His father most likely instructed him, and later Manohar became a painter as well. His earliest works were painted for Akbar, and then later he was in the service of Akbars son, manohars works frequently depicted the royal families and life at court. Some of his works can be found at the British Museum, new York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Emperors album, images of Mughal India, a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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British Museum
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The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician, the museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Although today principally a museum of art objects and antiquities. Its foundations lie in the will of the Irish-born British physician, on 7 June 1753, King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum. They were joined in 1757 by the Old Royal Library, now the Royal manuscripts, together these four foundation collections included many of the most treasured books now in the British Library including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the sole surviving copy of Beowulf. The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public, sloanes collection, while including a vast miscellany of objects, tended to reflect his scientific interests. The addition of the Cotton and Harley manuscripts introduced a literary, the body of trustees decided on a converted 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, as a location for the museum, which it bought from the Montagu family for £20,000. The Trustees rejected Buckingham House, on the now occupied by Buckingham Palace, on the grounds of cost. With the acquisition of Montagu House the first exhibition galleries and reading room for scholars opened on 15 January 1759. During the few years after its foundation the British Museum received several gifts, including the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts. A list of donations to the Museum, dated 31 January 1784, in the early 19th century the foundations for the extensive collection of sculpture began to be laid and Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts dominated the antiquities displays. Gifts and purchases from Henry Salt, British consul general in Egypt, beginning with the Colossal bust of Ramesses II in 1818, many Greek sculptures followed, notably the first purpose-built exhibition space, the Charles Towneley collection, much of it Roman Sculpture, in 1805. In 1816 these masterpieces of art, were acquired by The British Museum by Act of Parliament. The collections were supplemented by the Bassae frieze from Phigaleia, Greece in 1815, the Ancient Near Eastern collection also had its beginnings in 1825 with the purchase of Assyrian and Babylonian antiquities from the widow of Claudius James Rich. The neoclassical architect, Sir Robert Smirke, was asked to draw up plans for an extension to the Museum. For the reception of the Royal Library, and a Picture Gallery over it, and put forward plans for todays quadrangular building, much of which can be seen today. The dilapidated Old Montagu House was demolished and work on the Kings Library Gallery began in 1823, the extension, the East Wing, was completed by 1831. The Museum became a site as Sir Robert Smirkes grand neo-classical building gradually arose
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Humayun
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Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early but regained it with the aid of the Safavid dynasty of Persia, with additional territory. At the time of his death in 1556, the Mughal Empire spanned almost one million square kilometres, in December 1530 Humayun succeeded his father as ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinent. At the age of 23, Humayun was an inexperienced ruler when he came to power and his half-brother Kamran Mirza inherited Kabul and Lahore, the northernmost parts of their fathers empire. Mirza was to become a rival of Humayun. Humayun lost Mughal territories to the Pashtun noble, Sher Shah Suri, Humayuns return from Persia was accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen and signalled an important change in Mughal court culture. The Central Asian origins of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian art, architecture, language, there are many stone carvings and thousands of Persian manuscripts in India dating from the time of Humayun. Subsequently, Humayun further expanded the Empire in a short time, leaving a substantial legacy for his son. His peaceful personality, patience and non-provocative methods of speech earned him the title ’Insān-i-Kamil, among the Mughals. The decision of Babur to divide the territories of his empire between two of his sons was unusual in India, although it had been a common Central Asian practice since the time of Genghis Khan. Unlike most monarchies, which practised primogeniture, the Timurids followed the example of Genghis, although under that system only a Chingissid could claim sovereignty and khanal authority, any male Chinggisid within a given sub-branch had an equal right to the throne. While Genghis Khans Empire had been divided between his sons upon his death, almost every Chinggisid succession since had resulted in fratricide. Timur himself had divided his territories among Pir Muhammad, Miran Shah, Khalil Sultan and Shah Rukh, upon Baburs death, Humayuns territories were the least secure. He had ruled only four years, and not all umarah viewed Humayun as the rightful ruler, indeed, earlier, when Babur had become ill, some of the nobles had tried to install his uncle, Mahdi Khwaja, as ruler. Although this attempt failed, it was a sign of problems to come, when Humayun came to the throne of the Mughal Empire, several of his brothers revolted against him. Another brother Khalil Mirza supported Humayun but was assassinated, the Emperor commenced construction of a tomb for his brother in 1538, but this was not yet finished when Humayun was forced to flee to Persia. Sher Shah destroyed the structure and no work was done on it after Humayuns restoration. Humayun had two rivals for his lands, Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat to the southwest and Sher Shah Suri settled along the river Ganges in Bihar to the east. Humayuns first campaign was to confront Sher Shah Suri, halfway through this offensive Humayun had to abandon it and concentrate on Gujarat, where a threat from Ahmed Shah had to be met
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Tabriz
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Tabriz is the most populated city in the Iranian Azerbaijan, one of the historical capitals of Iran, and the present capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Located in the Quru River valley between the ridge of the volcanic cones of the Sahand and Eynali mountains, Tabrizs elevation ranges between 1,350 and 1,600 metres above sea level. The valley opens up into a plain that slopes down to the eastern shores of Lake Urmia,60 kilometres to the west. With cold winters and temperate summers, the city is considered a summer resort, Tabriz is named Worlds Carpet and Crafts City, it is also appointed as the exemplary tourism city in 2018 by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. With a population of 1.6 million, Tabriz is the biggest economic hub, the population consists mostly of Iranian Azerbaijanis and the most spoken language in the city is Azeri Turkish. Tabriz is a heavy industry hub for automobile, machine tools, refineries and petrochemical, textile. The city is famous for its handicrafts including hand-woven rugs and jewelry, local confectioneries, chocolates, dried nuts, and traditional food of Tabriz are recognized all around Iran as some of the best Iranian food. Tabriz is also a hub and a site for some of the most prestigious cultural institutes in the northwest of Iran. The city contains many historical monuments representing the transition of Iranian architecture in its long historical timelines. Most of the historical sites in the city belong to Ilkhanid, Safavid. From the early era, the city was pivotal in the development, movement. From the 19th century, it became the most important city in the country in numerous respects, as the closest Iranian hub to Europe, many aspects of the early modern modernisation in Iran started in Tabriz. During almost the entire Qajar period, it functioned as the seat for the prince as well. According to some sources, including Encyclopædia Britannica, the name Tabriz derives from tap-riz, in AD297, it became the capital of Tiridates III, king of Armenia. However, this story has an origin and no ancient source has recorded such event. This is based on accounts of Vardan, the Armenian historian in 13th century, the early history of Tabriz is not well-documented. The earliest inscription about Tabriz, referring to the city as Tarui or Tauris, is on the Assyrian King Sargon IIs epigraph in 714 BC, Tabriz has been chosen as the capital for some rulers commencing from Atropates era and his dynasty. A recent excavation at the site of the Iron Age museum, in the north of the Blue Mosque site, more likely the city has been destroyed multiple times either by natural disasters or by the invading armies
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Safavid dynasty
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The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran, often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history. The Safavid shahs ruled over one of the so-called gunpowder empires, the Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safaviyya Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan region. The Safavids have also left their mark down to the present era by spreading Shia Islam in Iran, as well as parts of the Caucasus, Anatolia. The Safavid Kings themselves claimed to be Seyyeds, family descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, There seems now to be a consensus among scholars that the Safavid family hailed from Persian Kurdistan, and later moved to Azerbaijan, finally settling in the 11th century CE at Ardabil. Traditional pre-1501 Safavid manuscripts trace the lineage of the Safavids to the Kurdish dignitary, a massive migration of Oghuz Turks in the 11th and 12th centuries not only Turkified Azerbaijan but also Anatolia. The Azeri Turks are Shiʿites and were founders of the Safavid dynasty, by the time of the establishment of the Safavid empire, the members of the family were native Turkish-speaking and Turkicized, and some of the Shahs composed poems in their native Turkish language. Furthermore, the dynasty was from the very start thoroughly intermarried with both Pontic Greek as well as Georgian lines, Safavid history begins with the establishment of the Safaviyya by its eponymous founder Safi-ad-din Ardabili. In 700/1301, Safi al-Din assumed the leadership of the Zahediyeh, due to the great spiritual charisma of Safi al-Din, the order was later known as the Safaviyya. The Safavid order soon gained great influence in the city of Ardabil, after Safī al-Dīn, the leadership of the Safaviyya passed to Sadr al-Dīn Mūsā. The leadership of the order passed from Sadr ud-Dīn Mūsā to his son Khwādja Ali, when Shaykh Junayd, the son of Ibrāhim, assumed the leadership of the Safaviyya in 1447, the history of the Safavid movement was radically changed. Savory, Sheikh Junayd was not content with spiritual authority and he sought material power, Junayd sought refuge with the rival of Kara Koyunlu Jahan Shah, the Aq Qoyunlu Khan Uzun Hassan, and cemented his relationship by marrying Uzun Hassans sister, Khadija Begum. Junayd was killed during an incursion into the territories of the Shirvanshah and was succeeded by his son Haydar Safavi, Haydar married Martha Alamshah Begom, Uzun Hassans daughter, who gave birth to Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty. Marthas mother Theodora—better known as Despina Khatun—was a Pontic Greek princess and she had been married to Uzun Hassan in exchange for protection of the Grand Komnenos from the Ottomans. After Uzun Hassans death, his son Yaqub felt threatened by the growing Safavid religious influence, Yaqub allied himself with the Shirvanshah and killed Haydar in 1488. By this time, the bulk of the Safaviyya were nomadic Oghuz Turkic-speaking clans from Asia Minor, the Qizilbash were warriors, spiritual followers of Haydar, and a source of the Safavid military and political power. After the death of Haydar, the Safaviyya gathered around his son Ali Mirza Safavi, according to official Safavid history, before passing away, Ali had designated his young brother Ismail as the spiritual leader of the Safaviyya. After the decline of the Timurid Empire, Persia was politically splintered, the demise of Tamerlanes political authority created a space in which several religious communities, particularly Shi’i ones, could come to the fore and gain prominence. Among these were a number of Sufi brotherhoods, the Hurufis, Nuqtawis, of these various movements, the Safavid Qizilbash was the most politically resilient, and due to its success Shah Isma’il I gained political prominence in 1501
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Tahmasp I
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Tahmasp I was an influential Shah of Iran, who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty. He was the son and successor of Ismail I and he came to the throne aged ten in 1524 and came under the control of the Qizilbash who formed the backbone of the Safavid Empire. The Qizilbash leaders fought among themselves for the right to be regents over Tahmasp, one of his most notable successors, the greatest Safavid emperor, Abbas I would fully implement and finalize this policy and the creation of this new layer in Iranian society. Tahmasps reign was marked by threats, primarily from the Safavids arch rival, the Ottomans. In 1555, however, he regularized relations with the Ottoman Empire through the Peace of Amasya, the frontier thus established ran across the mountains dividing eastern and western Georgia, through Armenia, and via the western slopes of the Zagros down to the Persian Gulf. The Ottomans, further, gave permission for Persian pilgrims to go to the places of Mecca. This peace lasted for 30 years, until it was broken in the time of Shah Mohammed Khodabanda, Tahmasp was the son of Shah Ismail I and Shah-Begi Khanum of the Turcoman Mawsillu tribe. He was only 10 years old when he succeeded his father Shah Ismail, too young to rule in his own right, Tahmasp came under the control of the Qizilbash. Some of the tribes recognised a Qizilbash leader, Div Sultan Rumlu, as regent to the shah, Div Sultan emerged victorious but his ally, Chuha Sultan Takkalu, turned against him and urged the shah to get rid of him. On 5 July 1527 as Div Sultan arrived for a meeting of the government, when it failed to kill him, the shahs supporters finished him off. Irans enemies, the Uzbeks, had taken advantage of the war to invade the north-eastern province of Khorasan. In 1528 Chuha Sultan and the shah marched with their army to control of the region. Although they defeated the Uzbeks in a battle near Jam, Tahmasp was disgusted at the cowardice Chuha Sultan had displayed during the combat, finally, in 1530/1, a quarrel broke out between members of the Takkalu and Shamlu Qizilbash factions and the Shamlus succeeded in killing Chuha Sultan. The Takkalus regained the advantage and some of them tried to kidnap the shah. Tahmasp lost patience and ordered a massacre of the Takkalu tribe. They never regained their influence in Iran, the leader of the Shamlu faction, Husayn Khan, now assumed the regency but, in 1533, Tahmasp suspected Husayn Khan was plotting to overthrow him and had him put to death. Tahmasb was now old enough and confident enough to rule in his own right, Tahmasp also responded by expressing his friendship to the Emperor. About the same time, envoys were sent to Iran by King Ferdinand, in the person of Pietro da Negro and Simon de Lillis
25.
Mir Sayyid Ali
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Mir Sayyid Ali was a Persian illustrator and painter of miniatures. Born in Tabriz, Mir Seyyed Ali was the son of artist Mir Musavvir, historian and chronicler Qazi Ahmed said that the son was more talented than his father, but the impact of Mir Musavvir did influence his work. Modern research suggests that Mir Sayyid Ali took part in the illustration of the famous Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp created in 1525–48 for Shah Tahmasp I, two miniatures in it are attributed to Seyed Alis. Of the 14 miniatures his brush is credited with four, among them Layla and Majnun, in the 1540s, the Shah Tahmasp became increasingly orthodox and grew to reject artistic representations of living creatures. He lost interest in the former book miniature, and eventually issued an edict banning secular images throughout the Persian Empire, artists of his court, including Mir Sayyid Ali, dispersed in all directions. Most took refuge at the court of Shah Tahmasps nephew, Sultan Ibrahim Mirza, followed by countless feasts on which Tahmasp persuaded Sunni Humayun to go to the Shiite faith. These artists were Abd al-Samad and Mir Musavvir, however, for some reason instead of Mir Musavvir, the service went to his son Mir Sayyid Ali. Humayun did not immediately regain his possessions in the Indian subcontinent, while this struggle took place, it was in a Kabul court. Mir Sayyid Ali arrived there in 1549, lived and worked there for as long as the summer of 1555 Humayuns army defeated in a battle the troops of Sikandar Shah, the Delhi gate was open, and his father Humayun regained the throne. The period of the life in Kabul today carries very few works. However, the Portrait of a young writer belongs to the best Persian portrait miniatures, experts from the Los Angeles Museum believe that this may be a self-portrait of the artist. The emperor Humayun was succeeded by Akbar, who was a more passionate lover of portrait miniatures than his father. Mir Sayyid Ali, along with Abd al-Samad from childhood had taught the art of drawing to the future sultan, and between established warm relations. The order, which was implemented from 1562 to 1577, was made by Emperor Akbar, the book was divided into fourteen volumes, each of which contained one hundred illustrations, in total -1,400 miniatures. About 140 miniatures of the work have survived, which are scattered in various museums, one of the most remarkable works in this manuscript is a miniature Elijah the prophet rescues drowning Nur ad-Dahr, which is credited with a hand Mir Sayyid Ali. Along with the portrait of his father, Mir Musavvir, Mir Seyyed Ali remained faithful to the end of the Persian tradition and sultan Akbar, where he worked for an international group of artists who advocated the principles of Persian painting. In his works, one can see the influence of his fathers and his work earned him numerous awards and praise. Vizier of Emperor Akbar I, Abul-Fazl, in his History of Akbar speaks of him the most enthusiastic manner
26.
Kamran Mirza
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Kamran Mirza, sometimes known simply as Kamran, was the second son of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal Emperor. Kamran Mirza was born in Kabul to Baburs wife Gulrukh Begum and he was still in charge of the northern part of the newly formed empire, when his father died in 1530. According to the Mughal historian Abul Fazl, Babur’s last words to Humayun were “do nothing against your brothers, even though they may deserve it. ”In 1538 Kamran first crossed into India, bringing with him 12,000 soldiers, while Humayun was away fighting in Bengal. He appeared to have come in order to put down the rebellion of his brother Hindal against Humayun, however, despite Humayun’s calls for help, Kamran offered him no aid whatsoever. After Humayun returned from his defeat at the Battle of Chausa, seeing no chance of furthering his ambition, Kamran withdrew back to Lahore. Sher Shah defeated Humayun in the battle of Kanauj in May 1540 and he ordered Humayun to leave India. Humayun went back to Kabul but Kamran was unwilling to hand the city over to his brother, at this point Kamran went behind Humayuns back and offered to support Sher Shah, if the latter would give him the Punjab in return. At this point Humayun was urged by his advisors to put his brother to death, after a series of disastrous attempts to retake his throne, Humayun crossed the Indus in 1543. Rather than welcoming him, Kamran sent his younger brother Askari out to catch him, Humayun managed to escape his brother’s clutches though and sought refuge in the court of the ruler of Persia, Shah Tahmasp I. When Humayun was in Persia, Kamran offered the Shah the city of Kandahar if he would hand his brother over to him, Shah Tahmasp favoured Humayun in this fraternal squabble however, and provided him with troops with which he defeated Kamran. Humayun was able to enter Kabul in November 1545 in a takeover, as Kamran’s rule had been oppressive. Islam Shah arrested him and deputed his trusted adviser Hemu to hand over Kamran to Humayun at Kabul, the only significant architectural structure built by Kamran exists today in Lahore, Pakistan. It is called Kamran ki Baradari, bara means twelve and dar means doors. Kamran ki baradari was a building on the bank of River Ravi. The river changed its course time, with the result that the Baradari stands not on the bank. Although Humayun resisted the pressure to put his rebellious brother to death, Humayun then sent him off to perform the Hajj to Mecca, where he died in 1557. After his death his daughter was married Akbar, the children were executed
27.
Kabul
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Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan as well as its largest city, located in the eastern section of the country. According to a 2015 estimate, the population of the city was around 3,678,033 which includes all the ethnic groups. Rapid urbanization had made Kabul the worlds 64th largest city and the fifth fastest-growing city in the world, Kabul is said to be over 3,500 years old, mentioned since at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire. The city is at a location along the trade routes of South and Central Asia. It has been part of the Achaemenids, Seleucids, Mauryans, Kushans, Kabul Shahis, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Later, it was controlled by the Mughal Empire until finally becoming part of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The city is located high up in a valley between the Hindu Kush mountains. Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan during the reign of Timur Shah Durrani, in the early 19th century, the British occupied the city but were compelled to abandon it. Relations between Afghanistan and Great Britain were later established, the city was occupied by the Soviets in 1979 but they too abandoned it after the 1988 Geneva Accords were signed. A civil war in the 1990s between various rebel groups destroyed much of the city, resulting in many casualties, since the removal of the Taliban from power in late 2001, the city gradually began rebuilding itself with assistance by the international community. Despite the many terrorist attacks by elements, the city is growing and developing. The city is divided into about 18 districts, the Kabul International Airport is located in the Wazir Akbar Khan district a few miles from the foreign embassies. The Parliament of Afghanistan, built by India, is located in the Kārte Seh district, Kabul, also spelled Cabool, Caubul, Kabol, or Cabul. The word Kubhā is mentioned in the Rigveda, one of the four sacred texts of Hinduism, and the Avesta. The Rigveda praises it as a city, a vision of paradise set in the mountains. The area in which the Kabul valley sits was ruled by the Medes before falling to the Achaemenids, there is a reference to a settlement called Kabura by the rulers of the Achaemenid Empire, It became a center of Zoroastrianism followed by Buddhism and Hinduism. The region became part of the Seleucid Empire but was given to the Indian Maurya Empire. The Greco-Bactrians captured Kabul from the Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to the Kushan Empire about 100 years later. Some historians ascribe Kabul the Sanskrit name of Kamboja and it is mentioned as Kophes or Kophene in some classical writings
28.
Khamsa of Nizami
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Nizami Ganjavi, Nizami Ganjei, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī, was a 12th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet. Nezāmi is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature and his heritage is widely appreciated and shared by Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, the Kurdistan region and Tajikistan. His personal name was Ilyas and his chosen pen-name was Nezami and he was born of an urban background in Ganja and is believed to have spent his whole life in South Caucasus. According to De Blois, Ganja was a city which at that time had predominantly an Iranian population, the Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi mentions that, This city was densely populated with Iranians and a small number of Christians. Because Nezami was not a poet, he does not appear in the annals of the dynasties. Tazkerehs, which are the compilations of literary memoirs that include maxims of the poets along with biographical information. Much of this material in these Tazkerehs are based on legends, anecdotes, consequently, few facts are known about Nezamis life, the only source being his own work, which does not provide much information on his personal life. Nezami was orphaned early and was raised by his maternal uncle Khwaja Umar who took responsibility for him and his mother, named Raisa, was of Kurdish background. His father, whose name was Yusuf is mentioned once by Nezami in his poetry, in the same verse, Nezami mentions his grandfathers name as Zakki. In part of the verse, some have taken the word Muayyad as a title for Zakki while others have interpreted it as the name of his great grandfather. Some sources have stated that his father might be possibly from Qom, Nezami is variously mentioned as a Persian and/or Iranian. His first wife was a Kipchak slave girl which was sent to him by Fakhr al-Din Bahramshah, according to Iraj Bashiri she became Nezamis most beloved wife. His only son Mohammad was from this wife and she died after Khosrow and Shirin was completed. Mohammad was seven at the time, Nezami mentions his son again in Layli and Majnun adding that now this son is 14 years old and apple of my eyes. In Haft Peykar, he mentions and advises his son about taking more responsibility as the father was growing more frail. Some modern writers in the late 20th century have claimed that this wife was called Afaq, Nezami was not a philosopher in the sense of Avicenna or an expositor of theoretical Sufism in the sense of Ibn Arabi. Often referred to by the honorific Hakim, Nezami is both a poet and master of a lyrical and sensuous style. About Nezamis prodigious learning there is no doubt, poets were expected to be well versed in many subjects, but Nezami seems to have been exceptionally so
29.
Akbar
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Abul-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad, popularly known as Akbar I and later Akbar the Great, was a Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death. He was the ruler of the Mughal Dynasty in India. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, a strong personality and a successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include nearly all of the Indian Subcontinent north of the Godavari river. His power and influence, however, extended over the country because of Mughal military, political, cultural. To unify the vast Mughal state, Akbar established a system of administration throughout his empire and adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through marriage. To preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally diverse empire, Mughal India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture. Akbar himself was a patron of art and culture, holy men of many faiths, poets, architects and artisans adorned his court from all over the world for study and discussion. Akbars courts at Delhi, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri became centres of the arts, letters, perso-Islamic culture began to merge and blend with indigenous Indian elements, and a distinct Indo-Persian culture emerged characterised by Mughal style arts, painting, and architecture. A simple, monotheistic cult, tolerant in outlook, it centred on Akbar as a prophet, for which he drew the ire of the ulema, many of his courtiers followed Din-i-Ilahi as their religion as well, as many believed that Akbar was a prophet. One famous courtier who followed this religion was Birbal. Akbars reign significantly influenced the course of Indian history, during his rule, the Mughal empire tripled in size and wealth. He created a military system and instituted effective political and social reforms. By abolishing the tax on non-Muslims and appointing them to high civil and military posts, he was the first Mughal ruler to win the trust. He had Sanskrit literature translated, participated in festivals, realising that a stable empire depended on the co-operation. Thus, the foundations for an empire under Mughal rule was laid during his reign. Akbar was succeeded as emperor by his son, Jahangir, defeated in battles at Chausa and Kannauj in 1539–40 by the forces of Sher Shah Suri Mughal emperor Humayun fled westward to Sindh. There he met and married the then 14-year-old Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a teacher of Humauyuns younger brother Hindal Mirza. Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar was born the year on 15 October 1542 at the Rajput Fortress of Umerkot in Sindh
30.
Jahangir
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Mirza Nur-ud-din Beig Mohammad Khan Salim, known by his imperial name Jahangir, was the fourth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1605 until his death in 1627. Much romance has gathered around his name, and the tale of his relationship with the Mughal courtesan, Anarkali, has been widely adapted into the literature, art. Jahangir was the eldest surviving son of Mughal Emperor Akbar, impatient for power, he revolted in 1599 while Akbar was engaged in the Deccan. These women wielded considerable influence over Akbar and favoured Jahangir as his successor, the first year of Jahangirs reign saw a rebellion organised by his eldest son Khusrau. The rebellion was put down, Khusrau was brought before his father in chains. After subduing and executing nearly 2000 members of the rebellion, Jahangir blinded his renegade son, Jahangir built on his fathers foundations of excellent administration and his reign was characterised by political stability, a strong economy and impressive cultural achievements. The imperial frontiers continued to move forward—in Bengal, Mewar, Ahmadnagar, Later during his rule, Jahangir was battling his rebellious son Khurram in Hindustan. The rebellion of Khurram absorbed Jahangirs attention, so in the spring of 1623 he negotiated an end to the conflict. Much of India was politically pacified, Jahangirs dealings with the Hindu rulers of Rajputana were particularly successful, the Hindu rulers all accepted Mughal supremacy and in return were given high ranks in the Mughal aristocracy. Jahangir was fascinated with art, science and architecture, from a young age he showed a leaning towards painting and had an atelier of his own. His interest in portraiture led to development in this artform. The art of Mughal painting reached great heights under Jahangirs reign and his interest in painting also served his scientific interests in nature. Jahangir maintained an aviary and a large zoo, kept a record of every specimen. Jahangir patronised the European and Persian arts and he promoted Persian culture throughout his empire. This was especially so during the period when he came under the influence of his Persian Empress, Nur Jahan and her relatives, amongst the most highly regarded Mughal architecture dating from Jahangirs reign is the famous Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir. The worlds first seamless celestial globe was built by Mughal scientists under the patronage of Jahangir, Jahangir, like his father, was a proper Sunni Muslim with tolerance, he allowed, for example, the continuation of his fathers tradition of public debate between different religions. The Jesuits were allowed to dispute publicly with Muslim ulema and to preach the Gospel, Jahangir specifically warned his nobles that they should not force Islam on anyone. Jizya was not imposed by Jahangir, edward Terry, an English chaplain in India at the time, saw a ruler under which all Religions are tolerated and their Priests in good esteem
31.
Shah Jahan
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Shahab-ud-Din Muḥammad Khurram better known by his regnal name, Shah Jahan, was the fifth Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1628 to 1658. Emperor Jahangirs death, in late 1627, was a signal for a last paroxysm of fighting among his sons and these fratricidal conflicts were carried out with ruthlessness and Jahangirs third son, Khurram, proved the most ruthless of all. He was crowned at Agra and his name, Shah Jahan, was read at the Jama Masjid there in January 1628. Shah Jahan maintained an aggressive military pressure along the frontiers of the Mughal Empire, as his predecessors had. His building programme was capped by the new capital in Delhi named for himself Shahjahanabad. Here, he erected a new fortress-palace, the Red Fort, in matters of religion, his plain straightforward creed permitted no licence, although he never became a bigot. In 1633, Shah Jahan ordered the demolition of Hindu temples which had begun in the previous reign. These orders were followed by a prohibition of the erection of new shrines or the repair of older buildings, intermarriage between Hindus and Muslims was forbidden in 1634. Shah Jahan, himself, sustained the established alliances at a level and did not marry Hindu women, like his father. Mass conversions of Hindus to Islam were also encouraged, and in cases were forcibly effected. All these acts, however, were dictated rather by the desire to maintain the strict tenets of Islam than to pursue the course of iconoclasm which was adopted by his son Aurangzeb. In September 1657, Shah Jahan fell seriously ill, which set off a war of succession among his sons, Shah Jahan recovered from his illness, but Aurangzeb kept his father under house arrest in Agra Fort from June 1658 until his death in 1666. On 31 July 1658, Aurangzeb crowned himself emperor with the title of Alamgir, the Mughal Empire reached the pinnacle of its glory during Shah Jahans reign and he is widely considered to be one of the greatest Mughal emperors. His reign is described as the Golden Age of the Mughals. Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram was born on 5 January 1592 in Lahore to Prince Salim and his second wife, the name Khurram was chosen for the young prince by his grandfather, Akbar, with whom he shared an extremely close relationship. Just prior to Khurrams birth, a soothsayer had predicted to the childless Empress Ruqaiya Sultan Begum that the still unborn child was destined for imperial greatness. Ruqaiya assumed the responsibility for Khurrams upbringing and he grew up under her care. Her step-son, Jahangir, noted that Ruqaiya had loved his son, Khurram, Khurram remained with her until he had turned 13
32.
Cleveland Museum of Art
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The Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Clevelands east side. Internationally renowned for its holdings of Asian and Egyptian art. The museum has remained true to the vision of its founders, keeping general admission free to the public. With about 598,000 visitors annually, it is one of the most visited art museums in the world, for the benefit of all people, forever. The Cleveland Museum of Art was founded as a trust in 1913 with an endowment from prominent Cleveland industrialists Hinman Hurlbut, John Huntington and Horace Kelley. The neoclassical, white Georgian Marble, Beaux-Arts building was constructed on the edge of Wade Park. Wade Park and the museum were designed by the architectural firm, Hubbell & Benes. The 75-acre green space takes its name from philanthropist Jeptha H. Wade, the museum opened its doors to the public on June 6,1916, with Wades grandson, Jeptha H. Wade II, proclaiming it, for the benefit of all people, forever. Wade, like his grandfather, had a great interest in art and served as the museums first vice-president, today, the park, with the museum still as its centerpiece, is on the National Register of Historic Places. In March 1958, the first addition to the building opened and this addition, which was on the north side of the original building, was designed by the Cleveland architectural firm of Hayes and Ruth and consisted of new gallery space and a new art library. The museum again expanded in 1971 with the opening of the North Wing, the museums main entrance now shifted to the North Wing. The auditorium, classrooms, and lecture halls shifted into the North Wing, allowing this space in the Original Building to be turned into gallery space. In 1983, a West Wing, designed by the Cleveland architectural firm of Dalton, van Dijk, Johnson and this provided larger library space, as well as nine new galleries. Between 2001 and 2012, the 1958 and 1983 additions were demolished, designed by Rafael Viñoly, this $350 million project doubled the museums size to 592,000 square feet. Viñoly covered the space created by the demolition of the 1958 and 1983 structures with a glass-roofed atrium, the east wing opened in 2009, and the north wing and atrium in 2012. The West Wing opened on January 2,2014, the museums building and renovation project, Building for the Future, began in 2005 and was originally targeted for completion in 2012 at projected costs of $258 million. The $350 million project—two-thirds of which was earmarked for the renovation of the original 1916 structure—added two new wings, and was the largest cultural project in Ohios history. The new east and west wings, as well as the enclosing of the courtyard under a soaring glass canopy, have brought the museums total floor space to 592,000 square feet
33.
Hamzanama
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In the West the work is best known for the enormous illustrated manuscript commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in about 1562. Zarinkoob suggests that it was Hamza ibn Adharak that became an inspiration for Hamzanama, the text augmented the story, as traditionally told in dastan performances. The Dastan about Amir Hamza persists far and wide up to Bengal and Arakan, apart from the text, it included 1400 full page Mughal miniatures of an unusually large size, nearly all painted on paper, which were then glued to a cloth backing. The work was bound in 14 volumes, after the early pages, where various layouts were experimented with, one side of most folios has a painting, about 69 cm x 54 cm in size, done in a fusion of Persian and Mughal styles. On the other side is the text in Persian in Nastaliq script, the size of the commission was completely unprecedented, and stretched even the huge imperial workshop. According to contemporary accounts, about thirty main artists were used, after seven years only four volumes were completed, but the new head was able to galvanize production and complete the ten volumes in another seven years, without any loss of quality. Indeed, the pages are the most exciting and innovative in the work. The colophon of this manuscript is still missing, none of the folios of this manuscript so far found is signed, though many have been attributed to different artists. Though the elegance and finish may seem closer to Persian works, between them, these two manuscripts are the key works in the formation of the Mughal miniature style. Only a little over a hundred of the paintings survive, the largest group of 61 images is in the Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, with the rest spread over many collections. The Victoria and Albert Museum possess 27 images, bought in Kashmir, the MAK organized in 2009 the exhibition GLOBAL, LAB, Art as a Message. Asia and Europe 1500-1700, which showed its whole holding of the Hamzanama, the Dastan-e-Amir Hamza existed in several other illustrated manuscript versions. One version by Navab Mirza Aman Ali Khan Ghalib Lakhnavi was printed in 1855 and published by the Hakim Sahib Press, Calcutta and this version was later embellished by Abdullah Bilgrami and published from the Naval Kishore Press, Lucknow, in 1871. Two English language translations have been published, the first is available in an expanded version on the website of the translator Frances Pritchett, of Columbia University. Pritchetts former student at Columbia University, Pasha Mohamad Khan, who teaches at McGill University, researches qissa/dastan. In 2007 Musharraf Ali Farooqui, a Pakistani-Canadian author, translated the Ghalib Lakhnavi/Abdulla Bilgriami version into English, the story is also performed in Indonesian puppet theatre, where it is called Wayang Menak. Here, Hamzah is also known as Wong Agung Jayeng Rana or Amir Ambyah, beach, Milo Cleveland, Early Mughal painting, Harvard University Press,1987, ISBN 0-674-22185-0, ISBN 978-0-674-22185-7 Grove, Oxford Art Online, Indian sub. §VI,4, Mughal ptg styles, 16th–19th centuries, restricted access
34.
Bookbinding
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Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from an ordered stack of paper sheets that are folded together into sections or sometimes left as a stack of individual sheets. The stack is then bound together along one edge by either sewing with thread through the folds or by a layer of flexible adhesive, for protection, the bound stack is either wrapped in a flexible cover or attached to stiff boards. Finally, a cover is adhered to the boards and a label with identifying information is attached to the covers along with additional decoration. Bookbinding is a trade that relies on basic operations of measuring, cutting. A finished book depends on a minimum of two dozen operations to complete but sometimes more than double that according to the specific style. All operations have an order and each one relies on accurate completion of the previous step with little room for back tracking. An extremely durable binding can be achieved by using the best hand techniques, Bookbinding combines skills from other trades such as paper and fabric crafts, leather work, model making, and graphic arts. It requires knowledge about numerous varieties of book structures along with all the internal and external details of assembly, a working knowledge of the materials involved is required. Bookbinding is a craft of great antiquity, and at the same time. The division between craft and industry is not so wide as might at first be imagined and it is interesting to observe that the main problems faced by the mass-production bookbinder are the same as those that confronted the medieval craftsman or the modern hand binder. Before the computer age, the bookbinding trade involved two divisions, second was Letterpress binding which deals with making new books intended to be read from and includes fine binding, library binding, edition binding, and publishers bindings. A result of the new bindings is a third division dealing with the repair, restoration, with the digital age, personal computers have replaced the pen and paper based accounting that used to drive most of the work in the stationery binding industry. There is a grey area between the two divisions. There are cases where the printing and binding jobs are combined in one shop, a step up to the next level of mechanization is determined by economics of scale until you reach production runs of ten thousand copies or more in a factory employing a dozen or more workers. The craft of bookbinding probably originated in India, where religious sutras were copied on to palm leaves with a metal stylus, the leaf was then dried and rubbed with ink, which would form a stain in the wound. The finished leaves were given numbers, and two long twines were threaded through each end through wooden boards, making a palm-leaf book, when the book was closed, the excess twine would be wrapped around the boards to protect the manuscript leaves. Buddhist monks took the idea through Afghanistan to China in the first century BC, similar techniques can also be found in ancient Egypt where priestly texts were compiled on scrolls and books of papyrus. Another version of bookmaking can be seen through the ancient Mayan codex, writers in the Hellenistic-Roman culture wrote longer texts as scrolls, these were stored in boxes or shelving with small cubbyholes, similar to a modern winerack
35.
Saadi Shirazi
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Abū-Muhammad Muslih al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī, better known by his pen-name Saadi, also known as Saadi of Shiraz, was one of the major Persian poets and literary men of the medieval period. He is not only famous in Persian-speaking countries, but has been quoted in western sources as well and he is recognized for the quality of his writings and for the depth of his social and moral thoughts. Saadi is widely recognized as one of the greatest poets of the literary tradition. 1210, his father died when he was a child and he narrates memories of going out with his father as a child during festivities. In his youth, Saadi experienced poverty and hardship and left his native town for Baghdad to pursue a better education. As a young man he enrolled at the Nizamiyya University, where he studied in Islamic sciences, law, governance, history, Arabic literature, and Islamic theology. The unsettled conditions following the Mongol invasion of Khwarezm and Iran led him to wander for thirty years abroad through Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, in his writings he mentions the qadis, muftis of Al-Azhar, the grand bazaar, music and art. At Halab, Saadi joins a group of Sufis who had fought arduous battles against the Crusaders, Saadi was captured by Crusaders at Acre where he spent seven years as a slave digging trenches outside its fortress. He was later released after the Mamluks paid ransom for Muslim prisoners being held in Crusader dungeons, Saadi visited Jerusalem and then set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. It is believed that he may have also visited Oman and other lands in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, because of the Mongol invasions he was forced to live in desolate areas and met caravans fearing for their lives on once-lively silk trade routes. Saadi lived in isolated refugee camps where he met bandits, Imams, men who owned great wealth or commanded armies, intellectuals. While Mongol and European sources gravitated to the potentates and courtly life of Ilkhanate rule and he sat in remote tea houses late into the night and exchanged views with merchants, farmers, preachers, wayfarers, thieves, and Sufi mendicants. For twenty years or more, he continued the same schedule of preaching, advising, Saadis works reflect upon the lives of ordinary Iranians suffering displacement, agony and conflict during the turbulent times of the Mongol invasion. Saadi mentions honey-gatherers in Azarbaijan, fearful of Mongol plunder and he finally returns to Persia where he meets his childhood companions in Isfahan and other cities. At Khorasan Saadi befriends a Turkic Emir named Tughral, Saadi joins him and his men on their journey to Sindh where he meets Pir Puttur, a follower of the Persian Sufi grand master Shaikh Usman Marvandvi. He also refers in his writings about his travels with a Turkic Amir named Tughral in Sindh, India, Tughral later enters service of the wealthy Delhi Sultanate, and Saadi is invited to Delhi and later visits the Vizier of Gujarat. During his stay in Gujarat, Saadi learns more about the Hindus and visits the temple of Somnath. Saadi came back to Shiraz before 1257 CE /655 AH, Saadi has mourned in his poetry the fall of Abbasid Caliphate and Baghdads destruction by Mongol invaders led by Hulagu in February 1258
36.
Gulistan (book)
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The Gulistan is a landmark of Persian literature, perhaps its single most influential work of prose. Written in 1258 CE, it is one of two works of the Persian poet Sadi, considered one of the greatest medieval Persian poets. It is also one of his most popular books, and has proved influential in the West as well as the East. The Gulistan is a collection of poems and stories, just as a rose-garden is a collection of roses and it is widely quoted as a source of wisdom. The minimalist plots of the Gulistans stories are expressed with language and psychological insight. The book explores virtually every issue faced by humankind, with both an optimistic and a subtly satirical tone. There is much advice for rulers, in this way coming within the mirror for princes genre, in his introduction Sadi describes how a friend persuaded him to go out to a garden on 21 April 1258. There the friend gathered up flowers to take back to town, Sadi remarked on how quickly the flowers would die, and proposed a flower garden that would last much longer, Of what use will be a dish of roses to thee. Take a leaf from my rose-garden, a flower endures but five or six days But this rose-garden is always delightful. Sadi continues, On the same day I happened to two chapters, namely on polite society and the rules of conversation, in a style acceptable to orators. After the introduction, the Gulistan is divided into eight chapters, each consisting of a number of stories, on the Morals of Dervishes 3. On the Excellence of Contentment 4, on the Advantages of Silence 5. On Weakness and Old Age 7, on the Effects of Education 8. On Rules for Conduct in Life Some stories are very brief, harun said to his nobles, What should be the punishment of such a person. One gave his voice for death, and another for the excision of his tongue, and another for the confiscation of his goods and banishment. They that with raging elephants make war Are not, so deem the wise, the brave, But in real verity, the valiant are Those who. An ill-bred fellow once a man reviled, Who patient bore it, worse am I than by thee I could be styled, And better know how often I offend. I remember that, in the time of my childhood, I was devout, and in the habit of keeping vigils, and eager to practise mortification and austerities
37.
Fatehpur Sikri
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Fatehpur Sikri (Hindi, फ़तेहपुर सीकरी, is a city in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city was founded in 1569 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585, when it was abandoned. After his military victories over Chittor and Ranthambore, Akbar decided to shift his capital from Agra to a new location 23 miles west south-west and he named the city Fatehabad, with Fateh, a word of Arabic origin in Persian, meaning victorious. It was later called Fatehpur Sikri and it is at Fatehpur Sikri that the legends of Akbar and his famed courtiers, the nine jewels or Navaratnas, were born. Fatehpur Sikri is one of the best preserved examples of Mughal architecture in India, according to contemporary historians, Akbar took a great interest in the building of Fatehpur Sikri and probably also dictated its architectural style. Seeking to revive the splendours of Persian court ceremony made famous by his ancestor Timur, but the influences of his adopted land came through in the typically Indian embellishments. The easy availability of sandstone in the areas of Fatehpur Sikri also meant that all the buildings here were made of the red stone. The Imperial Palace complex consists of a number of independent pavilions arranged in formal geometry on a piece of level ground, a pattern derived from Arab and central Asian tent encampments. In its entirety, the monuments at Fatehpur Sikri thus reflect the genius of Akbar in assimilating diverse regional architectural influences within a holistic style that was uniquely his own, in fact, he never returned to the city except for a brief period in 1601. In later Mughal history it was occupied for a short while by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah and his regent, Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha, one of the Syed Brothers, was murdered here in 1720. The palaces were occupied by the Marathas after their conquest of Delhi, then transferred to the British army, which used the fortified complex as a headquarters and barracks. Because the palace area has been in continuous use over the centuries. It is still surrounded by a five mile long wall built during its construction on three sides. However apart from the buildings complex and the magnificent mosque. The former site of the city is mostly barren, except of ruins of the bazaars of the old city near the Naubat Khana, the drum-house entrance at Agra Road. The modern town lies at the end of the complex, which was a municipality from 1865 to 1904. For a long time it was known for its masons and stone carvers, though in Akbar time it was known and fabrics of hair. The village of Sikri still exists nearby, the excavations yielded a rich crop of Jain statues, hundreds of them, including the foundation stone of a temple with the date
38.
Khamsa of Nizami (British Library, Or. 12208)
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The illuminated manuscript Khamsa of Nizami British Library, Or.613. The manuscript has been described as one of the finest examples of the Indo-Muslim arts of the book,2265, a Persian manuscript of 1539-43 which is even better known. The poems are in rhyming couplets. Akbar had already commissioned a smaller manuscript of the Khamsa, which was made in 1585-90, the miniatures are attributed by inscriptions to at least twenty artists, most of them apparently Hindus, though the main artist, Khvaja Abd-al Samad, is Muslim. The single scribe was Abd al-Rahim, a calligrapher of the day. This is dated, with an illegible last digit, between 1611 and 1620, some miniatures are the work of more than one artist, typically dividing the work between drawing the overall composition, colouring and faces. One of the colophons, unusually, mentions that the book was commissioned for the treasury of books and august library, servants of his majesty. There is a particular interest in art, apart from the unusual added portrait of the scribe. Events in the stories are also intended to refer to victories of Akbar. The manuscript in London has 325 folios of light-brown polished paper with a size of 302 x 198 mm. On text pages the nastaliq script is in four columns of 21 lines, there is also some text on most of the miniature pages, inside the rectangular frame in compartments of varying size, shape and placing. Outside this are further plain frames, with a zone of simple pen decoration which is probably recent as the form is different between the pages in London and those in Baltimore. The main London portion of the manuscript has 36 full-page figurative miniatures, Baltimore has four miniatures, also including one double page subject. Two further miniatures are missing, as shown by a small, the manuscript therefore originally had 42 pages of miniatures, counting double pages as two. Some miniatures are out of their sequence, but the numbering suggests the manuscript was made in this way. Apart from the figurative miniatures, there are a number of pages with panels of abstract motifs, plants and animals, especially at the beginning. All four scenes are enclosed in a frame with two borders of elaborate decoration, which much of the abstract decorative work is similar in style to Persian, or Mughal. The known history resumes in 1909, when the London portion was bought by the collector C. W. Dyson Perrins and it came to the British Library when it inherited the British Museum libraries on its foundation in 1973
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Jami
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He was primarily a prominent poet-theologian of the school of Ibn Arabi and a Khwājagānī Sũfī, recognized for his eloquence and for his analysis of the metaphysics of mercy. His most famous works are Haft Awrang, Tuhfat al-Ahrar, Layla wa -Majnun, Fatihat al-Shabab, Lawaih. Jami was born in Jam, or Ḵarjerd, in Khorasan, previously his father Nizām al-Dīn Ahmad b. Shams al-Dīn Muhammad had come from Dasht, a town in the district of Isfahan. His father, also a Sufi, became his first teacher, while in Herat, Jami held an important position at the Timurid court, involved in the eras politics, economics, philosophy and religious life. He embarked on a pilgrimage that greatly enhanced his reputation and further solidified his importance through the Persian world, Jami had a brother called Molana Mohammad, who was, apparently a learned man and a master in music, and Jami has a poem lamenting his death. Jami fathered four sons, but three of them died before reaching their first year, the surviving son was called Zia-ol-din Yusef and Jami wrote his Baharestan for this son. At the end of his life he was living in Herat and his epitaph reads When your face is hidden from me, like the moon hidden on a dark night, I shed stars of tears and yet my night remains dark in spite of all those shining stars. There is a variety of dates regarding his death, but consistently most state it was in November 1492 and his funeral was conducted by the prince of Herat and attended by great numbers of people demonstrating his profound impact. In his role as Sufi shaykh, which began in 1453 and he created a distinction between two types of Sufis, now referred to as the prophetic and the mystic spirit. Jami is known for both his extreme piety and mysticism and he remained a staunch Sunni on his path toward Sufism and developed images of earthly love and its employment to depict spiritual passion of the seeker of God. He began to take an interest in Sufism at an age when he received a blessing by a principal associate Khwaja Mohammad Parsa who came through town. From there he sought guidance from Sad-alDin Kasgari based on a dream where he was told to take God, Jami followed Kasagari and the two became tied together upon Jamis marriage to Kasgaris granddaughter. He was known for his commitment to God and his desire for separation from the world to become closer to God often causing him to forget social normalities. After his re-emergence into the world he became involved in a broad range of social, intellectual and political actives in the cultural center of Herat. He was engaged in the school of Ibn Arabi, greatly enriching, analyzing, Jami continued to grow in further understanding of God through miraculous visions and feats, hoping to achieve a great awareness of God in the company of one blessed by Him. He believed there were three goals to achieve permanent presence with God through ceaselessness and silence, being unaware of ones state. Jami wrote about his feeling that God was everywhere and inherently in everything, Jami created an all-embracing unity emphasized in a unity with the lover, beloved, and the love one, removing the belief that they are separated
40.
Lahore
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Lahore is the capital city of the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is the second most populous city in Pakistan and the 32nd most populous city in the world, the city is located in the north-eastern end of Pakistans Punjab province, near the border with the Indian state of Punjab. Lahore is ranked as a world city, and is one of Pakistans wealthiest cities with an estimated GDP of $58.14 billion as of 2014. Lahore is the cultural centre of the Punjab region, and is the largest Punjabi city in the world. The city has a history, and was once under the rule of the Hindu Shahis, Ghaznavids, Ghurids. Lahore reached the height of its splendour under the Mughal Empire, the city was contested between the Maratha Empire and Durrani Empire, then became capital of the Sikh Empire, before becoming the capital of the Punjab under British rule. Following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Lahore became the capital of Pakistans Punjab province, Lahore is one of Pakistans most liberal and cosmopolitan cities. It exerts a strong influence over Pakistan. Lahore is a centre for Pakistans publishing industry, and remains the foremost centre of Pakistans literary scene. The city is also a centre of education in Pakistan. Lahore is also home to Pakistans film industry, Lollywood, and is a centre of Qawwali music. The city is much of Pakistans tourist industry, with major attractions including the old Walled City. Lahore is also home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Lahore Fort, the etymology of Lahore is uncertain, but according to legend the city was once known as Lavapura, in honour of Prince Lava of the Hindu epic poem, the Ramayana. Lahore Fort also contains a vacant Lava temple, dedicated to the founder of the city. Lahore was called by different names throughout history, to date there is no conclusive evidence as to when it was founded. Lahore is described as a Hindu principality in the Rajput accounts, keneksen, the founder of Suryavansha, is believed to have migrated out from the city. The Solanki tribe, belonging to Amukhara Pattan, which included the Bhatti Rajputs of Jaisalmer, Lahore appears as the capital of the Punjab for the first time under Anandapala – the Hindu Shahi king who is referred to as the ruler of –after leaving the earlier capital of Waihind. Few references to Lahore remain from before its capture by Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznavi in the 11th century, the sultan took Lahore after a long siege and battle in which the city was torched and depopulated
41.
Hindu
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Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of India who were not Turks or Muslims. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the Indian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear, competing theories state that Hindu identity developed in the British colonial era, or that it developed post-8th century CE after the Islamic invasion and medieval Hindu-Muslim wars. A sense of Hindu identity and the term Hindu appears in texts dated between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages. The 14th- and 18th-century Indian poets such as Vidyapati, Kabir and Eknath used the phrase Hindu dharma, the Christian friar Sebastiao Manrique used the term Hindu in religious context in 1649. In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus, in contrast to Mohamedans for Mughals, scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. Hindoo is a spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. At more than 1.03 billion, Hindus are the third largest group after Christians. The vast majority of Hindus, approximately 966 million, live in India, according to Indias 2011 census. After India, the next 9 countries with the largest Hindu populations are, in decreasing order, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Myanmar. These together accounted for 99% of the worlds Hindu population, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water, covering river, ocean. It was used as the name of the Indus river and also referred to its tributaries, the Punjab region, called Sapta Sindhava in the Vedas, is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions the province of Hidush, the people of India were referred to as Hinduvān and hindavī was used as the adjective for Indian in the 8th century text Chachnama. The term Hindu in these ancient records is an ethno-geographical term, the Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India. Among the earliest known records of Hindu with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang, Xuanzang uses the transliterated term In-tu whose connotation overflows in the religious according to Arvind Sharma. The Hindu community occurs as the amorphous Other of the Muslim community in the court chronicles, wilfred Cantwell Smith notes that Hindu retained its geographical reference initially, Indian, indigenous, local, virtually native. Slowly, the Indian groups themselves started using the term, differentiating themselves, the poet Vidyapatis poem Kirtilata contrasts the cultures of Hindus and Turks in a city and concludes The Hindus and the Turks live close together, Each makes fun of the others religion
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Epic poetry
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An epic poem, epic, epos, or epopee is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Milman Parry and Albert Lord have argued that the Homeric epics and these works form the basis of the epic genre in Western literature. Nearly all Western epic self-consciously presents itself as a continuation of the tradition begun by these poems, classical epic employs dactylic hexameter and recounts a journey, either physical or mental or both. Epics also tend to highlight cultural norms and to define or call into question cultural values, another type of epic poetry is epyllion, which is a brief narrative poem with a romantic or mythological theme. The term, which means little epic, came into use in the nineteenth century, the most famous example of classical epyllion is perhaps Catullus 64. The first epics were products of preliterate societies and oral history poetic traditions, in these traditions, poetry is transmitted to the audience and from performer to performer by purely oral means. Early twentieth-century study of living oral traditions in the Balkans by Milman Parry. What they demonstrated was that oral epics tend to be constructed in short episodes, each of equal status, interest and this facilitates memorization, as the poet is recalling each episode in turn and using the completed episodes to recreate the entire epic as he performs it. Parry and Lord also contend that the most likely source for written texts of the epics of Homer was dictation from an oral performance, poets in literate societies have sometimes copied the epic format. The earliest surviving European examples are the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes and Virgils Aeneid, other obvious examples are Nonnus Dionysiaca, Tulsidas Sri Ramacharit Manas. In his work Poetics, Aristotle defines an epic as one of the forms of poetry, contrasted with lyric poetry, an attempt to delineate ten main characteristics of an epic, Begins in medias res. The setting is vast, covering many nations, the world or the universe, Begins with an invocation to a muse. Begins with a statement of the theme, contains long lists, called an epic catalogue. Shows divine intervention on human affairs, features heroes that embody the values of the civilization. Often features the tragic heros descent into the Underworld or hell, the hero generally participates in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries that try to defeat him in his journey and returns home significantly transformed by his journey. The epic hero illustrates traits, performs deeds, and exemplifies certain morals that are valued by the society the epic originates from, many epic heroes are recurring characters in the legends of their native culture. Conventions of epics, Preposition, Opens by stating the theme or cause of the epic and this may take the form of a purpose, of a question, or of a situation. Invocation, Writer invokes a Muse, one of the nine daughters of Zeus, the poet prays to the Muses to provide him with divine inspiration to tell the story of a great hero
43.
Ramayana
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The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic poem which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. Along with the Mahabharata, it forms the Sanskrit Itihasa, the Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It consists of nearly 24,000 verses, divided into seven Kandas, in Hindu tradition, it is considered to be the adi-kavya. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife. The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Hindu life, like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is not just a story, it presents the teachings of ancient Hindu sages in narrative allegory, interspersing philosophical and ethical elements. The name Ramayana is a compound of the name Rāma and ayana. According to Hindu tradition—and according to the Ramayana itself—the epic belongs to the genre of itihasa like Mahabharata, the definition of itihāsa is a narrative of past events which includes teachings on the goals of human life. According to Hindu tradition, Ramayana takes place during a period of known as Treta Yuga. In its extant form, Valmikis Ramayana is a poem of some 24,000 verses. The text survives in several thousand partial and complete manuscripts, the oldest of which is a manuscript found in Nepal. A Times of India report dated 18 December 2015 informs about discovery of a 6th-century manuscript of the Ramayana at the Asiatic Society library, the Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions and subrecensions. Goldman differentiates two major regional recensions, the northern and the southern, scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind. There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last chapters of Valmikis Ramayana were composed by the original author. Most Hindus still believe they are parts of the book, in spite of some style differences. Some cultural evidence, such as the presence of sati in Mahabharata but not in the body of Ramayana. By tradition, the text belongs to the Treta Yuga, second of the four eons of Hindu chronology, Rama is said to have been born in the Treta yuga to king Dasharatha in the Ikshvaku dynasty. The names of the characters are all known in late Vedic literature, however, nowhere in the surviving Vedic poetry is there a story similar to the Ramayana of Valmiki. Also, in the epic Mahabharata, there is a version of Ramayana known as Ramopakhyana and this version is depicted as a narration to Yudhishthira
44.
Mahabharata
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The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. The Mahābhārata is a narrative of the Kurukṣetra War and the fates of the Kaurava. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four goals of life or puruṣārtha, traditionally, the authorship of the Mahābhārata is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, the text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period. The title may be translated as the tale of the Bhārata dynasty. According to the Mahābhārata itself, the tale is extended from a version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata. The Mahābhārata is the longest known epic poem and has described as the longest poem ever written. Its longest version consists of over 100,000 śloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines, and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahābhārata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Rāmāyaṇa. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahābhārata in the context of civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare. The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyāsa, who is also a character in the epic. Vyāsa described it as being itihāsa and he also describes the Guru-shishya parampara, which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times. The first section of the Mahābhārata states that it was Gaṇeśa who wrote down the text to Vyasas dictation, the epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is recited by the sage Vaiśampāyana, a disciple of Vyāsa, the text has been described by some early 20th-century western Indologists as unstructured and chaotic. Hermann Oldenberg supposed that the poem must once have carried an immense tragic force. Moritz Winternitz considered that only unpoetical theologists and clumsy scribes could have lumped the parts of disparate origin into an unordered whole, Research on the Mahābhārata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating layers within the text. Some elements of the present Mahābhārata can be traced back to Vedic times, the background to the Mahābhārata suggests the origin of the epic occurs after the very early Vedic period and before the first Indian empire was to rise in the third century B. C
45.
Jahangirnama
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Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri or Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri is the autobiography of Mughal Emperor Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir. The text details the first nineteen years of his reign, and he then entrusted the task to Mu‘tamad Khān, the author of the Iqbal-nama, who continued the Memoirs to the beginning of the nineteenth year. From where, it was taken up by Muhammad Hadi, who continued it to Jahangirs death and it forms an important reference point for the era along with his father, Akbars, Akbarnama. The first important printed version of Jahangirnama was by Sayyid Ahmad, printed at Ghazipur in 1863, Jahangirs autobiography also reflects the royal ideology of Jahangir’s views on various political, religious and social issues. Within the memoir, he noted many of his local level legislative policies in his large empire consisting of most of modern day India, Pakistan, among them were his decrees to manage and regulate the jagirdars. Jagirdars were holders of the jagir, the land grant title. The jagirdars were to take the income of the land and use it mainly to finance the maintenance of the troops, Jahangir made various attempts to halt corruption within the jagirdars. Jahangir also kept the jagirdars from gaining interest in family or land riches by ordering for jagirdars to seek his approval before marrying someone from the town they ruled in, the Tuzuk-i-Janhangīrī or Memoirs of Jahāngīr. The Jahangirnama, Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India, translated by Thackston, Wheeler M. Oxford University Press. Babarnama Akbarnama Tuzk-e-Taimuri The Tūzuk-i-Jahangīrī Or Memoirs Of Jahāngīr, Alexander Rogers and Henry Beveridge
46.
Aurangzeb
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Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad, commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his regnal title Alamgir, was the sixth, and widely considered the last effective Mughal Emperor. He ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent during some parts of his reign, Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and during his reign, the Mughal Empire temporarily reached its greatest extent. During his reign,4.6 million people were said have died due to war, Aurangzebs policies partly abandoned the legacy of pluralism, which remains a very controversial aspect of his reign and led to the downfall of the Mughal Empire. Rebellions and wars led to the exhaustion of the imperial Mughal treasury and he was a strong-handed authoritarian ruler, and following his death the expansionary period of the Mughal Empire came to an end. Nevertheless, the territory of the Mughal Empire still remained intact more or less until the reign of Muhammad Shah. Aurangzeb was born on 3 November 1618, in Dahod, Gujarat and he was the third son and sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. In June 1626, after a rebellion by his father, Aurangzeb. His daily allowance was fixed at Rs.500 which he spent on religious education, on 28 May 1633, Aurangzeb escaped death when a powerful war elephant stampeded through the Mughal Imperial encampment. He rode against the elephant and struck its trunk with a lance, Aurangzebs valour was appreciated by his father who conferred him the title of Bahadur and had him weighed in gold and presented gifts worth Rs.200,000. This event was celebrated in Persian and Urdu verses and Aurangzeb said, If the fight had ended fatally for me, death drops the curtain even on Emperors, it is no dishonor. The shame lay in what my brothers did, by arrangement, Aurangzeb stayed in the rear, away from the fighting, and took the advice of his generals as the Mughal Army gathered and commenced the Siege of Orchha in 1635. The campaign was successful and Singh was removed from power, Aurangzeb was appointed viceroy of the Deccan in 1636. In 1637, Aurangzeb married the Safavid princess, Dilras Banu Begum and she was his first wife and chief consort. He also had an infatuation with a girl, Hira Bai. In his old age, he was under the charms of his concubine, the latter had formerly been a companion to Dara Shikoh. In the same year,1637, Aurangzeb was placed in charge of annexing the small Rajput kingdom of Baglana, in 1644, Aurangzebs sister, Jahanara, was burned when the chemicals in her perfume were ignited by a nearby lamp while in Agra. This event precipitated a crisis with political consequences. Aurangzeb suffered his fathers displeasure by not returning to Agra immediately, Shah Jahan had been nursing Jahanara back to health in that time and thousands of vassals had arrived in Agra to pay their respects
47.
Muhammad Shah
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Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Shah, Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Shah Irkhwaz, Abu Al-Fatah Nasir-ud-Din Roshan Akhtar Muhammad Shah, was the Mughal emperor between 1719 and 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the son of Bahadur Shah I. With the help of the Sayyid brothers, he ascended the throne at the age of 17. He later got rid of them with the help of Asaf Jah I – Syed Hussain Ali Khan was murdered at Fatehpur Sikri in 1720, Muhammad Shah was a great patron of the arts, including musical, cultural and administrative developments. His pen-name was Sada Rangila and he is referred to as Muhammad Shah Rangila. Although he was a patron of the arts, Muhammad Shahs reign was marked by rapid, the Mughal Empire was already decaying, but the invasion by Nader Shah of Persia and the subsequent sacking of Delhi, the Mughal capital, greatly accelerated the pace. The course of events not only shocked and mortified the Mughals themselves, Muhammad Shah was born in 1702 in Ghazna to Prince Khujista Akhtar, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Handsome and quick to learn, his mother took care of his education. Since the overthrow of Farrukhsiyar in 1719 many Mughal Emperors briefly ascended to the throne, on 29 September 1719, he was given the title Abu Al-Fatah Nasir-ud-Din Roshan Akhtar Muhammad Shah and enthroned in the Red Fort. His mother was given an allowance of 15 thousand rupees monthly for her needs, in the year 1720, Syed Hussain Ali Khan Barha, the commander and chief of the most elite Mughal Army, was assassinated in his encampment in Toba Bhim on 9 October 1720. The Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah took direct command of his forces, Asaf Jah I was then dispatched to gain complete control of 6 Mughal provinces in the Deccan, and Muhammad Amin Khan Turani was assigned as the Mansabdar of 8000. Previously the emperor had to fight Muhammad Ibrahim, but young Muhammad Shah defeated him on 13 November 1720, the fall of the Sayyid Brothers marked the beginning of the end of the Mughal Empires direct control over its dominions in the Deccan. In the year 1721, young Muhammad Shah married the daughter of the previously deposed Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar, on 21 February 1722, the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah appointed the Asaf Jah I as Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire. He advised the new Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah to be as cautious as Akbar, Asaf Jah I resigned his post as the Grand Vizier when the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah expressed negligence towards his administration. The Mughal Grand Vizier, Asaf Jah I appointed the Mughal commander Ewaz Khan as the master of the garrison at Aurangabad and much of his logistical duties were carried out by Inayatullah Kashmiri. Asaf Jah I left the court in disgust and appointed his deputy Qamaruddin Khan as the next Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire. There Asaf Jah I fought Mubariz Khan the Mughal Subedar of the Deccan, taking advantage of Mubariz Khans conventional weaknesses Asaf Jah I defeated and eliminated his opponent during the Battle of Shakarkhelda. Asaf Jah I then established the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1725, during this time, the Mughal-Maratha Wars would cause irreparable devastation to the inhabitants of the ill-administered Mughal Empire
48.
Shah Alam II
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Ali Gauhar, historically known as Shah Alam II, was the sixteenth Mughal Emperor. He was the son of Alamgir II, Shah Alam II was considered the only and rightful emperor but he wasnt able to return to Delhi until 1772, under the protection of the Maratha general Mahadaji Shinde. He also fought against the British East India Company at the Battle of Buxar, Shah Alam II also authored his own Diwan of poems and was known by the pen-name Aftab. His poems were guided, compiled and collected by Mirza Fakhir Makin, Ali Gauhar was born to Shahzada Aziz-ud-Din, son of the deposed Mughal Emperor Jahandar Shah, on 25 June 1728. Alongside his father, he grew up in semi-captivity in the Salatin quarters of the Red Fort, upon his fathers accession, he became the Wali Ahd of the empire, and became his fathers principal agent, though almost all power lay in the Wazir Imad-ul-Mulks hand. His quarrels with that amir, and fear for his own life, Prince Ali Gauhar, afterwards Emperor Shah Alam II had been the heir apparent of his father Alamgir II. After a daring escape from Delhi, Prince Ali Gauhar appeared in the provinces in 1759, hoping to strengthen his position by gaining control over Bengal, Bihar. Very soon however, Najib-ud-Daula, forced the usurper Feroze Jung III to flee from the capitol after he gathered a large Mughal Army outside Delhi, Najib-ud-Daula and Muslim nobles and then planned to defeat Marathas by maintaining correspondence with the powerful Ahmad Shah Durrani. After Ahmad Shah Durrani decisively defeated the Marathas, he nominated Ali Gauhar as the emperor under the name Shah Alam II, but the conflict soon involved the intervention of the assertive East India Company. Their forces were reinforced by the forces of Shuja-ud-Daula, Najib-ud-Daula, the Mughals were also joined by Jean Law and 200 Frenchmen and waged a campaign against the British during the Seven Years War. Prince Ali Gauhar successfully advanced as far as Patna, which he besieged with a combined army of over 40,000 in order to capture or kill Ramnarian a sworn enemy of the Mughals. Mir Jafar was in terror at the demise of his cohort and sent his own son Miran to relieve Ramnarian. After negotiations assuring peace Shah Alam II was escorted by the British to meet Mir Qasim the new Nawab of Bengal, who was nominated after the sudden death of Miran. Mir Qasim soon had the Mughal Emperors investiture as Subedar of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, Shah Alam II then retreated to Allahabad was protected by the Shuja-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh from 1761 until 1764. Meanwhile, Mir Qasims relations with the British East India company began to worsen, angered by these developments the East India Company sought his ouster. Court intrigues encouraged by the East India company forced Mir Qasim to leave Bengal, Bihar, Mir Qasim on his part encouraged Shuja-ud-Daula the Nawab of Awadh and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II to engage the British. The battle fought at Buxar, then within the territory of Bengal, soon after the Battle of Buxar, Shah Alam II, a sovereign who had just been defeated by the British, sought their protection by signing the Treaty of Allahabad in the year 1765. Shah Alam II was forced to grant the Diwani of Bengal to the British East India Company in return for a tribute of 2.6 million rupees to be paid by the company from the collected revenue
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