the Mughal dynasty
...
The citadels of glory the prince is destined to inherit...
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Shah Jahan's ancestry was no ordinary birthright. He was descended from the merciless Mongol invader, Ghengis
Khan, on his mother's side and on his father's side the infamous Amir Timur, known as Tamberlane to the Western
world. Scarcely less notorious for his barbarism than the Mongols, the Turkish ruler had invaded Hindustan in 1398,
massacred its inhabitants and brought back riches beyond his wildest dreams: trays of gold and carved ivory and
mounds of jewels – rubies, pearls, emeralds, turquoise, topaz and cat's eye, and diamonds said to be so valuable they
might have fed the world for a day.
By the 15th century, the wealthy Persian empire stretched thousands
of miles, from eastern Syria to points near China, and the nomadic
invaders who had caused such widespread slaughter and destruction
throughout Central Asia had become devout Muslims and fervent
patrons of scholarship and the arts. In Timur's fabled city of
Samarkand, academics and intellectuals taught great literature, poetry,
languages, history and painting at the many colleges; artists thrived
and merchants filled the bazaars with luxurious treasure from around
the world. Timur's subjects led lives of great refinement, and the
Persian empire was counted among the most civilized in the world.
According to Timurid custom, when the head of a clan died, his lands
were parceled out among the sons. But by the early 1500s, struggles
for succession had divided the mighty Central Asian empire (what is
now Uzbekistan) into small warring kingdoms. One young prince,
driven from his rightful kingdom and drawn by the memory of his
ancestor's success, looked south into Hindustan for a dominion of his
own. The land was not well defended, and Babur the Tiger soon
conquered what is now northern India.
Though the opposing forces had ten times the troops, Babur was
more skilled in the arts of war. In 1526, he defeated the Afghani
Muslim ruler in a brutal battle on the plains of Panipat and put an
end to the 300-year-old Sultanate of Delhi.
"Babur was the first in a series of emperors of north India called
Mughals," says Beach. "They were men of enormous physical
activity, especially the first three emperors. They were out
defeating rebels, building their power, building up the empire,
establishing the wealth of the dynasty. (The term "Mughal" is
derived from "Mongol," although Babur preferred to think of
himself as Timurid.)
The Timurid rulers brandished the sword and the pen with equal
ability and were themselves accomplished poets of the loftiest form. It is from their memoirs that we have come to
know of their illustrious history. Prince Kurrham loved to hear the stories of his famous ancestors. His favorite books
were the Baburnama (Memoirs of Babur), the Akbarnama (Memoirs of Akbar) and volumes of poetry.
Babur's son, Humayun, became the second Mughal
emperor. A gentle man who preferred aesthetics to battle,
he almost lost the new dominion to rebellious local rulers.
But the kingdom survived and passed into the capable
hands of his son, and Babur's grandson, Akbar the Great.
Third in the line of
Mughal rulers, Akbar
defeated the Afghans
and firmly established
Mughal supremacy in
northern India, bringing the empire to the height of its power and wealth. He was
the Grand Mughal, renowned even in the most distant corners of the civilized
world.
Having inherited a stable and prosperous empire, Shah Jahan's father,
Jahangir, pursued his delight in the more refined art of miniature painting,
bringing about a golden age of painting at the Mughal court.
The Mughal emperors used the arts and architecture to express their imperial prestige. "This was the first time you
had wealth at that level interested in commissioning the arts, and in particular, the arts embodying and confirming
wealth," says Milo Beach. "And I think nowhere was that more true than in India, simply because of the tremendous
resources of the country, the access to jewels, the access to a kind of internationalism, so many people passing
through the court. The idea of 'the grand Mughal' spawned all kinds of myths of unfathomable, unimaginable wealth
that Europeans associated with the east. They gave the term 'mogul' to the English world. A mogul is someone of
tremendous wealth and tremendous power. Hollywood moguls. Wall Street moguls. They set the standard which in
many ways people have been trying to achieve ever since."
Babur the Tiger
Like his Persian ancestors, Babur was as much a scholar and poet as a soldier. When the dust settled on the plains of
Paniput in 1526, Babur was dismayed to see the spoils of his victory: "Hindustan is a place of little charm," he wrote
in his memoirs. "There are no refined arts or other delights of urbane society, no poetic talent or understanding... The
arts and crafts have no harmony or symmetry... There are no good horses, meat, grapes, melons or other fruit...
Hindustan is a strange country; compared to ours, it is another world. And the heat and dust are unbearable." (from
the Baburnama)
Babur had brought with him to Hindustan a taste for luxury and culture, the
influences of his Islamic faith and a love of the order,symmetry and formality
of the gardens of his native land. Fresh from a country of verdant landscapes,
he noted in his journal: "One of the chief faults of Hindustan is that there is no
running water. The whole country appeared so ugly and desolate that I passed
the river thoroughly disgusted... On the other hand, one nice aspect of
Hindustan is that it is a large country with lots of gold and jewels..."
Babur chose not to murder and loot as his famed ancestor had done 127 years
earlier; instead, he stayed and founded a dynasty. In 1526, he laid out a garden
on the banks of the Jamuna River at Agra to rival any in Persia, and endowed
his successors with a small kingdom and a passion for beauty.
Akbar the Great
During Akbar's reign, the Mughal empire tripled in size and wealth. Akbar had created a powerful army and instituted
effective political and social reforms. By abolishing the sectarian tax on Hindus and appointing them to high civil and
military posts, he was the first Muslim ruler to win the trust and loyalty of his Hindu subjects. He had Hindu literature
translated, participated in Hindu festivals,
and realizing that a stable empire depended on strong alliances with the
Rajputs, fierce Hindu warriors, he married a Rajput princess.
Akbar was truly an enlightened ruler, a philosopher-king who had a
genuine interest in all creeds and doctrines at a time when religious
persecution was prevalent throughout Europe and Asia. Understanding
that cooperation among all his subjects – Muslims, Hindus, Persians,
Central Asians and indigenous Indians – would be in his best interest,
he even tried to establish a new religion that encouraged universal
tolerance.
Akbar was strong-willed, fearless and often cruel, but he was also just and
compassionate and had an inquiring mind. He invited holy men, poets, architects
and artisans to his court from all over the Islamic world for study and
discussion,and he created an astounding library of over 24,000 volumes written in
Hindi, Persian, Greek, Latin, Arabic and Kashmiri, staffed by scholars,
translators, artists, calligraphers, scribes, bookbinders and readers.
Manifesting the ancestral love of the arts on a monumental scale, Akbar filled the
landscape with walled cities of royal pleasure and comfort, designed to dazzle the
native rajas and advertise the glory of his reign. In the lovely capital city of Agra,
Akbar built his remarkable Red Fort beside the Jamuna River. Part fortress, part
palace, its construction proceeded at a hectic pace, and in eight years of frenzied
building,
more than five hundred
graceful pavilions and
sumptuous residences –
adorned with exquisite carvings, lattice and pierced-stone
screens,wall paintings, canopied roofs, carved brackets and
pilasters – were created within the massive red sandstone
walls to accommodate his considerable court. And Agra
became the repository for all the wealth and talent of one of
the most extensive empires in the medieval world.
Taj
Mahal:
Memorial
to Love
Long long ago, in a land called Hindustan, reigned a dynasty of Kings as cultured as they were
courageous... It isn't that they were without fault – they could be cruel and cunning warriors – but they were
also men of exceptionally good taste, and blessed with the bountiful means to express their vision, they built a
splendid empire of beauty, knowledge and grace beyond any known before.
Now there was one among them, known as "King of the World," whose heart's passion burned like fire, and who
built a monument for the sake of love that would capture the imagination of the world... download to listen: 28k, 56k,
ISDN*
At the age of fifteen, the prince who would be called King of the World met a
refined and highborn young girl at a bazaar within the walls of the royal palace in
Agra. Court poets celebrated the girl's extraordinary beauty. "The moon," they
said, "hid its face in shame before her." For both, it was love at first sight. Five
years would pass before the auspicious day chosen for their wedding, and from
that moment, they became inseparable companions.
Prince Khurram was the fifth son of the Emperor Jahangir, who ruled in the
country now known as India in the sixteenth century. Although the prince was
not the eldest son, he soon became the favorite.
"Gradually as his years increased, so did his excellence," wrote Jahangir. "In art,
in reason, in battle, there is no comparison between him and my other children."
At his father's command, Prince Khurram led many military campaigns to
consolidate the empire, and in honor of his numerous victories, Jahangir granted
him the title "Shah Jahan", "King of the World", a tribute never before paid to an
as yet uncrowned Mughal king.
But when Jahangir's health failed, his sons rivaled for succession to the throne.
Ultimately, after years of battle and the deaths of his brothers under suspicious
circumstances, Shah Jahan was victorious. In 1628, the King of the World
ascended the throne in a ceremony of unrivaled splendor. Beside him stood his
queen, his comrade and confidante. He titled her "Mumtaz Mahal", "Chosen One
of the Palace", and commissioned for her a luxurious royal residence of
glistening white marble. In turn, she gave him tender devotion, wise counsel and
children – many children – to insure the continuance of the magnificent Mughal
dynasty.
The reign of Shah Jahan marked the long summer of Mughal
rule, a peaceful era of prosperity and stability. It was also an age
of outrageous opulence, and a time when some of the world's
largest and most precious gems were being mined from India's
soil. According to author and art historian Milo Beach, "Jewels
were the main basis of wealth, and there were literally trunks of
jewels in the imperial treasury, trunks of emeralds, sapphires,
rubies and diamonds. Shah Jahan inherited it all. He had immense
wealth and tremendous power and palaces all over the country."
The splendor of his court outshone those of his father and
grandfather. Inscribed in gold on the arches of his throne were the
words, "If there be paradise on earth, it is here."
But in this world, there is an ancient tradition: sweet pleasure is not without bitterness to listen:
In 1631, in the fourth year of his reign, Shah Jahan set out for Burhanpur
with his armies to subdue a rebellion. Even though Mumtaz Mahal was
in the ninth month of a pregnancy, she accompanied him as she had done
many times before. On a warm evening of April in 1631, the queen gave
birth to their fourteenth child, but soon afterwards suffered complications
and took a turn for the worse. According to legend, with her dying
breath, she secured a promise from her husband on the strength of their
love: to build for her a mausoleum more beautiful than any the world had
ever seen before.
The King cried out with grief, like an ocean raging with
storm... He put aside his royal robes and for the whole week afterward, His Majesty did not appear in public, nor
transact any affairs of state... From constant weeping he was forced to use spectacles, and his hair turned gray...
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Shah Jahan grieved for two years. By official opinion, he never again showed enthusiasm for administering the realm.
His only solace would be found in the world of art and architecture, and an obsession with perfection that would last
his lifetime. Six months after the death of his wife, he laid the foundation for her memorial across the Jamuna River
near his palace in Agra... the jewel of India, the far-famed Taj Mahal.
Pearly pink at dawn and opalescent by moonlight, Mumtaz Mahal's tomb is so delicately ethereal that it threatens to
disappear during Agra's white-heat afternoons. In the center of the mausoleum lie the remains of the Empress.
Subdued light filters through the delicate screens surrounding her cenotaph and mullahs chant verses from the Koran.
It is here that Shah Jahan came with his children to honor the memory of his beloved wife. Here, at last, he found
solace.
But Shah Jahan's tranquility was suddenly shattered when his
son Aurangzeb assailed the throne. Just as Shah Jahan had
conspired against his brothers for Jahangir's empire, so did
his own son plot against him. In 1658, Aurangzeb declared
himself emperor and imprisoned his father in a tower of the
Red Fort in Agra. For Shah Jahan, King of the World, who
once commanded the unbounded wealth of an empire, his
only consolation would be a view across the Jamuna River to
his vision of Paradise.
Shah Jahan created his vision of the world, not as it is, but rather as it should be – harmonious, graceful and pure.
Inspired by love and shaped to perfection, the Taj Mahal immortalizes one man's love for his wife and the splendor of
an era.
Let the splendor of the diamond, pearl and ruby vanish like the magic shimmer of the rainbow.
Only let this one teardrop, the Taj Mahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time...
(Poet Rabindranath Tagore)
.fall of an empire
For the sake of a throne, the purse of the earth was emptied of treasure... *
The reign of Mughals from Akbar to Shah Jahan had been an era of
relative peace and unrivaled prosperity in India, a time when culture
and the arts had flourished, dazzling cities had been constructed, roads
for trade and war were built, government was structured, the economy
reformed, agriculture promoted, religious tolerance fostered and
rebellions scarce. But Shah Jahan's fifth and youngest son, Aurangzeb,
had little interest in the arts – he wasn't fond of poetry or music, and
as a pious Moslem, painting was too irreligious for his tastes. He also
disapproved of his father's lavish lifestyle,
accusing him of squandering the treasury on frivolous
constructions.
When the emperor became seriously ill in 1657, Aurangzeb
began a two-year-long maneuvering for power. By 1658, he
had eliminated his brothers, declared himself emperor and
imprisoned his ailing father. He immediately put an end to
the patronage of court artists, and revoked many of the
policies of religious tolerance that had been in place since
Akbar's reign, hoping to impose orthodox Islam on all of
India. A hero to the Muslims, he was an oppressor to the
Hindus.
Shah Jahan died eight years after Aurangzeb took the throne.
Acknowledging the deep love between his parents,
Aurangzeb buried his father next to Mumtaz Mahal. "My
father entertained a great affection for my mother;" he wrote, "so let his last resting place be close to hers." The
emperor's cenotaph, placed to the side of his queen's, is the only apparent imbalance in the entire Taj Mahal complex.
Strained by a diminishing treasury and Aurangzeb's rigid governance, anarchy and dissension reigned, and the empire
began to crumble. When Aurangzeb died at the age of eighty-nine in 1707, he was buried in a small tomb by the side
of a road.