Theme 9 Kings and Chronicles
Introduction
The Mughal Kings commissioned court historians to write accounts of their achievements. These accounts recorded
the events of the emperor’s time. The writers collected vast amounts of information from the regions of the
subcontinent to help the rulers govern their domain. Modern historians who write history in English have termed
those accounts as chronicles; because the accounts give information in chronological order.
Chronicles are an indispensable source for any scholar wishing to write a history of the Mughals.They were a
repository of factual information about the institution of the Mughal state. They were intended as conveyors of
meanings that the Mughal rulers sought to impose on their domain.
The name “Mughal” and a brief political history of the Mughals
The term Mughal is derived from mongol.But the Mughal Kings did not call themselves as the Mughals. They
called themselves as Timurids, the descendants of the Turkish ruler Timur.During the 16 th century, Europeans used
the term ‘Mughal’ to describe the branch of the family of Timur.
Zahiruddin Babur
Zahiruddin Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire. He was expelled from his homeland (Fargana) by Uzbeks.
He first established himself at Kabul and then in 1526 moved further into the Indian subcontinent in search of
territories and resources to satisfy the needs of his clan.
Nasiruddin Humayun
Babur was succeeded by Humayun as the Mughal ruler in 1530 .But Sher Shah Suri, an Afghan leader drove him to
exile.Humayun took refuge in the court of the Safavid ruler of Iran.In 1555 Humayun defeated Sher Shah and
regained his empire.
Jalaluddin Akbar
Akbar is considered to be a great ruler of the Mughals.He expanded his empire and made it as the largest, strongest
and the richest kingdom at the time of his rule. He was able to expand his empire up to the Hindukush Mountains
and prevented the Uzbeks and Safavids.
Successors of Akbar
Jahangir (1605-27), Shajahan (1628-58) and Aurangzeb (1658-1707)
Features of the Mughal imperial structure.
The institutions of an imperial structure were created in the 16th and 17th centuries.
It had effective methods of administration and taxation.
The court was the centre of the Mughal power where political alliances and relationships were made and
status and hierarchies were defined.
The political system of the Mughals was based on a combination of military power accommodating various
traditions of the subcontinent that the Mughals faced.
HSSLIVE.IN 1 Sujith K HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor ,Kasargod
, The reasons for the Production of Chronicles
The Chronicles written during the Mughal period are an important source to study the Mughal Empire. They were
written,
To convey a vision of enlightened kingdom to all those who came under its umbrella.
To convey to those who resisted the rule of the Mughals that all resistance was destined to fail.
To ensure that there was an account of their rule for posterity
The authors of the chronicles were court historians in the Mughal Empire. Histories written by them focused on
events centred on the ruler, his family, the court and nobles, wars and administrative system.
The titles of the chronicles such as Akbar Nama,Shajahan Nama,and Alamgir Nama indicate that the history of the
empire and the court was synonymous with that of the emperor.
Language used for writing Chronicles
(Importance of Persian language in Mughal India)
The Mughals were chaghtai Turks by origin and Turkish was their mother tongue.
The first ruler Babur wrote poetry and his memoirs BaburNama in Turkish language.
Persian developed as a leading language at the time of the Mughal rule in India.
Persian was a court language and literary writings of the Sultans of Delhi and flourished with local variants
like Hindavi.
It was Akbar who consciously developed Persian as a leading language in the Mughal court.
Mughal official histories such as AkbarNama were written in Persian.
Other chronicles such as Babur’s memoirs were translated from the Turkish into Persian Babur Nama.
The court historians of the Mughals translated Sanskrit texts such as Ramayana and Mahabharata into
Persian.
The Mahabharata was translated as the Razmnama( Book of Wars).
Those who had command on Persian were conferred power and prestige.
It was spoken by the king, the elite and people at the royal court.
Persian language influenced other Indian languages such as Rajasthani, Marathi and Tamil.
It became Indianised by observing idiom and vocabulary from the Indian languages.
The making of manuscripts
Books written in Mughal India were manuscripts that were hand written. The work of manuscript production was
carried out by the imperial Kitabkhana that could be translated as library but it was scriptorium that is, it was a
place where emperor’s collection of manuscript was kept and new manuscripts were produced.
Various tasks involved in creating manuscripts in the Mughal Empire.
The creation of manuscripts involved many tasks.
Papermakers prepared folios of the manuscripts
Scribes or calligraphers copied the text
Gilders illuminated the pages.
Painters illustrated scenes from the text
Book binders gathered the individual folios and set them within ornamental covers.
HSSLIVE.IN 2 Sujith K HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor ,Kasargod
Introduction
The Mughal Kings commissioned court historians to write accounts of their achievements. These accounts recorded
the events of the emperor’s time. The writers collected vast amounts of information from the regions of the
subcontinent to help the rulers govern their domain. Modern historians who write history in English have termed
those accounts as chronicles; because the accounts give information in chronological order.
Chronicles are an indispensable source for any scholar wishing to write a history of the Mughals.They were a
repository of factual information about the institution of the Mughal state. They were intended as conveyors of
meanings that the Mughal rulers sought to impose on their domain.
The name “Mughal” and a brief political history of the Mughals
The term Mughal is derived from mongol.But the Mughal Kings did not call themselves as the Mughals. They
called themselves as Timurids, the descendants of the Turkish ruler Timur.During the 16 th century, Europeans used
the term ‘Mughal’ to describe the branch of the family of Timur.
Zahiruddin Babur
Zahiruddin Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire. He was expelled from his homeland (Fargana) by Uzbeks.
He first established himself at Kabul and then in 1526 moved further into the Indian subcontinent in search of
territories and resources to satisfy the needs of his clan.
Nasiruddin Humayun
Babur was succeeded by Humayun as the Mughal ruler in 1530 .But Sher Shah Suri, an Afghan leader drove him to
exile.Humayun took refuge in the court of the Safavid ruler of Iran.In 1555 Humayun defeated Sher Shah and
regained his empire.
Jalaluddin Akbar
Akbar is considered to be a great ruler of the Mughals.He expanded his empire and made it as the largest, strongest
and the richest kingdom at the time of his rule. He was able to expand his empire up to the Hindukush Mountains
and prevented the Uzbeks and Safavids.
Successors of Akbar
Jahangir (1605-27), Shajahan (1628-58) and Aurangzeb (1658-1707)
Features of the Mughal imperial structure.
The institutions of an imperial structure were created in the 16th and 17th centuries.
It had effective methods of administration and taxation.
The court was the centre of the Mughal power where political alliances and relationships were made and
status and hierarchies were defined.
The political system of the Mughals was based on a combination of military power accommodating various
traditions of the subcontinent that the Mughals faced.
HSSLIVE.IN 1 Sujith K HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor ,Kasargod
, The reasons for the Production of Chronicles
The Chronicles written during the Mughal period are an important source to study the Mughal Empire. They were
written,
To convey a vision of enlightened kingdom to all those who came under its umbrella.
To convey to those who resisted the rule of the Mughals that all resistance was destined to fail.
To ensure that there was an account of their rule for posterity
The authors of the chronicles were court historians in the Mughal Empire. Histories written by them focused on
events centred on the ruler, his family, the court and nobles, wars and administrative system.
The titles of the chronicles such as Akbar Nama,Shajahan Nama,and Alamgir Nama indicate that the history of the
empire and the court was synonymous with that of the emperor.
Language used for writing Chronicles
(Importance of Persian language in Mughal India)
The Mughals were chaghtai Turks by origin and Turkish was their mother tongue.
The first ruler Babur wrote poetry and his memoirs BaburNama in Turkish language.
Persian developed as a leading language at the time of the Mughal rule in India.
Persian was a court language and literary writings of the Sultans of Delhi and flourished with local variants
like Hindavi.
It was Akbar who consciously developed Persian as a leading language in the Mughal court.
Mughal official histories such as AkbarNama were written in Persian.
Other chronicles such as Babur’s memoirs were translated from the Turkish into Persian Babur Nama.
The court historians of the Mughals translated Sanskrit texts such as Ramayana and Mahabharata into
Persian.
The Mahabharata was translated as the Razmnama( Book of Wars).
Those who had command on Persian were conferred power and prestige.
It was spoken by the king, the elite and people at the royal court.
Persian language influenced other Indian languages such as Rajasthani, Marathi and Tamil.
It became Indianised by observing idiom and vocabulary from the Indian languages.
The making of manuscripts
Books written in Mughal India were manuscripts that were hand written. The work of manuscript production was
carried out by the imperial Kitabkhana that could be translated as library but it was scriptorium that is, it was a
place where emperor’s collection of manuscript was kept and new manuscripts were produced.
Various tasks involved in creating manuscripts in the Mughal Empire.
The creation of manuscripts involved many tasks.
Papermakers prepared folios of the manuscripts
Scribes or calligraphers copied the text
Gilders illuminated the pages.
Painters illustrated scenes from the text
Book binders gathered the individual folios and set them within ornamental covers.
HSSLIVE.IN 2 Sujith K HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor ,Kasargod
