The Mughal Court and Nobility
Composition of the Nobility
The Mughal nobility was and cosmopolitan ruling elites in the early modern world. At its height in the seventeenth century, it comprised several thousand mansabdars of various ranks, drawn from a wide range of ethnic, religious, and regional backgrounds. The principal groups were the Turani Muslims (Central Asian, especially Chaghatayid and Timurid, in origin), the Irani Muslims (Persian and Shia, including many recent migrants from Safavid Iran), the Indian Sunni Muslims (descendants of the earlier Turkish and Afghan ruling elites), the Indian Shia Muslims (concentrated in the court of Jahangir and in the later Deccan), the Afghan Muslims (a long-established military element in north India), the Rajput Hindus (the great princes of Mewar, Marwar, Amber, and other principalities), the Maratha Hindus (increasingly prominent from the late seventeenth century), and a small but significant number of European, Armenian, and other foreign adventurers who entered the imperial service.
The composition of the nobility evolved substantially over the dynasty’s history. Under Akbar, the deliberate policy of incorporating Rajput and other Hindu nobles substantially diversified the service, and the emperor’s personal authority was the principal guarantee that the Hindu officers would be received as equals by the older Turani and Irani families. The Rajput policy of Akbar is examined in connection with the history of Akbar page, and its long-term implications are discussed in the Hindu-Muslim relations under the Mughals page.
Under Jahangir the Irani faction gained particular prominence, partly through the influence of the emperor’s Persian wife, Nur Jahan, and her family. The Irani nobles, including Asaf Khan, Itimad al-Dawla, and the able general Mahabat Khan, occupied many of the highest offices of the empire. Under Shah Jahan a balance was maintained between the Turani and Irani groups, with both contributing substantially to the high culture of the reign. Under Aurangzeb the proportion of Indian Muslim officers increased, while the Rajput nobles, though still numerous and important, were increasingly treated with suspicion after the emperor’s conflicts with Mewar and Marwar.
The recruitment of nobles followed several patterns. The most important was the personal recommendation of senior nobles, princes, or ministers, followed by an imperial review of the candidate’s suitability, the formal bestowal of a mansab, and the assignment of a jagir sufficient to maintain the required sawar. The emperor maintained a detailed register of the nobility, updated frequently to reflect promotions, demotions, transfers, deaths, and the entry of new members. The mir bakhshi’s office was responsible for the maintenance of these records.
Ranking and Titles
The mansabdari ranking is examined in detail on the mansabdari system page. In addition to the numerical mansab, the holders of high rank were awarded honorific titles that were part of the elaborate vocabulary of Mughal court life. The titles, which were bestowed by the emperor, included alam (standard), haq (truth), wazarat (vizierate), mamalik (kingdoms), and many others, with the higher titles reserved for the greatest nobles and the princes of the blood. The title was a formal recognition of the holder’s place in the imperial hierarchy, and the accumulation of titles over a career was a normal feature of noble life.
The khil’at (robe of honour) was a major instrument of imperial favour. The bestowal of a khil’at, often elaborately embroidered and accompanied by jewels, horses, and other gifts, was a central ritual of court life, and the toshakhana (the imperial wardrobe and gift office) was a substantial institution. The robes were carefully graded to correspond to the rank of the recipient, and the wearing of a khil’at bestowed by the emperor was both a mark of favour and a public acknowledgment of the recipient’s place in the imperial service.
The Imperial Household
The imperial household was an enormous institution, with thousands of officials, servants, soldiers, attendants, scribes, craftsmen, religious functionaries, and family members. The logistics of the household required a vast apparatus of supply, transport, and administration, and the mir saman (chief steward of the imperial household) was one of the senior officials of the central government. The household included the a hadis (the emperor’s own household cavalry), the karkhanas (royal workshops for textiles, jewellery, arms, and other goods), the kitchens (with their elaborate cuisine and extensive staff), the stables (with their horses, elephants, and camels), and the harem (the imperial zenana).
The kitab khana (imperial library) was institutions of the Mughal court. The library housed the imperial collection of manuscripts, including the famous illustrated copies of the Hamzanama, the Baburnama, the Akbarnama, the Padshahnama, and the Ramayana of Abu’l Fazl’s brother Faizi. The library was staffed by a substantial body of scribes, illuminators, binders, and calligraphers, and its products, the illustrated manuscripts of the Mughal period, are among the supreme achievements of South Asian art. The tasvir khana (painting atelier) was closely associated with the library, and the two institutions together formed the centre of the celebrated Mughal school of painting. The Mughal art and painting page examines the cultural productions of the court in greater detail.
The asad khana (literally, “house of the lions”) was a department of the imperial household concerned with the keeping of wild animals, including the menagerie of lions, elephants, cheetahs, and other beasts maintained by the emperor. The asad khana was a particular enthusiasm of Akbar, who was a noted hunter and animal lover, and the institution was maintained by his successors. The hunting expeditions of the emperor, often involving several thousand persons and lasting for weeks at a time, were a major feature of court life and an important element in the imperial insha (composition) tradition.
Court Ceremonial and Protocol
The court ceremonial of the Mughals was elaborate and carefully regulated. The daily durbar (public audience) was the central ritual, in which the emperor, seated on the throne in the Diwan-i-Am, received the reports of the ministers, the petitions of the supplicants, the gifts of the nobles, and the visits of foreign envoys. The durbar was a major political event, and the order of precedence, the rules of obeisance, and the conventions of dress and address were all carefully prescribed. The mir tozak (master of ceremonies) was responsible for the regulation of the durbar, and the office was one of the senior positions of the court.
The Jharokha-i-Darshan was a particularly characteristic Mughal institution. The emperor appeared each morning at a window of the palace, visible to the public gathered in the courtyard below, and the appearance was a symbolic demonstration of the imperial presence and a quasi-religious ritual in which the sight of the emperor was believed to convey blessing. The institution is associated especially with Akbar, who introduced it as a deliberate instrument of imperial ideology, and it was maintained by his successors. The Jharokha-i-Darshan was one of the most visible and most discussed rituals of the court, and it attracted considerable commentary, both contemporary and modern.
The dress of the emperor and the nobles was a matter of elaborate regulation. The emperor’s robes, set with jewels and embroidered in gold, were among the most valuable objects of the court, and the toshakhana (imperial wardrobe) maintained a stock of robes appropriate to every rank and every ceremonial occasion. The jama (long coat), the patka (sash), the turban with its jeweled sarpech (turban ornament), the kamarband (waistband), and the jhari (rosary) were the principal elements of court dress, and the conventions of dress were an important index of rank and favour.
The Role of Imperial Women
The role of women in the Mughal court, although often obscured by the predominantly male documentation, was substantial. The imperial zenana (women’s quarters) housed the emperor’s wives, concubines, mothers, sisters, daughters, and attendants, and it constituted a parallel court with its own hierarchies and political influence. The mahaldar (superintendent of the zenana) was typically an elderly woman of the imperial family or a high-ranking lady of the court, and the office carried substantial influence.
Several imperial women exercised direct political power. The most famous was Nur Jahan, the wife of Jahangir, who in the 1620s effectively governed the empire during her husband’s declining health and issued orders, received ambassadors, and appeared on coins in her own name. Jahanara Begum, the daughter of Shah Jahan, was a major political figure in the succession crisis of 1657–1659 and, after Aurangzeb’s victory, a prominent patron of Sufi orders and the custodian of her father’s declining years in Agra Fort. Zeb-un-Nissa, the learned and cultivated daughter of Aurangzeb, was a major patron of poetry and a center of intellectual life at the Mughal court until her imprisonment by her father in the latter part of his reign.
The imperial women maintained their own households, their own jagirs, and their own administrative establishments. The jagir assignments of the imperial women were substantial, and the revenues of several provinces were assigned, in whole or in part, to the support of the zenana and its dependents. The imperial women also played a major role as patrons of architecture, religion, and the arts, and the great Mughal monuments of the seventeenth century, including the Taj Mahal, were closely connected to the patronage of the imperial women.
The Role of Princes
The princes of the blood were, from birth, members of the mansabdari hierarchy, and the emperor’s sons typically received high mansabs and substantial jagirs at a young age. The princes were often appointed as governors of important provinces, and the history of the Mughal nobility is in substantial part a history of the rivalries and ambitions of the imperial princes. The succession disputes of the dynasty, including the wars of succession following the deaths of Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb, were a recurrent feature of Mughal political life, and the practice of confining the deposed or defeated princes in the fortresses of the empire, a tradition associated especially with Shah Jahan’s confinement in Agra Fort by Aurangzeb, was a major element of the dynasty’s political culture.
The training of the princes was a major concern of the court. The princes were typically educated by tutors drawn from the leading scholars and literary figures of the time, and the kitab khana and the cultural institutions of the court played a central role in their formation. The princes were expected to master the arts of war and government, and many of them received substantial military commands in their youth. The transition from one emperor to another was a critical moment in the life of the court, and the succession disputes of 1657–1659, 1707, and 1712–1713 are examined in the decline of the Mughal Empire pillar.
Court Factions and the Role of Eunuchs
The Mughal court was, throughout its history, a stage for the play of court factions, and the major noble families often aligned themselves with one or another prince, minister, or imperial lady. The Turani-Irani rivalry of the early seventeenth century, the factional struggles of Shah Jahan’s reign, and the political alignments of Aurangzeb’s long rule were all closely tied to the personalities and ambitions of the great noble families. The wazir, the mir bakhshi, the sadr-us-sudur, and the great provincial governors each had their own followings, and the politics of the court involved a continuous negotiation among these various interests.
The eunuchs (called khwaja sara) occupied a particular position at the Mughal court. The chief eunuch, the mir bakhshi of the zenana, was responsible for the administration of the imperial household and the protection of the imperial women. The eunuchs also held important positions in the provincial administration, and some, especially under the later Mughals, accumulated substantial wealth and influence. The role of the eunuchs at the Mughal court is a particular interest of modern historians, and the institution is examined in detail in the Mughal court and nobility literature.
From Court-Centered to Family-Centered Authority
The Mughal court, from the reign of Akbar to the late seventeenth century, was the principal center of political and cultural authority. The court moved with the emperor, and the great ceremonial capitals of Agra, Delhi, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, and Ajmer each hosted the court for substantial periods. The court was the stage on which the principal political events of the dynasty were enacted, and the court’s culture, including the Mughal cuisine, the literary traditions, the art and painting, and the costume and dress of the court, set the standard for elite life throughout the empire.
By the eighteenth century, however, the character of the court was changing. The de facto autonomy of the provincial governors, the rise of sub-imperial households in the successor states, and the weakening of the central court under the later Mughals meant that authority was increasingly family-centered and regional rather than court-centered and imperial. The jagir crisis, examined on the mansabdari system page, the economic decline of the empire, and the rise of the Maratha Confederacy and other regional powers are all connected to this transformation, and the decline of the Mughal Empire pillar examines the long crisis of imperial authority in detail.
Sources
- M. Athar Ali, The Apparatus of Empire: Awards of Ranks, Offices and Titles to the Mughal Nobility, 1574–1658 (Oxford University Press, 1985).
- Ruby Lal, Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal World (Cambridge University Press, 2005).