Presenter
Kollatz Anna - Dept. of MIddle East Studies, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, GermanyPanel
43 – Layered Dynamics, Enmeshed Connections: Courtly Spaces in Islamicate South Asia, c. 1000-1800Abstract
Mughal court historiography includes, to a considerable extent, information about the person – the individual character and life of each ruler. Like Babur (r. 1526-30), Jahangir (r. 1605-27) left behind a partly self-written history of his reign, which interweaves biographical information from his everyday life with accounts of actions related to government and rulership. To the surprise of many readers, however, his descriptions are not limited to idealizing, merely positive aspects of his person or life. Jahangir also openly reports on poor decisions, mishaps and personal weaknesses such as alcohol consumption. This lecture discusses various types of narrated rulebreaking by the ruler in the Jahangirnama and the Majalis-i Jahangiri in comparison and examines them for their narrative purposes and their potential contribution to the portrayal of the ruler.
