We continue to introduce you to the series of miniatures from the "Timurid Genealogy" - a literary heritage related to Uzbekistan, stored in the "Taj Mahal of Books" - Raza Library in Bukhara - Rampur, India.
In the previous article, we looked at the image of Amir Temur's palace. It depicts 12 generations of Sahibkiran. This time, we will focus on miniatures depicting Nuriddin Muhammad Jahangir, the fourth representative of the Baburids.
Jahongir on the throne
Jahangir ibn Shah Akbar ruled India from 1605 to 1627. During his reign, it became common practice to create miniatures dedicated to independent themes on individual pieces of paper. According to sources, he understood painting so well that he could accurately tell which artist and what he worked on the miniatures created in collaboration. He organized a special beauty salon in the palace and personally introduced the most respected guests to the artists' works.
Snake and Spider Battle
In this work, a portrait of Jahangir is depicted, sitting on a horse and observing the battle between a snake and a large spider. The ruler himself described this event as follows: "While traveling around Ali Mosque and Gharibkhona, I saw a spider as big as a sea crab. He nearly killed a snake that was about one and a half times the length of a human elbow. I paused for a moment to watch, and a moment later the snake died". The incident occurred when Jahangir was crossing the Khyber Pass on his way to Lahore, in 1016 AH/AD 1607. Belongs to the pen of Manohar.
Pilgrimage
The next work depicts Jahangir and Prince Hurram (later Emperor Shah Jahan) visiting the mausoleum of Khoja Muiniddin Chishti, a great figure in the city of Ajmer.
Jahangir lived in Ajmer for three years and visited this mausoleum 9 times during this time.
Feast
This work depicts a young man serving a small bowl on a platter to Jahangir, who is sitting on the throne, during a feast.
Spraying Festival
The next work depicts Jahangir celebrating the festival of Ab-pashi (spraying water), which people celebrate by sprinkling roses on each other on the 13th day of the month of Tir in 1023 AH/June 25, 1614 AD.
As a reminder, the author of "Mirot al-Ashboh Salotini Osmonjoh" (or "Timurid Genealogy") is Muhammad Fahriddin Husayn Dehlavi. The work was written by order of Bahadur Shah-2, in the year 1266 AH (1849-1850 AD). The drawings were done by Ghulam Alikhan and Babur Alikhan. The manuscript contains 60 miniatures.