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Jahanara Begum
Jahanara Begum (23 March 1614 – 16 September 1681) was a princess of the Mughal Empire. She was the second and the eldest surviving child of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. After Mumtaz Mahal's untimely death in 1631, the 17-year-old Jahanara was entrusted with the charge of the royal seal and conferred the title of '' Padshah Begum'' (First lady) of the Mughal Empire, even though her father had three surviving wives. She was Shah Jahan's favorite daughter and wielded major political influence during her father's reign, and has been described as "the most powerful woman in the empire" at the time. Jahanara was an ardent partisan of her brother, Dara Shikoh, and supported him as her father's chosen successor. During the war of succession which took place after Shah Jahan's illness in 1657, Jahanara sided with the heir-apparent Dara and joined her father in Agra Fort, where he had been placed under house arrest by Aurangzeb. When Aurangzeb ascended to the throne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shahzadi
Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Persianate societies, such as the Ottoman Empire, the Khanate of Bukhara and the Emirate of Bukhara, the Mughal Empire, the Bengal Sultanate, and various Afghan dynasties, as well as among Gurkhas. With regard to Iranian history, in particular, each ruling monarch was not seen simply as the head of the concurrent dynasty and state, but as the successor to a long line of royalty beginning with the original Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great. To this end, he was more emphatically known as the Shāhanshāh ( ), meaning "King of Kings" since the Achaemenid dynasty. A roughly equivalent title is Pādishāh (; ), which was most widespread during the Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent. Etymology The word descends from Old Persian ''xšāyaθ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic language. It is the object of a modern field of academic research known as Quranic studies. Muslims believe the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final Islamic prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on the Laylat al-Qadr, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle, a proof of his prophethood, and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to the first Islamic prophet Adam, including the holy books of the Torah, Psalms, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagir
A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic era of the Indian subcontinent, starting in the early 13th century, wherein the powers to govern and collect tax from an estate was granted to an appointee of the state. 13th-century origin and successors This feudal system of land ownership is referred to as the ''jagirdar'' system. The system was introduced by the Sultans of Delhi from the 13th century onwards, was later adopted by the Mughal Empire, the Maratha Empire and continued under the British East India Company. Some Hindu jagirdars were converted into Muslim vassal states under Mughal imperial sway, such as the nawabs of Kurnool. Most princely states of India during the colonial British Raj era were jagirdars such as Mohrampur Jagi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surat
Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now the commercial and economic centre of South Gujarat, and one of the largest urban areas of western India. It has well-established diamond and textile industry, and is a major supply centre for apparels and accessories. About 90% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. It is the second largest city in Gujarat after Ahmedabad and the List of most populous cities in India, eighth largest city by population and List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India, ninth largest urban agglomeration in India. It is the administrative capital of the Surat district. The city is located south of the state capital, Gandhinagar; south of A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moinuddin Chishti
Mu'in al-Din Hasan Chishti Sijzi (; February 1143 – March 1236), known reverentially as Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (), was a Persians, Persian Islamic scholar and Sufism, mystic from Sistan, who eventually ended up settling in the Indian subcontinent in the early 13th-century, where he promulgated the Chishti Order, Chishtiyya order of Sunni mysticism. This particular ''Tariqa'' (order) became the dominant Islamic spiritual order in medieval India. Most of the Indian wali, Sunni saints are Chishti in their affiliation, including Nizamuddin Awliya (d. 1325) and Amir Khusrow (d. 1325). Having arrived in the Delhi Sultanate during the reign of the sultan Iltutmish (d. 1236), Muʿīn al-Dīn moved from Delhi to Ajmer shortly thereafter, at which point he became increasingly influenced by the writings of the Sunni Hanbali ulama, scholar and Mysticism, mystic Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, ʿAbdallāh Anṣārī (d. 1088), whose work on the lives of the early Islamic saints, the ''Ṭabāqāt a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diwan-i-Am (Red Fort)
The ''Diwan-i-Am'', or Hall of Audience, is a building in the Red Fort of Delhi where the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1592–1666) and his successors received members of the general public and heard their grievances. The inner main court to which the ''Nakkarkhana'' led was 540 feet broad, 420 feet deep, and surrounded by arcade galleries, where chieftains (''umaras'') on duty were posted. On the further side of it is the ''Diwan-i-Am''. The ''Diwan-i-Am'' consists of a front hall, open on three sides and backed by a set of rooms faced in red sandstone. The hall is 100 ft x 60 ft and divided into 27 square bays on a system of columns which support the arches. The roof is spanned by sandstone beams. The proportions of this hall, of its columns, and of the engraved arches show high aesthetics and fine craftsmanship. With an impressive façade of nine engraved arch openings, the hall was ornamented with gilded and white shell lime '' chunam'' plaster work. Its ceiling a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durbar (court)
Durbar is a Persian-derived term (from ) referring to the noble court of a king or ruler or a formal meeting where the king held all discussions regarding the state. It was used in South Asia for a ruler's court or feudal levy. A durbar may be either a feudal state council for administering the affairs of a princely state, or a purely ceremonial gathering, as was increasingly the case during British rule in India. The most famous durbars belonged to powerful emperors and kings. In the north of India, cities like Baroda, Gwalior, Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Agra, and the city of Lahore in Pakistan have palaces and forts that adorn such halls. The Mughal emperor Akbar had two halls—one for his ministers, and the other for the general public. Usually, durbar halls are lavishly decorated with the best possible materials available at the time. In the south of India, the Mysore Palace had a number of such halls, especially the Peacock Hall, having colour tinted glasses i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaista Khan
Mirza Abu Talib (b. 22 November 1600 – d. 1694), better known as Shaista Khan, was a general and the Subahdar of Mughal Bengal. He was maternal uncle to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, and acted as a key figure during his reign. Shaista Khan initially governed Deccan Plateau, the Deccan, where he clashed with the Maratha ruler Shivaji. However, he was most notable for his tenure as the governor of Bengal from 1664 to 1688. Under Shaista Khan's authority, the city of Dhaka and Mughal Empire, Mughal power in the province attained its greatest heights. His achievements include construction of notable mosques such as the Sat Gambuj Mosque and masterminding the conquest of Chittagong. Shaista Khan was also responsible for sparking the Anglo-Mughal War (1686–1690), Anglo-Mughal War with the East India Company, English East India Company. Early life According to the diary of William Hedges (colonial administrator), William Hedges, the first governor of the East India Company in Bengal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murad Bakhsh
Mirza Muhammad Murad Bakhsh (9 October 1624 – 14 December 1661) was a Mughal Empire, Mughal prince and the youngest surviving son of Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal. He was the Subahdar of Balkh, till he was replaced by his elder brother Aurangzeb in the year 1647. Family Muhammad Murad Bakhsh was born on 9 October 1624, at the Rohtasgarh Fort in Bihar, as the sixth and youngest surviving son of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Murad's siblings included his two politically powerful sisters, the princesses Jahanara Begum and Roshanara Begum, as well as the heir-apparent to his father, his eldest brother, Crown Prince Dara Shikoh and the future Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Personal life In 1638, Murad Bakhsh, at the age of fourteen years, married the Safavid princess, Sakina Banu Begum, daughter of Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safavi, Shah Nawaz Khan Safavi. She was the younger sister of his elder sister-in-law, Dilras Banu Begum, who wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
François Bernier
François Bernier (25 September 162022 September 1688) was a French physician and traveller. He was born in Joué-Etiau in Anjou. He stayed (14 October 165820 February 1670) for around 12 years in India. His 1684 publication "Nouvelle division de la terre par les différentes espèces ou races qui l'habitent" ("New Division of the Earth by the Different Species or Races of Man that Inhabit It") is considered the first published post- Classical classification of humans into distinct races. He also wrote ''Travels in the Mughal Empire'', which is mainly about the reigns of Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb. It is based on his own extensive journeys and observations, and on information from eminent Mughal courtiers who had witnessed the events firsthand. Bernier abridged and translated the philosophical writings of his friend Pierre Gassendi from Latin into French. Initial editions of Bernier's ''Abregé de la Philosophie de Gassendi'' were published in Paris in 1674 by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadira Banu Begum
Nadira Banu Begum (14 March 1618 – 6 June 1659) was a Mughal princess and the wife of Crown Prince Dara Shikoh, the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. After Aurangzeb's rise to power, Dara Shikoh's immediate family and supporters were in danger. Nadira died in 1659, a few months before her husband's execution, and was survived by two sons and a daughter. Family and lineage Nadira Banu Begum was born a Mughal princess and the daughter of Sultan Parvez Mirza, the second son of Emperor Jahangir from his wife Sahib-i-Jamal Begum. Her mother, Jahan Banu Begum, was also a Mughal princess and the daughter of Sultan Murad Mirza, the second son of Emperor Akbar. Nadira was a half-cousin of her future husband, Dara Shikoh, as her father was the older half-brother of Shikoh's father, Shah Jahan. Marriage In 1631 arrangements for the planned wedding of Dara Shikoh and Nadira Begum were halted when Shikoh's mother, Empress Mumtaz Mahal, died while giving birth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Literature
Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India has 22 officially recognised languages. Sahitya Akademi, India's highest literary body, also has 24 recognised literary languages. The earliest works of Indian literature were orally transmitted. Sanskrit literature begins with the oral literature of the Rig Veda, a collection of literature dating to the period 1500–1200 BCE. The Sanskrit epics ''Ramayana'' and '' Mahabharata'' were subsequently codified and appeared towards the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. Classical Sanskrit literature developed rapidly during the first few centuries of the first millennium BCE, as did the Pāli Canon and Tamil Sangam literature. Ancient Meitei appeared in the 1st century CE with sacred musical compositions like the Ougri,———— and heroic narratives like the Numit Kappa.———— In th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
