DOCSLIB.ORG

Gendered 'Landscape': Jahanara Begum's Patronage, Piety and Self

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Gendered 'Landscape': Jahanara Begum's Patronage, Piety and Self DISSERTATION Titel der Dissertation ―Gendered ‗Landscapes‘: Jahan Ara Begum‘s (1614-1681) Patronage, Piety and Self-Representation in 17th C Mughal India‖ Band 1 von 1 Verfasser Afshan Bokhari angestrebter akademischer Grad Doktor der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) Wien, 2009 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 092315 Dissertationsgebiet lt. Studienblatt: Kunstgeschichte Betreuerin/Betreuer: Univ. Prof. Dr. Ebba Koch TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page 0 Table of Contents 1-2 Curriculum Vitae 3-5 Acknowledgements 6-7 Abstract 8 List of Illustration 9-12 Introduction 13-24 Figures 313-358 Bibliography 359-372 Chapter One: 25-113 The Presence and Paradigm of The „Absent‟ Timurid-Mughal Female 1.1 Recent and Past Historiographies: Ruby Lal, Ignaz Goldziher, Leslie Pierce, Stephen Blake 1.2 Biographical Sketches: Timurid and Mughal Female Precedents: Domesticity and Politics 1.2.1 Timurid Women (14th-15th century) 1.2.2 Mughal Women (16th – 17th century) 1.2.3 Nur Jahan (1577-1645): A Prescient Feminist or Nemesis? 1.2.4 Jahan Ara Begum (1614-1681): Establishing Precedents and Political Propriety 1.2.5 The Body Politic: The Political and Commercial Negotiations of Jahan Ara‘s Well-Being 1.2.6 Imbuing the Poetic Landscape: Jahan Ara‘s Recovery 1.3 Conclusion Chapter Two: 114-191 „Visions‟ of Timurid Legacy: Jahan Ara Begum‟s Piety and „Self- Representation‟ 2.1 Risala-i-Sahibiyāh: Legacy-Building ‗Political‘ Piety and Sufi Realization 2.2 Galvanizing State to Household: Pietistic Imperatives Dynastic Legitimacy 2.3 Sufism, Its Gendered Dimensions and Jahan Ara‘s Spiritual Authority 2.4 Prescriptive vs. Practiced Islam and Divine Union with the ‗Beloved‘ 2.5 Qadriyāh, Chishtiyāh and Naqshbandiyāh: Shifting Spiritual Preferences 2.6 Authenticating Spiritual Authority 2.7 Light of the ‗Timuria‘: Sustaining Legacy and Legitimacy 2.8 Conclusion Chapter Three: 192-306 The „Reifications‟ of Jahan Ara Begum‟s „Persona‟ and Self-Representation 3.1 Recasting the Patriarchal Gaze: The Princess' Patronage and its Proximity 3.2 Asserting Authority in the harem and in European Writings 3.3 Nur Jahan‘s Precedents of Prolific Patronage and Extensions of the Imperial Harem 3.4 Gardens as a Loci and ‗Diagram‘ for Mughal Control and Prestige 1 3.5 Comparative Commissions and ‗Optical Politics‘: Jahan Ara vs. Nur Jahan 3.6 Agra Mosque (1648): ‗An Orchestrated Gaze‘ on an Imperial Stage 3.7 Imperial Precedents and Patterns in Mosque Design: Ajmeri (1637), Moti (1648- 55) Taj Mahal Mosque (1648) and Delhi Mosque (1656) 3.8 Mullah Shah Badakhshi Mosque and Khanaqah, Srinagar, Kashmir (1650). 3.9 Icons of Ideology and Imperial Authority: The Bangla Roof and its Precedents 3.9.1 Conclusion THESIS CONCLUSIONS: 307-312 2 Curriculum Vitae EDUCATION Wellesley College JUNE ‗88 Bachelor of Arts in Architecture Honors Thesis: ‘The Gothic Arch or an Islamic Icon?” Advisor: Peter Fergusson Harvard University JUNE ‗97 Masters in Design Studies Area: History, Theory and Criticism Thesis: „Architecture of Gordon Bunshaft: Locating „Asian‟ Aesthetic and Affinities‟ Advisors: Malcolm McCullough (Harvard) Boston University JUNE ‘05 Masters in Art History MA Thesis: „Memory, Nostalgia & the Islamic „Souvenir”: An aesthetic framework for the Venetian Landscape‟ Advisors: Jodi Cranston (Art History) University of Vienna Jan. ‗09 Institute of Fine Arts ABD/PhD Dissertation: “Gendered‟ Landscapes‟: Jahan Ara Begum‟s Patronage, Piety and Self-Representation in 17thC. Mughal India” Advisors: Ebba Koch (Univ. of Vienna Art History), Sunil Sharma (BU, Literature) TEACHING: SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY, Boston, MA SEPT. ‘05-Present Assistant Professor Art History I and II (Pre-historic to Contemporary) Court to Empire: Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Arts Contemporary Indian and Islamic Art: Framing and „Reclaiming‟ Identities Arts of the Silk Road Women in Art and Society: Eastern and Western Perspectives DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, Hanover, MA SEPT.‘06-‘08 Senior Lecturer-Art History Dept. Honors Thesis: Second Reader and Advisor (History Dept.): ―Perceptions and Personas of the Mughal Empress Nur Jahan, 17th C. India.‘ The „Sensual‟ in the Sacred and Secular: Female Agency in the Arts of IndiaThis course introduces Indian art and visual culture from the 1st to the 20th century. The primary objectives of the course is to see how the arts reflect and engage with Indian notions of gender and body politics, visions of love, and sexuality, power, and memory. Art History I & II WELLESLEY COLLEGE, Wellesley, MA SEPT. ‘03-JUNE ‗05 Visiting Lecturer- Art History Dept. Honors Thesis: Second Reader and Advisor (Art History Dept.): ―Objects of Veneration and Souvenirs of Christian Pilgrims: Enlisting Divine Aid and Memory in 11th and 12th C. Spain‖. 3 The Observed and the Envisioned: Female Identity in 16th-19th C. Rajput and Mughal Miniature Paintings Piety, Paradise and Palaces: Islamic Art and Architecture (650-1750) Court to Empire: Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Arts Art History I and II (Pre-historic to Contemporary) CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE HOOD MUSEUM, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH SEPT.‘06-AUG.08 Adjunct Curator Survey, catalogue and digitally document the diverse ‗connoisseur‘ collection of art and photographs from Iran, India and China dated pre-1945. Mellon grant submitted and awarded to develop exhibition, lectures and film series surrounding the collection show titled, "Artists and Gender Economy in Colonial India 18th-20th century Kashmiri shawl production‖. Developing the exhibition in collaboration with the History, Economics and Anthropology departments and the Dartmouth Cultural Center. DAVIS MUSEUM AND CULTURE CENTER, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA SEPT.‘03-‗05 Adjunct Curator Developed an exhibition and catalogue titled: ‗The Observed and the Envisioned: Representations of Mughal and Rajput Women –16th - 19th C. India‟, scheduled to open on March 9, 2005. The ―Observed and the Envisioned‖, examined traditional miniature paintings and considered how socio-religious ideology shaped and informed female identity under the male artist‘s gaze during the 16th- 19th century in India. The exhibition continued this discourse into the 21st century with a look at contemporary work by Pakistani artist Ambreen Butt whose work extends the tradition of miniature painting and its focus on women within a non-western context. The exhibition provokes important questions about representations of identity across social and religious boundaries, impacting the viewer‘s reading not only of persona, but also issues of gender, religion, place and body politics where issues of gender are reconsidered and, ‗reclaimed‘. MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, Boston, MA JUNE‘01-APR. ‗02 Adjunct Curator- Using the classical national epic—Shahnameh (Book of Kings)- to interpret aesthetic and gender values in 16th C. Persian Textiles for exhibition, “Poetry of the Loom”. The 11th C. Persian poem, the Shahnameh was used to interpret the narrative ‗weave‘ of the iconography of sixteenth-century Persian textiles as fashion and function. PUBLICATIONS Marg Publications, Sept. ‟08. ―The ‗Light‘ of the Timuria: Jahan Ara Begum‘s Patronage, Piety and Poetry in 17th C. Mughal India‖, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, Dec. 2007. Maham Anaga Fatima Jinaah Hurrem Sultana ABC-CLIO Publisher, Dec. 2007. ―Islam: Saints and Love‖, Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions, Davis Museum Journal Spring, 2005. ―The Observed and Envisioned: Female Identity in 16th – 19th century Indian Miniature Paintings‖, Wellesley College. 4 CONFERENCES American Association of Religion, Annual Conference Nov. „08: ‗Fathers and Daughters in Islam‖ University of Pennsylvania, History of Art Symposium Fall ‟08: “Visions of Legacy: Female Patronage in Mughal-Timurid Dynasties”. October ‘08. Dartmouth College. “Framing the Divine: The Poetic and Pious Discursive in Medieval Delhi, 17th C”. CAA/Historians of Islamic Art Associations, ―Reading Sufi Subtext: The Case of the Agra Mosque and Mullah Shah Mosque/Khanaqah, Srinagar, Kashmir. Feb. 2007 American Council of South Asian Arts: ―‗Gendered Landscapes‘: Jahan Ara Begum‘s Patronage and Piety in 17th C. Mughal India. March. 2007 Association of Asian Studies: ―From Shariah to Tariqah: The Passionate Piety of a Princess: 17th C. Risalah- i-Sahibiyah” March 2007. AWARDS: AICA-International Association of Art Critics MAY ‗06 Best Historic Museum Show for ‗The Observed & Envisioned: 16th to 19th Century Indian Miniature Paintings of Mughal and Rajput Women at the Davis Museum and Cultural Center. Mellon Grant for Asian Arts and Cultural Studies (Hood Museum) 2006 Fulbright Research Scholarship: Japanese Cultural Studies ‘94 – ‗96 LANGUAGES Persian, Arabic, Urdu, French and Japanese. AFFILIATIONS: Museum Council Steering Committee (MFA, Boston), Advisory Council for Asian Arts (Institute of Contemporary Arts, Boston),HIAA, CAA, AAS, ACSAA. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the constant scholarly support, encouragement and advice of many individuals located across several continents. First and foremost I am grateful for my advisor, Professor Ebba Koch at the University of Vienna and the pivotal role she played from the beginning to the end of my dissertation. Professor Koch‘s scholarly dedication and passion of as well as compelling research on Mughal history has been infectious and provided the impetus to pursue my own research in this area. Professor Koch‘s lecture in 2004 on the Mughal Hunt at Harvard University allowed our first meeting where we discussed the possibilities of pursuing the
Load more

Recommended publications
  • In the Name of Krishna: the Cultural Landscape of a North Indian Pilgrimage Town
    In the Name of Krishna: The Cultural Landscape of a North Indian Pilgrimage Town A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Sugata Ray IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Frederick M. Asher, Advisor April 2012 © Sugata Ray 2012 Acknowledgements They say writing a dissertation is a lonely and arduous task. But, I am fortunate to have found friends, colleagues, and mentors who have inspired me to make this laborious task far from arduous. It was Frederick M. Asher, my advisor, who inspired me to turn to places where art historians do not usually venture. The temple city of Khajuraho is not just the exquisite 11th-century temples at the site. Rather, the 11th-century temples are part of a larger visuality that extends to contemporary civic monuments in the city center, Rick suggested in the first class that I took with him. I learnt to move across time and space. To understand modern Vrindavan, one would have to look at its Mughal past; to understand temple architecture, one would have to look for rebellions in the colonial archive. Catherine B. Asher gave me the gift of the Mughal world – a world that I only barely knew before I met her. Today, I speak of the Islamicate world of colonial Vrindavan. Cathy walked me through Mughal mosques, tombs, and gardens on many cold wintry days in Minneapolis and on a hot summer day in Sasaram, Bihar. The Islamicate Krishna in my dissertation thus came into being.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Mughal Architecture Vol.1
    GOVERI\ll\/IEI\iT OF iP^DIA H B Central Archaeological Library Archaeological Survey of India JANPATH, NEW DELHI. Accession No. c. K '7^' ' 3 3 'I Call No. GI'^ f HISTORY OF MHGIIAL ARci n ri-:cTTRr: ISBN 0-3^1-02650-X First Published in India 1982 © R Nath All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any former by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo- copying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publishers JacViet & inside design; Yashodamohan Colour Plates Printed byD. K. Fine Arts Press, New Delhi Publishers Shakti Malik Abhinav Publications E-37, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-1 10016 Printers Hans Raj Gupta & Sons Anand Parbat New Delhi-110005 A B H i N A V abhiNQv pubLicoiioNs PubtiC AlioNS HISTORY Ol' MUGHAL VOL.l R NATH fibril ' -•.% hwit -~ <T»rt»:i3a TO BABUR The King and the Prince of Gardens whose advent in India marks the dawn of one of the most glorious epochs of Indian History; The Poet and the Aesthete who possessed an extraordinary aesthetic outlook of life which in due course became one of the distinctive characteristics of Mughal Culture; and The Dervish: “Darvishan-ra agar neh az khwaishanem; Lek az dil-o-jan mautqid aishanem; Dur-ast makoi shahi az dervaisti; Shahim vali bandah darvaishanem.” Babur Preface This is first volume of the A-wolume series: HISTORY OF MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE. It aspires to make a stylistic study of the monu- ments (mosques, tombs, gardens, palaces and other buildings) of Babur and Humayun and also includes those which were built at Delhi during the first two decades of Akbar’s reign but did not belong to his style (a list of principal buildings included in the study is given).
    [Show full text]
  • Research Paper REGENERATION of TRADITIONAL MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
    IJERSS Volume 1 | Issue 3 March 2014 Research Paper REGENERATION OF TRADITIONAL MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE AT YAMUNA RIVER FRONT, KeyWords : Mughal, Traditional AGRA Architecture, Architectural Identity , Preservation Mohd Khalid Hasan Department of Architecture, Z.H. College Engineering & Technology,Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India ABSTRACT India has been the home of many civilizations throughout the centuries and is loaded with substantial cultural and traditional accumulation. Settlements in different regions of India are the most significant indicators of this accumulation. These civilizations developed a strong traditional architectural heritage over a period of time in different parts of India and Mughal Architecture is one of them. This traditional architecture is being seriously threatened by the outpouring of modern ideas and space-age technology. The dilution effects are most visible i.e. the import of modern materials, the dependence on modern technology, / ignorance of traditional architecture and the shrinking number of artisans have all contributed to the deterioration of our traditional building styles and practices. To maintain our sovereign and independent identity one must sense the danger of losing traditional values and culture and right steps to be taken to preserve and promote the distinctive identity. This paper would be high lighting traditional architecture developed along the Yamuna River during Mughal period and the site can be regenerated to preserve the glory of past Mughal traditional architecture. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I. INTRODUCTION Traditional Architecture of Mughal period in India is a pattern of resource that was developed in response to various factors to meet human needs of the time. It was not only developed to cater the requirements of that period, but was having a broader vision to fulfill the demands of future generation.
    [Show full text]
  • ANSWERED ON:23.08.2007 HISTORICAL PLACES in up Verma Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh
    GOVERNMENT OF INDIA CULTURE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO:1586 ANSWERED ON:23.08.2007 HISTORICAL PLACES IN UP Verma Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state: (a) the details of Centrally protected monuments in Uttar Pradesh (UP) at present; (b) the agency responsible for the maintenance of these places; (c) the amount spent on the maintenance of these monuments during the last three years; and (d) the details of revenue earned from these monuments during each of the last three years? Answer MINISTER FOR TOURISM AND CULTURE (SHRIMATI AMBIKA SONI) (a)&(b) There are 742 monuments/sites declared as of national importance in the Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) as per list at Annexure. Archaeological Survey of India looks after their proper upkeep, maintenance, conservation and preservation. (c) The expenditure incurred on conservation, preservation, maintenance and environmental development of these centrally protected monuments during the last three years is as under: Rupees in Lakhs Year Total 2004-05 1392.48 2005-06 331.14 2006-07 1300.36 (d) The details of revenue earned from these monuments during the last three years are as under: Rupees in Lakhs Year Total 2004-05 2526.33 2005-06 2619.92 2006-07 2956.46 ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a)&(b) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTIO NO.1586 FOR 23.8.2007 LIST OF CENTRALLY PROTECTED MONUMENTS IN UTTAR PRADESH Agra Circle Name of monument/site Locality District 1. Agra Fort Including Akbari Mahal Agra Agra Anguri Bagh Baoli of the Diwan-i-Am Quadrangle.
    [Show full text]
  • Taj Heritage Corridor: Intersections Between History and Culture on the Yamuna Riverfront
    Taj Heritage Corridor: Intersections between History and Culture on the Yamuna Riverfront Terence Harkness and Amita Sinha Present-day Agra’s fame rests entirely upon the presence new shops and an amusement complex. However, this was of the Taj Mahal. However, the city is also home to a rich done without conducting an environmental assessment collection of lesser-known and seldom-visited Mughal or making the plan public, and the media raised a mas- monuments, many of which are situated on the Yamuna sive hue and cry, causing the project to be stalled and an riverfront within a relatively short distance of each other. inquiry ordered.1 This project eventually proved extremely How this riverfront landscape became the locus of such controversial, raising fears of excessive commercialization, an astounding cultural heritage is a story that is rarely blocked views of the Taj from Agra Fort, and fl ooding of presented to those who visit the area to see the mag- Mahtab Bagh. nifi cent Taj. Yet, given the high volume of international Though the extensive media coverage of that debacle and domestic tourism focused on the Taj and the Indian has succeeded in raising public awareness, it has not government’s interest in expanding this to include other included constructive debate on the possible course of nearby heritage sites, close examination of this landscape action that would make the riverfront accessible to both and the dynamics of its contemporary use is essential to citizens of Agra and tourists and create an appropriate future preservation efforts. greenbelt around the Taj. Historically, the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Yamuna riverfront in Agra was the private landscape The Historic Yamuna Riverfront of royalty and nobility, constituted by pleasure, palace, The Yamuna riverfront in Agra was fi rst described in and tomb gardens lining both banks.
    [Show full text]
  • INFORMATION to USERS the Most Advanced Technology Has Been Used to Photo­ Graph and Reproduce This Manuscript from the Microfilm Master
    INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photo­ graph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMI films the original text directly from the copy submitted. Thus, some dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from a computer printer. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyrighted material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are re­ produced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each oversize page is available as one exposure on a standard 35 mm slide or as a 17" x 23" black and white photographic print for an additional charge. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. 35 mm slides or 6" X 9" black and w h itephotographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Accessing the World'sUMI Information since 1938 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA Order Number 8824569 The architecture of Firuz Shah Tughluq McKibben, William Jeffrey, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1988 Copyright ©1988 by McKibben, William Jeflfrey. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Development, Disparity and Vulnerability: Women in South Asia
    2016 UNDP Human Development Report BACKGROUND PAPER Human development, disparity and vulnerability: women in South Asia By Ayesha Banu HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, DISPARITY AND VULNERABILITY: WOMEN IN SOUTH ASIA Ayesha Banu is Associate Professor, Department of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. She received her PhD from Dhaka University in 2015 and completed her first master’s degree in sociology at Dhaka University in 1989. She was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship and pursued her second master’s in Gender and Development at the Institute of Development Studies from 1993 to 1994. Her areas of interest are women’s movements, feminist theory, poverty, and issues related to gender and development. The author acknowledges the support of Iffat Rumman and Sadiatun Rasna, master’s students of the Department of Women and Gender Studies, in preparing this paper. ABSTRACT This paper provides a literature review of intrahousehold gender disparities in South Asia. The paper draws on quantitative and qualitative research focusing on three countries—Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka—as well as Pakistan to a lesser extent. The paper captures the disparities within households between men and women as well as boys and girls. It also examines the short- and long-term impacts of these disparities on intragenerational and intergenerational inequalities, and differences of capabilities and opportunities among genders. The main areas of exploration are inequalities in health, education and work. The paper concludes with a selection of policy recommendations, actions and lessons learned from the region that can help close gender gaps based on household inequalities. 2016 Human Development Report 2 BACKGROUND PAPER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, DISPARITY AND VULNERABILITY: WOMEN IN SOUTH ASIA Introduction: incredible progress yet persisting inequalities Today’s world has experienced incredible strides forward in combating hunger, ensuring good health, providing access to drinking water and sanitation, offering education, and establishing human rights and dignity.
    [Show full text]
  • Jahanpanah Part of the Sarai Shahji Village As a Place for Travellers to Stay
    CORONATION PARK 3. SARAI SHAHJI MAHAL 5. KHARBUZE KA GUMBAD a walk around The Sarai Shahji Mahal is best approached from the main Geetanjali This is an interesting, yet bizarre little structure, Road that cuts through Malviya Nagar rather than from the Begumpur located within the premises of a Montessori village. The mahal (palace) and many surrounding buildings were school in the residential neighbourhood of Jahanpanah part of the Sarai Shahji village as a place for travellers to stay. Of the Delhi Metro Sadhana Enclave in Malviya Nagar. It is essentially Route 6 two Mughal buildings, the fi rst is a rectangular building with a large a small pavilion structure and gets its name from Civil Ho Ho Bus Route courtyard in the centre that houses several graves. Towards the west, is the tiny dome, carved out of solid stone and Lines a three-bay dalan (colonnaded verandah) with pyramidal roofs, which placed at its very top, that has the appearance of Heritage Route was once a mosque. a half-sliced melon. It is believed that Sheikh The other building is a slightly more elaborate apartment in the Kabir-ud-din Auliya, buried in the Lal form of a tower. The single room is entered through a set of three Gumbad spent his days under this doorways set within a large arch. The noticeable feature here is a dome and the night in the cave located SHAHJAHANABAD Red Fort balcony-like projection over the doorway which is supported by below it. The building has been dated carved red sandstone brackets.
    [Show full text]
  • A Report on Visit to Humayun's Tomb
    A REPORT ON VISIT TO HUMAYUN’S TOMB Splendid Humayun’s Tomb "Monuments are the grappling-irons that bind one generation to another." Joseph Joubert 136 students of Class –V and 11 staff members visited Humayun’s Tomb situated in New Delhi on 20th September 2014. The magnificent tomb was commissioned by the great Mughal emperor Humayun’s first wife, Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 AD. The first ever garden-tomb of the Indian subcontinent which inspired the construction of the spectacular Taj Mahal also inspired the students to explore more. They learnt that the monument was designed by Mirza Mirak Ghiyath. The Red sand stone and White marble was used in huge quantities for the first time in the construction of this monument. As a part of the ISA Activity the students also learnt about the mathematical 3D shapes used in the architecture of this magnificent monument. The students first visited the tomb and mosque of Isa Khan which is an awesome example of simple to complex use of 3 Dimensional Mathematical shapes. The children were also explained that the shape of the monument is a regular octagon with four long and short sides. The octagonal tomb is surmounted by a double dome which makes a full circle when completed on the other side too. It was indeed amazing to see the finest Mughal garden tomb in India which Isa Khan’s Tomb is known for its architectural styles and gardens. Conservation of Humayun’s Tomb –‘Preserving the past for the future’ The children were also sensitized towards the fact that the structure has undergone tremendous deterioration over the years.
    [Show full text]
  • Taftazani, a Commentary on the Creed of Islam
    > Commentary on the Creed of Islam NUMBER XLIII OF THE RECORDS OF CIVILIZATION SOURCES AND STUDIES AUSTIN P. EVANS, Editor Commentary on the Creed of Islam Sa'd al-T)in a on the Creed of al-T)in al-T^asaji TRANSLATED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY EARL EDGAR ELDER MCML Columbia University Tress, COPYRIGHT 1950 BY COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS, NEW YORK Published in Great Britain, Canada, and India by Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press London, Toronto, and Bombay MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA RECORDS OF CIVILIZATION SOURCES AND STUDIES EDITED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Editor AUSTIN P. EVANS, PH.D. Professor of History Advisory Board DINO BIGONGIARI, Da Ponte Professor of Italian ROBERT HERNDON FIFE, L.H.D., Gebhard Professor of the Germanic Languages and Literatures CARLTON J. H. HAYES, LITT.D., Seth Low Professor of History ROGER SHERMAN LOOMIS, B.LITT., Professor of English ROBERT MORRISON MAcIVER, LITT.D., Lieber Professor of Political Philosophy and Sociology DAVID S. MUZZEY, PH.D., Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History JAMES T. SHOTWELL, LL.D., Bryce Professor Emeritus of the History of International Relations LYNN THORNDIKE, L.H.D., Professor of History WILLIAM L. WESTERMANN, L.H.D., Professor Emeritus of Ancient History To 0. N. E. Preface URING D, recent years there has been a revival of interest in things mediaeval. The Neo-Thomist school of philosophy is but one evidence of this. Different scholars have reminded us that the Middle Ages arc not a backwater nor a bayou having little connection with the great stream of intellectual movements in our civilized world.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mughal Audience Hall: a Solomonic Revival of Persepolis in the Form of a Mosque1
    THE MUGHAL AUDIENCE HALL: A SOLOMONIC REVIVAL OF PERSEPOLIS IN THE FORM OF A MOSQUE1 Ebba Koch Shah Jahan’s Court After Shah Jahan (rul. 1628–58), the fifth emperor of the Mughal dynasty, was enthroned on 8th Jumada al-Thani of the Hijri year 1037, corresponding to 14 February 1628 CE, he issued an order that halls for his public audiences should be constructed in all the great fortress palaces of the capitals of the Mughal empire. The audience hall was a new building type in the Mughal palace, of central importance for the proceedings of the Mughal court and for the interaction of the emperor with his subjects. Under the rule of Shah Jahan, the Mughal empire entered its classi- cal phase of greatest prosperity and stability.2 The conquests of Babur (1526), enlarged and consolidated under Akbar (rul. 1556–1605) and Jahangir (rul. 1605–1627), had established the Empire of the Great Moghul (or Mughal) as one of the three leading powers of the Islamic world, the other two being the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia. The informal set up of Babur asprimus inter pares among his Central Asian followers, had—in particular through the efforts of Akbar— developed into the court of an absolute ruler who, as head of a cen- tralized state, personally and diligently oversaw the administration of 1 This paper is based on an earlier study of the audience halls of Shah Jahan with detailed references, see Ebba Koch, ‘Diwan-i ‘Amm and Chihil Sutun: The Audience Halls of Shah Jahan’, Muqarnas 11 (1994) pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Second Lahore Biennale: Between the Sun and the Moon Curated by Hoor Al Qasimi Features 20+ New Commissions and Work by More Than 70 International Artists
    For Immediate Release 6 January 2020 Second Lahore Biennale: between the sun and the moon Curated by Hoor Al Qasimi Features 20+ New Commissions and Work by More Than 70 International Artists Installed Across Cultural and Heritage Sites Throughout Lahore, Pakistan, from 26 January to 29 February 2020 Lahore, Pakistan—6 January 2020—The Lahore Biennale Foundation today revealed a list of over 70 participating artists for the second edition of the Lahore Biennale (LB02), running from 26 January through 29 February 2020. Curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, LB02: between the sun and the moon brings a plethora of artistic projects to cultural and heritage sites throughout the city of Lahore including more than 20 new commissions by artists from across the region and around the world, including Alia Farid, Diana Al-Hadid, Hassan Hajjaj, Haroon Mirza, Hajra Waheed and Simone Fattal, among many others. Other participating artists include Anwar Saeed, Rasheed Araeen and the late Madiha Aijaz. With a focus on the Global South, where ongoing social disaffection is being aggravated by climate change, LB02 responds to the cultural and ecological history of Lahore and aims to awaken awareness of humanity’s daunting contemporary predicament. Works presented in LB02 will explore human entanglement with the environment while revisiting traditional understandings of the self and their cosmological underpinnings. Inspiration for this thematic focus is drawn from intellectual and cultural exchange between South and West Asia. “For centuries, inhabitants of these regions oriented themselves with reference to the sun, the moon, and the constellations.
    [Show full text]