The norms and traditions set during the period of the early Mughals set a standard for the Mughal art and culture which decisively influenced the succeeding generations. The Mughal art mingled the Turkish Mongol traditions with the Indian settings.

Development of Architecture: The Mughals were the rulers of refined taste. They patronized the softer arts of painting, literature, calligraphy, music and architecture. Abul Fazal has written that plans beautiful architecture models and edifices and dresses his mind and soul in the garment of clay and stone. Sheikh Sadi, the Persian poet has written that one who leave behind him great monuments and architecture works becomes immortal. Dr. Ishwari Prasad has written that the Mugha art and architecture are the continuation and culmination of the great historical synthesis of artistic traditions of . Mughal Art of Architectural Visualization Ferguson has expounded foreign origin theory. According to him, the Indian architecture building design is foreign in origin. Havel has expounded Indian origin theory. The is Indian both in body and soul. It was the very soul of the Mughal art and culture. John Marshall has written that no definite style can be attributed to the Mughal structure. The Mughal structures are dispersed throughout the country. Because of the regional diversity and varied interests of the Mughal princes, the style and execution varied from region to region and Emperor to Emperor. During the reign of Babur and , the Persian style was dominant. But in the reign of Akbar, Indo-Persian style began to blend due to the great cultural synthesis and the rise of Sulh-i-Kul. The style during Akbar’s reign can be labeled as National School of Architecture. Babur has written in Babur Nama that he was never satisfied with the standards of Indian architecture models. But he appreciated the standard of the beautiful buildings at constructed under the supervision of Raja Man Singh and Raja Vikramjit Singh. Babur invited Mimar Sinan, the Persian architect to design buildings in India and do some architecture work. But the plan failed because of untimely death of Babur. But it set a new standard for Mughal art and culture. Babur has written that he has employed 681 artists and 1496 masons to build his palaces in , Dholpur, Koil, Fatehpur and Bayana. Babur built three structures in India: 1. Kabuli Bagh () 2. Sambhal Mosque (UP) 3. Baburi Mosque () constructed by his general Mir Muhammad Baqi.

Humayun Humayun had built: 1. Din-i-Panahi It was the fort-cum-Palace, constructed in 1533. It was a five storey structure later destroyed by Sher Shah Sur. 2. (Agra and Hissar) He also built two mosques at Agra and Hissar. Both are designed with enamel tiles. These buildings have dominant Persian influence. 3. Humayun’s Tomb Humayun’s tomb was completed by his first wife and consort Bega Begum in 1565. It was constructed in Red Sand Stone and small white marble. Humayun’s tomb represents a transition in the Mughal style of architecture. It is a fine example of the double structure. The first double dome structure was constructed by Sikander Lodhi. The inner dome in Humayun’s tomb is quite distinct from the external one. The structure has four pillars along with four corners. Sher Shah Sur Sher Shah built the fort of Rohtasgarh on the western bank of Jhelum in western (). He also constructed Qila-i-Quran-i-Masjid (Old Fort) in . The third important structure was Sher Shah Sur’s tomb by his Prime Minister Dilawar Khan in Sasaram (). It was an important example of Sur art school. It has following features: 1. It has pure white marble. 2. It is around 30 feet high. 3. It is constructed in the centre of a lake. 4. Cunningham has written that this building is more beautiful than .

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar

Ishwari Prasad has written that the buildings of Akbar are important because these structures reflect the crowning sense of nationalism of the Emperor through the sense of his Sulh-i-Kul. Akbar’s structures are known for its grandeur, vastness and massiveness.

1. Fort: Akbar built four forts: (40 pillared (1564-1569), Allahabad Fort (1581-1585), Fort (1574-1579), and (1605). 2. : Akbar built Fatehpur Sikri in 1569 in the honor of Sufi Saint Sheikh Salim Chisti. Fatehpur Sikri consists of Diwan-i-Aam, Diwan-i-Khas, Panch Mahal (dominant Buddhist influence and slight Jain influence), Raja Birbal Palace, Turkey Sultana Palace, Sohana Palace (Palace of Queen Jodha Bai) and Jami Masjid (also known as Fatehpuri ki Shan/ Pride of Fatehpuri). The Mughal art and culture reached a new height with the construction of Fatehpur Sikri. 3. Buland Darwaza: The most outstanding and imposing structure of Akbar’s period is Buland Darwaza. This structure has dominant Persian and Gujarati style. It is built with red sandstone, semi portal and has a height of 176 feet. It is the highest gateway in the world. V.A. Smith has written that Fatehpur Sikri is the reflection of the mind of the great personality of Akbar. Fitch (the British) has called Fatehpur Sikri romance in stones and a great example of Mughal architectural visualization. 4. Fort Architecture: Agra Fort has the circumference of one and half miles surrounded by the 70 feet high brick wall. It has two gates: 1. Western gate/Delhi Gate/ Elephant Gate. 2. Eastern Gate/Amar Singh Gate Fitch had seen two stone structures of Fatta and Jayamal at the western gate. Bernier, the French Doctor had seen two elephant red stone statues at Delhi gates with riders over them. The Agra fort has 500 structures. Diwan-i- Aam and Diwan-i-Khas has dominant Hindu influence. The last important structure was Akbar’s tomb at Sikandra in Agra which was completed by . Ishwari Prasad has written that Akbar wanted to cover his tomb with white marble dome. Had he executed it, it would have been the most beautiful structure in the Mughal art and architecture school. Babur initiated the practice of hanging gardens (Ram Bagh in Delhi) but the credit goes to Akbar for laying beautiful gardens around architectural structures. Nuruddin Muhammad Jahangir Jahangir was more interested in Painting and he did not patronize the art of architecture. But his wife was a woman of refined taste. She constructed two structures: 1. Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula It was the first building with the extensive use of (the use of pictorial mosaic design with precious stones and multicolored flowers) to enhance architectural visualization. 2. at Shahdara

Shah Jahan The Persian influence began to decline during ’s reign which led to the rise of Indo-Islamic style. Buildings of Akbar are famous for their grandeur and vastness while the buildings of Shah Jahan are famous for their delicacy. The art and craft activities reached a new peak during his time. Dr. Ishwari Prasad has written that Mughal architecture during the reign of Shah Jahan possessed the lusture of the gems, light of the moon and the beauty of a woman. Shah Jahan is known as the engineer and architect king. His structures are known for their beauty and delicacy. During his period, the Mughal School of architecture adopted Indo-Islamic style and Persian influence declined completely. Shah Jahan built (12 beautiful gardens) in Delhi. He also built water tanks and planted beautiful gardens in Punjab, Delhi and . He planted Shalimar and Nishat Gardens in Kashmir. He also planted Shalimar Garden in Lahore and Mughal Garden in Pinjore. He built white marble mosque in the memory of Nizam-ud-din Auliya in Delhi and Muin-ud- din Chisti in Ajmer. He also constructed White Marble Jami Mosque in Ajmer. In 1639, the city of Shah Jahanabad was constructed which became the capital of Shah Jahan for a year. Shah Jahan’s age is known as the golden age of Indian architecture and Mughal art and culture. The construction of Taj Mahal started in 1631. According to the Spanish priest Manrique, the plans for the structure of Taj Mahal were prepared by the Italian architect Veromino Germoni. Abdul Hamid Lahori, the official biographer of Shah Jahan has written that the design of Taj Mahal was prepared by Ustad Isa. The tomb was designed by Islamil Khan, and the Quranic injunctions were prepared by Ahmed Shah Shirazi. Taj Mahal is perhaps the best example of architecture building design in the world. The beautiful plantation were done by the Kashmiri planter Rana Mal. Tavernier, the French doctor has written that it took 22 years, 20,000 labourers at a cost of Rs 3 crore. Abdul Hamid Lahori has written that it took around 12 years to complete the tomb alone. The use of Pietra Dura reached its culmination in Taj Mahal. Stanley Lane-Poole has called Taj Mahal the marble in dreams. Takht-i-Taus/Peacock Throne: Abdul Hamid Lahori has written that it had four golden legs and 12 columns. It also had a chatra with innumerable diamonds including Kohinoor. Abul Hamid Lahori has written that it took around 7 years and the cost of Rupees 1 crore to build Peacock throne. Alamgir 1. : This structure was constructed in in pure white marble. 2. : This mosque was constructed in Lahore in pure white marble. 3. Bibi ka : This structure is dedicated to Dilrus Bano Begum and is situated in . 4. Tomb of Aurangzeb: Aurangzeb constructed his own tomb. It is found in Aurangabad. Music History in India and Mughal art and culture: The Mughals were the great music lovers. Stanley Lane-Poole has written that Babur patronized music and compiled a text on it. Babur and Humayun Humayun had established a music academy and visited every Monday and Wednesday to honor leading musicians. Abul Fazal has written that Humayun ordered a general massacre in Mandu in 1535 but when he came across the great musician Bachu, he ordered the massacre to be stopped immediately. He became an early exponent of the Mughal art of music. Sur Dynasty Badayuni in Muntkhib-ut-Tawarikhsays that Sur rulers deviated from the pious Islamic ways and patronized the unislamic art of music. Shah Sur and Muhammad Adil Khan Sur were great patrons of the art of music. Adili patronized Bhagat and conferred a mansab of 1000 on him. The age of the Sur and the Mughal dynasty was the golden age of music India. Akbar Abul Fazal has written that his Majesty has provided every encouragement to this art. There were 36 prominent musicians in Akbar’s music academy. The most important among them were Baiju Bawra, Baz Bahadur, Pran Das and Sur Das. Abul Fazal has written that India has not produced a musician like in the last 1000 years. Tansen His original name was Ram Nath Pandey. He was born in Gwalior. Akbar forced the ruler of Rewa to surrender him to the Mughals. Akbar conferred the title Mirza upon him and he visited the Mughal court for the first time in 1562 and music became the soul of Mughal art and culture. He wrote Sangeet Sar and invented Rag Malhar, Rag Darbari, Mian ki Todi, Mian ki Malhar, Raag Deepak and Raag Kanad. He was the leading exponent of devised his father . Both Baiju Bawra and Tansen were the disciples of Swami Haridas. Tansen’s musical instrument was Rudra Veena. He was buried in Gwalior. Akbar was a proficient Nakkarah player and a great music lover. Abul Fazal has written that Baiju Bawra’s music could have melted the stones. Ram Das was patronized by Bairam Khan who gave him 1 Lakh gold mohars. Baz Bahadur was the musician king of Malwa and was also given the mansab of 500 by Akbar. Akbar and Tansen visited Sur Das in Agra and requested him to visit the Mughal court but he replied that Saints have nothing to do with the royalty and the royal courts.

Jahangir Jahangir patronized Hindi poet Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana. Muhammad Saleh was a poet who composed Hindi poems and was an authority on Raag Dhrupad. Nur Jahan composed Persian songs and patronized Persian poets and musicians in the royal court. Shah Jahan J.N. Sircar has written that his voice was so sweet that even the Sufi saints were captivated. Asaf Khan was a great patron of music. Pandit Jagan Nath, the Sanskrit poet and musician was conferred upon the title Kaviraj by Shah Jahan. He was weighed against gold and silver which was distributed among the artists of the Mughal art and culture. Other important musicians of Shah Jahan’s age were Pandit Mahapatra and Pandit Janardhan Bhatt. Aurangzeb According to Massir-i-Alamgiri by Muhammad Saqi, Aurangzeb was a proficient Veena player. In 1667 and 1669, singing was banned in the royal court and the royal Empire through instrumental music India continued.

Development of Painting The early history of the can be studied from Kabul in 1504 which had developed into a cultural centre even before the Babur’s invasion of India. The art of painting was patronized by the Timurid ruler, Ulugh Beg Khan II. Babur continued to patronize this art. Humayun met the master painting artist Bihzad. Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad came to India with Humayun and established the Indo- Timurid School of Painting. Akbar During his reign was developed National School of Painting. Abul Fazal has written in Ain-i-Akbari that His Majesty has provided every encouragement to this art. He considered it as a medium of understanding the universal mysteries and it adds to the divine knowledge. Akbar established the department of Painting under Abdus Samad Khan who composed Dastan-i-Amir Hamza. This text is preserved in the Khuda Baksh Museum and Library in Patna. Abul Samad Khan laid the foundations of the Mughal painting features. Akbar visited this department every Thursday and honored leading musicians in his art school. Abdus Samad for his beauty and tenderness in art was given the title Shirin Kalam. He was appointed Mir-i-Aatish and later Diwan of Multan. He composed Quranic Ains on poppy seeds. Abul Fazal has written that Akbar’s court had around 100 painters. 17 among them were Muslims and 83 were Hindus. The art and craft activities reach a new level in the reign of Akbar. The important Muslim painters and painting artists were Abdus Samad, Farrukhi Beg, Jamshed and Khausrau Quli. The leading Hindu painters in his court were Kesu Lal, Jagan Nath, Tara Chand, Basawan, Sanwal Das and Daswant. Daswant was the student of Basawan but the former became insane during his training. During Akbar’s reign, Mughal miniature paintings were introduced which reached its zenith in the reign of Jahangir and he became the founder-father of the Mughal miniature art. Jahangir The Mughal art of painting reached its peak in the reign of Jahangir. He writes in Tuzk-i- Jahangiri: “As far as I am concerned, my art of judging paintings has reached to such an extent that where I can easily tell whether the painting has been painted by a living or a dead painter or painted by several painters.” This statement is corroborated by Thomas Roe who has written that once he presented to Jahangir a European painting. The Emperor asked him to return after a week. When Roe visited the court after a week, he was given two more paintings and he could not find the original piece. The Mughal School of portrait and Mughal miniature painting technique reached its culmination in the reign of Jahangir. Ustad Mansur introduced the Mughal School of Portrait Painting. He was given the title Nadir-ul-Ashar. Other famous painters of the time were: 1. Aga Raza and Muhammad Hussain from Herat. 2. Muhammad Nadir and Muhammad Murad from Samarqand. Aga Raza was given the title of Nadir-ul- Zamana. He introduced European School of Painting in the reign of Jahangir. Painting became the most popular activity in the Mughal art and culture. The main theme of the European School was Light in the Heaven with images of Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Father along with halo and divine light in painting background. Bhisham Das, Manohar, Madhav and Govardhan were the leading painting artists of Jahangir’s time. Bhisham Das was sent to Persia to learn Persian School of Painting. Percy Brown has written that the very soul of Mughal art of painting passed away with the death of Jahangir. Shah Jahan He was a great patron of architecture. Thus, painting suffered a setback in his reign. Asaf Khan was a great patron of this art and got thousands of paintings painted on the walls of his palace. compiled a text on painting which is preserved in Windsor Museum, London. Bernier has written that during Shah Jahan’s time, the art of painting has declined to such an extent that the painters were forced to sell their painting to earn their living. Mir Hassan Hashim, Faqirullah, Chitra, Chintamani and Anup were the leading painters of the time. Aurangzeb The art of painting declined in the reign of Aurangzeb. An important painting of his reign was the painting of his son who was imprisoned on the orders of the Emperor and whose worsening health was depicted to his father on daily basis. The paintings on Akbar’s tomb in Sikandra were whitewashed on Aurangzeb’s orders. Philosophy of the Mughal Paintings The Mughal Painting features generally adopted court themes which dealt with the portraits of the Emperors and their family members. Thus, the main theme is the royal theme with halo and divine light in painting background. It became the basis for the future Mughal miniature art. The art of painting declined during the age of later Mughals. The royal painters began to take shelter in the courts of the provincial rulers. It led to the development of the Regional School of Painting. The Art of Sculpture Making Though sculpture and architecture are sisters- in-hand, it did not develop much in the . As a matter of fact, the sculpture artists were rarely patronized by the Mughals. Two stone statues of Jaimal and Fatta were seen near Delhi Gate by Fitch. Two white marble statues of Rana Amar Singh and Rana Karan Singh were installed in the royal palace centre during the reign of Jahangir. It was for the first time in the history of sculpture in India that a royal dynasty has not patronized this art. The Mughal School of Calligraphy The Mughals were the great patrons of this art. Qita was used for inscribing Islamic injunctions. Akbar was perhaps semi literate and dyslexic but he patronized this art. There were 12 calligraphers in his court as described by Abul Fazal. They were famous for beautiful calligraphy designs. There were 8 schools of calligraphy designs in Islam. Seven were the Persians developed by Muqla (the Persian Calligrapher) while 8th was Nastaliq (Indigenous School developed during Akbar’s reign). Jahangir and Shah Jahan were good calligraphers. They used to honour royal guests with their own calligraphy gifts. Aurangzeb was the greatest calligrapher of the dynasty. He used to earn his living by selling copies of handwritten Holy Quran. During the early years of his reign, he used to honor leading dignitaries with his own handwritten calligraphy gifts. However, the Mughal art and culture continued to decline during the after the reign of Aurangzeb.