the mughal empire under shah jahan (1628–58)
TRANSCRIPT
The Mughal Empire under Shah Jahan (1628–58)New trends of research
International WorkshopMay 26 – 27, 2014
Institute of Iranian Studies / Austrian Academy of Sciences
Apostelgasse 23, 1030 Vienna, Austria
Shah Jahan in his window of appearance, painted by Payag, ca. 1640, Windsor Castle Padshahnama, fol. 214b, detail.
CONVENERS
Prof. Dr. Ebba Koch
Institute for Art History, Vienna University, Associate of the Institute of Iranian Studies
Dr. Stephan Popp
Research Fellow, Institute of Iranian Studies
Prof. Dr. Florian Schwarz
Director, Institute of Iranian Studies
Institute for Iranian Studies
Austrian Academy of Sciences
Apostelgasse 231030 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43 1 51581 6500 (Secretary)E-mail: iran.offi [email protected]/iran
The Mughal empire under Shah Jahan still is one of the least studied areas of Mughal history, the attention of historians has been directed mainly to Akbar and Aurangzeb, most recently also to Jahangir. One of the reasons for this neglect is that major historical texts regarding Shah Jahan are still un-edited and un-translated. But there also seems to be a more deeply rooted bias towards Shah Jahan. In contrast to the reign of Akbar which is considered to be the grand phase of Mughal state building, and the reign of Aurangzeb which is regarded as marking the beginning of Mughal decline, historians have seen the reign of Shah Jahan as a static and thus less interesting period which preserved the status quo established by Akbar. Art historians and cultural historians on the other hand have given more attention to Shah Jahan, for once they take the pride of place in an area of historical studies. From their fi ndings Shah Jahan‘s rule has emerged as a highly dynamic phase where an increasing centralisation in the administration goes hand in hand with a formalisation of court ceremonial, architecture and the arts which, highly aestheticized, show themselves as a persuasive statement of his ideal and universal kingship. Shah Jahan becomes visible as the great perfectionist and systematiser of the Mughal empire.
Since 2009 a research focus on Shah Jahan has formed at the Institute of Iranian Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences with a project on the emperor‘s palaces and gardens (Ebba Koch) and a project on historiography centering on the court historian Qazvini (Florian Schwarz, Stephan Popp).
The workshop will bring together, for the fi rst time, international scholars of the Mughal empire belonging to various disciplines for a discussion of the period of Shah Jahan. It is hoped that the meeting will widen the discussion and have a synergetic eff ect to intensify research on Shah Jahan.
PROGRAM
Monday, May 26
9:00 Welcome and Introduction Florian Schwarz, Ebba Koch
PANEL 1: FROM JAHANGIR TO SHAH JAHAN
9:30 Corinne Lefèvre, CNRS (Centre nationale de la recherche scientifi que), Paris, “From Jahangir to Shah Jahan: Discontinuities”
10:00 Anna Kollatz, University of Bonn, “Jahangir‘s Majlis – Representation of Religion in Majalis-i Jahangiri”
10:30 Coff ee break
10:45 Mehreen Chida-Razvi, SOAS, London, “A Question of Self-Expression: Shah Jahan and the Patronage of Jahangir’s Mausoleum”
11:15 Ali Anooshahr, University of California, Davis, “Serving Two Masters: Mirza Nathan in Bengal after Shah Jahan‘s Occupation”
11:45 Question and answer morning session
12:15 – 13:30 Lunch break
PANEL 2: HISTORIOGRAPHY, CHANCERY WRITING AND ADMINISTRATION
13:30 Stephan Popp, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, “The Representation of Shah Jahan in Qazvini’s Badshahnama”
14:00 Chander Shekhar, Delhi University, “Dibacha Writings in the Time of Shah Jahan: Mirror of Polity and Literary Culture”
14:30 Coff ee break
14:45 Roman Siebertz, University of Bonn, “Shah Jahan’s Bureaucracy: How to Obtain a Farman (Patent) from Shah Jahan”
15:15 Najaf Haider, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, “The Char Bahar of Balkrishan Brahaman: A New Source for the History of People and Places During Shahjahan‘s Reign”
15:45 Question and answer afternoon session
16:15 Coff ee break
16:30 – 18:00 Round table 1 with Sunil Kumar, Delhi University, discussant
Tuesday, May 27
PANEL 3: CEREMONIAL AND REPRESENTATION
9:00 Harit Joshi, INALCO (Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales), Paris, “The politics of ceremonial in Shah Jahan‘s court”
9:30 Saqib Baburi, SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), London, “Dating the ‘Windsor Castle’ Padshahnamah Manuscript: A Three Pipe Problem”
10:00 Ebba Koch, University of Vienna, “Palaces, Gardens and Property Rights under Shah Jahan”
10:30 Coff eee break
10:45 Susan Stronge, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, “Tiles in the Reign of Shah Jahan”
11:15 Sunil Sharma, Boston University, “The Death of a Poet Laureate: Literary Culture at Shah Jahan’s Court”
11:45 Question and answer morning session
12:15 – 13:30 Lunch break
PANEL 4: PRINCES, PRINCESSES AND MYSTICS
13:30 Meenakshi Khanna, Indraprastha College, Delhi University, “Intellectual and Religious Aspects of Shah Jahan’s Reign”
14:00 Jerry P. Losty, formerly British Library, London, “The Dara Shikoh Album: A Reinterpretation”
14:30 Farhat Hasan, Delhi University, “Gender, Faith and Power: A Mughal Princess’s Reconstruction of the Life of a Sufi Saint”
15:00 Question and answer afternoon session
15:30 Coff ee break
15:45 – 17:00 Round table 2 with Sunil Kumar, Delhi University, discussant
17:00 Closing remarks