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Emperors of Ṣūrat and Maʿnī : Jahangir and Shah Jahan as Temporal and Spiritual Rulers

Emperors of Ṣūrat and Maʿnī : Jahangir and Shah Jahan as Temporal and Spiritual Rulers This article begins with a discussion of a more-than-life-sized portrait of Jahangir (r. 1605–27) that is surrounded by verses in twenty-six cartouches. These verses are of special interest because they are the connecting link between a series of “allegorical paintings” made for Jahangir and the new concept of sovereignty devised for his father, Akbar, who had ordered the scholar Abuʼl-Fazl to develop a system of legitimization to emancipate him from the endorsement of the chief religious authorities of Islam. The pivotal terms of this new ideology, ṣūrat and maʿnī , are found throughout Abuʼl-Fazl’s Akbarnāma , and they turn up again in the cartouches of Jahangir’s portrait. To understand the meaning of these verses, it is necessary to consider the system of legitimation conceived by Abuʼl-Fazl. The verses then provide valuable information for the interpretation of some portraits of Jahangir and Shah Jahan. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Muqarnas Online Brill

Emperors of Ṣūrat and Maʿnī : Jahangir and Shah Jahan as Temporal and Spiritual Rulers

Muqarnas Online , Volume 31 (1): 123 – Oct 19, 2014

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References (5)

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0732-2992
eISSN
2211-8993
DOI
10.1163/22118993-00311P06
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article begins with a discussion of a more-than-life-sized portrait of Jahangir (r. 1605–27) that is surrounded by verses in twenty-six cartouches. These verses are of special interest because they are the connecting link between a series of “allegorical paintings” made for Jahangir and the new concept of sovereignty devised for his father, Akbar, who had ordered the scholar Abuʼl-Fazl to develop a system of legitimization to emancipate him from the endorsement of the chief religious authorities of Islam. The pivotal terms of this new ideology, ṣūrat and maʿnī , are found throughout Abuʼl-Fazl’s Akbarnāma , and they turn up again in the cartouches of Jahangir’s portrait. To understand the meaning of these verses, it is necessary to consider the system of legitimation conceived by Abuʼl-Fazl. The verses then provide valuable information for the interpretation of some portraits of Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

Journal

Muqarnas OnlineBrill

Published: Oct 19, 2014

Keywords: ṣūrat u maʿnī (the temporal and the spiritual world) ; Jahangir ; Akbar ; Shah Jahan ; allegorical portraits ; legitimation ; Abu ’l-Fazl ; Akbarnāma

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