Conversations with Emperor Jahangir

Abstract

This unusual work is comprised of dialogues between Emperor Nur al-Din Jahangir, ruler of the Mughal Empire of India from 1605 - 1627, and “Mutribi” al-Asamm Samarqandi, an elderly visitor from Samarqand, the fabled Central Asian city which had been the capital of Jahangir’s Timurid ancestors. Mutribi’s account is of very great interest and importance for a number of reasons. First, its informal style offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the character of the Mughal emperor in particular and into court life in general, at times even exceeding Jahangir’s own memories, the Tuzuk-i Jahangiri, in candor. As such the document offers an all too rare type of human complement to the better-known court histories of Persian literature. Second, it provided insight into the enduring Mughal attachment to their Central Asian homeland, which Jahangir demonstrates most profoundly in his conversation with his visitor from Samarqand. This sentimental attachment illuminates attitudes found among Muslim elites across Asia, who shared a common high culture based on Persian literary and cultural values. In this sense, Mutribi’s work attests to the vitality of Persinate culture far beyond the boundaries of Iran. Finally, it is an important historical document of Jahangir’s reign, filling in the period just months before his death, after his own memories had left off. Show more