This is a list of the flags of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, which had a number of imperial flags and standards. The principal imperial standard of the Mughals was known as the ''alam'' ( ). It was primarily moss green. It displayed a

lion and sun The Lion and Sun ( fa, شیر و خورشید, Šir-o xoršid, ; Classical Persian: ) is one of the main emblems of Iran (Persia), and was an element in Iran's national flag until the 1979 Iranian Revolution and is still commonly used by opp ...

( ) facing the hoist of the flag. The Mughals traced their use of the ''alam'' back to

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

. The imperial standard was displayed to the right of the throne and also at the entrance of the Emperor's encampment and in front of the emperor during military marches.

History

According to the ''

Ain-i-Akbari The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' ( fa, ) or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl in the Persian language. It for ...

'', during

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

's reign, whenever the emperor rode out, not less than five ''alams'' were carried along with the ''qur'' (a collection of flags and other insignia) wrapped up in scarlet cloth bags. They were unfurled on the days of festivity, and in battle. Lion and sun- Mogul Empure-India

Edward Terry, chaplain to Sir

Thomas Roe Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empire ...

, who came during the reign of

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

, described in his ''Voyage to East-India'' (1655) that the royal standard, made of silk, featuring the Nad-e-Ali represented by a crouching lion shadowing part of the body of the sun (known as Aftab) inscribed on it, was carried on an elephant whenever the emperor travelled. The siege of Qandahar (May 1631)

A painting by Payag in a manuscript of the ''

Padshahnama Padshahnama or ''Badshah Nama'' ( fa, پادشاهنامه or پادشاه‌نامه) (Chronicle of the Emperor Shah Jahan) is a group of works written as the official history of the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Unillustrated texts ...

'', a chronicle on

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

's reign, preserved in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle depicted the Mughal standards as the scarlet

pennon A pennon, also known as a pennant or pendant, is a long narrow flag which is larger at the hoist than at the fly. It can have several shapes, such as triangular, tapering (square tail) or triangular swallowtail (forked tail), etc. In maritime ...

s with green borders with a passant lion and rising sun behind it. Another painting in the same manuscript depicted the Mughal standards having green fields with a couchant lion and rising sun behind it. In the image to the left, note the flag at the bottom with the standing lion and the sun in a red interior color. Notice also the flag in the upper part of the picture with green interior and yellow linings. File:The Surrender of Kandahar.jpg, A Mughal miniature from the ''

'' depicting the surrender of the Safavid Persian garrison of Kandahar in 1638 to the Mughal army of Shah Jahan commanded by Kilij Khan. Notice the white flag with the rising Sun. Perhaps a flag signalling peace. As Safavid forces give the city without bloodshed. File:The Battle of Samugarh.jpg, A mid-17th century painting of the

Battle of Samugarh Battle of Samugarh, Jang-e-Samugarh, (May 29, 1658), was a deciding battle in the struggle for the throne during the ''Mughal war of succession (1658–1659)'' between the sons of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan after the emperor's serious illness ...

between the three sons of

File:Bhavanidas. The Emperor Aurangzeb Carried on a Palanquin ca. 1705–20 Metripolitan Museum of Art..jpg,

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

leads his final expedition (1705), leading an army of 500,000 troops (note flags in the background). File:Battle elephant.jpg, Aurangzeb commanding his army (note triangular green flags) File:Capture of two prisoners at an important battle by Allahvardi Khan Jahangiri..jpg,

Alivardi Khan Alivardi Khan (1671 – 9 April 1756) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself. During much of his reign Alivardi encountered frequent Mar ...

's forces carry the green flag of the

. File:One of six figures from the Mughal emperor's ceremonial procession on the occasion of the Id..jpg, An elephant with a mahout and a standard-bearer carrying a green standard with a gold sun. One of a set. File:Encyclopedie volume 6-150.png, A catalog containing "two rectangular flags" of the

, flag no. 214 is that of the Great Mogul (featuring a Crescent and possibly a sun); flag no. 215 is also that of the Great Mogul (posaibly featuring the Nad-e-Ali). File:Asif tomb.jpg, Funeral of

Asaf-ud-Daulah Mirza Asaf-ud-Daula (23 September 1748 – 21 September 1797) was the Nawab wazir of Oudh ratified by Shah Alam II, from 26 January 1775 to 21 September 1797, and the son of Shuja-ud-Dowlah. His mother and grandmother were the Begums of Oudh. ...

in the year 1797 under a canopy inside the Bara Imambara; (note:Flag (green) of the Mughal Empire raised higher than the Awadh flag)

Seals

File:Imperial Seal of the Mughal Empire.svg, Imperial seal of Mughals File:Seal detail, from- Painted seal of Mughal Emperor Awrangzib Wellcome L0034099 (cropped).jpg, Seal of

File:Ghulam Ali Khan 018b.jpg, Seal of

Bahadur Shah Zafar Bahadur Shah II, usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' Victory) was born Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad (24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862) and was the twentieth and last Mughal Emperor as well a ...

in the first year of his reign

Subjects and vassals of the Mughal Empire

File:Asafia flag of Hyderabad State.svg,

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

File:Flag of the principality of Carnatic.gif,

Nawab of Carnatic The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

File:Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg,

Bengal Subah The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Ben ...

(under mughals 1576–1717)

Nawab of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal ( bn, বাংলার নবাব) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar, ...

(independently 1717–1757) File:Drapeau Banganapalle.png,

Nawab of Banganapalle Banganapalle State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state was founded in 1665 and had its capital in Banganapalle. Its rulers were Shia Muslims and the last one signed the accession to the Indian ...

File:Cambayflag.png,

Nawab of Cambay Cambay, Kambay or Khambhat was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The City of Khambat (Cambay) in present-day Gujarat was its capital. The state was bounded in the north by the Kaira district and in the south by the Gulf of Cam ...

File:Drapeau Bhopal.svg,

Nawab of Bhopal The Nawabs of Bhopal were the Muslim rulers of Bhopal, now part of Madhya Pradesh, India. The nawabs first ruled under the Mughal Empire from 1707 to 1737, under the Maratha Empire from 1737 to 1818, then under British rule from 1818 to 1947, an ...

References

External links

An engraving of the Mughal imperial standard
from Foster, William (ed.) ''The embassy of Sir Thomas Roe to the court of the Great Mogul, 1615–1619, as narrated in his journal and correspondence'' London: Haklyut Society, 1899 in Internet Archive website {{Mughal Empire Government of the Mughal Empire Obsolete national flags Flags of India Flags displaying animals

History

Seals

Subjects and vassals of the Mughal Empire

See also

References

Further reading

External links