''Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri'' or ''Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri'' ( fa, ) or Jahangir-nama ( fa, ) is the autobiography of

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

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 ...

(1569–1627). Also referred to as ''Jahangirnama'', the ''Tuzk-e-Jahangiri'' is written in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, and follows the tradition of his great-grandfather,

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

(1487–1530), who had written the ''

Baburnama The ''Bāburnāma'' ( chg, ; literally: ''"History of Babur"'' or ''"Letters of Babur"''; alternatively known as ''Tuzk-e Babri'') is the memoirs of Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad Bābur (1483–1530), founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great- ...

''; though Jahangir went a step further and besides writing on the history of his reign, he included details such as his reflections on art, politics, and information about his family. He wrote the memoirs in stages through most of his life until 1622. His own manuscript was magnificently illustrated by his studio of painters, but the illustrations were very early dispersed, many being found in ''

muraqqa A Muraqqa ( tr, Murakka, ar, مورّقة, fa, مُرَقّع) is an album in book form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and perhaps other matter. The album ...

'' (albums) compiled by his sons. Several are in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Overview

The text details the first 19 years of his reign (from 1605–1623), but he gave up the writing of his memoirs in 1621. The complete ''Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri'' written by Jahangir himself is housed in the

National Museum of India The National Museum in New Delhi, also known as the National Museum of India, is one of the largest museums in India. Established in 1949, it holds a variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. It functions under ...

since the 1950's. He then entrusted the task to Mu‘tamad Khān, the author of the ''Iqbal-nama'', who continued the memoirs at the start of 1623. From here, it was taken up by Muhammad Hadi, who continued it to Jahangir's death in 1627. It forms an important reference point with respect to the era of his father

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 ...

and his official chronicle, the ''

Akbarnama The ''Akbarnama'', which translates to ''Book of Akbar'', the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (), commissioned by Akbar himself and written by his court historian and biographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak. It was ...

''. The first important printed version of ''Jahangirnama'' was by Sayyid Ahmad, printed at

Ghazipur Ghazipur is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ghazipur also constitute ...

in 1863 and at

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capita ...

in 1864.Preface
The Tūzuk-i-Jahangīrī by Alexander Rogers and Henry Beveridge, Royal Asiatic Society, 1909–1914. Jahangir's autobiography reflects his views on various political, religious and social issues. He noted many of his local legislative policies. Among them were his decrees to manage and regulate the ''jagirdars''. These were people who held the ''

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

'', the emperor's land grant title. The ''jagirdars'' were to receive the income of the land and use it to mainly finance the maintenance of troops and addressing town needs. Jahangir made various attempts to halt corruption within the ''jagirdars''. He prohibited each of them from using the money for personal profit by ordering that part of the land income to go to hospitals and infirmaries and for each town to be equipped with religious buildings. Jahangir also kept the ''jagirdars'' from gaining interest in family or land riches by ordering the ''jagirdars'' to seek his approval before marrying someone from the town they ruled in.

References

Work online

The ''Tūzuk-i-Jahangīrī'' Or Memoirs Of Jahāngīr, Alexander Rogers and Henry Beveridge. Royal Asiatic Society, 1909–1914.

Bibliography

* * * * *Losty, J. P. Roy, Malini (eds), ''Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire'', 2013, British Library, , 9780712358705

Overview

See also

References

Work online

Bibliography

Further reading