The Mughals at Home: Architecture and Imperial Ideology in the Indian Subcontinent

What links Bill Gates and the Indian ruler, Akbar the Great? Put simply, whilst the first is the leading mogul of today, the Mughal ruler Akbar, with his expansive, wealthy empire and monopoly on power, gave later moguls their name. The Mughal kings ruled an empire that stretched from Afghanistan to Bengal. They first came to power in the 16^th century and their golden age ended with the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. The Mughals’ familial lands were in Fergana (now in Kyrgyzstan) and so they had no direct claim to the empire they forged; their conquests in the Subcontinent began only after attempts to control Samarkhand had been thwarted.

The Mughal emperors held court in five cities: Kabul in Afghanistan, Lahore in Pakistan, and Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri in India. These cities’ buildings were designed to be physical manifestations of the Mughals’ power over landscape and subjects alike, deliberately espousing through their structures the Mughals’ imperial ideology. Genuine connoisseurship ran hand in hand with clever propaganda, reminding us of the Mughal emperors’ innovative techniques for drawing together under one crown  the diverse peoples of the Indian Subcontinent.

The Mughals were patrilineal descendants of the Central Asian ruler Amir Timur. They believed that their right to rule the subcontinent derived both from Timur’s 14^th century conquests and their own military gains. The Mughals’ Timurid heritage influenced their architectural style in a number of ways. Like their ancestors, the early Mughals were constantly on campaign so a peripatetic court was in order. Courtyards and walled gardens were favoured as tented cities could be erected within their confines. The entire imperial household moved en-masse around the country so that no part of the imperial structure was left vulnerable to seizure.  

The first Mughal emperor, Babur (r.1526-30), deplored India, describing it in the Baburnama as “charmless and disorderly”. Attempting to recreate his beloved gardens in Kabul, one of his first acts was to construct a walled garden in Agra. The garden gave Babur peace of mind as he was able to demonstrate his capacity to establish order in a seemingly wild and uncivilized land. Mughal gardens were designed to evoke the Garden of Paradise described in the Old Testament and in the Koran. Areas within the garden were divided by paved walkways, fruit trees provided shade and sustenance, and fountains were filled with water.

The Timurids’ other major contribution to Mughal architecture was invocations of the legendary King Solomon. In Delhi and Agra, the Mughals constructed multi-columned halls reminiscent of Solomon’s, and the image of Solomon’s throne, which the Bible describes as being multi-stepped and carved with numerous mechanical birds and beasts, was replicated by the Mughals. Emperors Jahangir (r.1605-27) and Shah Jahan (r.1628-58) constructed their own throne of Solomon, invoking his memory through emulation of his court so that subjects would equate Solomon’s just rule with that of their own Mughal monarch.

The majority of Mughal subjects were, unlike their rulers, non-Muslim and had little previous connection with the Timurids. In order to ensure the long term survival of their empire, the Mughals had to integrate the indigenous elite, show religious tolerance towards the wider populace, and to portray their right to rule as absolute. 

Akbar the Great (r.1556-1605) brought nobles and local rulers from across his empire to court and gave them posts within the administration. They included Persian nobles, Rajput princes, and other Muslim rulers with whom he wished to form alliances. Akbar created a strict hierarchy where everyone was ultimately answerable to him. He developed elaborate court rituals, necessitating the construction of separate audience halls for public and private affairs, a multitude of courtyards, and wide, straight streets for processions of elephants and horses. 

In Hindu kingdoms,  it was believed that devotees were blessed by the mere sight of religious idols and monarchs. The Mughals adopted darshan (‘viewing’) and appeared on ornate balconies before crowds gathered in the courtyard below. The position of the balcony was reminiscent of the qibla in a mosque, so the emperor was able to draw simultaneously on both Hindu and Muslim religious traditions in his self-deification. The scope of Akbar’s religious appeal widened further when he constructed the debating hall at Fatehpur Sikri. The building was designed as a multi-faith meeting place where all religious leaders could meet to discuss theological matters. Symbols representing each religion were incorporated into the hall’s stonework. Akbar believed himself to be an intermediary between men and God, and clear demonstration of his understanding of all different theological doctrines was integral to this.

The reputation of the Mughal court attracted influential visitors from across the globe. Travelers, traders, physicians and missionaries were entranced by the Mughals’ legendary wealth and brought with them knowledge and customs from Europe, Persia and China. Among the most important gifts from Europe was an illustrated copy of the 1569 Polyglot Bible and engravings of biblical scenes. They were presented to Akbar by Jesuit missionaries in an attempt to convert him to Christianity.

The Jesuits’ gifts engendered in the Mughals a taste for western art. Inspired by European works, Mughal artists began to incorporate images of Christ and Mary in their wall paintings, carvings and manuscripts. Symbols such as the halo, the lion and the lamb, the globe and the hour glass all made their way into Mughal design to show both the emperors’ religious legitimacy but also their temporal power. Use of Christian iconography demonstrated the emperors’ semi-divine status, their cosmopolitanism, and their ability to subordinate Christian Europe beneath their imperial power and personal religion.

Mughal capitals were reflected the change in priority from military conquest to the stable governance of a diverse population. Whilst early capitals required outdoor space for tents, later architects replaced these designs with permanent, highly decorative structures for courtly ceremonies. The Mughals’ Timurid heritage merged with indigenous traditions to deify the emperor in the minds of his subjects and to give him political and cultural legitimacy. Christian iconography was manipulated by Mughal artists, gaining political connotations that further enhanced state propaganda of the divine emperor and his inalienable right to rule. 

If you are interested in Mughal political ideology and art, please check out my E-book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Painting-Development-Portraiture-1526-1707-ebook/dp/B005CJLAOO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334337521&sr=8-1