MEMORIS OF JAHANGIRNAMA:

The Jahangirnama—the personal memoirs of Jahangir, fourth Mughal emperor of India, is a work of intensely alert observation and probing intelligence. Jahangirs great-grandfather, Babur, had written the Baburnama, the first true autobiography in the Islamic world, which described frankly and with immense insight the political turmoil, actions, and personalities that had brought the Mughals from Central Asia into India. This literary genre was still fresh and provocative when Jahangir chose to follow his predecessors initiative, and the result was a vivid chronicle of a wealthy, artistically sophisticated kingdom at the height of its powers.

Emperor Jahangir is probably best known in the West as the father of Shahjahan, who built the Taj Mahal. Jahangir's reign was one of great prosperity, and his passion for art and nature encouraged an artistic flowering that rivaled European art during the rule of the Medicis. Jahangir's memoirs provide not only the history of his reign, but also his reflections on art, politics, and life, including the suicide of one of his wives, and selections of poetry written by members of his harem. This book includes a selection of exquisite full-color paintings, drawings, and objects that specifically illustrate the passages they accompany.


About Author,

Wheeler Thackston's new translation of The Jahangirnama, copublished with the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.