A striking feature of Baffin’s map is Jahangir’s dynastic seal depicted in the top right hand corner. n a posting several weeks ago, on a document of Babur (Earliest surviving Mughal document?), I talked about his genealogical seal, the first of its kind. This distinctive design, consisting of the ruling emperor’s name in the centre surrounded by his Timurid ancestors, became an important symbol of Mughal imperial authority and was noted by several contemporary European travellers. It was used on official orders (farmans) and differed from the smaller personal ownership seals which are sometimes found on manuscripts (an example of Jahangir’s personal seal can be seen in Muhammad Juki’s Shahnamah, Royal Asiatic Society Persian Ms. 239, f. 3r, on display in the exhibition). As can be seen from an example of the genuine seal illustrated below, Baffin’s map provides an almost exact replica in translation. The genuine seal heads a land grant issued by Jahangir on 14th of the month Amurdad, regnal year 4 (summer 1609).

Mughal-Library