The Jahangirnama: Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India - Hardcover

Jahangir

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195127188 ISBN 13: 9780195127188

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1999

Synopsis

Wheeler Thackstons lively new translation of The Jahangirnama, co-published with the Freer/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, presents an engaging portrait of an intriguing emperor and his flourishing empire.
The Emperor Jahangir is probably best know in the West as being the father of Shahjahan, who built the Taj Mahal. His reign was one of great prosperity, and his passion for art and nature encouraged a flowering that some say rivaled European art during the rule of the Medicis. In penning his memoirs, Jahangir followed a tradition begun by his great-grandfather, the Emperor Babur. Jahangirs memoirs, however, provide not only the history of his reign, but also his reflections on art, politics, and private details about his familyincluding the suicide of one of his wivesand selections of poetry written by members of his harem. One of Jahangirs stories describes his astonishment at witnessing the fall of a meteorite, an event that so amazed him that he ordered that a dagger be made from its metal. This book includes a selection of exquisite full-color paintings, drawings, and objects that specifically illustrate the passages they accompany--including a photograph of the Emperors treasured dagger.
A lover of jewels, nature, hunting, drinking, and opiates, Jahangir carried the Mughal empire to artistic and political heights. Refreshingly candid and frank, this splendidly illustrated edition of Jahangirs memoirs is a thoroughly absorbing profile of an emperor and the zenith of his empire.

About this title

About the Author:

Wheeler Thackston is a Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization at Harvard University. He is the translator and editor of The Baburnama, Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor, which was published by Oxford University Press in 1996.

From Library Journal:

Jahangir, fourth Moghul emperor of India (r. 1605-1627), kept a personal record of his reign. While battles, intrigues, etc., form a major portion of the work, Jahangir also recorded his fascination with the natural history, customs, and peoples of India. The book was produced under the auspices of the Freer Gallery of Art and the Sackler Gallery, an arrangement that allowed the publisher to supplement the text with approximately 100 illustrations of miniature paintings, objects d'art, and photographs of sites noted in the text. Unfortunately, one quarter of the miniature painting reproductions are black and white, and many are reduced to such a small size that details are difficult to perceive. Still, the work is a basic text for the study of the period, and libraries collecting in this area that don't have a copy will want this handsome edition.ADonald Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0195127188
• ISBN 13: 9780195127188
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 502