Mughal Art and Architecture Lecture Notes

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering the artistic, architectural, and symbolic history of the Mughal emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

Jahangir’s view of painting

A medium that commemorates the dead and grants immortality to the living.

Jaroka

A balcony used for public appearances by the ruler.

Mansur

An artist under Jahangir who was considered a master of plants and animals.

Nur Jahan

The favorite wife of Jahangir and the only empress to issue her own coins who eventually took over Jahangir’s reign.

Shah Jahan

A name given by Jahangir which means ruler of the world.

Jahangir’s Throne Platform

A black marble platform with inscriptions linking Jahangir to his Timurid ancestry and Akbar.

Ashokan Pillar

A single carved sandstone pillar re-erected on Jahangir’s coronation that represents power and his link between the Heavens and Earth.

Chahar bagh

A garden layout representing the 4 rivers of paradise.

Akbar’s Tomb

A five-story structure made primarily of red sandstone and white marble located in the center of a chahar bagh, designed to be seen from all angles.

North Gateway of Akbar’s Tomb

An entrance featuring Persian poetry praising Jahangir and geometric/floral designs symbolizing Paradise.

Mu’in al-Din Chishti

A figure representing the spiritual realm in portraiture, often shown with Jahangir to establish the ruler's connection between worldly and spiritual worlds.

Malik Ambar

An Ethiopian General and enemy of Jahangir who died of old age, though Jahangir commissioned a painting showing himself shooting Ambar's severed head to change the course of fate.

“The lion has sipped milk from the teat of the goat”

An inscription in the painting of Malik Ambar symbolizing a world at peace where predator and prey coexist.

Turkey Cock

A rare bird in India given by the Portuguese which was documented in an animal portrait gifted to Jahangir.

Tomb of Itimad al-Daula

The tomb of Nur Jahan's father featuring white marble, hard stone inlay, and motifs of wine vessels with swan-neck handles.

Jahangir’s Inscribed Emeralds

Emeralds mined from Columbia that served as symbols of wealth and prosperity, inscribed with Jahangir's identity as the son of Akbar.

Shah Jahan’s coronation portrait imagery

Features a world at peace, symbols of angels, a rainbow halo, and a locket containing a portrait of himself.

Taj Mahal

A monument dedicated to Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz, characterized by its placement at the back of the chahar bagh and extensive use of white marble and stone inlay.

Wayne Begley’s theory

The proposition that the Taj Mahal complex mirrors the Plain of Assembly on Judgment Day.

Hall of Public Audience (Shahjahanabad)

A hall emphasizing red sandstone where white marble is reserved for the throne, featuring cusping of arches and a central panel of the Greek figure Orpheus.

Imperial Sleeping Quarter

A private area for the emperor and his family featuring botanical motifs, stone screens, and the scales of justice motif.

Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque)

The largest mosque in the subcontinent at the time, featuring inscriptions defining Shah Jahan as the strengthener of the pillars of the state.