History, People, Places

The Prison That Secured Aurangzeb’s Throne | Gwalior Fort

Beneath the palaces of Gwalior Fort lies one of the most dreaded prisons of medieval India. Here, princes vanished and rivals were erased from politics. This was the prison that secured Aurangzeb the Mughal throne.

Image attributions

1.The Rulers of the Mughal Dynasty from Babur to Aurangzeb, with their Ancestor Timur

Khalili Collections / CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Khalili_Collection_Islamic_Art_mss_0874.3.jpg

2.Aurangzeb, The Ruler of the Mughal Dynasty

1707-12 artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aurangzeb,_in_The_Rulers_of_the_Mughal_Dynasty_from_Babur_to_Awrangzeb,_with_their_Ancestor_Timur_MSS_874,_India,_circa_1707%E2%80%9312._Khalili_Collection.jpg

3.Portrait of Shah Jahangir

Attributed to Abu al-Hasan (1589-1630), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jahangir_-_Abu_al-Hasan.jpeg

4.Mirza Khusrau

Gurkan1526, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sultan-Khusrow2.png

5.Mirza Shahryar

Mughal Artist, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mirzashahryr.png

6.Shah Jahan

Bichitr, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jujhar_Singh_Bundela_Kneels_in_Submission_to_Shah_Jahan_(CBL_In_07A.16).jpg

7.Dara Shikoh

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dara_Shikoh.jpg

8.Murad Baksh, youngest son of Shah Jhan

British Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Murad_Baksh,_younger_brother_of_Aurangzeb,_Deccan,_late_17th_century.jpg

9.Portrait of Shah Shuja

Rijksmuseum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portret_van_Shuja,_de_zoon_van_Shah_Jahan,_die_na_Dara_Shikoh_is_geboren_en_in_de_tijd_van_zijn_vader_regeerde_over_Bengalen_na_de_dood_van_zijn_vader_heeft_Aurangzeb_hem_gedood_en_Bengalen_in_bezit_genomen.,_RP-T-00-3186-9.jpg

10.Emperor Aurangzeb with a Bird in hand.

Darbarscene.jpg: Cordanradderivative work: Rani nurmai, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aurangzeb-portrait.jpg

11.Prince Aurangzeb facing a maddened elephant named Sudhakar on the battle field

Govardhan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prince_Awrangzeb_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar_(7_June_1633).jpg

12.Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb

Anup Chattar, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shah_Jahan_and_Aurangzeb.jpg

13.The Severed Head of Dara Shikoh presented before Aurangzeb

AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Slave_Nazir_Present_to_the_Emperor_Aurangzeb_Dara_Shikoh%27s_Head._Golconda,_1678-1686,_Biblioteque_Nazionale_de_France,_Paris.jpg

14.Portrait of Aurangzeb

Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India,_Mughal_Dynasty_-_Aurangzeb_-_1920.1968_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif

15.Mirza Sulaiman Shikoh

Gurkan1526, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sulaiman-S.png

16.Portrait of Siphirshikoh

Mughal Artist, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Siphirshikoh.png

17.Mirza Muhammad Sultan

Gurkan1526, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Muhhamad-sultan.png

18.Portrait of Zeb-un-Nissa Looking into a Mirror

https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/68264, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Zeb-un-Nissa_Looking_into_a_Mirror_with_Her_Attendants.jpg

19.Marriage of Prince Aurangzeb

https://www.rawpixel.com/image/11923037/image-face-person-art

rawpixel website

20.Aurangzeb enthroned in a darbar

Bichitr, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aurangzeb_enthroned_in_a_darbar_scene.jpg

21.Map of the Mughal Empire

Avantiputra7, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mughal_Empire,_1707.png

22.The Emperor Aurangzeb Carried on a Palanquin

Bhavanidas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bhavanidas._The_Emperor_Aurangzeb_Carried_on_a_Palanquin_ca._1705%E2%80%9320_Metripolitan_Museum_of_Art..jpg

Tags: Aurangzeb, Gwalior Fort, Mughal

What Do Japan’s Torii, China’s Paifang & Korea’s Hongsalmun Have in Common?

What’s common to the Torii of Japan, China’s Paifang and Korea’s Honsalmun? All these ceremonial gates have a shared inspiration - the toranas of the Sanchi Stupa in Madhya Pradesh. In the 1st c. BCE, the Satavahas built these magnificent gateways, inviting donors to sponsor panels on them. Their names are still inscribed on the railings around the stupa.

Culture, History, Mythology, Places, Religions

Why the Original Sanchi Stupa Had No Images of Buddha | Sanchi

Did you know the first human images of the Buddha appeared nearly 500 years after his death? Before that, artists used symbols to represent him. You can see many such symbols at the Sanchi Stupa.

History, People

The Indian Travelogue of Niccolao Manucci

A lot of what we know of Mughal history has been pieced together from royal chronicles – and travellers’ accounts. Niccolao Manucci was an Italian adventurer who spent most of his life in India, during which he documented the Mughal reign in an epic work called Storia do Mogor. Read on for the story of his fascinating life.

History, People, Places

The Women Behind the Mughal Throne: The Story of Jahanara, Roshanara and Gauhar Ara

The women of the Mughal Empire were not mere ornaments in the imperial court. They were educated, artistic and commercially and politically savvy, and significantly influenced government decisions even during Aurangzeb’s dictatorial reign. Read on for the remarkable story of Aurangzeb’s sisters.

History, People, Places

The triumphs and tragedies of Shah Jahan | Taj Mahal, Agra

The Mughal succession wars were brutal; princes killed their own siblings, and family ties were broken in a mad scramble for the throne. The mighty emperor Shah Jahan was no exception. This is the story of an unforgiving system that catapulted Shah Jahan to the throne of the richest kingdom in the world, but reduced his personal life to a terribly tragic one.

History, People

The curse of the Koh-i-noor | Red Fort, Delhi

The Koh-i-noor diamond once adorned the magnificent Peacock throne at the Red Fort in Delhi. Today, it sits pretty on the British Queen’s crown in London. In its 700 years of documented history, the Koh-i-noor was coveted by the most powerful kings, has changed hands many times and has travelled half-way across the globe. And wherever it went, it toppled kingdoms, ended dynasties and left a trail of destruction in its wake. Is it any surprise that it acquired a reputation of being a cursed stone?