In the Name of the Fathers: Mughal Genealogical Strategies from Bābur to Shāh Jahān

International audienceGenealogy has always been a kingly preoccupation, especially in the Indic world where kṣatriya status (whether genuine or fabricated) was a sine qua non for the exercise of legitimate power. It was no less true of the Turco-Mongol dynasty known as 'Mughal' which came to dominate vast expanses of the subcontinent from the sixteenth century onwards. True, the Mughals could boast of such illustrious ancestors as the world-conquerors Chingīz Khān and Tīmūr. Yet, from the moment they set foot in India, they became aware of the limited legitimacy they would be able to derive from such genealogical credentials in a region where neither Chingīz Khān and his successors nor Tīmūr had left very good memories. On the other hand, their descent from such famous figures constituted a real asset vis-à-vis their Ottoman, Safavid and Uzbek competitors and among the Turco-Mongol and Iranian elements of their nobility. The fact that the Mughals could afford neither to alienate their Indian subjects nor to dispense with the international prestige they derived from their lineage explains to a large extent the fluctuating genealogical strategies they adopted during the first century or so of their dominance

Beyond diversity Mughal legal ideology and politics

International audienc

Heritage Politics and Policies in Hindu Rashtra

The present essay explores three inseparable facets of the BJP’s heritage ideology and practices: the state’s reluctance to fulfil its traditional role of guardian of the nation’s built landscape and the concomitant resort to neoliberal outsourcing strategies to fill in the gap, combined with a strong sectarian bias at work in the shrinking state-sponsored projects of patrimonial management; a strong appetite for building new and exorbitant heritage artefacts; finally, the gradual obliteration of all material traces related to the plurisecular presence of Muslims in the subcontinent through physical elimination or renaming, resulting in the growing Hinduization of India’s public space

Europe - Mughal India - Muslim Asia: Circulation of Political Ideas and Instruments in Early Modern Times

International audienceContrary to what the "Indocentrism" that has long prevailed in the field of Mughal studies would tend to suggest, the empire founded by Babur cannot be reduced to an extractive machine feeding itself with agrarian surplus and working in quasi complete isolation from the rest of the early modern world. Quite to the opposite: the 17th century witnessed the development and diversification of the European presence in the subcontinent on an unprecedented scale as well as a significant increase in the exchanges with the West. Concurrently, and as may be seen from the multi-ethnic composition of the Mughal nobility, the empire attracted elites in search of employment from all over the Asian-Islamicate ecumene stretching from Istanbul to Aceh. And yet the impact of those multi-directional exchanges on the political genesis and evolution of the Mughal state is a question that has not been sufficiently addressed. While the Mughal-European relationship has long attracted the attention of specialists of economic history as well as historians interested in the Western perceptions of the Orient, the historiography dealing with the Mughal dynasty and its immediate neighbours and competitors (Safavids, Uzbeks, Ottomans) has largely confined itself to diplomatic studies of a traditional workmanship and to a handful of structuralist comparisons informed by the old orientalist paradigm. Recently, however, scholars such as Sanjay Subrahmanyam have reminded us of the highly competitive nature of early modern state building and, in order to reach a deeper understanding of the latter, have alerted us to the necessity of paying due attention to the processes of circulation, imitation or rejection of political models born out from this very inter-imperial rivalry. This appears all the more necessary in the case of the Mughal empire as historians have generally emphasized the influence of past rather than contemporary imperial experiments when trying to uncover the layers of its construction. With a view to filling that gap, the present article will therefore tackle two broad sets of interconnected questions. First, what was the political horizon of the Mughals, what did they know about the political experiments that took place in early modern Europe and Muslim Asia? Second, what were the elements of these experiments, if any, that were deemed adaptable in the Indian context? Answering these questions, one may hope to map out more clearly some of the highways and dead ends which ran across the political space of early modern Asia and Europe

Recovering a Missing Voice from Mughal India: The Imperial Discourse of Jahāngīr (r.1605-1627) in his Memoirs

International audienceThis article argues against the common view according to which the Mughal emperor Jahāngīr was a political lightweight dominated by his famous spouse Nūr Jahān. Beginning with a discussion of the historiographical processes which presided over the construction of such a negative image, the essay continues with a thorough re-examination of the emperor's memoirs or Jahāngīr Nāma. It brings out a coherent and original political voice, as Jahāngīr skilfully connects his identities of sovereign, naturalist and collector. The conclusion evaluates the impact of this discourse through a brief analysis of the reaction of the Mughal political and religious elite.Cet article s'élève contre l'opinion commune suivant laquelle l'empereur moghol Jahāngīr fut une figure politique mineure, dominée par sa célèbre épouse Nūr Jahān. Il s'ouvre sur une discussion des processus historiographiques qui présidèrent à la construction de cette image négative, et se poursuit par une réexamen serré des mémoires de l'empereur (ou Jahāngīr Nāma). En ressort une voix politique cohérente et originale, Jahāngīr articulant habilement ses identités de souverain, de naturaliste et de collectionneur. La conclusion évalue l'impact de ce discours à travers un rapide analyse de la réaction qu'il suscita auprès de l'élite politique et religieuse du royaume

Messianism, rationalism and inter-Asian connections: The Majalis-i Jahangiri (1608–11) and the socio-intellectual history of the Mughal ‘ulama

International audienceRelying on the Majalis-i Jahangiri (1608-11) by ʿAbd al-Sattar b. Qasim Lahauri, this essay explores some of the discussions the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-27) conducted with a wide range of scholars, from Brahmans and ʿulama to Jesuit padres and Jewish savants. By far the most numerous, the debates bearing on Islam and involving Muslim intellectuals are especially significant on several accounts. First, because they illuminate how, following in the steps of his father Akbar (r. 1556-605), Jahangir was able to conciliate his messianic claims with a strong engagement with reason and to turn this combination into a formidable instrument for confession and state building. These conversations also provide promising avenues to think afresh the socio-intellectual history of the Mughal ʿulama inasmuch as they capture the challenges and adjustments attendant on imperial patronage, depict the jockeying for influence and positions among intellectuals (particularly between Indo-Muslim and Iranian lettrés), and shed light on relatively little known figures or on unexplored facets of more prominent individuals. In addition, the specific role played by scholars hailing from Iran-and, to a lesser extent, from Central Asia-in the juridical-religious disputes of the Indian court shows how crucial inter-Asian connections and networks were in the fashioning of Mughal ideology but also the ways in which the ongoing flow of émigré ʿulama was disciplined before being incorporated into the empire

Pouvoir et noblesse dans l'Empire moghol. Perspectives du règne de Jahāngīr (1605-1627)

International audienceTaking into account the renewal of general propositions in the historiography of Western empires, this article re-examines the relations between central authority and militaro-administrative elites in the Mughal Empire of the first quarter of the 17th century--a rather neglected period in conventional historiography. In order to do so, voice is given to a series of texts belonging to the genre of sub-imperial literature, and rarely used in this context. Focusing on the rhetorics of legitimacy and the "interstitial" political practices at work in these sources, the analysis sheds light on the strategies (both ideological and pragmatic) implemented by the nobility in response to the growing pressure of the imperial model. It also allows the historian to think anew about the question of centre and periphery in its regional dimension.S'inspirant des perspectives récemment ouvertes par les historiens des empires occidentaux, cet article examine à nouveaux frais les rapports entre autorité centrale et élites militaro-administratives dans l'Empire moghol du premier quart du XVIIe siècle -- une période relativement négligée par l'historiographie dominante. La parole est, pour ce faire, donnée à une série de textes se rattachant au genre de la littérature sub-impériale et rarement convoqués dans cette optique. L'analyse de ce corpus -- centrée sur les rhétoriques légitimantes et les pratiques politiques " interstitielles " qui y affleurent -- permet d'éclairer la façon dont la noblesse réagit (tant du point de vue idéologique que pragmatique) à la pression croissante du modèle impérial et de réévaluer la question centre/périphérie dans sa dimension régional

« Tribe, Diaspora and Sainthood in Afghan History ». Journal of Asian Studies, 67/1, 2008, p. 171-211.

Cet article s’attache à démontrer le caractère historiquement construit de l’appartenance tribale comme fondement de l’identité des Afghans pachtouns. Pour ce faire, l’A. revisite les formulations de l’identité afghane qui se sont succédées entre le XVe et le XVIIIe siècles à la lumière de l’expérience diasporique des Afghans et de leur exposition aux différentes formes (culturelles, religieuses et politiques) du cosmopolitisme urbain du monde indien. Significativement, c’est en effet dans le..

« Kingdom, Household and Body. History, Gender and Imperial Service under Akbar ». Modern Asian Studies, 41/5, 2007, pp. 889-923.

Cet article explore la place tenue par le corps dans la culture éthico-politique élaborée par l’empereur moghol Akbar (1556-1605) et son idéologue Abū’l Faẓl, et ce tant au niveau des constructions théoriques que des normes de comportement. Outre des emprunts aux traditions soufie et sanskrite, c’est essentiellement à partir de l’héritage nasiréen (dont les grandes lignes sont rappelées pp. 894-897, notamment l’importance qu’y tiennent les métaphores liées au corps et à ses humeurs ainsi que ..

Entre despotisme et vertu : les représentations de l'Inde dans A Voyage to East-India d'Edward Terry (1655)

International audienceOn oublie fréquemment que Sir Thomas Roe, premier ambassadeur anglais à la cour moghole (1615-1619), a été accompagné dans sa mission par un certain Edward Terry, employé auprès de lui comme chapelain. On ignore plus souvent encore que ce personnage, à l'instar de son " maître ", a laissé un récit de son périple publié pour la première fois à Londres en 1655 sous le titre de A Voyage to East India. Outre le fait que son auteur est un des rares religieux anglais à donner une description de l'Inde au XVIIe siècle, le récit ne laisse pas d'étonner par l'originalité de certains de ses propos. L'analyse du Voyage s'articule autour de trois axes majeurs. Il s'agit tout d'abord de mettre l'ouvrage en contexte en situant Terry aux niveaux religieux, politique et social, en retraçant sa carrière anté- et post-indienne et en déterminant le rôle que le séjour en Inde a joué dans son déroulement. Suit un tableau des différentes images de l'Inde présentes dans le texte. La dernière partie s'arrête sur deux représentations particulièrement intéressantes et apparemment paradoxales : l'Inde comme antre du despote et havre de vertu. La construction et l'utilisation de ces deux images sont à mettre en relation avec la double identité de Terry, à la fois homme de religion et soutien indéfectible de Roe