Mughal period in India

Dr. Nidhi L Sharda, Associate Professor, NIFT, Bangalore

Mughal period in India

Dr. Nidhi L Sharda, NIFT, Bangalore

Islamic empires in India

The initial entry of Islam into South Asia came in the first century after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. The Umayyad caliph in Damascus sent an expedition to Balochistan and Sindh in 711 led by Muhammad bin Qasim.

The expedition went as far north as Multan but was not able to retain that region and was not successful in expanding Islamic rule to other parts of India.

Coastal trade and the presence of a Muslim colony in Sindh, however, permitted significant cultural exchanges and the introduction into the subcontinent of religious teachers.

Almost three centuries later, the Turkics, Persians and the Afghans spearheaded the Islamic conquest in India through the traditional invasion routes of the northwest.

Mahmud of Ghazni (979-1030) led a series of raids against Rajput kingdoms and rich Hindu temples and established a base in Punjab for future incursions.


DELHI SULTANATThe Delhi Sultanate or Sultanat-e-Hind Sultanat-e-Dilli refers to the various Muslim dynasties that ruled in India from 1206 to 1526. Several Turkic and Pashtun dynasties ruled from Delhi: The Slave dynasty (1206-90), the Khilji dynasty (1290-1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1413), the Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and the Lodi (1451-1526). In 1526 the Delhi Sultanate was absorbed by the emerging Mughal Empire.

Raziah Sultanah:was the Sultana of Delhi in India from 1236 to 1240. She was of Turkish Seljuks ancestry and like some other Muslim princesses of the time, she was trained to lead armies and administer kingdoms .

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The Mughal rule is considered a ‘golden age’ of textile ‘golden age’ of textile crafts in the Sub-continent.crafts in the Sub-continent.


The Sultanate ushered in a period of Indian cultural renaissance. The resulting "Indo-Muslim" fusion left lasting monuments in architecture, music, literature, and religion. The Sultanate suffered from the sacking of Delhi in 1398 by Timur (Tamerlane), and soon other independent Sultanates were established in Awadh, Bengal, Jaunpur, Gujarat and Malwa. The Delhi Sultanate revived briefly under the Lodhis before it was conquered by the Mughal emperor Babur in 1526


Mughal emperor Babur in 1526

Interestingly, each emperor maintained his own contemporary style of dressing in court and otherwise.

Babar who was brought up in the cooler climate of Turkistan, retained the costumes of his homeland;

The most popular garments in his period were ‘chafan’ (long coat) and ‘postin’ (sheep skin coat). It can be said that he must have worn them for traditional rather than practical reasons.


Humayun and Babur

Humayun introduced Persian elements in the costumes.

He was notorious for seeking the help of planetary movements (every day) in choosing what to wear.

He also maintained a special treasure house in his palace to accommodate textiles and garments.


Jalaluddin Muhammed Akher. known as Akber the Great

Akbar’s long reign was largely a peaceful one. In this period there was a combination of Indian and imported skills and techniques, which lead to the flowering of classical forms and shapes and later became an integral part of Indian dress design.

Akbar took the initiative of introducing local textiles, which were best suited to the hot climate of the region. He himself took interest in the fashioning of court dresses and introduced the ‘Chakdar jama’ to his court, which is a cross over tunic, with slits around the skirt and an asymmetrical hemline. Although it was in fashion in India since medieval times, Akbar restyled the garment and developed it into a formal gown by removing slits, rounding the hemline and increasing the fullness of the skirt.

The emperor was smart enough in maintaining the freedom and religious identity as the Hindu Chakdar Jama was fastened on the left side of the body and Muslims fastened it on the right side.


Akbar also developed a vocabulary of clothing and textile. Some new terms were introduced; jama was renamed ‘sarbgati’ meaning, that which covers the entire body, ‘izar(A kind of payjama )’/shilwar (drawers) was renamed ‘yar pirahan’ meaning ‘companion of the coat’, ‘burqa’ and ‘hijab’ (over garment covering the body and face) were named ‘hitragupta’ (Sanskrit word) meaning ‘that which hides the face’ and ‘shawl’ took the name ‘paramnarm’ meaning ‘extremely soft’.


Besides their impassioned interest in painting, architecture, jewellery making and poetry, the Mughal emperors paid special attention to textiles — patterning, cuts and delicate hand work on their garments.



During his reign, emperor Jahangir initiated the printing, weaving and embroidering of Kashmiri flora on textiles.

He introduced a garment called ‘nadiri’ (literally mean rarity) which was a type of overcoat worn over the jama.

The garment was designed exclusively for him. In the museums one finds only two surviving garments from his period; a ‘Bikandar coat’ and a ‘riding coat’.


Queen Noor Jehan - wife of Emperor Jahangir



Emperor Shan Jahan , Queen Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Emperor Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan’s reign marked the height of aristocratic elegance and opulence in all the forms of art. Mughal ornamentation, especially those for the garments, received fresh impetus.

The royal garments became more decorated and lavish with heavy embellishments of floral designs.

Motifs were outlined with gold thread coupled with ‘pietra-dura’ effect of the precious stones.

The intrusions and wars of course left no marks of those garments.

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Shah Jahan's legacy was one of the most profound of all the Mughals. A patron of the fine arts, he continued the Mughal patronage of painting, although his passion was architecture, with the highlight being undoubtedly the Taj Mahal. Painting during his reign reflected the serene prosperity that the Mughals enjoyed with many scenes reflecting Shah Jahan's interest in romance.

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Dara Shikoh, Aurangzaib and Murad Buksh. 3 sons of Shah Jahan

Aurangzeb also promoted the same lavish style on clothing, and paintings dating back to this reign reveal the evidence of Indianisation of Persian fashions in the royal court.

The intricate patterning of clothing and the delicate embellishments done by hand marked the finesse, luxury and exuberance of the garments.


Highlights: male costume

Qualmi (quilted garment), Achkan Men's Long-sleeved Coat-like Garment, Worn Close To The Body,

Reaching Down To The Knees Or Even Lower, And Buttoned In Front-middle.

Atamsukh (a long, loose garment worn like an over coat in winters), Farji ( long over-garment without sleeves, or with very short sleeves, open in

front and worn like a coat over pyjama) etc. Nadiri: A kind of jackets, worn as an outer garment. The Emperor Jehangir

described it in his Memoirs as "a coat they wear over a qaba. Its length is from the waist down to below the thighs, and it has no sleeves. It is fastened in fror4t with buttons."

Turban (the style of tying the turban varied according to social status), patka, Jutis (shoes) and Izar: A kind of payjama

Pairhaniphiran: Loose cloak-like shirt reaching down to the feet. Very popular as an article of wear in Kashmir where it was made mostly of woolen cloth.

The quaba (muslin tunic) was worn in summers.


By the seventeenth century, jamasFull-sleeved outerwear for men, Literally, "a garment, robe, vest, gown, coat , pishwaz, choghas and angrakhas remained the height of fashion men


Indianisation of Persian fashions



Highlights: Female costume

Mirzai/Sadri: A sleeveless jacket worn over a shirt or kurta, alike by men and women

Sharara:A kind of loose, trailing payjama (q. v.) worn by women.

Kurti:A shirt-like garment, often worn a little shorter Ghaghra: Skirt, usually with a great deal of flare Shilwar curidars


THE SEVEN NIZAMS

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Nizam of Hyderabad.


Hyder Ali, Sultan Fateh Ali Tippu, also known as the Tiger of Mysore (November 20, 1750, Devanahalli – May 4, 1799, Srirangapattana), was the first son of Haidar Ali


The Mughals established one of the greatest empires in united India. Their leisurely and relaxed lifestyle provided the artisans of the time with an atmosphere of creativity and experimentation with contemporary ideas and philosophies. Some contemporary trends appeared in the miniature painting as local artists were introduced to new trends, which the Mughals had brought with them from the Safavid Court.


Textiles..

Textiles flourished remarkably under the Mughals. Various techniques of crinkling, dying, patterning and embroidery were explored. Lahore received special attention and grew into a leading centre of textile production. Twenty varieties of woollen cloth alone were exported from Lahore to different parts of the Sub-continent and abroad.

For weaving shawls there were one thousand karkhanas in the city. Silk weaving also received special encouragement and silk cloth produced in Punjab gained fame throughout the world.Because of its finesse, Indian cotton became very popular in Europe as it was not only colourfast but also far cheaper than the linen available there.

This remarkable influence in European markets resulted in many Indian clothing and textile terms entering English and other European languages e.g. bandana, calico (plain-weave cotton fabric with simple block printed design), cashmere (wool from Kashmiri goats), cummer band (a waist band or girdle), dangree (coarse cloth woven with two or more threads per weave), khaki (dust coloured cloth used for military uniforms), muslin (thin cotton fabric), pajama, shawl etc.


The trends and styles that they developed were modern and contemporary to the Sub-continent and are still replicated by architects, artists, film directors and the fashion designers, around the world.


Man's embroidered nightcap, 17th Century.

Mughal Wall Hanging


Mughal Jewelry


The priceless legacy of miniature paintings and chronicles from the Mughal era provide an insight into the dress code of the nobility at the time. By examining them one can easily determine that ‘costume designing’ was a major art form that received special encouragement by all the Mughal emperors.



18th cent


Depiction in Films..








Costume designing in the Mughal era By Ayesha Majeed http://www.harappa.com/lith/didotakbar.html http://www.dawn.com/weekly/gallery/archive/071103/

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Mughal period in India