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Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (Jahangir-nama)

Words People

By Jahangir

توزك جهانگيري (جهانگيرنامه)

The Persian memoirs of the emperor Jahangir, written by him from his accession to the nineteenth year of his reign (1605–24), the last two years written out by Mu'tamad Khan; a key source for his taste in painting and his judgements of his painters 1.

Depth

At a glance

Region
South Asia

Arts of the book

Summary

The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, or Jahangir-nama, was written by Jahangir himself and covers the years from his accession to the nineteenth year of his reign (1605–24); the last two years were written out by Mu'tamad Khan, since from 1622 Jahangir could no longer continue unaided. 1 Milo Cleveland Beach calls it lively and highly informative reading, in which Jahangir describes scientific experiments he conducted, birds and flowers he admired, historical events and a wide range of observations. 2

For the history of painting

It preserves Jahangir's judgements of his painters: his claim to name the master of every face in a composite picture 3; his praise of Abu'l Hasan and his title "Nadir al-Zaman" in 1618, when the painter brought the accession picture for the frontispiece of the book 4; his frequent mentions of Mansur, "Nadir al-Asr" 5; and his sending of Bishan Das with Khan Alam's embassy to Shah Abbas to take likenesses 6.

Its illustrated copy

No complete imperial illustrated copy survives, but several known paintings were probably meant for one, among them The Birth of Jahangir attributed to Bishan Das and the Darbar of Jahangir attributed to Manohar, about 1620. 1 7 Jahangir refers to the work in the memoirs themselves. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

About
Jahangir

People and things also explored

Muraqqa'-e-Gulshan (Gulshan Album)· Abu'l Hasan, Nadir al-Zaman· Aqa Riza (painter to Jahangir)· Bishan Das· Daulat (Mughal painter)· Govardhan (Mughal painter)· Manohar (Mughal painter)· Nanha (Mughal painter)

Sources

  1. Milo Cleveland Beach, The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India 1600–1660 (Williamstown, Mass.: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1978) , p. 58
  2. Milo Cleveland Beach, The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India 1600–1660 (Williamstown, Mass.: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1978) , p. 14
  3. Milo Cleveland Beach, The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India 1600–1660 (Williamstown, Mass.: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1978) , p. 19
  4. Milo Cleveland Beach, The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India 1600–1660 (Williamstown, Mass.: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1978) , p. 84
  5. Milo Cleveland Beach, The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India 1600–1660 (Williamstown, Mass.: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1978) , p. 137
  6. Milo Cleveland Beach, The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India 1600–1660 (Williamstown, Mass.: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1978) , p. 107
  7. Milo Cleveland Beach, The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India 1600–1660 (Williamstown, Mass.: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1978) , p. 60
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (Jahangir-nama)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/work/tuzuk-i-jahangiri/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-04.

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Muraqqa'-e-Gulshan (Gulshan Album)

One of two large surviving volumes of Jahangir's albums, in the Imperial Library of the Gulistan Palace, Tehran; its few dated pages fall between 1599 and 1609, and its margins hold Daulat's portraits of fellow painters.