159-573: The Peacock Throne ( Hindustani : Mayūrāsana , Sanskrit : मयूरासन, Urdu : تخت طاؤس, Persian : تخت طاووس , Takht-i Tāvūs ) was the imperial throne of Hindustan . The throne is named after the dancing peacocks at its rear and was the seat of the Mughal emperors of India from 1635 to 1739. It was commissioned in the early 17th century by Emperor Shah Jahan and was located in the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audiences, or Ministers' Room) in
318-458: A faqir . In 1645, he was barred from the court for seven months. It is reported that he mentioned his grief about this to fellow Mughal commanders. Thereafter, Shah Jahan appointed him governor of Gujarat . His rule in Gujarat was marked with religious disputes but he was rewarded for bringing stability. In 1647, Shah Jahan moved Aurangzeb from Gujarat to be governor of Balkh , replacing
477-497: A canopy supported on twelve pillars, measured three yards and a half in length, two and a half in breadth, and five in height, from the flight of steps to the overhanging dome. On his Majesty's accession to the throne, he had commanded that eighty-six lakhs worth of gems and precious stones, and a diamond worth fourteen lakhs, which together make a crore of rupees as money is reckoned in Hindustan , should be used in its decoration. It
636-545: A close relationship with the emperor, leading to a more extended stay. Tavernier was invited to stay until the conclusion of the emperor's annual birthday celebrations. During that time, he had the opportunity to visit the Red Fort and inspect the Peacock Throne. He was also allowed to inspect the valuable jewels and stones belonging to the emperor but could not see those still kept by Aurangzeb's father, Shah Jahan, who
795-469: A companion to Dara Shukoh. In the same year, 1637, Aurangzeb was placed in charge of annexing the small Rajput kingdom of Baglana , which he did with ease. In 1638, Aurangzeb married Nawab Bai , later known as Rahmat al-Nisa. That same year, Aurangzeb dispatched an army to subdue the Portuguese coastal fortress of Daman , however his forces met stubborn resistance and were eventually repulsed at
954-457: A complete ban on music. He sought to codify Hanafi law by the work of several hundred jurists, called Fatawa 'Alamgiri . It is possible the War of Succession and continued incursions combined with Shah Jahan's spending made cultural expenditure impossible. He learnt that at Multan , Thatta , and particularly at Varanasi , the teachings of Hindu Brahmins attracted numerous Muslims. He ordered
1113-571: A composite Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb . The language was also known as Rekhta , or 'mixed', which implies that the Sanskritic and Prakritic vocabulary base of Old Hindi was mixed with Persian loanwords. Written in the Perso-Arabic , Devanagari , and occasionally Kaithi or Gurmukhi scripts, it remained the primary lingua franca of northern India for the next four centuries, although it varied significantly in vocabulary depending on
1272-438: A consequence of his return. The Deccan was a relatively impoverished area, this caused him to lose out financially. The area required grants were required from Malwa and Gujarat in order to maintain the administration. The situation caused ill-feeling between him and his father Shah Jahan who insisted that things could be improved if Aurangzeb made efforts to develop cultivation. Aurangzeb appointed Murshid Quli Khan to extend to
1431-635: A continuation and reinforcement of Persian by Central Asian Turkic rulers in the Indian Subcontinent, since Persian was also patronized by the earlier Turko-Afghan Delhi Sultanate who laid the basis for the introduction and use of Persian in the subcontinent. Hindustani began to take shape as a Persianised vernacular during the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 AD) and Mughal Empire (1526–1858 AD) in South Asia . Hindustani retained
1590-545: A cost of 100 lakhs [10,000,000] of rupees. Of the eleven jeweled recesses ( takhta ) formed around it for cushions, the middle one, intended for the seat of the Emperor, cost ten lakhs of rupees. Among the jewels set in this recess was a ruby worth a lac of rupees, with Shah 'Abbas, the king of Iran, had presented to the late Emperor Jahangir, who sent it to his present Majesty, the Sahib Kiran-i sani, when he accomplished
1749-476: A few courtiers, aristocrats, and visiting dignitaries. The throne was, even by Golden Age Mughal standards, supremely extravagant, costing twice as much as the construction of the Taj Mahal. The appearance of this new throne was in stark contrast to the older throne of Jahangir , a large rectangular slab of engraved black basalt constructed in the early 1600s, used by the father of Shah Jahan. The new throne
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#17327647700841908-471: A gurudwara at Dehradun, Balaji temple of Chitrakoot , Umananda Temple of Guwahati and the Shatrunjaya Jain temples, among others. Numerous new temples were built, as well. Contemporary court-chronicles mention hundreds of temple which were demolished by Aurangzab or his chieftains, upon his order. In September 1669, he ordered the destruction of Vishvanath Temple at Varanasi, which
2067-544: A higher tax burden on Hindu merchants at the rate of 5% (as against 2.5% on Muslim merchants), which led to considerable dislike of Aurangzeb's economic policies; a sharp turn from Akbar's uniform tax code. According to Marc Jason Gilbert, Aurangzeb ordered the jizya fees to be paid in person, in front of a tax collector, where the non Muslims were to recite a verse in the Quran which referred to their inferior status as non Muslims. This decision led to protests and lamentations among
2226-469: A late stage, a vast sum of money had been expended for little gain. Further unsuccessful military involvements followed, as Aurangzeb was appointed governor of Multan and Sindh . His efforts in 1649 and 1652 to dislodge the Safavids at Kandahar which they had recently retaken after a decade of Mughal control, both ended in failure as winter approached. The logistical problems of supplying an army at
2385-504: A literature of 500 years, with prose, poetry, religion and philosophy. One could conceive of a wide spectrum of dialects and registers, with the highly Persianised Urdu at one end of the spectrum and a heavily Sanskritised variety spoken in the region around Varanasi , at the other end. In common usage in India, the term Hindi includes all these dialects except those at the Urdu spectrum. Thus,
2544-414: A military tax on non-Muslim subjects in lieu of military service, after an abatement for a span of hundred years, in what was critiqued by many Hindu rulers, family-members of Aurangzeb, and Mughal court-officials. The specific amount varied with the socioeconomic status of a subject and tax-collection were often waived for regions hit by calamities; also, Brahmins, women, children, elders, the handicapped,
2703-490: A part of the Persian crown jewels. Various 19th-century Indian paintings of this later throne exist. It was located in the Diwan-i-Khas and might have been smaller than the original. However, the appearance would have been similar, based on either the original plans or from memory and eyewitness accounts. The replacement throne was made out of gold, or was gilded, and was studded with precious and semi-precious stones. Just like
2862-496: A rectangular stone slab measuring 6 feet (1.8 m) by 4 feet (1.2 m) by 9 inches (230 mm) was uprooted, enchained, and brought by Ramgarhia Misl chief Jassa Singh Ramgarhia to Ramgarhia Bunga , in Amritsar , after the capture of the Red Fort by the combined Dal Khalsa forces of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia , Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Baghel Singh in 1783, as war booty. However, that this stone pedestal does indeed come from
3021-460: A series of battles, defeats and retreats, Dara was betrayed by one of his generals, who arrested and bound him. In 1658, Aurangzeb arranged his formal coronation in Delhi. On 10 August 1659, Dara was executed on grounds of apostasy and his head was sent to Shah Jahan. This was the first prominent execution of Aurangzeb based on accusations of being influenced by Hinduism, however some sources argue it
3180-408: A short period. The term Hindustani was given to that language. The Perso-Arabic script form of this language underwent a standardisation process and further Persianisation during this period (18th century) and came to be known as Urdu, a name derived from Persian: Zabān-e Urdū-e Mualla ('language of the court') or Zabān-e Urdū ( زبان اردو , 'language of the camp'). The etymology of the word Urdu
3339-500: A spacious canopy of brocade with deep fringes of gold. The pillars of the hall were hung with brocades of a gold ground, and flowered satin canopies were raised over the whole expanse of the extensive apartment fastened with red silken cords, from which were suspended large tassels of silk and gold. The floor was covered entirely with carpets of the richest silk, of immense length and breadth. The French jeweler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier made his sixth voyage to India between 1663 and 1668. It
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#17327647700843498-619: A standardised literary register of the Hindustani arose in the 19th century. While the first literary works (mostly translations of earlier works) in Sanskritised Hindustani were already written in the early 19th century as part of a literary project that included both Hindu and Muslim writers (e.g. Lallu Lal , Insha Allah Khan ), the call for a distinct Sanskritised standard of Hindustani written in Devanagari under
3657-489: A substantial number of loanwords from Persian and Arabic (via Persian). Hindustani contains around 5,500 words of Persian and Arabic origin. There are also quite a few words borrowed from English, as well as some words from other European languages such as Portuguese and Dutch . Hindustani also borrowed Persian prefixes to create new words. Persian affixes became so assimilated that they were used with original Khari Boli words as well. Historically, Hindustani
3816-570: A workman of astonishing powers, a Frenchman by birth, named..... who, after defrauding several of the Princes of Europe, by means of false gems, which he fabricated with peculiar skill, sought refuge in the Great Mogul's court, where he made his fortune. At the foot of the throne were assembled all the Omralis, in splendid apparel, upon a platform surrounded by a silver railing, and covered by
3975-531: A younger son, Murad Baksh , who had proved ineffective there. The area was under attack from Uzbek and Turkmen tribes. The Mughal artillery and muskets were matched by the skirmishing skills of their opponents which led to a stalemate. Aurangzeb discovered that his army could not live off the land, which was devastated by war. It is recorded that during the battle against the Uzbeks during this campaign, Aurangzeb dismounted from his elephant ride to recite prayer to
4134-422: Is a confusion of diamonds, as well as other jewels, and that the throne, to the best of my recollection, is valued at four crores of Rupees. I observed elsewhere that a lakh is one hundred thousand rupees, and that a crore is a hundred lakh; so that the throne is estimated at forty millions of rupees, worth sixty millions of pounds [livres] or thereabouts. It was constructed by Shah Jahan, the father of Aurangzeb, for
4293-417: Is also called Hindi–Urdu . Colloquial registers of the language fall on a spectrum between these standards. In modern times, a third variety of Hindustani with significant English influences has also appeared, which is sometimes called Hinglish or Urdish . The concept of a Hindustani language as a "unifying language" or "fusion language" that could transcend communal and religious divisions across
4452-696: Is an Indo-Aryan language , deriving its base from the Western Hindi dialect of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab ( Delhi , Meerut and Saharanpur ) known as Khariboli —the contemporary form being classed under the umbrella of Old Hindi . Although the Mughals were of Timurid ( Gurkānī ) Turco-Mongol descent, they were Persianised , and Persian had gradually become the state language of the Mughal empire after Babur . Mughal patronage led to
4611-622: Is another marble leg in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Where precisely these two pedestal legs originate, and if they are connected to the Peacock Throne, remains unclear. Inspired by the legend of the throne, King Ludwig II of Bavaria installed a romanticised version of it in his Moorish Kiosk in Linderhof Palace , constructed in the 1860s. The contemporary descriptions that are known today of Shah Jahan's throne are from
4770-585: Is characterized by a symmetrical ten-vowel system, where vowels are distinguished by length, with long vowels typically being tense and short vowels lax. The language also includes nasalized vowels, as well as a wide array of consonants, including aspirated and murmured sounds. Hindustani maintains a four-way phonation distinction among plosives, unlike the two-way distinction in English. Hindi–Urdu's core vocabulary has an Indic base, being derived from Prakrit , which in turn derives from Sanskrit , as well as
4929-558: Is derived from Prakrit (a descendant of Sanskrit ), with substantial loanwords from Persian and Arabic (via Persian). It is often written in the Devanagari script or the Arabic-derived Urdu script in the case of Hindi and Urdu respectively, with romanisation increasingly employed in modern times as a neutral script. As of 2023, Hindi and Urdu together constitute the 3rd-most-spoken language in
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5088-477: Is generally only required for religious and literary texts. Scholars trace the language's first written poetry, in the form of Old Hindi , to the Delhi Sultanate era around the twelfth and thirteenth century. During the period of the Delhi Sultanate , which covered most of today's India, eastern Pakistan, southern Nepal and Bangladesh and which resulted in the contact of Hindu and Muslim cultures ,
5247-596: Is instead recognised by its standard forms, Hindi and Urdu. Hindi is declared by Article 343(1), Part 17 of the Indian Constitution as the "official language ( राजभाषा , rājabhāṣā ) of the Union." (In this context, "Union" means the Federal Government and not the entire country —India has 23 official languages .) At the same time, however, the definitive text of federal laws is officially
5406-462: Is more commonly used as a vernacular than highly Sanskritised Hindi or highly Persianised Urdu. This can be seen in the popular culture of Bollywood or, more generally, the vernacular of North Indians and Pakistanis, which generally employs a lexicon common to both Hindi and Urdu speakers. Minor subtleties in region will also affect the 'brand' of Hindustani, sometimes pushing the Hindustani closer to Urdu or to Hindi. One might reasonably assume that
5565-484: Is not the main language, in order to facilitate communication across language barriers. It is characterized by loanwords from local languages. Amir Khusro c. 1300 referred to this language of his writings as Dehlavi ( देहलवी / دہلوی , 'of Delhi') or Hindavi ( हिन्दवी / ہندوی ). During this period, Hindustani was used by Sufis in promulgating their message across the Indian subcontinent . After
5724-439: Is of Chagatai origin, Ordū ('camp'), cognate with English horde , and known in local translation as Lashkari Zabān ( لشکری زبان ), which is shortened to Lashkari ( لشکری ). This is all due to its origin as the common speech of the Mughal army. As a literary language, Urdu took shape in courtly, elite settings. Along with English, it became an official language of northern parts of British India in 1837. Hindi as
5883-519: Is primarily the language of the Upper Gangetic Doab, and is also the lingua franca of India, capable of being written in both Persian and Dēva-nāgarī characters, and without purism, avoiding alike the excessive use of either Persian or Sanskrit words when employed for literature. The name 'Urdū' can then be confined to that special variety of Hindōstānī in which Persian words are of frequent occurrence, and which hence can only be written in
6042-657: Is treated with just as much respect as Shuddh Hindi. Besides being the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan in South Asia, Hindustani is also spoken by many in the South Asian diaspora and their descendants around the world, including North America (e.g., in Canada, Hindustani is one of the fastest growing languages), Europe , and the Middle East . Hindustani phonology, shared by both Hindi and Urdu,
6201-712: The Battle of Samugarh in May 1658 cemented his sovereignty and his suzerainty was acknowledged throughout the Empire. After Shah Jahan recovered from illness in July 1658, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and imprisoned his father in the Agra Fort . Aurangzeb's reign is characterized by a period of rapid military expansion, with several dynasties and states being overthrown by the Mughals. The Mughals also surpassed Qing China as
6360-518: The Deccan , for instance, Hindustani blended with Telugu and came to be called Dakhani . In Dakhani, aspirated consonants were replaced with their unaspirated counterparts; for instance, dekh 'see' became dek , ghula 'dissolved' became gula , kuch 'some' became kuc , and samajh 'understand' became samaj . When the British colonised the Indian subcontinent from the late 18th through to
6519-473: The Diwan-i-Khas . The descriptions of Lahori, from before 1648, and Tavernier's, published in 1676, are generally in broad agreement on the essential features of the thrones, such as its rectangular shape, standing on four legs at its corners, the 12 columns on which the canopy rests, and the type of gemstones embedded on the throne, such as balas rubies, emeralds, pearls, diamonds, and other coloured stones. There are, however, some significant differences between
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6678-674: The Red Fort of Delhi . The original throne was taken as a war trophy by Nader Shah , Shah of Iran in 1739 after his invasion of India . Its replacement disappeared during or soon after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 . Shah Jahan ruled in what is now considered the Golden Age of the vast Mughal Empire, which covered almost all of the Indian subcontinent. He ruled from the newly constructed capital of Shahjahanabad . The emperor
6837-667: The Sanskrit and Prakrit base of Old Hindi became enriched with loanwords from Persian , evolving into the present form of Hindustani. The Hindustani vernacular became an expression of Indian national unity during the Indian Independence movement , and continues to be spoken as the common language of the people of the northern Indian subcontinent , which is reflected in the Hindustani vocabulary of Bollywood films and songs. The language's core vocabulary
6996-574: The grammar , as well as the core Sanskritic and Prakritic vocabulary , of the local Indian language of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab called Khariboli . However, as an emerging common dialect, Hindustani absorbed large numbers of Persian, Arabic, and Turkic loanwords, and as Mughal conquests grew it spread as a lingua franca across much of northern India; this was a result of the contact of Hindu and Muslim cultures in Hindustan that created
7155-498: The subahdars of these provinces to demolish the schools and the temples of non-Muslims. Aurangzeb also ordered subahdars to punish Muslims who dressed like non-Muslims. The executions of the antinomian Sufi mystic Sarmad Kashani and the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur bear testimony to Aurangzeb's religious policy; the former was beheaded on multiple accounts of heresy, the latter, according to Sikhs, because he objected to Aurangzeb's forced conversions . Aurangzeb had also banned
7314-583: The 13th-14th century works of Amīr Khusrau Dehlavī , often called the "father of Urdu literature " while Walī Deccani is seen as the progenitor of Urdu poetry . The term bazaar Hindustani , in other words, the 'street talk' or literally 'marketplace Hindustani', also known as Colloquial Hindi or Simplified Urdu , has arisen to denote a colloquial register of the language that uses vocabulary common to both Hindi and Urdu while eschewing high-register and specialized Arabic or Sanskrit derived words. It has emerged in various South Asian cities where Hindustani
7473-405: The 18th century, towards the end of the Mughal period, with the fragmentation of the empire and the elite system, a variant of Hindustani, one of the successors of apabhraṃśa vernaculars at Delhi, and nearby cities, came to gradually replace Persian as the lingua franca among the educated elite upper class particularly in northern India, though Persian still retained much of its pre-eminence for
7632-551: The Constitution of India and is an official language of the Indian states of Jharkhand , Bihar , Telangana , Uttar Pradesh , West Bengal , and also the Union Territories of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. Although the government school system in most other states emphasises Standard Hindi, at universities in cities such as Lucknow , Aligarh and Hyderabad , Urdu is spoken and learnt, and Saaf or Khaalis Urdu
7791-751: The Deccan the zabt revenue system used in northern India. Murshid Quli Khan organised a survey of agricultural land and a tax assessment on what it produced. To increase revenue, Murshid Quli Khan granted loans for seed, livestock, and irrigation infrastructure. This led the Deccan region to return to prosperity. Aurangzeb proposed to resolve financial difficulties by attacking the dynastic occupants of Golconda (the Qutb Shahis ) and Bijapur (the Adil Shahis ). This proposal would also extend Mughal influence by accruing more lands. Aurangzeb advanced against
7950-484: The Deccan. After regaining some of his health, Shah Jahan moved to Agra and Dara urged him to send forces to challenge Shah Shuja and Murad, who had declared themselves rulers in their respective territories. While Shah Shuja was defeated at Banares in February 1658, the army sent to deal with Murad discovered to their surprise that he and Aurangzeb had combined their forces, the two brothers having agreed to partition
8109-452: The English text and proceedings in the higher appellate courts must be conducted in English. At the state level, Hindi is one of the official languages in 10 of the 29 Indian states and three Union Territories , respectively: Bihar , Chhattisgarh , Haryana , Himachal Pradesh , Jharkhand , Madhya Pradesh , Rajasthan , Uttarakhand , Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal ; Andaman and Nicobar Islands , Dadra and Nagar Haveli , and Delhi. In
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#17327647700848268-488: The Hindustani spoken in Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh (known for its usage of Urdu) and Varanasi (a holy city for Hindus and thus using highly Sanskritised Hindi) is somewhat different. Standard Hindi, one of the 22 officially recognized languages of India and the official language of the Union, is usually written in the indigenous Devanagari script of India and exhibits less Persian and Arabic influence than Urdu. It has
8427-560: The Latin script. This adaptation is called Roman Urdu or Romanised Hindi, depending upon the register used. Since Urdu and Hindi are mutually intelligible when spoken, Romanised Hindi and Roman Urdu (unlike Devanagari Hindi and Urdu in the Urdu alphabet) are mostly mutually intelligible as well. An example of colloquial Hindustani: The following is a sample text, Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , in
8586-523: The Mughal Empire culminated in the Battle of Karnal , on 13 February 1739, and the defeat of Muhammad Shah. Nadir Shah entered Delhi and sacked the city, in the course of which tens of thousands of inhabitants were massacred. Persian troops left Delhi at the beginning of May 1739, taking with them the throne as a war trophy. Their treasure haul amounted to a considerable reduction in Mughal wealth and an irreplaceable loss of cultural artefacts. Among
8745-573: The Mughal emperor. Along with the Peacock Throne, Nadir had also taken the fabulous Koh-i Noor and Darya-i Noor diamonds to Persia , where some became part of the Persian crown jewels , and others were sold to the Ottomans . The plunder taken by Nadir was so great that he stopped taxation for three years. The bottom half of the Peacock Throne might have been converted into the Sun Throne , also
8904-577: The Mughal historians Abdul Hamid Lahori and Inayat Khan , and the French travellers François Bernier and Jean-Baptiste Tavernier . No known painting of the throne that would match their descriptions exists. Abdul Hamid Lahori (d. 1654) describes, in his Padshahnama , the construction of the throne: In the course of years many valuable gems had come into the Imperial jewel-house, each one of which might serve as an ear-drop for Venus, or would adorn
9063-540: The Nizam Shahi dynasty to an end. In 1637, Aurangzeb married the Safavid princess Dilras Banu , posthumously known as Rabia-ud-Daurani. She was his first wife and chief consort as well as his favourite. He also had an infatuation with a slave girl, Hira Bai , whose death at a young age greatly affected him. In his old age, he was under the charms of his concubine, Udaipuri Mahal . The latter had formerly been
9222-505: The Peacock Throne has not been independently corroborated by scientists and historians. A replacement throne resembling the original was probably constructed for the Mughal emperor after the Persian invasion. The throne was located on the eastern side of the Divan-i-Khas , towards the windows. This throne, however, was also lost, possibly during or after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the subsequent looting and partial destruction of
9381-545: The Persian character, and, similarly, 'Hindī' can be confined to the form of Hindōstānī in which Sanskrit words abound, and which hence can only be written in the Dēva-nāgarī character. Before 1947, Hindustani was officially recognised by the British Raj. In the post-independence period however, the term Hindustani has lost currency and is not given any official recognition by the Indian or Pakistani governments. The language
9540-529: The Persian concept of kinship, the Farr-i-Aizadi, and based his rule on the Quranic concept of kingship. Shah Jahan had already moved away from the liberalism of Akbar , although in a token manner rather than with the intent of suppressing Hinduism, and Aurangzeb took the change still further. Though the approach to faith of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan was more syncretic than Babur , the founder of
9699-538: The Red Fort by the British. The marble pedestal on which it rested has survived and can still be seen today. In 1908, the New York Times reported that Caspar Purdon Clarke , Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, obtained what was purported to be a marble leg from the pedestal of the throne. Although mentioned in the 1908 annual report, the status of this pedestal leg remains unknown. There
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#17327647700849858-471: The Sultan of Bijapur and besieged Bidar . The Kiladar (governor or captain) of the fortified city, Sidi Marjan, was mortally wounded when a gunpowder magazine exploded. After twenty-seven days of fighting, Bidar was captured by the Mughals and Aurangzeb continued his advance. Aurangzeb suspected Dara had exerted influence on his father. He believed that he was on the verge of victory in both instances, and
10017-522: The Urdu alphabet, to the extent that these standards are partly defined by their script. However, in popular publications in India, Urdu is also written in Devanagari, with slight variations to establish a Devanagari Urdu alphabet alongside the Devanagari Hindi alphabet. Because of anglicisation in South Asia and the international use of the Latin script , Hindustani is occasionally written in
10176-484: The advent of the Mughals in the subcontinent, Hindustani acquired more Persian loanwords. Rekhta ('mixture'), Hindi ('Indian'), Hindustani, Hindvi, Lahori , and Dakni (amongst others) became popular names for the same language until the 18th century. The name Urdu (from Zabān-i-Ordu , or Orda ) appeared around 1780. It is believed to have been coined by the poet Mashafi . In local literature and speech, it
10335-552: The advice of his generals as the Mughal Army gathered and commenced the siege of Orchha in 1635. The campaign was successful and Singh was removed from power. Aurangzeb was appointed viceroy of the Deccan in 1636. After Shah Jahan's vassals had been devastated by the alarming expansion of Ahmednagar during the reign of the Nizam Shahi boy-prince Murtaza Shah III , the emperor dispatched Aurangzeb, who in 1636 brought
10494-497: The basis that the films feature too much Urdu, with some critics employing the epithet "Urduwood". Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb , and also by his regnal name Alamgir I , was the sixth Mughal emperor , reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707. Under his emperorship, Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent with territory spanning nearly
10653-470: The capital; Round his stirrups were the heavens and angels round his reins. A thousand thanks! The beauty of the world has revived With the early glory of the throne of multi-coloured gems. After Shah Jahan's death, his son Aurangzeb , who had the regnal name of Alamgir, ascended the Peacock Throne. Aurangzeb was the last of the strong Mughal emperors. After he died in 1707, his son Bahadur Shah I reigned from 1707 to 1712. Bahadur Shah I could keep
10812-631: The celebration of the Zoroastrian festival of Nauroz along with other un-Islamic ceremonies, and encouraged conversions to Islam; instances of persecution against particular Muslim factions were also reported. Yohanan Friedmann has reported that according to many modern historians and thinkers, the puritanical thought of Ahmad Sirhindi inspired the religious orthodoxy policy of Aurangzeb. Shortly after coming to power, Aurangzeb remitted more than 80 long-standing taxes affecting all of his subjects. In 1679, Aurangzeb chose to re-impose jizya ,
10971-514: The challengers were taking advantage of the situation. Shah Shuja in Bengal , where he had been governor since 1637 crowned himself King at RajMahal. He brought his cavalry, artillery and river flotilla upriver towards Agra. Near Varanasi his forces confronted a defending army sent from Delhi under the command of Prince Sulaiman Shukoh, son of Dara Shukoh, and Raja Jai Singh. Murad did the same in his governorship of Gujarat and Aurangzeb did so in
11130-439: The conquest of the Dakhin. The names of Sahib-kiran (Timur), Mir Shah Rukh, and Mirza Ulugh Beg were engraved on it. When in course of time it came into the possession of Shah 'Abbas, his name was added; and when Jahangir obtained it, he added the name of himself and of his father. Now it received the addition of the name of his most gracious Majesty Shah Jahan. By command of the Emperor, the following masnawi, by Haji Muhammad Jan,
11289-404: The different meanings of the word Hindi include, among others: Urdu is the national language and state language of Pakistan and one of the 22 officially recognised languages of India . It is written, except in some parts of India, in the Nastaliq style of the Urdu alphabet , an extended Perso-Arabic script incorporating Indic phonemes. It is heavily influenced by Persian vocabulary and
11448-400: The elephant was documented in Persian and Urdu verses. Aurangzeb was nominally in charge of the force sent to Bundelkhand with the intent of subduing the rebellious ruler of Orchha , Jhujhar Singh , who had attacked another territory in defiance of Shah Jahan's policy and was refusing to atone for his actions. By arrangement, Aurangzeb stayed in the rear, away from the fighting, and took
11607-489: The emboldened Aurangzeb's advance, Dara scrambled to form alliances in order but found that Aurangzeb had already courted key potential candidates. When Dara's disparate, hastily concocted army clashed with Aurangzeb's well-disciplined, battle-hardened force at the battle of Samugarh in late May, neither Dara's men nor his generalship were any match for Aurangzeb. Dara had also become over-confident in his own abilities and, by ignoring advice not to lead in battle while his father
11766-457: The emperor's annual birthday festival and the court's magnificence. Tavernier is considered among the least reliable from a conventionally historical perspective. Tavernier, however, describes seeing the throne in what is probably the Diwan-i-Am . One theory is that the throne was sometimes moved between the two halls, depending on the occasion. Tavernier also describes five other thrones in
11925-480: The empire once they had gained control of it. The two armies clashed at Dharmat in April 1658, with Aurangzeb being the victor. Shuja was chased through Bihar . The victory of Aurangzeb proved this to be a poor decision by Dara Shikoh, who now had a defeated force on one front and a successful force unnecessarily pre-occupied on another. Realising that his recalled Bihar forces would not arrive at Agra in time to resist
12084-431: The empire stable by maintaining a relaxed religious policy; however, after his death, the empire declined. A period of political instability, military defeats, and court intrigues led to a succession of weak emperors: Jahandar Shah ruled for one year from 1712–1713, Farrukhsiyar from 1713–1719, Rafi ud-Darajat and Shah Jahan II only for a couple of months in 1719. By the time Muhammad Shah came to power, Mughal power
12243-541: The empire, Aurangzeb's position is not so obvious. His emphasis on sharia competed, or was directly in conflict, with his insistence that zawabit or secular decrees could supersede sharia. The chief qazi refusing to crown him in 1659, Aurangzeb had a political need to present himself as a "defender of the sharia" due to popular opposition to his actions against his father and brothers. Despite claims of sweeping edicts and policies, contradictory accounts exist. Historian Katherine Brown has argued that Aurangzeb never imposed
12402-429: The empire, though this was not followed absolutely in regions such as Gujarat , where lands granted in in'am to Charans were not affected. In around 1679, he ordered destruction of several prominent temples, including those of Khandela, Udaipur, Chittor and Jodhpur, which were patronaged by rebels. The Jama Masjid at Golkunda was similarly treated, after it was found that its ruler had built it to hide revenues from
12561-691: The end of a long siege. At some point, Aurangzeb married Aurangabadi Mahal , who was a Circassian or Georgian . In 1644, Aurangzeb's sister, Jahanara , suffered from burns when the chemicals in her perfume were ignited by a nearby lamp while in Agra . This event precipitated a family crisis with political consequences. Aurangzeb suffered his father's displeasure by not returning to Agra immediately but rather three weeks later. Shah Jahan had been nursing Jahanara back to health in that time and thousands of vassals had arrived in Agra to pay their respects. Shah Jahan
12720-446: The end of the great hall, in the most magnificent attire. His vest was of white and delicately flowered satin, with a silk and gold embroidery of the finest texture. The turban, of gold cloth, had an aigrette whose base was composed of diamonds of an extraordinary size and value, besides an Oriental topaz, which may be pronounced unparalleled, exhibiting a lustre like the sun. A necklace of immense pearls, suspended from his neck, reached to
12879-525: The ensuing chaos. One of the unsubstantiated rumours claimed the throne was given to the Ottoman Sultan, although this could have been a minor throne produced in Persia and given as a gift. The Persian emperor Fath-Ali Shah commissioned the Sun Throne to be constructed in the early 19th century. The Sun Throne has a platform in the shape of that of the Peacock Throne. Some rumours claim that parts of
13038-406: The ensuing war of succession to the Mughal throne. Aurangzeb and his brother were consequently reunited with Shah Jahan in Agra . As a Mughal prince, Aurangzeb received an education covering subjects like combat, military strategy, and administration. His curriculum also included areas like Islamic studies, Turkic and Persian literature . Aurangzeb grew up fluent in the Hindustani language . He
13197-465: The entirety of the Indian subcontinent . Aurangzeb and the Mughals belonged to a branch of the Timurid dynasty . He held administrative and military posts under his father Shah Jahan ( r. 1628–1658 ) and gained recognition as an accomplished military commander. Aurangzeb served as the viceroy of the Deccan in 1636–1637 and the governor of Gujarat in 1645–1647. He jointly administered
13356-429: The extremity of the empire, combined with the poor quality of armaments and the intransigence of the opposition have been cited by John Richards as the reasons for failure. A third attempt in 1653, led by Dara Shikoh, met with the same outcome. Aurangzeb became viceroy of the Deccan again after he was replaced by Dara Shukoh in the attempt to recapture Kandahar. Aurangbad's two jagirs (land grants) were moved there as
13515-411: The fact that Dara was a poor general and leader. It also ignores the fact that factional lines in the succession dispute were not, by and large, shaped by ideology." Marc Gaborieau, professor of Indian studies at l' École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales , explains that "The loyalties of [officials and their armed contingents] seem to have been motivated more by their own interests, the closeness of
13674-421: The family relation and above all the charisma of the pretenders than by ideological divides." Muslims and Hindus did not divide along religious lines in their support for one pretender or the other nor, according to Chandra, is there much evidence to support the belief that Jahanara and other members of the royal family were split in their support. Jahanara, certainly, interceded at various times on behalf of all of
13833-549: The fight had ended fatally for me it would not have been a matter of shame. Death drops the curtain even on emperors; it is no dishonor. The shame lay in what my brothers did! Historians have interpreted this as an unjust slur against his brothers. Shuja had also faced the elephant and wounded it with his spear. Dara had been too far away to come to their assistance. Three days later Aurangzeb turned fifteen. Shah Jahan weighed him and presented him with his weight in gold along with other presents worth Rs. 200,000. His bravery against
13992-505: The final verse of which contains the date, was placed upon the inside of the canopy in letters of green enamel. On his return to Agra, the Emperor held a court, sat for the first time on his throne. The following is the account given of the throne in the Shahjahannama of Inayat Khan : The Nauroz of the year 1044 fell on the 'Id-i fitr, when His Majesty was to take his seat on the new jeweled throne. This gorgeous structure, with
14151-517: The forces loyal to Aurangzeb. Shah Shuja then fled to Arakan (in present-day Burma), where he was executed by the local rulers. With Shuja and Murad disposed of, and with his father immured in Agra, Aurangzeb pursued Dara Shikoh, chasing him across the north-western bounds of the empire. Aurangzeb claimed that Dara was no longer a Muslim and accused him of poisoning the Mughal Grand Vizier Saadullah Khan . After
14310-490: The formation of words in which the first element of the compound was from Khari Boli and the second from Persian , such as rajmahal 'palace' ( raja 'royal, king' + mahal 'house, place') and rangmahal 'fashion house' ( rang 'colour, dye' + mahal 'house, place'). As Muslim rule expanded, Hindustani speakers traveled to distant parts of India as administrators, soldiers, merchants, and artisans. As it reached new areas, Hindustani further hybridized with local languages. In
14469-489: The girdle of the Sun. Upon the accession of the Emperor, it occurred to his mind that, in the opinion of far-seeing men, the acquisition of such rare jewels and the keeping of such wonderful brilliants can only render one service, that of adorning the throne of empire. They ought therefore, to be put to such a use, that beholders might share in and benefit by their splendour, and that Majesty might shine with increased brilliancy. It
14628-457: The governorship of Bengal. This move had the effect of isolating Dara Shikoh and causing more troops to defect to Aurangzeb. Shah Shuja, who had declared himself emperor in Bengal began to annex more territory and this prompted Aurangzeb to march from Punjab with a new and large army that fought during the battle of Khajwa , where Shah Shuja and his chain-mail armoured war elephants were routed by
14787-423: The inside was to be thickly set with rubies, garnets, and other jewels, and it was to be supported by twelve emerald columns. On the top of each pillar there were to be two peacocks thick set with gems, and between each two peacocks a tree set with rubies and diamonds, emeralds and pearls. The ascent was to consist of three steps set with jewels of fine water. This throne was completed in the course of seven years at
14946-466: The intensiveness of Hindi in the curriculum varies. Urdu is the national language ( قومی زبان , qaumi zabān ) of Pakistan, where it shares official language status with English . Although English is spoken by many, and Punjabi is the native language of the majority of the population, Urdu is the lingua franca . In India, Urdu is one of the languages recognised in the Eighth Schedule to
15105-623: The known precious stones that Nadir Shah looted were the Akbar Shah , Great Mughal , Great Table , Koh-i-Noor , and Shah diamonds, as well as the Samarian spinel and the Timur ruby . These stones were either part of the Peacock Throne or were in possession of the Mughal emperors. The Akbar Shah Diamond was said to form one of the eyes of a peacock, as did the Koh-i-Noor. The Shah diamond
15264-429: The late 19th century, they used the words 'Hindustani', 'Hindi', and 'Urdu' interchangeably. They developed it as the language of administration of British India , further preparing it to be the official language of modern India and Pakistan. However, with independence, use of the word 'Hindustani' declined, being largely replaced by 'Hindi' and 'Urdu', or 'Hindi–Urdu' when either of those was too specific. More recently,
15423-555: The liberal use of English or Hinglish in scripts and soundtrack lyrics. Film titles are often screened in three scripts: Latin, Devanagari and occasionally Perso-Arabic. The use of Urdu or Hindi in films depends on the film's context: historical films set in the Delhi Sultanate or Mughal Empire are almost entirely in Urdu, whereas films based on Hindu mythology or ancient India make heavy use of Hindi with Sanskrit vocabulary. In recent years, boycotts have been launched against Bollywood films by Hindu nationalists partially on
15582-519: The local language. Alongside Persian, it achieved the status of a literary language in Muslim courts and was also used for literary purposes in various other settings such as Sufi , Nirgun Sant , Krishna Bhakta circles, and Rajput Hindu courts. Its majors centres of development included the Mughal courts of Delhi, Lucknow , Agra and Lahore as well as the Rajput courts of Amber and Jaipur . In
15741-586: The magnitude and importance of separate language. It is linguistic result of Muslim rule of eleventh & twelfth centuries and is spoken (except in rural Bengal ) by many Hindus in North India and by Musalman population in all parts of India." Next to English it was the official language of British Indian Empire , was commonly written in Arabic or Persian characters, and was spoken by approximately 100,000,000 people. The process of hybridization also led to
15900-626: The maintenance of shrines of worship but also (often) ordered their destruction. Modern historians reject the thought-school of colonial and nationalist historians about these destruction being guided by religious zealotry; rather, the association of temples with sovereignty, power and authority is emphasized upon. Whilst constructing mosques were considered an act of royal duty to subjects, there are also several firmans in Aurangzeb's name, supporting temples, maths , chishti shrines, and gurudwaras , including Mahakaleshwar temple of Ujjain ,
16059-496: The masses as well as Hindu court officials. In order to meet state expenditures, Aurangzeb had ordered increases in land taxes; the burden of which fell heavily upon the Hindu Jats. The reimposition of the jizya encouraged Hindus to flee to areas under East India Company jurisdiction, under which policies of religious sufferance and pretermissions of religious taxes prevailed. Aurangzeb issued land grants and provided funds for
16218-508: The name of Hindi became increasingly politicised in the course of the century and gained pace around 1880 in an effort to displace Urdu's official position. John Fletcher Hurst in his book published in 1891 mentioned that the Hindustani or camp language of the Mughal Empire 's courts at Delhi was not regarded by philologists as a distinct language but only as a dialect of Hindi with admixture of Persian. He continued: "But it has all
16377-419: The number of Hindu officials in the Mughal administration rose by half, to represent 31.6% of Mughal nobility, the highest in the Mughal era. Many of them were Marathas and Rajputs , who were his political allies. However, Aurangzeb encouraged high ranking Hindu officials to convert to Islam. Under his reign, the Mughal Empire contributed to the world's GDP by nearly 25%, surpassing Qing China , making it
16536-443: The officials allow a woman to be burnt" . Although Aurangzeb's orders could be evaded with payment of bribes to officials, adds Ikram, later European travellers record that sati was not much practised in Mughal empire, and that Sati was "very rare, except it be some Rajah's wives, that the Indian women burn at all" by the end of Aurangzeb's reign. Historian Katherine Brown has noted that "The very name of Aurangzeb seems to act in
16695-545: The original Peacock Throne were used in its construction, although there is no evidence. Over time, the Sun Throne was erroneously called the Peacock Throne, a term the West later appropriated as a metonym for the Persian monarchy. No structural parts proven to be of the original Peacock Throne survived. Only some of the diamonds and precious stones attributed to it have survived and been re-worked. A Sikh legend has it that
16854-477: The original, it featured 12 columns. The columns carried a Bengali do-chala roof, which was graced with two peacock statues on the two ends, carrying pearl necklaces in their beaks and two peacocks at the top, also carrying pearl necklaces in their beaks. The two lower peacocks were in the center underneath a flower bouquet made of jewels or under a royal umbrella. A canopy of precious and colorful textiles and gold and silver threads protected this throne. The canopy
17013-483: The popular imagination as a signifier of politico-religious bigotry and repression, regardless of historical accuracy." The subject has also resonated in modern times with popularly accepted claims that he intended to destroy the Bamiyan Buddhas . As a political and religious conservative, Aurangzeb chose not to follow the secular-religious viewpoints of his predecessors after his ascension. He made no mention of
17172-512: The princes and was well-regarded by Aurangzeb even though she shared the religious outlook of Dara. In 1656, a general under Qutb Shahi dynasty named Musa Khan led an army of 12,000 musketeers to attack Aurangzeb, who was besieging Golconda Fort . Later in the same campaign, Aurangzeb, in turn, rode against an army consisting of 8,000 horsemen and 20,000 Karnataki musketeers. After making clear his desire for his son Dara to take over after him, Shah Jahan fell ill with stranguary in 1657. He
17331-505: The provinces of Multan and Sindh in 1648–1652 and continued expeditions into the neighboring Safavid territories. In September 1657, Shah Jahan nominated his eldest and liberalist son Dara Shikoh as his successor, a move repudiated by Aurangzeb, who proclaimed himself emperor in February 1658. In April 1658, Aurangzeb defeated the allied army of Shikoh and the Kingdom of Marwar at the Battle of Dharmat . Aurangzeb's decisive victory at
17490-484: The purpose of displaying the immense quantity of precious stones accumulated successively in the treasury from the spoils of ancient Rajas and Patans, and the annual presents to the Monarch, which every Omrah is bound to make on certain festivals. The construction and workmanship of the throne are not worthy of the materials; but two peacocks, covered with jewels and pearls, are well conceived and executed. They were made by
17649-421: The remaining states, Hindi is not an official language. In states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka , studying Hindi is not compulsory in the state curriculum. However, an option to take the same as second or third language does exist. In many other states, studying Hindi is usually compulsory in the school curriculum as a third language (the first two languages being the state's official language and English), though
17808-448: The result that Hindustani commonly, but mistakenly, came to be seen as a "mixture" of Hindi and Urdu. Grierson , in his highly influential Linguistic Survey of India , proposed that the names Hindustani, Urdu, and Hindi be separated in use for different varieties of the Hindustani language, rather than as the overlapping synonyms they frequently were: We may now define the three main varieties of Hindōstānī as follows:—Hindōstānī
17967-428: The ruler floating above the ground and closer to heaven. Said Gilani and his workers from the imperial goldsmiths' department were commissioned to construct this new throne. It took seven years to complete. Large amounts of solid gold, precious stones, and pearls were used, creating a masterful piece of Mughal artistry that was unsurpassed before or after its creation. It was an opulent indulgence that could only be seen by
18126-540: The same and derive from a Prakritic base, and both have Persian/Arabic influence. The standardised registers Hindi and Urdu are collectively known as Hindi–Urdu . Hindustani is the lingua franca of the north and west of the Indian subcontinent , though it is understood fairly well in other regions also, especially in the urban areas. This has led it to be characterised as a continuum that ranges between Hindi and Urdu. A common vernacular sharing characteristics with Sanskritised Hindi, regional Hindi and Urdu, Hindustani
18285-467: The spoken level, Hindi and Urdu are considered registers of a single language, Hindustani or Hindi–Urdu, as they share a common grammar and core vocabulary, they differ in literary and formal vocabulary; where literary Hindi draws heavily on Sanskrit and to a lesser extent Prakrit , literary Urdu draws heavily on Persian and Arabic loanwords. The grammar and base vocabulary (most pronouns, verbs, adpositions, etc.) of both Hindi and Urdu, however, are
18444-654: The state; however desecration of mosques are rare due to their complete lack of political capital contra temples. In an order specific to Benaras, Aurangzeb invokes Sharia to declare that Hindus will be granted state-protection and temples won't be razed (but prohibits construction of any new temple); other orders to similar effect can be located. Richard Eaton, upon a critical evaluation of primary sources, counts 15 temples to have been destroyed during Aurangzeb's reign. Ian Copland and others reiterate Iqtidar Alam Khan who notes that, overall, Aurangzeb built more temples than he destroyed. Aurangzeb received tribute from all over
18603-498: The stomach, in the same manner as many of the Gentiles wear their strings of beads. The throne was supported by six massive feet, said to be of solid gold, sprinkled over with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. I cannot tell you with accuracy the number or value of this vast collection of precious stones, because no person may approach sufficiently near to reckon them, or judge of their water and clearness; but I can assure you that there
18762-459: The subcontinent was endorsed by Mahatma Gandhi , as it was not seen to be associated with either the Hindu or Muslim communities as was the case with Hindi and Urdu respectively, and it was also considered a simpler language for people to learn. The conversion from Hindi to Urdu (or vice versa) is generally achieved by merely transliterating between the two scripts . Translation, on the other hand,
18921-408: The superintendent of the goldsmith's department. There was also to be given to him one lakh of tolas of pure gold, equal to 250,000 miskals in weight and fourteen lakhs of rupees in value. The throne was to be three gaz in length, two and a half in breadth, and five in height, and was to be set with the above-mentioned jewels. The outside of the canopy was to be of enamel work with occasional gems,
19080-441: The surprise of the opposing force commander. With the onset of winter, he and his father had to make an unsatisfactory deal with the Uzbeks. They had to give away territory in exchange for nominal recognition of Mughal sovereignty. The Mughal force suffered still further with attacks by Uzbeks and other tribesmen as it retreated through the snow to Kabul . By the end of this two-year campaign, into which Aurangzeb had been plunged at
19239-560: The thirteenth century during the Delhi Sultanate period in North India, used these forms (which was the lingua franca of the period) in his writings and referred to it as Hindavi ( Persian : ھندوی , lit. 'of Hind or India '). By the end of the century, the military exploits of Alauddin Khalji , introduced the language in the Deccan region, which led to the development of its southern dialect Deccani , which
19398-423: The throne. He praised the matchless skill of the artisans, the "heaven-depleting grandeur" of its gold and jewels, and included the date in the letters of the phrase "the throne of the just king". Poet Abu-Talib Kalim was given six pieces of gold for each verse in his poem of sixty-three couplets. The emperor summoned master goldsmith Said Gilani and showered him with honours, including his weight in gold coins and
19557-491: The title "Peerless Master" ( Bibadal Khan ). Gilani produced a poem of 134 couplets, filled with chronograms , the first twelve couplets giving the date of the emperor's birth, the following thirty-two the date of his first coronation, then ninety couplets giving the date of the throne's inauguration. Towards India he turned his reins quickly and went in all glory, Driving like the blowing wind, dapple-grey steed swift as lightning. With bounty and liberality, he returned to
19716-509: The two descriptions: Apart from the significant differences between the two accounts given above, there are several details provided in Lahori's account that are not mentioned in Tavernier's, and vice versa. Tavernier was allowed to inspect the throne and its jewels closely and wrote the most well-known detailed description. After Nadir Shah took the original , another throne was made for
19875-831: The two official registers of Hindustani, Hindi and Urdu. Because this is a formal legal text, differences in vocabulary are most pronounced. अनुच्छेद १ — सभी मनुष्यों को गौरव और अधिकारों के विषय में जन्मजात स्वतन्त्रता और समानता प्राप्त हैं। उन्हें बुद्धि और अन्तरात्मा की देन प्राप्त है और परस्पर उन्हें भाईचारे के भाव से बर्ताव करना चाहिए। :دفعہ ١: تمام اِنسان آزاد اور حُقوق و عِزت کے اعتبار سے برابر پَیدا ہُوئے ہَیں۔ انہیں ضمِیر اور عقل ودِیعت ہوئی ہَیں۔ اِس لئے انہیں ایک دُوسرے کے ساتھ بھائی چارے کا سُلُوک کرنا چاہئے۔ The predominant Indian film industry Bollywood , located in Mumbai , Maharashtra uses Standard Hindi, colloquial Hindustani, Bombay Hindi , Urdu , Awadhi , Rajasthani , Bhojpuri , and Braj Bhasha , along with Punjabi and with
20034-406: The unemployed, the ill, and the insane were all perpetually exempted. The collectors were mandated to be Muslims. A majority of modern scholars reject that religious bigotry influenced the imposition; rather, realpolitik – economic constraints as a result of multiple ongoing battles and establishment of credence with the orthodox Ulemas – are held to be primary agents. Aurangzeb also enforced
20193-455: The word 'Hindustani' has been used for the colloquial language of Bollywood films, which are popular in both India and Pakistan and which cannot be unambiguously identified as either Hindi or Urdu. British rule over India also introduced some English words into Hindustani, with these influences increasing with the later spread of English as a world language. This has created a new variant of Hindustani known as Hinglish or Urdish . At
20352-433: The world after English and Mandarin , with 843 million native and second-language speakers, according to Ethnologue , though this includes millions who self-reported their language as 'Hindi' on the Indian census but speak a number of other Hindi languages than Hindustani. The total number of Hindi–Urdu speakers was reported to be over 300 million in 1995, making Hindustani the third- or fourth-most spoken language in
20511-411: The world's largest economy and biggest manufacturing power, more than the entirety of Western Europe, and signaled proto-industrialization . Aurangzeb was an orthodox Muslim ruler. Subsequent to the policies of his three predecessors, he endeavored to make Islam a dominant force in his reign. However these efforts brought him into conflict with the forces that were opposed to this revival. Aurangzeb
20670-678: The world's largest economy and biggest manufacturing power. The Mughal military gradually improved and became one of the strongest armies in the world. A staunch Muslim, Aurangzeb is credited with the construction of numerous mosques and patronizing works of Arabic calligraphy . He successfully imposed the Fatawa-i Alamgiri as the principal regulating body of the empire and prohibited religiously forbidden activities in Islam. Although Aurangzeb suppressed several local revolts, he maintained cordial relations with foreign governments. Aurangzeb
20829-556: The world. Early forms of present-day Hindustani developed from the Middle Indo-Aryan apabhraṃśa vernaculars of present-day North India in the 7th–13th centuries. Hindustani emerged as a contact language around the Ganges-Yamuna Doab ( Delhi , Meerut and Saharanpur ), a result of the increasing linguistic diversity that occurred during the Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent . Amir Khusrow , who lived in
20988-597: Was a follower of the Mujaddidi Order and a disciple of the son of the Punjabi saint, Ahmad Sirhindi . He sought to establish Islamic rule as instructed and inspired by him. Sheikh Muhammad Ikram stated that after returning from Kashmir, Aurangzeb issued order in 1663, to ban the practice of Sati , a Hindu practice to burn a widow whenever her husband passed away. Ikram recorded that Aurangzeb issued decree: "in all lands under Mughal control, never again should
21147-423: Was accordingly ordered that, in addition to the jewels in the Imperial jewel-house, rubies, garnets, diamonds, rich pearls and emeralds, to the value of 200 lacs of rupees, should be brought for the inspection of the Emperor, and that they, with some exquisite jewels of great weight, exceeding 50,000 miskals , and worth eighty-six lacs of rupees, having been carefully selected, should be handed over to Bebadal Khan,
21306-465: Was alive, he cemented the idea that he had usurped the throne. "After the defeat of Dara, Shah Jahan was imprisoned in the fort of Agra where he spent eight long years under the care of his favourite daughter Jahanara." Aurangzeb then broke his arrangement with Murad Baksh, which probably had been his intention all along. Instead of looking to partition the empire between himself and Murad, he had his brother arrested and imprisoned at Gwalior Fort. Murad
21465-494: Was also fluent in his ancestral language of Chagatai Turkic , but similar to his predecessors, he preferred to use Persian . On 28 May 1633, a war elephant stampeded through the Mughal imperial encampment. Aurangzeb rode against the elephant and threw his spear at its head. He was unhorsed but escaped death. For his courage, Aurangzeb's father conferred on him the title of Bahadur (brave) and presented him with gifts. When chided for his recklessness, Aurangzeb replied: If
21624-674: Was also known as the Lashkari Zabān (military language) or Lashkari . Mashafi was the first person to simply modify the name Zabān-i-Ordu to Urdu . During the British Raj , the term Hindustani was used by British officials. In 1796, John Borthwick Gilchrist published "A Grammar of the Hindoostanee Language". Upon partition , India and Pakistan established national standards that they called Hindi and Urdu, respectively, and attempted to make distinct, with
21783-521: Was born during the reign of his patrilineal grandfather Jahangir ( r. 1605–1627 ), the fourth emperor of the Mughal Empire . In June 1626, after an unsuccessful rebellion by his father, eight-year-old Aurangzeb and his brother Dara Shikoh were sent to the Mughal court in Lahore as hostages of their grandfather Jahangir and his wife, Nur Jahan , as part of their father's pardon deal. After Jahangir died in 1627, Shah Jahan emerged victorious in
21942-542: Was born in Dahod on 3 November 1618. His father was Emperor Shah Jahan ( r. 1628–1658 ), who hailed from the Mughal house of the Timurid dynasty . The latter was descended from Emir Timur ( r. 1370–1405 ), the founder of the Timurid Empire . Aurangzeb's mother Mumtaz Mahal was the daughter of the Persian nobleman Asaf Khan , who was the youngest son of vizier Mirza Ghiyas . Aurangzeb
22101-721: Was carried by four slender columns or beams made out of metal. Underneath the throne, colorful and precious carpets were laid out. Hindustani language Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in North India and Pakistan , and functioning as the lingua franca of the region. It is also spoken by the Deccani people . Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers , known as Hindi (written in Devanagari script and influenced by Sanskrit ) and Urdu (written in Perso-Arabic script and influenced by Persian and Arabic ) which serve as official languages of India and Pakistan, respectively. Thus, it
22260-479: Was completed in seven years, and among the precious stones was a ruby worth a lakh of rupees that Shah 'Abbas Safavi had sent to the late Emperor, on which were inscribed the names of the great Timur Sahih-Kiran, etc. The French physician and traveller François Bernier described, in his Travels in the Mogul Empire A.D. 1656–1668 , the throne in the Diwan-i-Khas : The King appeared seated upon his throne, at
22419-468: Was described by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier as being on the side of the throne. Many of these stones ended up becoming part of the Persian crown jewels and, later, the British crown jewels as a result of Great Britain's colonial expansion into the region. When Nadir Shah was assassinated by his officers on 19 June 1747, the throne disappeared, most probably being dismantled or destroyed for its valuables, in
22578-564: Was done for political reasons. Aurangzeb had his allied brother Prince Murad Baksh held for murder, judged and then executed. Aurangzeb was accused of poisoning his imprisoned nephew Sulaiman Shikoh . Having secured his position, Aurangzeb confined his frail father at the Agra Fort but did not mistreat him. Shah Jahan was cared for by Jahanara and died in 1666. Aurangzeb's imperial bureaucracy employed significantly more Hindus than that of his predecessors. Between 1679 and 1707,
22737-518: Was doubly auspicious, since it coincided exactly with Eid al-Fitr , the end of Ramadan, and Nowruz , the Persian New Year. The emperor and the court were returning from Kashmir, and it was determined that the third day of Nowruz would be the most auspicious day for him to enter the capital and take his seat on the throne. Muhammad Qudsi, the emperor's favourite poet, was chosen to compose twenty verses inscribed in emerald and green enamel on
22896-524: Was established by Raja Man Singh, whose grandson Jai Singh was believed to have facilitated Shivaji's escape. After the Jat rebellion in Mathura (early 1670), which killed the patron of the town-mosque, Aurangzeb suppressed the rebels and ordered for the city's Kesava Deo temple to be demolished, and replaced with an Eidgah . In 1672–73, Aurangzeb ordered the resumption of all grants held by Hindus throughout
23055-537: Was executed on 4 December 1661, ostensibly for the murder of the diwan of Gujarat. The allegation was encouraged by Aurangzeb, who caused the diwan's son to seek retribution for the death under the principles of Sharia law . Meanwhile, Dara gathered his forces, and moved to the Punjab . The army sent against Shuja was trapped in the east, its generals Jai Singh and Dilir Khan submitted to Aurangzeb, but Dara's son, Suleiman Shikoh, escaped. Aurangzeb offered Shah Shuja
23214-414: Was frustrated that Shah Jahan chose then to settle for negotiations with the opposing forces rather than pushing for complete victory. The four sons of Shah Jahan all held governorships during their father's reign. The emperor favoured the eldest, Dara Shikoh . This had caused resentment among the younger three, who sought at various times to strengthen alliances between themselves and against Dara. There
23373-433: Was his great privilege to be invited by emperor Aurangzeb himself to visit the court at Delhi, where he remained as Aurangzeb's guest for two months, from 12 September 1665 to 11 November 1665. Tavernier was invited so the emperor could inspect the jewels he had brought from the West, intending to purchase them. During this visit, Tavernier sold several jewels to the emperor and the emperor's uncle, Jafar Khan, and established
23532-519: Was historically also known as Rekhta . As Dakhini (or Deccani) where it also draws words from local languages, it survives and enjoys a rich history in the Deccan and other parts of South India , with the prestige dialect being Hyderabadi Urdu spoken in and around the capital of the Nizams and the Deccan Sultanates . Earliest forms of the language's literature may be traced back to
23691-463: Was imprisoned at Agra Fort. In January 1666, only a few months after Tavernier's stay, Shah Jahan died, and Aurangzeb claimed the remaining stones. Tavernier gives a detailed description of the Peacock Throne in his book Les Six Voyages de J. B. Tavernier , published in 1676 in two volumes. The account of the throne appears in Chapter VIII of Volume II, in which he describes the preparations for
23850-457: Was kept in seclusion and cared for by Dara in the newly built city of Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi). Rumours spread that Shah Jahan had died, which led to concerns among his younger sons. Subsequently, these younger sons took military actions seemingly in response but it is not known whether these preparations were made in the mistaken belief that the rumours of death of Shah Jahan were true and that Dara might be hiding it for political gain, or whether
24009-432: Was no Mughal tradition of primogeniture , the systematic passing of rule, upon an emperor's death, to his eldest son. Instead it was customary for sons to overthrow their father and for brothers to war to the death among themselves. Historian Satish Chandra says that "In the ultimate resort, connections among the powerful military leaders, and military strength and capacity [were] the real arbiters". The contest for power
24168-404: Was not initially given the name by which it became known. It was known as the "Jeweled Throne" or "Ornamented Throne" ( Takht-Murassa ). It received its name from later historians because of the peacock statues featured on it. The Peacock Throne was inaugurated in a triumphant ceremony on 22 March 1635, the formal seventh anniversary of Shah Jahan's accession. The date was chosen by astrologers and
24327-415: Was outraged to see Aurangzeb enter the interior palace compound in military attire and immediately dismissed him from his position of viceroy of the Deccan; Aurangzeb was also no longer allowed to use red tents or to associate himself with the official military standard of the Mughal emperor. Other sources state that Aurangzeb was dismissed from his position because Aurangzeb left the life of luxury and became
24486-526: Was primarily between Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb because, although all four sons had demonstrated competence in their official roles, it was around these two that the supporting cast of officials and other influential people mostly circulated. There were ideological differences – Dara was an intellectual and a religious liberal in the mould of Akbar, while Aurangzeb was much more conservative – but, as historians Barbara D. Metcalf and Thomas R. Metcalf say, "To focus on divergent philosophies neglects
24645-829: Was promoted by Muslim rulers in the Deccan. The Delhi Sultanate, which comprised several Turkic and Afghan dynasties that ruled much of the subcontinent from Delhi, was succeeded by the Mughal Empire in 1526 and preceded by the Ghorid dynasty and Ghaznavid Empire before that. Ancestors of the language were known as Hindui , Hindavi , Zabān-e Hind ( transl. 'Language of India' ), Zabān-e Hindustan ( transl. 'Language of Hindustan' ), Hindustan ki boli ( transl. 'Language of Hindustan' ), Rekhta , and Hindi. Its regional dialects became known as Zabān-e Dakhani in southern India, Zabān-e Gujari ( transl. 'Language of Gujars' ) in Gujarat, and as Zabān-e Dehlavi or Urdu around Delhi. It
24804-436: Was seriously declining, and the empire was vulnerable. Nevertheless, under the generous patronage of Muhammad Shah, the court at Delhi became again a beacon of the arts and culture. Administrative reforms could not, however, stop the later Mughal-Maratha Wars , which significantly sapped the imperial forces. It was only a question of time until forces from neighbouring Persia saw their chance to invade. Nader Shah's invasion of
24963-442: Was the focus around which everything else revolved, giving audiences and receiving petitioners. The ruler's court was to be a mirror image of paradise on earth, in the very center of the empire, and such a ruler would be worthy of a Throne of Solomon (تختِ سليمان, Takht-e-Sulaiman) to underscore his position as a just king. Like Solomon's throne, the Peacock Throne was to be covered in gold and jewels, with steps leading up to it, with
25122-559: Was the longest reigning Mughal Emperor. His empire was also one of the largest in Indian history. However, his emperorship has a complicated legacy. His critics, citing his actions against the non-Muslims and his conservative view of Islam, argue that he abandoned the legacy of pluralism and tolerance of the earlier Mughal emperors. Others, however, reject these assertions, arguing that he opposed bigotry against Hindus, Sikhs and Shia Muslims and that he employed significantly more Hindus in his imperial bureaucracy than his predecessors. Aurangzeb
25281-760: Was written in the Kaithi , Devanagari, and Urdu alphabets. Kaithi and Devanagari are two of the Brahmic scripts native to India, whereas the Urdu alphabet is a derivation of the Perso-Arabic script written in Nastaʿlīq , which is the preferred calligraphic style for Urdu. Today, Hindustani continues to be written in the Urdu alphabet in Pakistan. In India, the Hindi register is officially written in Devanagari, and Urdu in
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