Padshahnama

Padshahnama
The cover of the Windsor Padshahnama
AuthorMuhammad Amin Qazvini
Jalaluddin Tabatabai
Abdul Hamid Lahori
LanguagePersian
GenreBiography
Set in17th century Mughal India
PublisherMuhammad Waris
Publication date
1630–1637
Publication placeMughal Empire (India)
TextPadshahnama at Wikisource

Padshahnama or Badshah Nama (Persian: پادشاهنامه or پادشاه‌نامه; lit.'The Book of the Emperor') is a group of works written as the official history of the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan I. Unillustrated texts are known as Shahjahannama, with Padshahnama used for the illustrated manuscript versions. These works are among the major sources of information about Shah Jahan's reign. Lavishly illustrated copies were produced in the imperial workshops, with many Mughal miniatures. Although military campaigns are given the most prominence, the illustrations and paintings in the manuscripts of these works illuminate life in the imperial court, depicting weddings and other activities.

Portrait of Emperor Shah Jahan I on the Peacock Throne

The most significant work of this genre was written by Abdul Hamid Lahori, the pupil of Akbar's biographer Abdul Fazal, in two volumes. He could not write the third volume of this genre because of the infirmities of old age. [1]

  1. ^ Majumdar, R. C. (ed.) (2007). The Mughul Empire, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-407-1, p.9