The Last Mughal

by William Dalrymple

  Vicky Bowman moved heaven and earth to get me into the Rangoon Archives, while F. S. Aijazuddin performed a similar service in Lahore. Aijaz also told me about the magnificent and previously unpublished oil painting of Zafar in the Lahore Fort, and not once but three times got it down to have it photographed for the cover of this book.

  Many others have helped with advice, scholarship or friendship and I would also like to thank the following by name:

  In the UK: Charles Allen, Chris Bayly, Jonathan Bond, John Falconer, Emma Flatt, Christopher Hampton, Christopher Hibbert, Amin Jaffer, Eleanor O’Keefe, Rosie Llewellyn Jones, Jerry Losty, Avril Powell, Ralph Russell, Susan Stronge, Veronica Telfer, Philippa Vaughan and Brigid Waddams. Particular thanks are due to Mehra Dalton of the wonderful Greaves Travel, who flew me back and forth from London to Delhi; and to my brothers and parents in Scotland.

  In the US: Indrani Chatterjee, Niall Ferguson, Glenn Horovitz, Navina Haidar, Ruby Lal, Barbara Metcalf, Elbrun Kimmelman, Tracey Jackson, Salman Rushdie, Sylvia Shorto and Stuart Cary Welch.

  In India: Seema Alavi, Pablo Bartholemew, the late Mirza Farid Beg, Rana Behal, Gurcharan Das, Sundeep Dougal, John Fritz, Narayani Gupta, Ed Luce, the late Veena Kapoor, A. R. Khaleel, Jean-Marie Lafont, Swapna Liddle, Shireen Miller, Gail Minault, Samina Mishra, Harbans Mukhia, Veena Oldenberg, Pradip Krishen, George Michell, Aslam Parvez, Arundhati Roy, Kaushik Roy, Aradhana Seth, Faith Singh, Mala Singh, Manvender Singh and Pavan Varma. Stanley, Stella and Dougal did a wonderful job keeping us all in one piece at Dr Chopra’s Farm.

  David Godwin fought incredibly hard (and ingeniously) to effect my move to Bloomsbury, and has been a wonderfully loyal and wise friend throughout. My different publishers have all been full of good advice – Alexandra Pringle, Nigel Newton and Trâm-Anh Doan at Bloomsbury; Sonny Mehta and Diana Tejerina at Knopf; Thomas Abraham, Ravi Singh, David Davidar and Hemali Sodhi at Penguin India; Paolo Zaninoni at Rizzoli; and Marc Parent at Buchet Chastel. Most of all I would like to thank Michael Fishwick, who has been my wise editor and generous friend for twenty years, first at HarperCollins and now, exactly two decades on from signing me up for In Xanadu, at Bloomsbury.

  Writing a book puts pressure on the most patient of families, and I have been especially lucky with mine: not only did they all uproot themselves from homes and schools in London and move to Delhi while I researched this book, Sam and Adam also put up with the loss of bedtime stories while I was writing; and my gentle, beautiful and sweet-natured Olivia has been almost superhumanly sensitive and forbearing with her husband as he locked himself away from family life for six months and immersed himself instead in the inner courtyards of the Mughal court.

  Particularly touching has been the interest taken in the whole project by my eleven-year-old daughter, Ibby. Having appointed herself editor-in-chief, she proved a surprisingly tough critic of her father’s tendency to use, as she puts it, ‘too many words’. This book – somewhat shorter than it would otherwise have been – is dedicated to her, with all my love.

  GLOSSARY

  Akhbars Newspapers or, before that, Indian court newsletters

  Alam Standards used by Shi’as as focuses for their Muharram (qv) venerations. Usually tear-shaped (as illustrated in the text breaks of this book) or fashioned into the shape of a hand, they are stylised representations of the standards carried by Imam Hussain at the Battle of Kerbala in AD 680. Often highly ornate and beautiful objects, the best of them are among the greatest masterpieces of medieval Indian metal-work

  Amir Nobleman, leader or wealthy individual

  Arrack Indian absinthe

  Arzee Persian petition

  Ashur khana Mourning hall for use during Muharram (qv)

  Avadh (or Oudh) Region of central North India, which in the early nineteenth century was ruled by the Nawab in Lucknow, until annexed by the British in 1856. Most of the sepoys in British service were drawn from this region

  Avatar An incarnation

  Azan The Muslim call to prayer

  Badmash Rogue or ruffian

  Baniya Moneylender

  Banka Mughal gallant

  Baradari A Mughal-style open pavilion with three arches on each side (lit. ‘twelve doors’)

  Barakat Blessings

  Barat Marriage procession taking a groom to his marriage

  Barf Khana Ice house

  Barqandaz Armed police constable

  Bayat An oath of allegiance

  Begum Indian Muslim noblewoman. A title of rank and respect: ‘Madam’

  Betel Nut used as a mild narcotic in India, and eaten as paan (qv)

  Bhands Buffoons, mummers or mimics

  Bhang A traditional, mildly narcotic drink in which milk and spices are mixed with marijuana

  Bhatta Extra allowance, given to the Company’s sepoys in time of war

  Bhisti Water carrier

  Bibi An Indian wife or mistress

  Bibi ghar ‘Women’s house’ or zenana (qv)

  Biryani Rice and meat dish

  Brahmin The Hindu priestly caste and the top rung of the caste pyramid

  Chamars Untouchables often of the sweeper caste

  Char bagh A formal Mughal garden, named after its division into four (char) squares by a cross of runnels and fountains

  Charpoy A rustic bedstead

  Chain A domed kiosk supported on pillars, often used as a decorative feature to top turrets and minarets (lit. ‘umbrella’)

  Chaukidar Guard or nightwatchman

  Chobdars Ceremonial mace bearers

  Choli Short (and at this period usually transparent) Indian bodice

  Coss Mughal measurement of distance amounting to just over three miles

  Dafadar Sepoy rank equivalent to petty officer

  Daftar Office or, in the Nizam’s palace, chancellery

  Damdama Mud fort

  Danga Disturbance

  Dak Post (sometimes spelt ‘dawke’ in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries)

  Dak gharee Post carriage Dargah Sufi shrine

  Darogah Officer, superintendent or overseer. In the seventeenth century the darogah was the chief executive of the royal household, but by the nineteenth century the term was used for middle – or lower-ranking officials overseeing police stations, bridges and individual departments within the royal household

  Dastan-go Storyteller

  Deorhi Courtyard house or haveli

  Derzi Tailor

  Dharamasaia Rest house

  Dharma Duty, righteousness and hence, faith (for Hindus)

  Dhobi Laundryman

  Dhoolie (or doolie) Covered litter

  Dhoti Loincloth

  Din Faith (for Muslims)

  Divan A collection of poetry by a single author

  Diwan Prime minister, or the vizier in charge of administrative finance

  Dubash Interpreter

  Dupatta Shawl or scarf, usually worn with a salvar kemise (lit. ‘two leaves or widths’). Also known as a chunni

  Durbar Court

  Fakir Sufi holy man, dervish or wandering Muslim ascetic (lit. ‘poor’)

  Fana Mystical self-annihilation or immersion in the beloved

  Farzand Son

  Fasad Riots

  Fatiha The short opening chapter of the Koran, read at ceremonial occasions as an invocation

  Fauj Army

  Firangi Foreigner

  Firman An order of the Emperor or Sultan in a written document

  Fotadar Treasurer

  Gali Lane

  Ghadr Mutiny

  Ghagra Indian skirt

  Gharri (or gharry) Cart

  Ghats River front, usually reached by steps built for the benefit of bathers and washermen

  Ghazal Urdu or Persian love lyric

  Ghazi Holy warrior or jihadi

  Goras Whites

  Hackery Bullock cart

  Hakim Physician of traditional Greek/Islamic medicine

  Hamam Turkish-style steam bath

  Haram Forbi
dden

  Harkara Runner, messenger, and in some contexts, news-writer or spy (lit. ‘all-do-er’), usually in Delhi in the employ of the Emperor

  Havildar A sepoy non-commissioned officer corresponding to a sergeant

  Hindustan Region of North India encompassing the modern Indian states of Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, where Hindustani is spoken, and the area often referred to in modern Indian papers as the ‘Cow Belt’. While the term ‘India’ is relatively rarely used in nineteenth-century Urdu sources, there is a strong consciousness of the existence of Hindustan as a unit, with Delhi at its political centre. This was the area that was most seriously convulsed in 1857

  Hle-yin A type of Burmese bullock cart

  Holi The Hindu spring festival in which participants sprinkle red and yellow powder on one another

  Howdah The seat carried on an elephant’s back. Often in this period a howdah was covered with a canopy

  Htamien Silken Burmese skirt-wrap for a woman

  Huqqa Waterpipe or hubble bubble

  Hut Jao! Move away!

  Id The two greatest Muslim festivals: Id ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, while Id ul-Zuha commemorates the delivery of Isaac. To celebrate the latter a ram or goat is slaughtered, as on the original occasion recorded in both the Old Testament and the Koran

  Iftar The evening meal to break the Ramadan fast

  Imambara Shi’a religious hall

  ‘Ishq Love

  Jagir Landed estate, granted for service rendered to the State and whose revenues could be treated as income by the jagirdar

  Jali A latticed stone or wooden screen

  Jang i-Azadi Freedom struggle (lit. ‘War of Freedom’)

  Jashn Party or marriage feast

  Jemadar Junior Indian officer

  Jhil Lake, or swamp

  Jihad Holy war, or struggle, hence jihadi, one who wages holy war

  Juties Indian shoes

  Kafir Infidel

  Kakkar-wala Huqqa bearer

  Karkhana Workshop or factory

  Khadim Servant. In the case of a great mosque, the administrators or clergy

  Khalifa Caliph, one of the titles claimed by the Mughal Emperor, though one more usually associated with the Ottoman Emperor, who inherited the title from the Abbasids

  Khansaman In the eighteenth century the word meant butler. Today it more usually means cook

  Khartum A junior wife or concubine

  Kharita Sealed Mughal brocade bag used to send letters as an alternative to an envelope

  Khidmatgar Servant or butler

  Khüat Symbolic dress of honour, gifted by the Mughal to his vassals as a symbol of patronage

  Kothi A substantial town house, often arranged around a succession of courtyards

  Kotwal The police chief, chief magistrate or city administrator in a Mughal town

  Kotwali The office of the Kotwal (qv), hence central police station

  Kufr Infidelity

  Kukhri Short, sharp, curved knife worn by the Gurkhas

  Kurta Long Indian shirt

  Laddu Milk-based sweet

  Lakh One hundred thousand

  Langar Free distribution of food during a religious festival

  Lathi Truncheon or stick

  Lota Water pot

  Lungi Indian-type sarong, longer version of the dhoti (qv)

  Madrasa Traditional Islamic college or place of education. In this period in Delhi, many Hindus also attended madaris (the correct plural for madrasas)

  Mahajan Moneylender or banker

  Mahal Lit. ‘palace’, but often used to refer to sleeping apartments or the zenana (qv) wing of a palace or residence

  Mahi Maraatib The Mughal’s dynastic ceremonial fish standard. This came in two forms, one a single golden fish on a pole (as illustrated at the beginning of Chapter 1) and the other two golden fish hanging from a bow (as illustrated in the plate section)

  Majlis Assembly, especially the gatherings during Muharram (qv)

  Majzub Holy madman (or Qalandar)

  Mansabdar A Mughal nobleman and office holder, whose rank was decided by the number of cavalry he would supply for battle – for example a mansabdar of 2,500 would be expected to provide 2,500 horsemen when the Nizam went to war

  Marsiya Urdu or Persian lament or dirge for the martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet, sung in the ashur khana (qv) mourning halls during the festival of Muharram (qv)

  Masnavi Persian or Urdu love lyric

  Maula ‘My Lord’

  Mazmun Theme (of a ghazal)

  Mehfil An evening of courtly Mughal entertainment, normally including dancing, the recitation of poetry and the singing of ghazals (qv)

  Mihrab The niche in a mosque pointing in the direction of Mecca

  Mir The title ‘Mir’ given before a name usually signifies that the holder is a Sayyed (qv)

  Mirza A prince or gentleman

  Mohalla A distinct quarter of a Mughal city – i.e. a group of residential lanes, usually entered through a single gate, which would be locked at night

  Mohur A gold coin of high value

  Mufti An Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic Sharia law, and who is capable of issuing a fatwa or legal opinion

  Muharram The great Shi’a Muslim festival commemorating the defeat and death of Imam Hussain, the Prophet’s grandson. Celebrated with particular gusto in Hyderabad and Lucknow, but also in the Delhi Red Fort

  Mujtahid A cleric; one who does ijtehad, the interpretation of religious texts

  Munshi Indian Private Secretary or language teacher

  Murid Sufi pupil studying under a master, or pir (qv)

  Murqana Stalactite-type decoration over mosque or palace gateway

  Mushairas Poetic symposia where poets read their verses before an audience of connoisseurs

  Musnud The low arrangement of cushions and bolsters which forms the throne of Indian rulers at this period

  Nabob English corruption of the Hindustani nawab (qv), literally ‘deputy’, which was the title given by the Mughal emperors to their regional governors and viceroys. In England it became a term of abuse directed at returned ‘old Indian hands’

  Namaz Prayers

  Naqqar Khana Ceremonial drum house

  Nasrani Christians

  Nautch An Indian dance display

  Nautch girl Professional dancer and courtesan

  Nawab The term originally referred to a viceroy or governor, but later it was simply used as a grand title, usually for men, but occasionally – as in the case of Zinat Mahal – for women. Duke or Duchess would perhaps be the nearest English equivalent, which in its original Latin form Dux also meant governor

  Nazr Symbolic gift given in Indian courts to a feudal superior

  Nuqul Small hard sweets made of jaggery

  Paan Mildly narcotic preparation of betel nut

  Pachchisi Indian board game

  Padshah Emperor

  Pagri Turban

  Palanquin Indian litter

  Palki Palanquin or litter

  Pardah Lit. ‘a curtain’, used to signify the concealment of women within the zenana (qv)

  Parwana Written order, or edict

  Pasoe A Burmese sarong

  Peshkash Offering or present given by a subordinate to a superior. The term was used more specifically by the Marattas as the money paid to them by ‘subordinate’ powers such as the Nizam

  Peshwaz Long, high-waisted gown

  Phulwalon ki Sair The Flower Sellers Fair, held in Mehrauli during the monsoon rains

  Pir Sufi master or holy man

  Pirzada Official at a Sufi shrine, often a descendant of the founding saint

  Puja Prayer (for Hindus)

  Pukka Proper, correct

  Pundit Brahmin

  Punkah Fan

  Purbias Easterners. In Delhi this word was used alternately with the term Tilangas (qv), to describe the rebel sepoys. Both words carr
y the same connotations of foreignness, implying ‘these outsiders from the East’

  Puri Indian fried wholewheat flatbread

  Qahwah Khana Coffee-house – the archetypal café of Hindustan prior to the introduction of tea in the late nineteenth century

  Qasida Ode, usually a poem of praise to a patron

  Qawwal A singer of qawwalis (qv)

  Qawwalis Rousing hymns sung at Sufi shrines

  Qila Fort

  Qiladar Fort keeper

  Qizilbash Name given to Saffavid soldiers (and later traders) due to the tall red cap worn under their turbans (lit. ‘redheads’)

  Rakhi Band worn around the wrist as a sign of brotherhood, solidarity or protection

  Ratjaga Night vigil before a marriage

  Razai Quilt

  Resident The East India Company’s ambassador to an Indian court. As time went on, and British power increased, Residents increasingly assumed the role of being regional governors, controlling the city and even the court administration to which they were sent

  Risaldar Indian senior officer in a cavalry regiment

  Roza Fast

  Rozgar Employment

  Rubakari An order

  Sadr Amin Chief Muslim judge

  Sahri The pre-fast meal eaten before dawn during Ramadan, the month of fasting

  Saiatin Palace-born princes. In the Red Fort the salatin lived in their own quarter, frequently in some degree of genteel poverty

  Sanyasi Hindu ascetic

  Sarpeche Turban jewel or ornament

  Sati The practice of widow-burning, or the burned widow herself

  Sawar (sometimes anglicised to sowar) Cavalry trooper

  Sawaree Elephant stables, and the whole establishment and paraphernalia related to the keeping of elephants

  Sayyed (or Sayyida) A lineal descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. Sayyeds often have the title Mir (qv)

  Sehra A wedding veil made of a string of pearls. Also a marriage ode or oration