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The Genealogical Seal of the Mughal Emperors of India1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2009

Annabel Teh Gallop
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Extract

The genealogical seal of the Mughal emperors of India was one of the most potent symbols of Mughal imperial authority. The distinctive design of the seal - a central circle containing the name of the ruling emperor, surrounded by a series of smaller circles, like satellites in orbit, containing the names of his ancestors up to Timūr (1336–1405) each preceded by the filiative ibn - was a self-evident masterpiece of imperial symbolism, in which the authority of the ruling emperor was both legitimised and enhanced by the deliberate reference to his illustrious ancestors. The inscription was designed to be read starting with the ruling emperor's name in the middle, then moving into the outer circle to the name of his immediate predecessor (at 1 o'clock) and, continuing clockwise, finishing up at Timur, who always had pride of place at the top of the seal. In this way, each ruler was expressed as the son of his predecessor, while at the same time, from his central position abutting all the smaller circles, the ruling emperor could be read symbolically as the “son” of each of his ancestors.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , April 1999 , pp. 77 - 140
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1999

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Footnotes

1

In venturing so far from my natural habitat of Southeast Asia, I have benefited greatly from the kind encouragement and support of many friends and colleagues. For invaluable advice and comments on this article I would like to thank Mahmud Haq, Salim Quraishi, Ursula Sims-Williams, Muhammad Isa Waley, Jerry Losty, Venetia Porter, John Seyller, Ulrich Kratz and especially Robert Skelton. I am also most grateful to Colin Baker, Jacob Harskamp, Barry Bloomfield, Michael Spink, Michael Pollock, Sheila Canby and Rosemary Crill for assistance rendered generously in many forms. Any errors remain my sole responsibility. This article is dedicated to the memory of my grandmother, Marjorie D.C. Gallop (1900–92), who was bom in Bhopal, India.

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