Sacking of Hooghly Port by Shah Jahan in 1632

Mast of a Portuguese Ship at Bandel Church, Hooghly / Image Credit 

Portugal was the first European power to establish factories and trading settlements in India in the early 16th century. In 1579–80, a Portuguese captain named Pedro Tavares received a firman from Mughal emperor to establish a city in Bengal for the Portuguese. The Portuguese were also allowed to preach their religion.  As a consequence, a Portuguese colony was established at Hughli (in 1579 AD). The famous church of Bandel in Hooghly was built by the Portuguese. 

The friendly attitude of Akbar towards the Portuguese was continued by his son and next Mughal emperor Jahangir.  

Jahangir died in October 1627 and after a short interregnum marked by violent conflict among the other claimants for the throne, his son Shah Jahan became emperor in 1628 by eliminating all other possible contenders to the throne. Shahryar Mirza (youngest son of Jahangir), Dawar Bakhsh (Grandson of Jahangir and Khusrau’s eldest son), two sons of Akbar's son Daniyal (Tahmuras and Hushang) were all executed.  

Shah Jahan was harbouring a grudge against the Portuguese as the latter did not side with him when he rebelled against his father Jahangir in 1622. 

Added to this, the casus belli for the sack of Hooghly by Shah Jahan in 1932 was the abduction of two slave girls of his consort Mumtaz Mahal by the Portuguese in 1624 during the reign of Jahangir. The Portuguese, on the other hand, became involved with the slave trade. This was rankling in Shah Jahan's mind. Hence he ordered Bengal governor Qasim Khan to crush the Portuguese. In 1632 Qasim Khan captured Hooghly after three months. The Bandel church was burnt down during the sacking of Hooghly.   

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Tomb of Bibi Pari, Dacca

Tomb of Bibi Pari / Image Credit

One of the famous Mughal monuments in Bangladesh, the seventeenth century tomb of Bibi Pari  was built by the Mughal Subahdar of Bengal Shaista Khan for her daughter Iran Dukht Rahmat Banu. She was married to Muhammad Azam Shah, son of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. 

Tomb of Bibi Pari is located within the Lalbagh Fort in Dacca. The construction of Lalbagh Fort, then known as  Aurangabad Qila, was started by Muhammad Azam Shah in 1678, and was being continued by his successor Shaista Khan. 

Mirza Abu Talib, popularly known as Shaista Khan, was appointed Mughal Subahdar of Bengal by his uncle and Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb after the death of Mir Jumla in 1663. 

Mir Jumla was made governor of Bengal in 1659 by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He died while he was on his way to Dacca and was entombed at Thakurbari on the Assam-Meghalaya border in the westernmost part of West Garo Hills. 

Shaista Khan was sent by Aurangzeb to defeat Shivaji. However, he had to retreat when in 1663 Shivaji embarked on a surprise attack at the well-guarded mansion of Shayista Khan in Poona. In the scuffle Shaista Khan lost his thumb and his son, Abul Fath, was killed. This incident served a body-blow to the Mughal prestige in the Deccan. Aurangzeb recalled Shayista and transferred him to Bengal. 

Mughal Painting

Chief components of Mughal paintings were Indian, Persian and Chinese. The imported style introduced by the Mughals mingled with the contemporary Indian schools of painting flourishing in different parts of the country. Gujarat, Rajputana and Kashmir were important centres of Indian painting in the early Mughal period. Court life and natural life inspire most of the subjects of Mughal paintings. Portraits of the Mughal emperors are also one of the themes of the Mughal paintings. 

Persian painter Abdus Samad was appointed tutor to the Prince Akbar by Humayun. Abdus Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali were invited to the Mughal court to prepare a lavishly illustrated manuscript of the Persian translation of the Hamzanama, the celebrated Arab epic about a legend Hamza. Hamzanama had 1004 illustrated pages in its twelve volumes.

Development of fresco painting (Frescoes on the walls of Fatehpur Sikri) was an important contribution to the field painting during Akbar’s period which also witnessed the introduction of European painting at the Mughal court.  

Daswanth, Farrukh Beg and Basawan were the famous painters in Akbar’s court. Impressed by his talent, Akbar sent Daswanth to Abdus Samad. Daswanth’s illustration of the Persian translation of the Mahabharata is now in Jaipur. Baswan was another talented painter. Abul Fazal, the court historian, refers by name to thirteen Hindu and five Muslim painters in the court of Akbar. 

Portrait painting made special progress during the reign of Jahangir who himself was an excellent connoisseur of painting. Ustad Mansur at his court was famous for his paintings of animal and human portraits. 

Aga Reza and his son Abul Hasan from Herat in Afghanistan were employed by Jahangir. Abdul Hasan was bestowed the title of Nadir-uz-Saman ("Wonder of the Age") by Jahangir who took pride in his ability to recognise the artist by their paintings.  

Shah Jahan was the last great royal patron of Mughal school of painting. 

Key Points

• Abdus Samad was given the title of Shirin Qalam. 
• Abul Hasan was given the title of Nadir-uz-Zaman ("Wonder of the Age") by Jahangir.  
• Ustad Mansur was given the title of Nadir-ul-Asr ("Unequalled of the age").

Annexation of Kabul by Akbar

In  1581, Akbar was faced with one of the most critical periods of his reign when Mirza Muhammad Hakim, the governor of Kabul, advanced to Lahore.  Muhammad Hakim, Akbar’s half brother, was an orthodox and ambitious ruler who was planning to seize the Mughal throne for himself.  He was supported in his bid by some discontented officers of the Mughal court such as Khwaja Mansur.

Thereupon Akbar proceeded to Kabul from his capital on 8^th February, 1581 with about 50, 000 cavalry, 500 elephants and great number of infantry.  He reached Kabul on 9^th August and defeated Mirza Muhammad Hakim and compelled him to submit. Hakim, however, was reinstated on vow of loyalty to the emperor. After the death of Muhammad Hakim in July 1586, the province of Kabul was formally annexed to the Mughal Empire.

According to Smith, Akbar’s victory of Kabul “may be regarded as the climax of his career”.