The Unorthodox ‘Orthodoxy’ of Shah Jahan
A Reassessment of His Religiosity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11017015 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael D Calabria (0000-0002-1398-4630, Center for Arab & Islamic Studies, Franciscan Institute, St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, NY, USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 579-600 |
| Publication date | 2018-07-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0085-6401 • E-ISSN: 1479-0270 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00856401.2018.1478626 |
| OpenAlex | W2808769800 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
In spite of the many beautiful works of art and architecture produced under the patronage of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58 CE), including the incomparable Taj Mahal, historians have not generally been kind to him. In scholarship both past and present, he is often compared unfavourably with his grandfather, Akbar, and his father, Jahangir, described pejoratively as an ‘orthodox’ Muslim whose reign was characterised by a stricter adherence to shari‘a and religious intolerance of Hindus and Christians. This article re-examines recurrent issues in the historiography of Shah Jahan's life and rule, his religious views and his attitudes towards Hindus, Jains, Christians and Sufis. Based on a diversity of historical and art historical sources, it concludes that the so-called evidence for his ‘orthodoxy’ has been largely misconstrued. This is perhaps due in part to the inflated rhetoric of royal chronicles and colonial critics, as well as to post-Partition prejudice against Islam
Ancient history · Archaeology · Colonialism · Confession (law · Emperor · Historiography · Islam · Orthodoxy · Partition (number theory · Political science · Politics · Prejudice (legal term · Reign · Religiosity · Rhetoric · Scholarship · Theology · Asian Studies and History · History · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Religious studies · South Asian Cinema and Culture · Religious Studies
| Citations per year | 0.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |