Maps
1 Mughal Empire: ShikÄrgÄhs, elephant, and cheetah habitats c.1600 XVIII
2 Littoral of the Caspian Sea: Ilkhanid cities 50
Figures
1 A royal hunting procession c.1655. PÄdshÄhnÄma, f.166v 7
2 Hashtsal Minar hunting tower, Palam, Delhi, 1634 13
3 Neo-Assyrian battue hunt, wall panels, North Palace of AshurbÄnipal, Nineveh, c.650 BCE 18
4 Royal Sassanian boar hunt, bas-relief, Taq-i Bustan, Iran 21
5 Royal Sassanian deer hunt, bas-relief, Taq-i Bustan, Iran 22
6 Wall painting of an Umayyad battue hunt, Qusayr Ê¿Amra, 724â43, Jordan 29
7 Frieze detail of caparisoned elephants, Somnathpur, India, 1258 36
8 Bhuli Bhaktiyari hunting palace, Sultanate, Delhi, 1354 43
9 Hunting party of TimÅ«r, from a áºafarnÄma manuscript painted in 1533 56
10 Timurid royal hunt with cheetahs, attributed to BihzÄd. Hasht Bihisht folio 58
11 Timurid royal reception in a meadow garden, Shiraz, 1444. ShÄhnÄma folio 62
12 Akbar hunts in a qamargÄh, Lahore, 1567. MiskÄ«na with MansÅ«r and SarwÄn. AkbarnÄma 72
13 AurangzÄb hunting nilgai in a decoy-drive hunt c.1660 78
14 Prince ShÄh ShujÄ hunting in a decoy-drive hunt, attributed to PayÄg, c.1650â5 79
15 Lal Mahal complex: Front façade of the imperial palace, Bari, Rajasthan, 1637 81
16 Lal Mahal complex: Eastern palace and the Shahi Talab lake, Bari, 1637 82
17 AurangzÄb carried to the shikÄrgÄh, painted by BhavÄnidÄs, c.1705â20 83
18 Hunters in a forest, by Ê¿Abd-us-á¹¢amad and Muḥammad SharÄ«f, 1590. GulshÄn Album 90
19 BahrÄm GÅ«r kills the lions and takes the crown. Painted in 1570â90. TÄrÄ«khnÄma-i ṬabarÄ« manuscript 94
20 Prince SalÄ«m spearing a lioness, c.1600â05 97
21 Prince Khurram attacks a lion in Bari, 1610. BÄlchand. PÄdshÄhnÄma 98
22 ShÄhjahÄn and sons hunt lions, Burhanpur, 1630. Daulat. PÄdshÄhnÄma 101
23 AurangzÄb hunting lions, c.1670â1700 102
24 Akbar hunting with cheetahs in Sanganir in 1572, by Laʾl with KÄsav Khord. AkbarnÄma 106
25 Akbar hunting with cheetahs near Agra, by BasÄwan with Dharmdas. AkbarnÄma 107
26 Akbar captures his first cheetah in 1560, Hissar Firoza, by Tulsi with NÄrÄyan. AkbarnÄma 111
27 Akbar riding Hawaʾi near Agra fort in 1561, painted by BasÄwan. AkbarnÄma 115
28 FarÄ«dÅ«n and the gazelle, by Mukund, 1595. A Khamsa of NiáºÄmÄ« folio 123
29 JahÄngÄ«r hunts with RÄna Karan in Ana Sagar, 1615, attributed to NÄnhÄ 130
30 Akbar hunting in a qamarghÄ in Palam in 1568, painted by Mukund. AkbarnÄma 134
31 Shah ṬahmÄsp and HumÄyÅ«n hunting, Sultaniyya, 1544, by Ganga Sen, Narsingh 137
32 Pasargadae: Sketch plan of the Royal Garden and water channels 144
33 Site plan of Imarat-i Khusrau palace and pairidaÄza, Qasr-i Shirin, 591â628 145
34 BÄbur and the laying out of the Bagh-i Wafa, by BishandÄs, NÄnhÄ. VÄqiʾÄt-i BÄburi 152
35 Hiran Minar hunting garden: pavilion and mÄ«nÄr, Jahangirabad, Lahore, 1607 156
36 Bagh-i Zaynabad-Burhanpur shikÄrgÄh: ÄhÅ«khÄna hunting palace, pavilion, pool 160
37 Submission of RÄna Amar Singh to Prince Khurram, 1615. LÄlchand. PÄdshÄhnÄma 166
38 Hasanabdal hunting gardens and lake, 1581â1650s 168
39 Samugarh hunting palace, Agra 178
40 Akbar inspects captured elephants in Narwar in 1564, by Laʾl with SÄnwalÄ. AkbarnÄma 190
41 Rupbas hunting palace and irrigation būnd, Rajasthan 195
42 ShÄhjahÄn hunting with DÄrÄ-ShikÅh in Palam. PÄdshÄhnÄma, f.165r 197
43 BÄbur hunting in Katawaz in 1507, by Ê¿AbdullÄh (L), ManÅhar (R). VÄqiʾÄt-i BÄburi 206
44 DÄrÄ-ShikÅh hunting nilgai, attributed to PayÄg, 1650s 208
45 Akbar slaying a tiger near Narwar in 1561, by BasÄwan, Sarwan, TÄrÄ the Elder. AkbarnÄma 212
46 Prince Akbar hunting nilgais, Fitzwilliam Album, c.1555 218
47 Prince SalÄ«m hunts rhinoceros and a lion, c.1600â4, SalÄ«mâs ShikÄrnÄma 220
48 Equestrian paintings, by Govardhan, c.1630s, Minto Album 224
49 Markhor (Himalayan wild goat), painted by Ê¿Inayat, 1607 238
50 Female Bengal Florican, DÄrÄ-ShikÅh Album, c.1633â42 240
51 Red-headed and long-billed vulture, by Manṣūr, c.1615â20. ShÄhjahÄn Album 243
52 Diving dipper/SÄj, by Manṣūr, c.1610â15, ShÄhjahÄn Album 244
53 Akbar ordering the slaughter to cease, Bhera, 1578, attributed to MiskÄ«nÄ. AkbarnÄma 263
Notes on Illustration Credits
The author is grateful to the various museums, libraries, galleries, and private individuals who supplied the images for the book. They have been credited in the captions. Any additional information is listed below.
MAP 1
Elephant and cheetah habitats adapted from Shireen Moosvi, âEcology, Population, Distribution and Settlement Pattern in Mughal India,â Man and Environment 14/1(1989), 114, by kind permission of the editor. Map and siting of the cities/shikÄrgÄhs not to scale.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Images courtesy: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The V&A illustrated AkbarnÄma manuscript was purchased from Mrs Frances Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S E in 1896.
The following images are from the AkbarnÄma manuscript:
Fig. 12, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 40, 45
The AkbarnÄma images were all painted c.1590â5. The above paintings bear the inscription: á¹arḥ va nÄmi chihra (composition and portraits) by â¦/ Ê¿amal (colours and details painted) by â¦
Fig. 20: Painted c.1600â05. Purchased from the executors of Captain E. G. Spencer-Churchill. Presented by Art Fund.
Fig. 34: The Bagh-i Wafa double-page paintings, part of a group of 20 folios, come from what is regarded as the first illustrated copy of the VÄqiʾÄt-i BÄburi (BÄburnÄma) manuscript. It was broken up for sale in 1913 and purchased by the V&A from Messers Luzac & Co., 46 Great Russell Street, London.
Fig. 48: (L): Minto Album, from the collection of the Earl of Minto, bought by the V&A (and Chester Beatty Library) from Sothebyâs in 1925.
Fig. 49: Wantage Album, bequeathed to the V&A by Lady Wantage in 1921.
Royal Collection Trust, London
Images courtesy: © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust.
Fig. 1, 21, 22, 37, 42
The PÄdshÄhnÄma was given to King George III in 1799 by the Nawab of Oudh, and later placed in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Fig. 17: Louis V. Bell Fund, 2003.
Fig. 51 and 52: Purchase, Rogers Fund and the Kevorkian Foundation Gift, 1955.
British Library Board, London
Fig. 3: The two gypsum wall panels carved in relief from the North Palace were excavated by Hormuzd Rassam in 1853 for the British Museum. Acquisition date â 1856. The two panels measure 71Ã101.6 cm and 76.2Ã66 cm.
Fig. 9: ZafarnÄma manuscript from the India Office Islamic Manuscripts, BL Archives.
Fig. 28: Khamsa of NiáºÄmÄ« manuscript bequeathed by C. W. Dyson-Perrins, 1958, BL Archives.
Fig. 31: British Library Archives.
Fig. 43: At least four illustrated copies of the VÄqiʾÄt-i BÄburi (BÄburnÄma) were produced for distribution to Akbarâs family and nobles. The British Library manuscript is datable to the 1590s and contains 143 paintings.
Fig. 50: British Library Archives.
Fig. 53: The only dispersed painting of the first imperial AkbarnÄma manuscript. The Johnson Album, the collection of Richard Johnson was purchased by the East India Company Library, later India Office Library in 1807. BL Archives.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Fig. 18: Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase.
Cleveland Museum of Art
Fig. 11: Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1945.169.a. https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1945.169.a; Purchase from the John L. Severance Fund 1956.10.a. https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1956.10.a
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Fig. 19: Purchased with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912 and by contribution.
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin
Fig. 13, 23, 47, 48 (R): CC BY â 4.0. Chester Beatty, Dublin
Fig. 47: Dispersed album, Provenance: Demotte
Fig. 48 (R): Minto Album, from the collection of the Earl of Minto, bought by the Chester Beatty Library (and V&A) from Sothebyâs in 1925.
Indian Museum, Kolkata
Fig. 29: Courtesy of the Indian Museum, Kolkata.
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Fig. 14: Courtesy of the RSID Museum, Providence, RI. Museum Works of Art Fund.
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Fig. 46: Bequeathed 1946, by P. C. Manuk and Miss G. M. Coles, through the National Art Collections Fund
National Museum of Asian Art, Washington D.C.
Fig. 44: Payag/ National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Purchase â Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, S1993.42aâc
Fig. 32: Adapted from D. Stronach, Pasargadae: A Report on the Excavations Conducted by the British Institute of Persian Studies from 1961 to 1963, 1978, with permission and courtesy of K. and T. Stronach.
Fig. 33: Site plan by J. de Morgan, Mission Scientifique en Perse, Recherches Archéologiques, Tome Quatrième, Deuxième Partie, Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1897, Plate XL, reproduced with permission and courtesy of HathiTrust.
Fig. 4 and 5: Photographs reproduced by kind courtesy of Daniel C. Waugh.
Fig. 35 and 38: Photographs reproduced by kind courtesy of Anjum Zafar.
Map 2, Fig. 7, 10, 36: Alamy Stock Photo with licenses.