Discuss, with examples, the distinctive features of Mughal chronicles.

Some distinctive features of Mughal chronicle are:

1. Chronicles commissioned by the Mughal emperors are an important source for studying the empire and its court. They were written in order to project a vision of an enlightened kingdom to all those who came under its umbrella. The authors of Mughal chronicle focused on events-linked to life of the ruler, their family, court and nobles, wars and administrative system.

2. These chronicles were written in Persian. This language flourished as a language of the court and of literary writings, alongside north Indian languages, especially Hindavi and its regional variants. As the Mughals were Chaghtai Turks by origin, Turkish was their mother tongue.

3. There were chronicles narrating the events of a Mughal emperor’s reign contained, flanking the written text, images that described an event in visual form.

4. When scenes or themes in a book were to be given visual expression, the scribe left blank spaces on nearby pages; paintings, executed independently by artists, were inserted to accompany what was described in words.