2019/12/19 by Meena Bhargava · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East #Indian History and Philosophy #South Asian Studies and Diaspora
paper · doi:10.1002/9781118635193.ctwl0095
openalex publication_date 2019/12/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Akbarnama forms a part of the network of texts and styles of the larger literary corpus of world literature and yet it departs from them to create its own place in the genre. The text gained from its translation into English and transcended national boundaries. It thus ceased to be related to narrow boundaries of local or national literature and was transformed into common property. Akbarnama as symbol of learning, knowledge, and culture entails a scrutiny not only in the context of world literature but also multilingual precolonial South Asia. An outcome of Mughal emperor Akbar's bibliophile court culture, it represents the power of Persian language that in early modern South Asia was the language of the royal and the elite as well as of the clerks, scribes, and those holding minor official positions. An official history of Akbar's reign, the text is a compilation of administrative, agrarian, and institutional aspects. It is written in a hagiographical style that represents a powerful dynastic ideology that glorified Akbar as an exemplar monarch who possessed extraordinary spiritual and political powers.