Resituating Mughal Architecture in the Persianate World: New Investigations and Analyses

Abstract

This Editorial Essay introduces the importance and need for the research collected in this Special Issue. Beginning with a definition of ‘Persianate’, the space that the Mughals occupied within this geo-cultural sphere is discussed. As an integral part of not only the existing early modern-era Persianate world, but as inheritors of its cultural memory, the Mughals had an invested stake in projecting this aspect of their heritage. Architecture was one of the means through which they did this. Moving away from the normative classification of the Mughals as being a ‘South Asian’ entity, the exploration of new avenues of research in Mughal-Persianate architectural connections in Resituating Mughal Architecture in the Persianate World: New Investigations and Analyses is introduced. It is seen that the studies in this volume include research on relationships between Persian philosophy and Mughal built spaces; between the architecture and architectural decoration of the Mughals and the Safavids; and on the role poetry can play in evoking cultural memory through architectural representations. Focusing on specific topics that exemplify the shared cultural heritage of the Mughals within the Persianate world, this volume highlights that avenues for studying this topic are ongoing, still necessary and extremely viable.