EUNUCHS IN MUGHAL HOUSEHOLD AND COURT

Author(s): Shadab Bano

Source: Proceedings of the Indian History Congress , 2008, Vol. 69 (2008), pp. 417-427
Published by: Indian History Congress

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44147205

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 EUNUCHS IN MUGHAL HOUSEHOLD
AND COURT
Shadab Bano

Of aristocratic harems in India before the Mughals, some discus

of the palace arrangement at Delhi, from Ibn Batuta, who by adva
of traveling to the different Islamic lands offers some sort of compa
between the varying Islamic cultures and social organizations. T
harems of the Sultan like most settled Islamic courts were grea
segregated. He gives a vivid account of his experience at the thres
of Sultan's mother's palace and a lively detail of how his concub
(the slave-mother of his child) was carried in a dola (palanquin)
eunuchs inside the palace of Sultan's mother.1 He writes that 'th
came out' (of the palace of Sultan's mother)

the palace, then came out again to the vizier, th

palace while we stood waiting'. The provision of
in his description of the Sultan's harem arran
stringent compared to al6lh century description o
Rizqullah Mushtaqi, where eunuchs were not allo
point and not allowed to mix with women.2 This
described as an exception rather a rule. Mushtaqi
a hajib posted at the gate; a pardadar (one who looks
of female apartments) stood at the threshold lead
Khwajasara (eurtuch) at the inner gate, and an ol
the wall inside the palace. If there was some mes
inside (the harem), the hajib conveyed it to t
pardahdar sent for the Khwajasara , and the latt
lady behind the wall about it. The old lady took it to
in the palace and then the lady acted accordingly
the name of a male outside the family ( na mahram)
by anyone; in case it was inevitable, only his po
The eunuchs emerge from this description of hig
quarters as one among the many guards at the en
Only older women were allowed to interact. T
eunuch's male body, though now rendered incapa
would have remained for the purdah observing w
While the institution of eunuchs necessarily ha
to the functioning of these segregated household
find eunuchs also in semi-nomadic courts of centr
were relatively free. The peripatetic conditions o
could move around with much liberty is brought

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418 IHC: Proceedings , 69th Session, 2008

Ibn Batuta where he much appreciates the liberties of the Qipchak

women.3 Al Marqizi provides vivid passage on the household of sultan
al Salih Imad al-Din Ismail4: '....when he made his seasonal rides....,
his mother, together with another 200 women, would accompany him
riding akadish horses.... and accompanied by eunuchs from the Citadel
to the promenading ground. The Sultan's favourite concubines used to
ride [in these processions] Arab horses, racing against each other,
playing polo and wearing silk kamiliyya [mantles, cloaks] overcoats'.
The Mughal harems in Central Asia, similarly, had little insisted
on male-female segregation, as borne out by numerous references,
literary as well as representations of scenes of early harem in the
Mughal miniatures, we are fortunate to have, which though done at a
later date were still fairly realistic in portrayal. The Baburnama
paintings depict free interaction between aristocratic men and women.5
Gulbadan speaks of the harem at Kabul as comparatively free; the
women were not veiled, they rode, went on picnics, followed shikar ,
practiced archery.6 Similarly, early years of Mughals in India were
considerably liberal. In the description of the feast, given by Gulbadan
at the 'Mystic" house at Agra, both young men and girls sat together in
the gathering.7 One could therefore hardly understand the conventional
use of eunuchs in such a set-up.
In Baburnama paintings, in the scene depicting Babur's meeting
with his elder sister Khanzada Begum, within the tent enclosure are
seen men, prices/nobles, male servants along with the female
attendants.8 There are three other figures with a mace standing out of
the tent. In yet another painting (in Akbarnama) depicting infant Akbar
wrestling with Ibrahim Mirza, Khanzada Begum stands near Mirza
Kamran towards the centre of the painting, with all other men standing
around and bearded figures hold mace both within and outside of the
pavilion.9
It is only with great difficulty that eunuchs in Mughal service could
be found. Eunuchs Cghulam-i-akhtď) were found in the court of Abu
Bakr, Babur's cousin.10 Babur does not mention a single eunuch in
Baburnama , though we know from other sources about his eunuch
named Ambar.11 Similarly, Gulbadan has not mentioned a eunuch till
she mentions Ambar towards the end so that her translator Beveridge
was unable to notice Ambar nazir as a eunuch (title used for eunuchs
at least from the time of Akbar) and translates nazir simply as a
superintendent.12
If we look at the numerous appearances of Ambar, we find him as
a royal agent in army of Humayun in readiness for combat. He had
been inside the harem, attendant to the King and Queen and was attached

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 Medieval India 419

to the Queen's train later on.13 He t

both King and Queen, the queen as
attendants especially in the fugitiv
period more of a rarity or prized p
from Humayun (at that time in the
precious gems and jewels from Huma
Sher Khan, which his officers how
him to ask for something of more sig
Particularly striking had been the
that came from Kabul to Hindustan
there.15 This could be compared
movement of seraglio where eunuch
with Maham were 'nine troopers, wi
two extra litters which the Emperor
been brought from Kabul, and abou
servants, mounted on fine ( tipucha
It is from Akbar's reign that refer
become more readily forthcoming.
Ambar's name in the contingent of Ma
from Kabul (in 2 R.Y.), we knew tha
attached to her train.17 Very early in
is seen at the entrance trying to sto
it.18 The eunuch here appears at a gu
clearly not over a secluded harem
followed, of Adham's execution, 'pa
head dress) are seen on the door of
execution, two male attendants standin
Eunuchs began to be called Khwajas and nazirs, or both
euphemisms attached to their names.20 To the references from the text
may be added the information from the paintings. The painting depicting
scenes of early years of Akbar's reign show male- forms with mace in
their hands, within the zenana area.21 The figures are stout, dark-skinned
without beard, which in all likelihood were those representing
eunuchs22 ; these have been a distinct type compared to figures of other
male-attendants made in the Mughal paintings. Similar figures keep
appearing in the paintings but under different arrangement successively,
as we will see.

Most striking had been the presence of Itimad Khan, eunuch-officer

(6 R.Y), so early at Akbar's court with a very important charge of
administering the finances of the state.23 He was previously an amir in
Salim Khan's court and had been a distinguished officer there. A number
of eunuchs kept joining the court from the regional kingdoms.24 Itimad

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420 IHC: Proceedings , 69th Session , 2008

Khan later distinguished himself in the conquest of Bengal and in 1 576

was appointed as governor of Bhakkar. His out of the way and
unprecedented appointment had been remarked upon by the
contemporaries.25 Abul Fazl explains his appointment as a measure to
counter the prevailing trend among the officers who out of dishonesty
thought of 'enrichment of their own households and collected treasures
for their own purposes while neglecting to collect the Shahinshah's
revenues'. Eunuchs with no family ties to cater could be depended for
absolute loyalty to the master.
As he performed his duties to Akbar 's satisfaction, all other eunuchs
of the court became on account of his abilities the object of emperor's
attention. Ambar (mentioned above) was promoted as an officer of the
court with the title Itibar Khan. He was later appointed as governor of
Delhi.26 The list in Ain-i-Akbari speaks of a few more eunuch officers.
One does not know the time when they got promoted as officers at the
court. Their previous titles suggest that they were ordinary eunuchs of
the establishment. Khwaja Khas Malik received the title Ikhlas Khan
and held the rank of 1,000. 27 Khwaja Daulat entered Imperial
establishment from the service of Mughal noble Khan-i- Zaman, got
promoted with the title Daulat Khan and later became the chief of
eunuchs with the title Naziruddaula.28 Jesuits inform that one of his
eunuchs was a person of great authority who also managed everything
for him.29 Still the eunuchs in Mughal court were in no way comparable
to the institution of eunuch officers in the neighbouring Safavid Persia
where they exercise influence in the court as a strong mameluk body.30
Eunuchs in Mughal service denoted personalized service and ultimate
personal devotion to emperor.
These eunuchs obviously were a class apart from the other eunuchs
of the establishment. Promoted by advantage of near attendance on his
Majesty, these were 'exalted by Emperor's companionship'.31 Perhaps,
eunuch officer's access to harem along with the state functions and
interaction with the most intimate granted them a special and distinct
position among the loyal. It is mentioned for Itimad Khan that he
'obtained highest consideration in the harem, and even in state matters',
thereby becoming 'sovereign's confidante'.32 In 1565, Itimad conveyed
the daughter of king of Khandesh, Miran Mubarak, to Akbar 's harem.33
Interestingly, we find a noble Shah Quii castrating himself after he
was allowed to enter harem.34 While this appears as an extraordinary
feat, we find such reference from previous courts as well.35 Denying
carnal pleasures would have been spectacular in demonstrating devotion
to the emperor. The fact that such person could now approach the most
intimate side of emperor could promote feelings of closeness and

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 Medieval India 42 1

intimacy with the emperor.

These eunuchs appear with consid
the court. Perhaps they were allowed
ultimately after death the entire proper
treasury. Daulat Khan had left at his
crores of ashrafis of five methkals ,
silver plates, chinaware and utensils o
of three crores more; the whole of w
father's treasury'.36 Eunuchs spent l
also involved in building activities, perh
people including the nobility by splen
were possibly also the only way for
Eunuchs moved out with grandeur, r
and jewellery with stately and manly
The courts afforded considerable p
officers. Among the list of palaces me
Fort, next to the palace of concubin
palace of Itibar Khan when he was go
prestige through the trust reposed o
through executing orders, allowed to
cruel in execution. A number of instances of their cruelties and
inflictions are reported that have allowed generalizations about cruelty
intrinsic to their nature.

The stature a eunuch officer could be gathered from an episode

from Jahangir's reign of Khwaja Hilal with Said Khan Chaghta, a
leading noble at Jahangir's court.39 Having built a lofty mansion, he
invited most of the leading officials to the house- warming feast. Said
khan Chaghta praised it greatly to which out of politeness he said 'Take
it as a peshkash' Said Khan stood up and made three salutations to him
and sent for his men and furniture, to which Hilal objected. Jahangir
had to intervene and Said Khan presented his case to the emperor as
that of discrimination against him on account of a slave-officer, for he
had made three salutations to a slave-officer which should not go waste.
Perhaps he saw Hilal 's demeanor of bestowing the mansion in peshkash
to him as personal insult which he tried to answer back by actually
occupying it.
Though the official histories speak out mainly of the special
qualities of the chosen eunuch officers, we find that their slave status
and physical form came in way of gaining wider social respectability.40
Even Abul Fazl while discussing the appointment of Itimad Khan to a
very responsible office does not miss to mention that those who were
in the 'corner or contempt came forward on account of emperor's

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422 IHC : Proceedings , 69th Session, 2008

brilliant perspicacity'. 41 Often the resentment against any eunuch-

officers harped upon his physical deformity, his effeminate
characterstics, his closeness to womanly nature and association with
women etc. Badauni speaks of Itimad's influence at Akbar's court as a
'time will come on men, when none will become favourites but
profligates, and none be thought witty but the obscene. . . . And then the
government shall be by the counsel of women, and the rule of boys and
the management of eunuchs' . 42
The eunuchs of Akbar's court, however as we see, were gradually
withdrawn from the interiors of the harem. Abul Fazl's description of
Akbar's zenana speaks of the inside of the harem guarded by sober
and active women; 'the most trustworthy of them are placed about the
apartments of his Majesty. Outside the enclosures the eunuchs are
placed; and at proper distance, there is a guard of Rajputs, beyond
Whom are porters at the gates'.43 This is also borne out by the miniatures
bringing out the later scenes from Akbar's harem. The scenes on
rejoicing at birth of princes depict only female forms in the interior. In
the birth-scene of prince Salim44 is seen a female servant handing over
a tray to male form at the entrance. A fat figure carrying a mace, inclined
towards the wall of zenana is visible. Theses figures are similar to
those found within the interiors, in the paintings discussed above. In
the scene depicting the birth of prince Murad45 we see stout male figures
at the entrance with mace. In this area were also seen women servants
and performers, but behind this is an all female quarter.
Such an arrangement would have come up with growing
demarcation of male and female sections and stricter rules of purdah
observed by ladies of the harem. The palace structures at Fatehpur
Sikri, recognizable as female quarters clearly bring out the rigours of
purdah that came to be followed by then. By Monserrate's account the
process must have been complete by 1580s.46 In the description of
dining hall he writes 'they (the dishes) are carried by youths to the
door of the dining hall, other servants walking ahead and the master-of
-the household following. Here they are taken by the eunuchs, who
hand them to the serving girls who wait on the table'. This was the
intermediate space between the zenana quarters and the male section,
frequented by eunuchs (and also women servants and performers, whose
nature of jobs afforded them much liberty to mix).
The eunuch- staff thus gradually appear not in attendance to women
inside the harem, but posted as guards at the entrances of zenana. The
administration of harem, as discussed in a separate chapter in Ain, was
carried out by an elaborate women staff.47 There were women body
guards 'sober and active women

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 MedievaLJndia 423

Majesty'. The security of the harem

guards, the eunuchs being one of thes
begis (female body guards) guarding t
Abul Fazl notices different categor
of castration, which might also indicat
with women.48 The castration remov
completely, sometimes the operation
that could cause impregnation. Even i
male touch would have been there. A
women and eunuchs, could not have been avoided, instead a strict
discipline was enforced and any misconduct severely punished. From
Jahangir's period, Roe reports of an instance of exemplary punishment
given to a eunuch and a concubine of emperor who were found kissing.49
The eunuch was trampled to death by an elephant before the women
who was placed in a pit to stay without food and water with her hand
and shoulders continually exposed to the sun.
De Laet informs us that the concubines were protected by a strong
guard and 'if any of these guardsmen does anything amiss, the royal
concubines decide how he shall be punished and see that the punishment
is duly inflicted'.50 Eunuchs by this account do not appear as guardians
of harem, spying over women, keeping them in place or as agents to
cater male jealousies about women, as has been emphasized in most
European narratives. Rather greater say on enforcement of proper
conduct lay with women. Eunuch's conduct had been also under
surveillance.

One does not know the motivation for Jahangir's unprecedented

attack on the practice of castration that made eunuchs. Akbar who had
taken strict action against enslavement, releasing his slaves (in 1582),
calling them chelas , and a number of emancipatory steps for them, had
hardly paid attention to this practice.51 But in spite of the tall claims
for abolishing the practice and the trade in eunuchs, this could hardly
stop52 considering its viability for the security of the harem which could
be taken care of along with ensuring appropriate degree of privacy and
seclusion for women.

The seventeenth century accounts of harem by European travelers,

though full of amorous and graphic details, and as we know should be
treated with caution; Manucci chance to be conveyed in the harem by
eunuchs makes his account about them plausible.53 He writes about
the nazirs , who were guardians or superintendents of the property and
income of kings, princes, queens and princess, who appear powerful
as all officials and servants under him were bound to report to him,
then are the eunuchs posted at the gates 'to see who comes in and out

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424 IHC : Proceedings, 69th Session, 2008

of the harem'. Besides, 4 there were eunuchs 'young and old, of which
some have access to the Mahal, either to carry billets or to do other
messages, as the service of person employing them requires'. Eunuchs
thereby also served inside the harem.
However if we try to find eunuch figures now, of the same type
that we have found earlier in the paintings either within or outside of
zenana , it is hardly forthcoming. These paintings of zenana (of the
interior female quarters only and not of the entire palace area shown in
a single frame, as done previously) show only females. One could se
that either the eunuchs were not considered worthy of portrayal or quite
possibly the attire of eunuchs serving inside the harem became
indistinguishable from women. Though quite conjectural, we find in
painting depicting scene of prince's birth (by Bishandas) c. 1610, 54 three
figures among the many women figures; all women dressed alike except
these three with male head wears and costumes different from the
women amidst whom they stand. These though have slender figures,
sharp features and ornaments like necklace and ear-rings with loop
around ears. One is tempted further towards suggesting the possibility
of a category of eunuch that were in mixed attire inside the harem, as
allowing considerations about looks and physical features and making
distinctions among them as Kafuri, Sandali, Badami etc,55 was perhaps
done to promote a more feminine identity of eunuchs who mingled
with women.

The harems of the nobles could not have had as much elaborate
tier- arrangement like that of royal establishment with a large range of
servants and guards. Instead the logistics for administration, security,
service along with the care of women could be effectively carried out
by the same body of eunuchs. Said khan had collected a body of 1 ,200
eunuchs, one Ikhtiyar Khan was his vakil , another Itibar Khan, the
faujdar of his jagir .56 The European narratives similarly give vivid
description of presence of eunuchs, their affluence and power they
wielded etc. in the aristocratic houses. 'They can get whatever they
desire - fine horses to ride, servants to attend them outside, and female
slaves inside the house, clothes as fine and smart as those of their master
himself'.57 The narrative however simply foregrounds the sexuality of
female life in zenana as reasons for their affluence, for reasons we
understand.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. Ibn Batuta (d. 1377), Rihla , tr. H.A.R. Gibb, The Travels of I bn Batuta ,
Cambridge, 1 956-7 1 ,vol.III,p.740.

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 Medieval India 425

2. Rizqullah Mushtaqi (d. 1581), Waqiat-i-Mushtaqi , ed. I.H. Siddiqui and W.H.
Siddiqi, Rampur, 2002, p. 98.
3. Rihla, op. cit, vol. II, pp. 480-81.
4. Al- Maqrizi, Kitab al Suluk, ed. M.M.Ziyada and S.A.F. Ashour, Cairo, 1934-
72, vol.11, pp. 678-79; trans, in D. Ayalon, "The Eunuchs in the Mameluk
Sultanate," Studies in Memory of Gaston Wiet, ed. Myriam Rosen- Ayalon,
Jerusalem, p. 284.
5. Hamid Sulaiman, Miniaturesof Baburnama , Samarqand, 1969, pl. 7.
6. Rumer Golden, Gulbadan Portrait of a Rose Princess at the Mughal Court ,
New York, 1980, p.32.
7. Gulbadan Begum, Humayun Nama , ed. A. S. Beveridge in History of Humayun,
New Delhi, 1983, p.31.
8. Hamid Sulaiman, op. cit.
9. Michael Brand and Glenn D. Lowry, Akbar 's India : Art from the Mughal City of
Victory , Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1986, pl. 1 .
10. Mirza Haider Dughlat (1546), Tarikh-i Rashidi , tr. E. Denison, Patna, 1973, p. 258.
1 1. Jauhar, Tazkirat-ul-Waqiat, Add. 16, 711, f.65b ; Humayun Nama, op.cit,ņ.55b
12. Ibid, tr.A.S. Beveridge, History of Humayun, op. cit. p. 166.
13. Ibid.; Tazkirat-ul-Waqiat , op. cit; Abul Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari , transi. H. Blochmann
for the biographical notices of Grandees of the Empire, New Delhi, 1977,
Vol.1, p.442.
14. Tazkirat-ul-Waqiat y f. 20a
15. Humayun Nama , p. 14a.
16. Francois Bernier, Travels in the Mogul Empire (A.D. 1656-68) [2nd ed. revised
by V.A.Smith], p.312.
17. Ain-i-Akbari , transi. H. Blochmann, op. cit, vol. I, p. 442.
18. Abul Fazl, Akbarnama (J 601), ed. Agha Ahmad Ali and Abdur Rahim, Bib. Ind.,
Calcutta, 1873-87, vol. II, pp. 174-5. Clearly, harem was not barred to the entry of
relations including the foster relations. We have in a painting Adham khan and Pir
Muhammad seen in the interiors of seraglio. Here, what was objectionable was
not his trying to enter the harem, but his audacity to try to barge in to take revenge
upon Akbar after killing his foster father, Shamsuddin Atka.
19. Geeti Sen, Paintings from the Akbarnama; a Visual Chronicle of Mughal India ,
Varanasi, 1984, pl. 26, 'Akbar orders the punishment of his foster brother, ca. 1609,
Chester Beatty Library, Ind. Ms. No. 7.
20. For instance, a eunuch officer of Salim Khan's court who had the title Muhammad
Khan was called Khwaja phul Malik after joining the Mughal court. Akbarnama,
vol.11, pp.178-9.
21. Geeti Sen, pl. 19.
22. There have been observations recorded from quite an early time of the characterstics
of eunuchs and the transformations that they underwent. Al- Djahiz remarks that
if emasculation takes place before puberty which was usually the case the beard
and the body hair do not grow. Finding in food and drink a kind of compensation
for the deprivation of other pleasures, they have a tendency to eat and drink heavily
which explains their obesity. Encyclopaedia of I s lam, v ol.IV,p.l090.

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426 ¡HC: Proceedings , 69th Session, 2008

23. Ain-i-Akbari , transi. H. Blochmann, op. cit, vol.1, p. 473; Shaikh Farid Bhakkari,
Zakhiratu 7 Khawanin (1649-51), ed. Syed Moinul Haq, Karachi, 1941, vol.1. p. 216.
24. In the Delhi Sultanate and then the regional kingdoms, eunuchs appear as a
significant body at the court and a number of them served as officers. A number of
eunuch mameluks / officers prop up with names, the titles given to them, the task
allotted, the posts that they held, their activities and accomplishments
25. Abdul Qadir Badauni (c.1595), Muntakhabu-t-Tawarikh , ed. Captain William
Nesolias and Munshi Ahmad Ali, Calcutta, 1865, vol. II, p. 65; Akbarnama ,
op. cit, vol. II, pp. 178-9. Iqtidar Alam Khan takes Itimad Khan's appointment to
such an important office as an indicator of distinct change in imperial policy. Akbar,
by appointing a slave officer, is seen as trying to build upon the concept of banda-
i-dargah thus incorporating Turkish principles of statecraft to his rule( Iqtidar Alam
Khan, 'The Turko-Mongol Theory of Kingship", Medieval India - A Miscellany ,
vol. 2, New Delhi, 1972, pp. 8-18).
Ruby Lai sees the appointment as a break from previous practice of appointment
of kin and relation to office. She sees Badauni's scathing criticism of it as
resentment against non-kin high ranking appointment (Ruby Lai , Domesticity
and Power in the Early Mughal World , Cambridge, 2005, p. 196).
26. Ain-i-Akbari, ed. Nawal Kishore, Lucknow, 1882, vol. I, p.l61;tr.
Blochmann,I,p.442.
27. Ibid, p. 161;
28. Major David Price, Memoirs of J ahan g ir, claims to have translated the original
Persian manuscript, Delhi, 1904, p. 58
29. Fr. Pierre Du Jarric, Akbar and the Jesuits, tr. C.H. Payne, London, 1926, p. 155.
30. Encyclopaedia of I slam, 'o'.W, p. 1092.
31. This could have been also with the slave officers as the slave loyalty could be
commanded. Slave officers, as later chela officers are noted, but as lower officers
and no where compared to the eunuch officers.
38. De Laet (1631), The Empire of the Great Mogol, tr. J.S. Hoy land and S.N. Banerjee
Delhi, reprint 1975, p. 38
39. Shaikh Farid Bhakkari, Zakhiratu'l Khawanin (1649-51), ed. Syed Moinul Haq,
Karachi, 1941, vol. I, p. 192. While Maasir-ul- Umara and Zakhirat-ul - Khawanin
mention Khwaja Hilal as an ex-slave of Mir Abul Qasim Khan Namakin.
Blochrnann has found Hilal to be an ex-slave of Said Khan that would have more
complicated the matter. Ain-i-Akbari,tr.B'ochmann, op. cit, vol. I, p. 352.
40. A remark such as this coming from a ruler of 1 6th century regional state of Gujarat,
where eunuch officers enjoyed great patronage and power, suggests what type of
ridicule they could be subjected to on account of their sexual limitation. The ruler
rebuked his officer, Hujjat-uI-Mulk, (who was granted the title of Khan Jahan and
Police Magistracy over the city of Ahmedabad) when he erred, saying: 'O fool,
what shall I say to you. If you were a man, I would have reviled you by calling you
a coward; if you were a woman, I would have called you unchaste, you are neither
man nor woman, but the bad qualities of both are present in you'. Mirat-i-Sikandari,
op. cit, p. 21 8.

41. Akbarnama, vol.11, pp. 178-9.

42. Muntakhabu-t-Tawarikh, vol. II, p. 65.
43. A in- i -Akbar i xá. Nawal Kishore, op. cit, vol I, p. 3 1 .

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 Medieval India 427

44. Geeti Sen, op.cit, pl. 56,57.

45. Art from the Mughal City of Victory, op
46. Fr. Antonio Monserrate (1590-91) Mong
Hoyland and S.N. Banerjee, Commentary
Jalandhar, reprint 1999,p.l99.
47. Am-/-Akban,ed. Nawal Kishore, op.cit
48. Ibid., ed. Blochmann, bib. Ind. , pp. 389-
49. Sir Thomas Roe, Embassy of Sir Thomas R
new and rev. ed., Jalandhar, 1926, reprint
50. De Laet, p.99.
51. A kba rrai/mi,vol.pp .1 59-60 ; vol.III.pt. I, pp. 379-80. Jahangir described it as an old
practice that should have been banned by his predecessors.
52. Tuzuk-i Jahangiri (1624), ed. Saiyyad Ahmad, Aligarh, 1864, pp.71-
2,112,120,324,328.

53. Manucci, op. cit., vol. II, p. 328.

54. Stuart C. Welch, The Art of Mughal India, Painting and Precious Objects , Asia
House Gallery Publication, 1963, pl. 26.
55. Cf. K.S. Lai, The Mughal Harem , New Delhi, 1988, p. 188.
56. Ain-i-Akbari, tr. Blochmann, vol. I, pp.35 1-2.
57. Francisco Pelsaert (1626), Remonstrantie , tr. Moreland and Geyl, Jahangir 's India ,
Cambridge, 1925, reprint, Delhi, 1972, pp.65-6. The usual point made was that
the wives were bound to do all this so that whatever happens in the house is
concealed from the husband while the master bestows largesse on eunuchs to keep
him informed of all that happens at his house.

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