Shah Jahan: Did you mean...?

Saladin (c. 1137 – 1193 CE), the Muslim ruler who crushed the mighty Crusader army at the Horns of Hattin (1187 CE) and re-took Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader control, was born in a world where the disunity of the Muslims had allowed...

Genghis Khan (aka Chinggis Khan) was the founder of the Mongol Empire which he ruled from 1206 until his death in 1227. Born Temujin, he acquired the title of Genghis Khan, likely meaning 'universal ruler’, after unifying the Mongol tribes...

The Kalash people, also called Kafir (Non-believer), Black Robe and Siah Posh, live in the three sub-valleys of Kalash; Bumboret, Rumbor and Birir, in the modern-day District Chitral, Pakistan. The Kalasha are ancient tribe of Pakistan and...

Persian Haft Rang tiles, also known as seven-colored tiles, are highly decorative glazed tiles used to adorn the exteriors and interiors of both secular and religious buildings. The tiles first came to prominence from the 15th century and...

In this short film, Emily Hannam discusses a pair of mid-seventeenth century paintings by the Mughal court artists Bichitr and Ramdas from the most famous South Asian manuscript in the Royal Collection, the Padshahnama (‘Book of Emperors’...

Jahangir and His Vizier, I'timad al-Daula, folio from the Shah Jahan Album, ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper by Manohar, India, c. 1615. Mughal emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-27) bestowed the title of l'timad al-Daula (meaning "reliance...

Persian literature derives from a long oral tradition of poetic storytelling. The first recorded example of this tradition is the Behistun Inscription of Darius I (the Great, r. 522-486 BCE), carved on a cliff-face c. 522 BCE during the period...

Persian miniature painting is a courtly and aristocratic art, with exquisite colors, balanced compositions, and meticulous attention to detail. Although its origins can be difficult to trace, many consider the Arzhang, the illustrated book...

Spanning across three continents and holding dominance over the Black and Mediterranean Seas, the Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1922) was a global military superpower between the 15th and 17th centuries. From the point of its inception in 1299...

The Upanishads are the philosophical-religious texts of Hinduism (also known as Sanatan Dharma meaning “Eternal Order” or “Eternal Path”) which develop and explain the fundamental tenets of the religion. The name is translated as to “sit...