Description
Those specializing in Mughal history are well aware of the renewed interest in the figure of Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605–27). Long overshadowed by his charismatic father Akbar, Jahangir has been characterized consistently as a weak and shallow ruler, more given to rituals and empty gestures than to strong political and military action. But recent work on Jahangir and the Mughal political culture of the period has put this emperor—his reign, court, and persona—at the heart of important historiographical developments. His capacity as collector, patron and naturalist, which was signaled before by art historians, has been further investigated. The richness of the political and religious debates taking place in his court has been unearthed thanks to the analysis of new texts and the reconsideration of older ones. This is precisely where the research on Jahangir dovetails with the history of the Society of Jesus, namely through the prominent figure of Jerónimo (Jerome) Xavier, who in 1595 headed the third Jesuit mission to the Mughal court, and there remained for almost twenty years. This is likewise the point at which the Portuguese Tratado da Corte e Caza de Jamguir Pachá Rey dos Mogores (Treatise in the shorthand English form), probably written by Xavier in late 1610 or early 1611, enters the discussion.