Description
The Planetary King: Humayun Padshah, Inventor and Visionary on the Mughal Throne
By Ebba Koch
Book Specifications:
- Category: History / Mughal Empire & Architecture
- Pages: 384 pages
- Illustrations: 273 photographs
- Dimensions: 9.75 x 11.75” (247.6 x 298 mm), Hardcover (hc)
- ISBN: 978-93-85360-98-5
- Date of Publishing: Fall 2022
Language: English
Humayun, the son of Babur and the second Mughal ruler, reigned in Agra from 1530 to 1540 and then in Delhi from 1555 to 1556. Until now, his numerous achievements—including the extraordinary feat of winning back the throne of Hindustan—have not been well recorded. Because Humayun neither wrote an autobiography nor commissioned a historian to glorify his reign, his legacy has often eluded general comprehension.
The Planetary King masterfully follows Humayun’s travels and campaigns during the political and social disturbances of the early sixteenth century. It delves deeply into Humayun’s extraordinary social and intellectual life, demystifying his magico-scientific worldview. The volume draws overdue attention to his deep involvement with literature, poetry, painting, architecture, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, occultism, and his own extraordinary inventions. Furthermore, it offers a groundbreaking analysis of Humayun’s magnificent mausoleum as the posthumous sum of his visions and dreams.
Bringing this fascinating exploration to life in vivid detail, the book includes hundreds of beautifully reproduced photographs and illustrations. This landmark publication accompanies the new site museum at Humayun’s tomb, created by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture to mark the culmination of two decades of conservation work on the World Heritage Site.
Praise for the Book:
“Professor Koch has brought her unparalleled knowledge of Mughal history and artistic culture into a sharply penetrating focus on Humayun’s career and his many contributions to architecture, science, and literature besides his role in creating a Mughal ruling ideology.”
— R. D. McChesney, Professor Emeritus, New York University
“In this sumptuous book, studded with fine paintings and incisive commentary, Ebba Koch, the foremost historian of medieval Indian architecture, has unpacked Humayun’s complex personality…”
— Shahid Amin, India Today
“…combining visual appeal with engrossing text to provide a wholesome reading experience.”
— The Week
Table of Contents:
- Preface and Acknowledgements / Introduction
- Part I: The Planetary King
- Assessments of Humayun
- Humayun’s Life
- Part II: Humayun’s Inventions
- Interests / Inventions
- Humayun’s Court: Reality or Literary Utopia?
- Humayun and the Construction of the Mughal Myth: The Emperor as Sun King
- Humayun as Founder of the Mughal School of Painting
- Humayun’s Buildings / Gardens and the Attitude to Nature
- Part III: Humayun’s Tomb: Invention and Memorial of the Padshah
- The Architect and the Key Design
- The Garden and its Subsidiary Buildings
- The Mausoleum
- Conclusion
About the Author:
Ebba Koch is a pre-eminent art and architectural historian. She has been a professor at the Institute of Art History in Vienna, Austria, and has taught at the universities of Oxford and Harvard. Considered a leading authority on Mughal architecture, she specializes in the art and culture of the Great Mughals of South Asia. In 2016, Koch became an advisor to the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, India. Her acclaimed volume The Complete Taj Mahal (2006/2012) is the standard work on the subject.
