Tāj-i 'Izzat

The Tāj-i 'Izzat ("Crown of Power and Glory") was a particular type of Mughal Empire headdress, characteristic of the court of Humayun (1508–1556), son and successor of Babur, and invented by Humayun himself. The headdress was created by Humayun in 1532 (939 AH), two years after his first accession as Mughal Emperor.^[2] The Tāj-i 'Izzat was discontinued early in the reign of his son Akbar I.^[3]

In creating the Tāj-i 'Izzat, it is thought that Humayun probably tried to emulate and rival the Persian Taj-i Haydari, created by the Safavids as a symbol of their Sufi organization.^[2] The creation of the Tāj-i 'Izzat may have been a reaction to Babur's allegiance to the Safavids, and part of Humayun's attempt to create a spiritual system that could rival that of the Safavids.^[2]

Contemporary life-time portrait of Humayun, painted in Kabul, in 1550-55
Humayun attendants, with Tāj-i 'Izzat headdress, Kabul in 1550-55
Contemporary portrait of the young Akbar, son of Humayun, wearing the Tāj-i 'Izzat

References

^ "Babur and Humayun with Courtiers, from the Late Shah Jahan Album". Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art. The first Mughal emperor, Babur, who reigned from 1526 to 1530, is shown seated on the right with his son and successor, Humayun.
^ ^a ^b ^c Moin, A. Azfar (2012). The Millennial Sovereign: Sacred Kingship and Sainthood in Islam. Columbia University Press. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-0-231-16036-0. Humayun's new taj, according to the chronogram in the poem above, was invented in 1532 (939 AH), that is, within two years of his ascension. The Taj-i 'Izzat clearly bore both a mimetic and a competitive relationship to the Safavid headgear, the Taj-i Haydari, a symbol of their Sufi brotherhood. It was meant to enact a ritual of sovereignty similar to the Safavid one, in which the ruler was the object of ritual devotion of his courtiers and soldiers. It would appear that Humayun instituted this symbolic practice in response to the loss of glory and power that his father had experienced when he became a Safavid disciple. But to become an object of ritual devotion, Humayun had to first become sacred. Thus, his keen interest in the esoteric sciences —the 'ulum-i ghariba- especially his recourse to the thaumaturgic gifts of the powerful and charismatic Shattari saints, was a means to achieve a degree of sacrality that would surpass even that of the messianic Safavid Shah Ismail.
^ Parodi, Laura E. (2016). "Infrared Reflectography of the Mughal Painting Princes of the House of Timur (British Museum, 1913,0208,0.1)". Journal of Islamic Manuscripts 7. Brill. doi:10.1163/1878464X-00701003.

[1] "Babur and Humayun with Courtiers, from the Late Shah Jahan Album". Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art. The first Mughal emperor, Babur, who reigned from 1526 to 1530, is shown seated on the right with his son and successor, Humayun.

[AAM124-2] Moin, A. Azfar (2012). The Millennial Sovereign: Sacred Kingship and Sainthood in Islam. Columbia University Press. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-0-231-16036-0. Humayun's new taj, according to the chronogram in the poem above, was invented in 1532 (939 AH), that is, within two years of his ascension. The Taj-i 'Izzat clearly bore both a mimetic and a competitive relationship to the Safavid headgear, the Taj-i Haydari, a symbol of their Sufi brotherhood. It was meant to enact a ritual of sovereignty similar to the Safavid one, in which the ruler was the object of ritual devotion of his courtiers and soldiers. It would appear that Humayun instituted this symbolic practice in response to the loss of glory and power that his father had experienced when he became a Safavid disciple. But to become an object of ritual devotion, Humayun had to first become sacred. Thus, his keen interest in the esoteric sciences —the 'ulum-i ghariba- especially his recourse to the thaumaturgic gifts of the powerful and charismatic Shattari saints, was a means to achieve a degree of sacrality that would surpass even that of the messianic Safavid Shah Ismail.

[3] Parodi, Laura E. (2016). "Infrared Reflectography of the Mughal Painting Princes of the House of Timur (British Museum, 1913,0208,0.1)". Journal of Islamic Manuscripts 7. Brill. doi:10.1163/1878464X-00701003.

[2]

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