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Primary sourceDocument17th century (this copy later recopied)

Fatawa-i Alamgiri Manuscript

17th century (this copy later recopied)

A manuscript copy of the Hanafi legal compendium Aurangzeb commissioned from a board of Muslim jurists to govern his empire by Islamic law.

Aurangzeb commissioned this legal compendium, showing his attempt to rule through codified Islamic law.

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Open manuscript volume in Arabic script on aged cream paper. Left page has dense black text in a block within a ruled border. Right page has an illuminated gold and blue arched frontispiece with floral motifs, below which is a column of handwritten Arabic text with red headings. Handwritten English note in the margin reads 'Fatawa Alengiri Vol. II'.
Manuscript copy of al-Fatawa al-'Alamgiriyyah, commissioned by Aurangzeb.

About this source

What it is

This is a manuscript copy of the Fatawa-i Alamgiri, a large collection of Islamic legal rulings in the Hanafi tradition. It was commissioned by Emperor Aurangzeb, who had it compiled by a board of jurists. This particular copy belonged to the scholar Sir William Jones.

Why it matters

The Fatawa-i Alamgiri shows Aurangzeb's effort to govern his vast empire through a unified code of Islamic law, applied by judges across Mughal territory. It reveals how seriously he took religious law as a tool of government, and it later influenced legal practice in parts of South Asia long after his death. The manuscript's survival and its ownership by a European scholar also show how Mughal legal texts were studied by later colonial administrators.

Look closer

  • What does the decoration on the opening page suggest about how important this text was considered?
  • Why might an emperor want one single law code applied across his whole empire?
  • What does the English handwriting in the margin tell you about who later used this copy, and why?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Aurangzeb on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Maasir-i-Alamgiri

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Letter

Primary source

Ruka'at-i-Alamgiri

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Open manuscript on reddish-brown paper with dense black Persian-style script in vertical columns. On the right page, an ornate gold and floral illuminated frame with a blue arched panel surrounds a small text box.Letter

Primary source

Zafarnamah

Guru Gobind Singh · 1705

Mughal miniature painting of a royal elephant hunt on a wide plain. A large grey elephant with gold trappings and a mahout charges toward a rider on a white horse in the center. Mounted and foot soldiers, a second elephant with smoke puffs, and a walled city with domes in the background fill the scene.Painting

Primary source

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