Last modified: 2019-08-06 by ian macdonald
Keywords: india | peacock throne | maratha | mughals |
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I've done some research into flags of the Mughal Empire which spread from
modern day Pakistan to Burma at its zenith and was second only in wealth to
the Ottoman Empire of Turkey.
The flags included:
image by ajk73, 16 February 2015
image by ajk73, 16 February 2015
image by ajk73, 16 February 2015
Source: Wikipedia reference
I've been reading Abraham Eraly's "Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The Saga
of the Great Mughals" (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2000), and it mentions a flag
used by the troops of Shivaji, a warlord who founded a Maratha state in the
Deccan region of India in the 17th century, briefly rivaling Mughal power in the
area until his death in 1680. Eraly describes the Maratha troops "bellowing
their war cry, 'Har, Har, Mahadev!' to invoke the blessings of god Shiva, under
whose flag, the Bhagwa Jenda,--a swallow-tailed, deep orange pennant--they
fought." (pp. 470-471)
The book also mentions that Mughal emperors presented distinctive banners as
symbols of rank for their military commanders, but no information on designs.
Joe McMillan, 26 February 2003
What were probably two of them are in 'Flags at Sea' (Wilson, 1986), page 69, third row from the bottom, last two on the right.
The Surat Grand Mogul flag, known as the Tunkha, was flown at the masthead of
the ship of the Admiral of Surat Grand Mogul, a post held, for one year at a
time, by the Bombay Marine captain who was Deputy of the Company. His emoluments
for the year were said to be twenty times more than the salary of the Governor
of Bombay.
David Prothero, 26 February 2003