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Akbar Receives Gifts from the Ambassadors of Badakhshan
from the Akbarnama


The Book of Akbar, or Akbarnama, is an official, imperial biography of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605), written by his close friend and associate, Abu ‘l-Fazl. In this painting the emperor is depicted receiving gifts of bows, two small dishes of spinels, swords and hunting falcons from the ambassadors of Badakhshan, a region that today comprises parts of eastern Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan. Badakhshan was an important source of spinels, or balas rubies, a type of precious stone distinct from 'true', or corundum, rubies.
Source: Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.

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Mughal Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers in the Akbarnama