Education and Training of Archery in Mughal India

Abstract

It has been long held that Mughal India had a long tradition of education and learning. The Mughal period witnessed the emergence of great scholars in different fields; some prominent names are Fathullah Shirazi, Sheikh Mubarak, his two sons Faizi and Abul Fazl, and Abdul Qadir Badauni. These scholars left their intellectual imprint on Mughal history. Even the Mughal Emperors took a keen interest in the education and training of the princes. Along with educating the royal family members, the Mughal Emperors also worked to educate the ordinary people. Akbar had taken great interest in designing the syllabus for madarsa education himself. In contrast, Aurangzeb gave the merchants the responsibility of education for the smooth functioning of the madarsa and inspected its progress from time to time. Many works have been produced about madarsa education in Mughal India, but the education and training in the technical field have yet to be discussed. The present research study investigates education and training in warfare, especially archery, as the education of archery was considered very important in the Islamic world. The Mughals, too, turned their attention to educating the princes and common people on the art of archery.