Date Wine To Opium, How The Mughal Court Had Many Hidden Indulgences

The grand Mughal Empire, often depicted through its magnificent architecture and military conquests, harboured a rather spirited side behind palace doors. Despite the theoretical Islamic prohibition on alcohol, the imperial courts were awash with indulgences that would make even the most seasoned socialite raise an eyebrow.

The Mughal emperors weren't merely sipping tea whilst planning their next conquest. They were, in fact, quite the connoisseurs of fine wines. Jahangir, bless his heart, confesses in his memoirs to having been rather fond of the bottle, consuming up to "twenty cups of double-refined spirits" in his younger days. One can imagine the imperial hangover that followed.

These weren't your garden-variety drinks either. The court enjoyed the finest imported wines, Shiraz from Persia, which undertook a whopping 46-day journey from Bandar Abbas to Delhi, and Canary wines brought by Dutch traders. Talk about dedication to the drinking cause.

The Mughals had a particular flair for adding a dash of sophistication to their boozy endeavours. Their wines were often infused with roses, perhaps an early attempt at what we might now call a "botanical cocktail". Empress Nur Jahan, ever the trendsetter, created mango-flavoured wines that would surely be all the rage in today's craft cocktail scene. Maireya which is a spicy wine made from fruits and flowers, Madhira, a wine crafted with honey, jaggery, or molasses, enhanced with dhataki flower juices and Red wine from Shiraz mixed with rose sherbet which was a royal favourite.

Contrary to what one might expect, drinking wasn't exclusively a gentlemen's club activity. According to Pelsaert, a European traveller, the ladies of the court "learned quickly from their husbands," with drinking becoming quite fashionable during Jahangir's reign. One imagines the court gossip flowing as freely as the wine.

When Emperor Babur claimed to have given up wine, he didn't quite abandon all intoxicants, he simply switched to ma'jun, an infused confection that offered similar mood-enhancing effects. This wasn't so much a religious conversion as a political manoeuvre, particularly useful when rallying troops for battle.

Wine drinking in the Mughal court wasn't merely about pleasure; it was a social marker that separated the elite from the common folk. While the masses might enjoy local toddy (which Babur noted was stronger than date liquor), the imperial circle sipped from jewel-encrusted chalices made of "ballace ruby, Turkish stone, and other costly stones".

The Medical Excuse

When criticism arose, the Mughals had a splendid justification – it was medicinal. Abul Fazl cleverly noted that specialists had endorsed wine "in small amounts and on fixed occasions" for health purposes and to balance one's humours. Jahangir himself claimed in his later years that he consumed liquor "exclusively for stomach digestion".

The Mughal indulgence in wine and intoxicants reveals a fascinating contradiction between religious doctrine and cultural practice. Their drinking culture, with its elaborate rituals and fine vessels, wasn't just about inebriation – it was part of a sophisticated social tapestry that defined imperial life, proving that even the mightiest emperors weren't above enjoying a good tipple.