"From the early 1680s onward, there is an almost daily flow of reports, covering roughly a third of the emperor's reign."
Background
Since 2007, a historian has examined the Akhbarat-i Darbar-i Mualla (Newsletters of the Exalted Court), preserved in archives across India and Britain. The study involved over 6,500 pages at Kolkata's National Library, covering princes, generals, courtiers, royal women, imperial eunuchs, and others.
Findings
A forthcoming history of Aurangzeb (Alamgir) and the Mughal empire in the late 17th century is based on these reports. The reports survive in at least four collections: London, Bikaner, Sitamau, and Kolkata, with possible others in private hands.
One cache was stored in Jaipur Fort's basement; in the early 19th century, James Tod borrowed many and donated them to the Royal Asiatic Society. Kolkata's National Library holds 21 volumes from Aurangzeb's reign (1658–1707), once part of historian Sir Jadunath Sarkar's library.
Content
The material includes appointments, disputes, military movements, gifts, illnesses, and administrative details. Coverage of the first two decades is patchy, but from the early 1680s onward, there is an almost daily flow of reports, covering roughly a third of the emperor's reign.