In this article, we explore the longue durée philosophical background of Mughal Emperor Akbar’ssun worship. Although Akbar’s sun project may have been triggered by contemporary Hindu andZoroastrian... Show moreIn this article, we explore the longue durée philosophical background of Mughal Emperor Akbar’ssun worship. Although Akbar’s sun project may have been triggered by contemporary Hindu andZoroastrian ideas and practices, we argue that Akbar’s Neoplatonic advisers reframed it as a universalcosmotheistic tradition that, at the start of the new millennium, served as the perfect all-inclusiveimperial ideology of Akbar’s new world order. The astonishing parallels with the much earlierNeoplatonic sun cult of Roman Emperor Julian demonstrate that, although having characteristic ofits own, Akbar’s sun project was not that unique and should be seen as a fascinating late example ofa so-far completely forgotten ancient Neoplatonic legacy of seeing the philosopher king, via the Sun,via illumination, connected to the One. Show less
This unabashedly intuitive essay introduces Neoplatonism as a new category in global intellectual history. It highlights one particular moment in time when Neoplatonism became the cutting-edge,... Show moreThis unabashedly intuitive essay introduces Neoplatonism as a new category in global intellectual history. It highlights one particular moment in time when Neoplatonism became the cutting-edge, avant-garde intellectual force in both the Latinate West and the Persianate East. More specifically, by comparing Stuart England and Mughal India the essay uncovers a hitherto silent cord of commensurable royal courts stretching from the Thames to the Ganges. During a long sixteenth century (c. 1450-1650), this courtly continuum was the dazzling stage of a global Neoplatonic Renaissance. Whereas in Stuart England it showed primarily in emblematic fiction, in Mughal India it was an imperial dream come true. Show less
