Listening to Amīr Ḳhusraw in the Mughal Court: Indian Sultanate Epistemologies of Persian Music and the Construction of Hindustani Music History in the Mughal Imaginary

The history and development of North Indian (Hindustani) classical music is still viewed today as the result of a process of synthesis, syncretism, and hybridity between Indian and Persian systems of music. Central to this narrative is the Indo-Persian poet and courtier Amīr Ḳhusraw (1253–1325), often seen as the father of Sufi qawwālī and the classical ḳhayāl genre. This article both offers a reconsideration of the traditional historiography surrounding Ḳhusraw and his role in the development of Hindu-stani music tradition through his own writings on music and locates our modern-day understanding of his musical innovations in the Mughal reception of his legacy.