The emperor's military prowess served him well as he directed campaigns to extend the empire's boundaries. Among the battles illustrated in the Padshahnama is the capture of Port Hoogly, an early 17th-century Portuguese trading center near Calcutta. The Portuguese habitually flouted Mughal authority, which led to a Mughal attack on Hoogly in mid-1632. Among the details of the painting is a gracefully rendered depiction of the European colony, complete with a Gothic church and other distinctive buildings. The first of these paintings shows the formal engagement marked by the delivery of presents.
Attendants carry gifts on round trays covered with precious cloths of various patterns.
They are accompanied by musicians and flower bearers, all under the escort of the chief court ministers. In one indication of the emperor's preference, Awrangzeb's wedding is expressed in a single painting showing a less elaborate ceremony than his brother's. Awrangzeb eventually murdered Prince Dara-Shikoh, imprisoned their father, and claimed the throne. Under Awrangzeb's half-century rule, the Mughal empire gradually lost political power, and many of its treasures were dispersed when Nadir Shah of Iran sacked Delhi in 1739. Shortly thereafter, this manuscript entered the collection of the nawabs of Lucknow, rulers in eastern India who gained power during the declining years of Mughal rule.