This paper builds on my earlier study of the relationship between the elephant and imperial sovereignty in north India, extending the argument from 1200 to 1600ce. The ritual and military use of the elephant signalled a self-conscious imperial formation, based on the Ghaznavid model, with the emperor as king-of-kings and elephant-master, ruling over subjugated tributary monarchs. However, new conditions in the sixteenth century led to the rise of a centralised and expansive state, now armed with gunpowder weapons, and thus no longer dependent on tributary relations or the elephant. The elephant, which formerly stood for divine or satanic power, was now humanised, and the emperor’s status was elevated above it as the closest living being to God. In short, studying the imperial formation in the north through its use of elephants renders meaningless the characterisation of linear evolution from a more orthodox Islamic state (‘Delhi Sultanate’) to a tolerant one (‘Mughal Empire’).

本文以我之前对印度北部大象与帝国主权之间关系的研究为基础，将论点从1200 ce扩展到1600 ce。。大象的仪式和军事使用标志着以加兹纳维德（Ghaznavid）模式为基础的自觉式帝国形成，皇帝为国王，国王和大象大师，统治着被征服的朝贡君主。然而，十六世纪的新情况导致了一个集权和扩张的国家的崛起，该国现在拥有火药武器，因此不再依赖朝贡关系或大象。大象原本是神力或撒旦力量的代名词，如今已被人性化，皇帝的地位被提升为高于上帝的生物。简而言之，通过使用大象来研究北部的帝国形态，使得从更传统的伊斯兰国家（“德里苏丹国”）到宽容的伊斯兰国家（“莫卧儿帝国”）线性演变的特征变得毫无意义。