# The Emperor Alamgir (reigned 1658–1707) on Horseback

- Date: c. 1690–1710
- Medium: Gum tempera, gold, and silver on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Overall: 30.5 x 22.3 cm (12 x 8 3/4 in.)
- Culture: India, Mughal Dynasty (1526-1756)
- Credit line: Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1971.81)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/1971.81/1971.81_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The equestrian portrait genre was inspired by gifts of European prints and paintings to the Mughal court. The sixth Mughal emperor is portrayed on an elegant, decorated steed, ready for battle, holding a spear, and his sword at the ready. His attendant holds the symbolic parasol over him, which is a millennia-old emblem of kingship in India. Throughout his long reign he was primarily occupied with the conquest of the Deccan, which he ultimately achieved, expanding the Mughal Empire to its greatest geographical extent.