appanage: fiefdom
ashrafi: gold coin
bagh: garden
beg: commander
begim: Muslim lady of high rank
bhavan: building
bigha: unit of land measurement
cella: inner chamber of a temple
charbagh: garden divided into four sections; often has a pool in the middle
chenar (Platanus orientalis): large, deciduous tree, native to Europe and Asia
chini khana: row of earthen oil lamps set in a niche carved in the temple wall
crore: unit in the Indian numbering system equal to ten million
dacoit: bandit
dargah: tomb
district collector: officer in charge of revenue collection and administration in districts of India
al-Fatiha: the Opening, the first sura in the Qur’an
firman: royal mandate or decree
ghat: a broad flight of steps on a riverbank that provides access to the water
hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are expected to take at least once in their lives
hammam: Turkish bath
haram: forbidden or proscribed by Islamic law
Jat: rural caste in northern India and Pakistan
jizya: tax on non-Muslims residing in Muslim lands
madrasa: a Muslim institute of higher learning
maʿjun: mild narcotic in chewable form
mihrab: a niche in the wall of a mosque, at the point nearest to Mecca, toward which the congregation faces to pray
minaret: tower attached to a mosque
Mughal: South Asian dynasty and empire; founded by Babur in 1526, the Mughal dynasty ruled large parts of India and Afghanistan until the mid-nineteenth century.
nala: a redirected stream
one-mill stream: stream with enough water to power one water mill
paradise garden: enclosed garden
pargana: administrative district
purdah: custom in which Muslim women separate themselves from men
qanat: cloth screen
Rajput confederation: Hindu military lineage; in the sixteenth century, led by Rana Sanga (Maharana Sangram Singh, r. 1508–28), the Rajputs blocked Babur’s quest for complete control of India
shahrukhi: silver coin
shamanism: belief in an unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits who respond only to priests and priestesses known as shamans
Timurid: Central Asian/Persian dynasty and empire founded by Timur (died 1405), whose descendant Babur founded the Mughal Empire.
zamindar: landowner
zenana: part of a house where women are secluded