Genre scenes of nobility visiting holy men became popular at the Mughal court during the reign of Jehangir (1605-27). These pictures emerged from earlier literary illustrations and they are commonly assumed to represent portraits of individual princes or members of the nobility. In some cases historical figures can be identified but for the most part they are often simply idealised studies of royal piety. Mughal paintings on this theme frequently depict one or two well-dressed females supplicating a lingam, or a group of royal women gathered before a holy man.