What were the concerns that shaped Mughal policies and attitudes towards regions outside the subcontinent?
(i)The Safavids and Qandahar: The political and diplomatic relations between , the Mughal kings and the neighbouring countries of Iran and Turan hinged on the control of the frontier defined by the Hindukush mountains that separated Afghanistan from the regions of Iran and Central Asia. A constant aim of Mughal policy was to ward off this potential danger by controlling strategic outposts – notably Kabul and Qandahar. The fortress-town Qandahar had initially been in the possession of Humayun, reconquered in 1595 by Akbar.The Safavid court retained diplomatic relations with the Mughals, it continued to stake.claims to Qandahar. Jahangir sent a diplomatic envoy to the court of Shah Abbas in 1613 to plead the Mughal case for retaining Qandahar, but the mission failed to achieve its objectives. Persian army besieged Qandahar in 1622. The Mughal garrison was defeated and had to surrender the fortress and the city to the Safavids.
(ii)The Ottomans: pilgrimage and trade: The relationship between the Mughals and the Ottomans ensured free movement for merchants and pilgrims in the territories under Ottoman control. This was especially true for the Hijaz, that part of Ottoman Arabia where the important pilgrim centres of Mecca and Medina were located. The Mughal emperor combined religion and commerce by exporting essential goods to Aden and Mokha, and distributing the proceeds of the sales in charity to the keepers of shrines and religious men there.
(iii)Jesuits at the Mughal court: European received knowledge about India through the accounts of Jesuit missionaries, travellers, merchants and diplomats. After the discovery of sea route to India, the Portuguese merchants set up their trading network stations in coastal region. The Portuguese was also interested in the spread of Christianity with the help of the missionaries of the Society of Jesuits. The Christian missions who sent to India during the sixteenth century were part of this process of trade and empire building. The first Jesuit mission reached the Mughal court of Mughal emperor Akbar at Fatehpur oikri in 1580 and stayed here for about two years. The Jesuits spoke to Akbar about Christianity and debated its virtues with the ulema. Two more missions were sent to the Mughal court at Lahore, in 1591 and 1595. The Jesuit accounts are based on personal observation and shed light on the character and mind of the emperor. At public assemblies the Jesuits were assigned places in close proximity to Akbar’s throne. The Jesuit accounts corroborate the information given in Persian chronicles about state officials and the general conditions of life in Mughal times.
Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.
How were the lives of forest dwellers transformed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
Discuss the extent to which Bernier’s account enables historians to reconstruct contemporary rural society.
Discuss the ways in which panchayats and village headmen regulated rural society.
On an outline map of the world mark the countries visited by Ibn Battuta. What are the seas that he may have crossed?
Discuss Al-Biruni’s understanding of the caste system.
Examine the role played by zamindars in Mughal India.
What were the distinctive features of the Mughal nobility? How was their relationship with the emperor shaped?
Analyse the evidence for slavery provided by Ibn Battuta.
What do you think was the significance of the rituals associated with the mahanavami dibba?
What do you think was the significance of the rituals associated with the mahanavami dibba?
Analyse the evidence for slavery provided by Ibn Battuta.
Discuss Al-Biruni’s understanding of the caste system.
Analyse, with illustrations, why bhakti and sufi thinkers adopted a variety of languages in which to express their opinions.
Describe the major teachings of either Kabir or Baba Guru Nanak, and the ways in which these have been transmitted.
On an outline map of the world, mark the areas which had economic links with the Mughal Empire, and trace out possible routes of communication.
What were the elements of the practice of sati that drew the attention of Bernier?
Examine the evidence that suggests that land revenue was important for the Mughal fiscal system.
Read any five of the sources included in this chapter and discuss the social and religious ideas that are expressed in them.
Do you think Ibn Battuta’s account is useful in arriving at an understanding of life in contemporary urban centres? Give reasons for your answer.