The Persian Embassy that Unnerved a Mughal Emperor
French physician and adventurer Francois Bernier travelled to medieval India between the reigns of Mughal rulers Shahjahan (r. 1628-1658) and Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707). In the beginning, he was employed as a personal physician of Shah Jahan's eldest son and the heir apparent, Dara Shikoh and later, when Aurangzeb assumed power, Bernier served him as his doctor. He witnessed several important events such as the illness of Shah Jahan, the war of succession, the confinement of Shah Jahan, the execution of Dara Shikoh and had firsthand experience of what Mughal court society was like in matters of exchange of embassies, court protocols, power structure, etc. Therefore, his work Travels in the Mogul Empire AD 1656-1668, as a primary source, is of immense significance since it is an account based on his direct personal observation or experience. This blog article details a foreign embassy that paid a visit to the Mughal court during the early days of Aurangzeb's reign. Bernier's perspective of the event is used.
Following the battle of Samugarh in 1658, Aurangzeb who was the third son of Shah Jahan defeated Dara Shikoh and usurped the throne of the reigning Mughal emperor and his father. As he began his reign, he started to receive numerous embassies from far and wide, congratulating the new sovereign. The Safavid Empire of Persia sent one such embassy. The Persian envoy was treated with the utmost reverence when he arrived in the Mughal capital, Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi). The troops guarding both sides of the path stretched beyond a league, and the bazaars he passed were all freshly decked. Numerous umrah (Mughal nobles), accompanied by musical instruments, participated in the parade, and as the ambassador entered the gate of the Red Fort, he was met with an artillery salute. With the utmost courtesy, Aurangzeb greeted him; showed no annoyance when the Persian envoy greeted the Mughal emperor in the Persian way. Aurangzeb even took the letters from his hands without hesitation, lifting them to almost the top of his head as a sign of respect. This was surely a deviation from the accepted norms of the Mughal court. Great Mughal rulers would never accept any gifts or letters from the hands of any foreign diplomats. The Master of Ceremonies was responsible for looking after all the aspects concerning court protocols. Also, Bernier's account provides its readers a series of amusing incidents that occurred at the Mughal imperial durbar (court) between Persian envoys and Shah Jahan. One of the bones of contention between them was the appropriate manner of offering salutation to the ruler of the recipient territory - whether the Persian ambassador perform the Persian form of salutation or the Mughal style of greeting.
Now you may wonder why Aurangzeb, an accomplished military leader and the ruler of a mighty empire chose to overlook Mughal court protocols especially when previously his royal father was always distinctly determined to persuade the visiting Persian ambassador to pay obeisance as per the Mughal fashion. Well, the answer lies in the fact that the Mughals viewed the Safavids of Persia as their powerful political contender. The Persian embassies were always received with great ostentation in order to impress them. Both sides were keen to maintain a cordial relationship with each other and provide military or any kind of assistance when required as in the case of Humayun, the son of Babur, the founder of Mughal empire. Accordingly, when Aurangzeb came into power, and it is to be noted that Aurangzeb succeeded his father not only by revolting against his father and disregarding his decision to appoint Dara Shikoh as the heir apparent but also by killing the latter and his other siblings (Shah Shuja and Murad Bakhsh) and incarcerating his father. Power-hungry Mughal princes rebelling was not something the empire had not witnessed before but executing the heir apparent and other princes was definitely disliked by the majority of the populace. The tale of Aurangzeb's political ascendancy is also replete with tales of intrigues, deceptions, betrayals and political murders. He knew he lacked popular support and so, he was eager to gain political legitimacy and allies from various other sources. He would attempt to win over the ulema or theologians at his court. Receiving an embassy from a powerful political territory such as Persia right after his accession was another way to demonstrate that his rule had an approval from other formidable political entities and that there had been no rupture in the relationship with the empire's neighbouring territories and its significant allies. Hence, Aurangzeb made a special effort to please the Persian envoy. However, the question remains: did Aurangzeb succeed in making the Persian envoy feel comfortable?
After the Persian ambassador presented the letters of Shah Abbas II (r. 1642-1666) of the Safavid Dynasty to Aurangzeb, a eunuch helped him to open the letters. He read them, his expression severe and serious, and then gave the order that the ambassador was to be bestowed a robe of honour. The emissary afterwards presented the gifts to the emperor on the Shah's behalf. In the words of Bernier,
the gifts consisted of "five-and-twenty horses, as beautiful as I ever beheld, with housings of embroidered brocade ; twenty highly bred camels, that might have been mistakee for small elephants, such was their size and strength ; a considerable number of cases containing excellent rose water, and another sort of distilled water called Beidmichk, a cordial held in the highest estimation and very scarce ; five or six carpets of extraordinary size and beauty ; a few pieces of brocade extremely rich, wrought in small flowers, in so fine and delicate a style that I doubt if anything so elegant was ever seen in Europe ; four Damascus cutlasses, and the same number of poniards, the whole covered with precious stones ; and lastly, five or six sets of horse-furniture, which were particularly admired. The last were indeed very handsome and of superior richness ; ornamented with superb embroidery and with small pearls, and very beautiful turquoises, of the old rock.''
Aurangzeb was remarkably delighted with all these wonderful gifts. He meticulously studied each object, noting its beauty and uniqueness, and often praised the generosity of the Persian king. He seated the envoy among the principal umrah and dismissed him after the emissary had talked about his exhausting and protracted travel. Aurangzeb expressed his wish to meet him every day. The envoy spent four or five months at Shahjahanbad, living in luxury at Aurangzeb's expense and enjoying the hospitality of the chief umrah, who alternately invited him to lavish events. Permitted to return home, the monarch once more bestowed upon him a magnificent robe of honor and various other priceless presents. But Bernier sensed that Shah Abbas II used some derogatory language in his letters to Aurangzeb. The Persian nobles at the Mughal court implied that the Persian king had deeply resented him for Dara's death and Shah Jahan's imprisonment, viewing these actions as unworthy of a brother, a son, and a devout Muslim. The king also reportedly resented him for taking on the name of Alamgir, the World Conqueror, and having it engraved on the coins of Hindustan.
Interestingly, the reign of 13 years of Shah Abbas II's father, Shah Safi (r. 1629-42) itself began with political executions and violence. He killed royal princes and even some princesses and the lives of his grandfather's most loyal councillors and military generals too were not spared. When a German traveller, Johan Albrecht de Mandelso met Azam Khan, the Mughal governor of Ahmedabad and told him that he had met Shah Safi of Persia, the grandson and successor of Shah Abbas the Great and that he had dined at his table and also went on a hunting expedition with him, the governor was curious to know if the Shah was still a tyrant.
The notion that the Shah of Persia disapproved of Aurangzeb's rise to power could be ascertained by the deed of the Persian ambassador after he departed. It was reported to Aurangzeb that the beautiful horses that were presented to him had suffered hamstring injuries that rendered them handicapped. The monarch found out that they were crippled by order of the ambassador. He immediately issued an order for the ambassador to be detained at the border and stripped of all the Indian slaves he was taking away. The quantity of these slaves was undoubtedly incredibly irrational. Because of the famine, he had bought them for a pittance, and rumor has it that his servants had abducted a large number of children.
Indeed, there were certain unpleasantries between the two empires. They had been embroiled in several territorial disputes over Kandahar and Kabul (in the modern nation-state of Afghanistan). Furthermore, Aurangzeb lost the popular support after gaining power through deceit and political killings. The Persian Shah was well aware of his lack of popularity within his own realm. The conduct of the Persian envoy was the reflection of the political relationship the Shah of Persia had with the reigning Mughal ruler.
Aurangzeb on Horseback
British Museum Exhibition, Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi
References:
Bernier, Francois. Travels in the Mogul Empire, AD 1656-1668. Delhi: Low Price Publications. 1934.
Mandelso's Travels in Western India (A.D. 1638-9). London: Oxford University Press. 1931.
Sykes, Percy Molesworth. History of Persia. London: Macmillan &Co. Ltd. 1915.
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