Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, {Bi-Monthly}, ISSN 2249-9598, Volume-08, Jan 2018 Special Issue (02)

Relations between the Mughals and the Safavid Dynasty

Alima Naqvi
Research Scholar, Department of Western History, Lucknow University, India

Abstract
The Indus valley civilization had contacts with the contemporaneous civilizations of
Iran and Mesopotamia. There was trade between the coast of southern Iran and India
through the Persian gulf and the Arabian sea. The Mughals and Safavid societies
relied on bureaucracies that drew inspiration from the steppe traditions of Turkish and
Mogol people and from the heritage of Islam, they adopted similar policies, they
looked for ways to keep peace in their societies which were made up of different
religious and ethnic backgrounds, and they were associated with literary and artistic
talents. The people of these countries have been enjoying close historical harmony
through the ages. They had common motherland and shared a common linguistic and
racial past. For the past many years, they interacted and enriched each other in the
fields of language, religion, arts, culture, food and other traditions. They are rich in
historical background and cultural heritage. The two countries also have a lot in
common. Descending mountains, the Aryans inhabited in Iran and India;
consequently, there have been many common grounds in languages, religions and
custom of the two countries. Moreover, aclose relationship between these countries is
readily recognizable. The relationship between cultures of Iran and India is best
manifested in art although, this relationship has suffered various vicissitudes. This
paper focuses on the relationship that existed between the Mughal rulers of India and
the Safavid dynasty.
KEYWORDS: Humayun, Shah Jahan,Aurangzeb, Persian, art and architecture.

Introduction
In history, India and Iran have emerged as culturally rich and the oldest civilizations.
The two nations have the same origin which is traced back to the Aryans. As such a
lot of alikeness and similarities are found between these countries not only in their
customs, traditions and languages but also in attitude towards life. One cannot deny
the influence of Iranian culture on the Indian culture. In this connection, the late
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (15 August 1947 – 27 May 1964) writes in
his book ‘Discovery of India’ among the many peoples and races who have come in
contact with and influenced India’s life and culture,the oldest and most persistent
have been the Iranians. India and Iran have in the same racial stock share many things
in common. They are Eastern Asians originate from the same race. The strong
bondage and the same features are highly parallel between these two countries and
such affinity is not found anywhere else.
India and Persia became great powers under the rule of two outstanding dynasties.
The Safavids of Persia synchronized with that of the Great Mughals of India; hence,
there were close relations between these two powerful dynasties. Shah Ismail-I (1501-
1524) established Safavid Empire which was the first native dynasty to rule over the
whole of Persia since the overthrow of the Sassanid Empire by the Arabs in the

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seventh century A.D. Babur received help from the Safavid king Shah Ismail I and
established himself in Kabul first and then in Delhi and Agra.In 1524 A.D. Shah
Ismail-I died and Shah Tahmasp the eldest of his sons succeeded to the throneat the
age of ten. Later on, Babur conquered Delhi and Agra in 1526 A.D. andbecame the
Emperor of Hindustan. Thus a new dynasty was founded in India by Babur known to
the entire world as Mughal; an adaptation of Mughal is from thePersian word for
Mongol. Mughals were Muslims and followed Sunni sect ofIslam. They were also
strongly influenced by the Persians.
The Mughal patronage of culture constantly attracted Persian scholars, talented
Persians were absorbed in expanding services of the Mughal Empire. Babur was an
accomplished Persian poet.
Relations between Humayun and Shah Tahmasp
The premature death of Babur on December 26, 1530 A.D. created difficulties for his
inexperienced son Humayun 1530-1540,1555-1556), and he had to consolidate
thegains that his father had left for him. It is well known that the life of Humayun, son
of the founder of the Mughal Empire, was turbulent, alternating between successes
and setbacks. Due to the non-co-operation of his brothers Humayun had to lose his
thronein a confrontation with Sher Shah Suri, the Afghan leader, and went into exile
in 1540 A.D. During a troublesome journey,Akbar was born in 1541 A.D. when
Humayun was escaping as a fugitive towards Persia.
The account of Humayun in Persia forms also an interesting episode inthe relations of
the Mughal Emperors of India with the Safavid Court. To some the exile may appear
as the account of the wanderings of an enthronedmonarch, who had lost his throne,
will appear as tragic as it is interesting.Humayun’s stay at the Safawid Court though
humiliating to some extent, but italso resulted in acquiring a great help from Persia for
the recovery of Qandahar and Kabul, it later helped him for the recapture of his lost
empire in India.
Shah Tahmasp of Persia(23 May 1524 – 25 May 1576), being only second member of
his house to situpon the throne of Persia. His reign of fifty-two-years was longer than
that of any other Safavid monarch. He was much excited by the news of the emperor‘s
arrival, being well aware of the prestige that would accrue to him and he should stand
forth in the eyes of the world as the protector of Timur‘s descendant, the Badshah
(King) of Hindustan. Shah Tahmasp, also found that for the Emperor of India to seek
refuge at his Court was an historic event which gave additional glory to his reign and
had to be celebrated with corresponding splendour. In July, 1544 A.D. the Shah
himself welcomed him with all the observances of respect and honour, and had an
interview with him in which all the conditions of reverence and venerations were
fulfilled. In the course of conversation the Shah asked what had led to his defeat;
Humayun incautiously replied ‘the opposition of my brothers. In Persia, Humayun
had to face a great difficulty when Shah Tahmasp demanded from Humayun,
precisely as his father Ismail-I had done from Babur, the acceptance of the Ithna
Ashariyah faith. At first Humayun resisted, but submitted when he was told that he is
endangering not only his own life but also the lives of all his followers along with
him. During his stay in Persia most fortunately for Humayun, that he had three steady
and eminent friends, the Shah's sister Sultanam Khanum, the Shah's minister
QaziJahan and the royal physician Nur-ud-Din,who constantly tried to establish

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friendly relations between Humayun and Shah Tahmasp. Humayun, was relieved
from the dangers that surrounded him, chiefly by the generous intercession of
Sultanum Khanum, who strongly represented toher brother the off beam policy, as
well as injustice, of using any severity towards an exiled emperor who had sought his
protection and hospitality.
Shah Jahan and its relations with Safavid Dynasty
Shah Jahan‘s (1628-1658) reign occupies an important place in Indian
history.ShahJahan‘s Court represented the height of kingly splendour. In his reign the
MughalEmpire attained to the zenith of its prosperity and affluence. The fame of the
wealth of India attracted a stream of foreign visitors from across the seas, who were
dazzled by the magnificent grandeur of the Emperor and his Court. The gorgeousness
of his Court surpassed their imaginations, and drew from them unstinted admiration.
Under Shah Jahan‘s reign many of the great men of state were from Persia; Shaista
Khan, Jaffar Khan, Makaramat Khan and most importantly, Ali Mardankhan, who,
after surrendering the city of Qandahar, part of the easternmost territories of the
Safavids to the Mughals in 1638, served with distinction in the Mughal
administration, earning the highest honours of the Mughal court.
Persian domination continued under Shah Jahan, after his accession he promoted Asaf
Khan to the highest rank of 9000 zat and 9000 sawar, and confirmed him in the post
of Wakil which he held till his death in 1641 A.D. It is significant to note that after the
death of Asaf Khan, Shah Jahan did notfill the post of Wakil.Shah Johan’s first diwan,
Wazir Khan, who was an Indian Muslim, did not remain in office for more than a
year. Sa’dullah Khan, indeed, held office for a number of years 1647-1656 A.D. but
except this period of about ten years, for the other twenty years of his reign the office
of Diwan was filled byPersians alone. The names of Persian Diwans were Iradat
Khan, Afzal KhanShirazi and Islam Khan Mashhadi. All the thirteen mir-bakhshis of
Shah Jahan were Persians; Iradat Khan, Sadiq Khan, Islam Khan Mashhadi, Mir
Jumla,Mu’tamad Khan, Salabat Khan, Asalat Khan, Jaffar Khan, Khalilullah
Khan,Larshap Khan, Itiqad Khan, Danishmand khan and Muhammad Amin.
Aurangzeb and its relations with Safavid Dynasty
The events at the end of Shah Jahan's reign did not gone well for the future of the
Empire. The Emperor fell ill in September 1657 A.D and rumours of his death spread.
He executed a will bequeathing the Empire to his eldest son, Dara Shikoh. His other
sons, Shujah, Aurangzeb, and Murad, who were grown men and Governors of
provinces, decided to contest the throne. From the war of succession during 1658-
1659 A.D Aurangzeb emerged the sole victor. He then imprisoned his father in the
Agra fort and declared himself Emperor. Later on, Shah Jahan died as a prisoner on
January 31, 1666 A.D at the age of 74.In Aurangzeb court out of 125 noblesof the
mansab of 1,000 and above who are known to have supported Aurangzeb in’ the
battle of Samugarh, 28 were Persians, 4 of them holding mansab of 5,000 zat and
above. Mir Jumla and Shaista Khan, theleading Persian nobles, were Aurangzeb’s
partisans. Thus, the Aurangzeb’s victory did not affect the position of the Persians in
any way. Bernier says that the ‘greater part’ of Aurangzeb’s foreign nobility consisted
of Persians.

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The Persians monopoly continued under Aurangzeb’s regime. There were numerous
Persian Governors posted in various provinces, some of them were Shahnawaz Khan
and Mukhtar Khan as Governors of Gujarat, Amir Khan as Governor of Kabul, Fidai
Khan as Governor of Oudh, Muhammad Beig as Governor of Doab, Kamgar Khan as
Governorof Sikandarpur, Tarbiyat Khan as Governor of Orissa, Zabardast Khan as
Governor of Hoshangabad, Shaista Khan as Governorof Bengal, Inayat Khan as
Governor of Aurangabad, SafShikan Khan as Governor of Kahni, Asad Khan and
Bahadur Khanas Governors of Deccan.
Spread of Persian Literature in India
The Muslim rulers in India patronized Persian language. Most of the Persian
vocabulary was absorbed into this language that’s Urdu. The grammar and essential
structure of Urduremained very close to the language of North India. Persian was the
official and the court language under the Mughals. An Indian style developed in
Persian poetry and literature. Many Persianpoets and scholars came to India to seek
employment at the courts of the Mughal rulers.An Indian style developed in Persian
poetry and literature. Amir Khusrau Dehlavi and Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib were
among the prominent Indian poets. Many Persian poets and scholars came to India to
seek employment at the courts of the Mughal rulers. Akbar for the first time appointed
a poet as poet laureate in his court.
In all the local languages of Northern India that’s Punjabi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Marathi
and Bengali besides Hindu and Urdu there are a large number of Persian words and
expressions including popular proverbs. Persian and Arabic vocabulary entered the
speech of the common folk of Punjab. There were several Hindu poets and authors
who contributed to Persian poetry and literature in India. Mirza Asadullah Khan
Ghalib was a distinguished poet of Persian and Urdu and is immensely popular even
today.
Art and Architecture
Indian crafts men worked with Persian and Turkish masters to create a new
harmonious art and architecture. The Indian flora blended with Islamic calligraphy.
Few colours like turquoise blue, emerald green, lapis, viridian and brilliant white were
added to the Indian saffron, indigos and vermilions. Persian artists like Abdus Samad
of Shiraz, Mir Sajjad Ali ofTabriz and so on worked with their Indian colleagues in
royal Mughal courts.
Mughal architecture is the type of Indo-Islamic architecture developed by the
Mughals in the 16th 17tth and 18th centuries throughout the ever-changing extent of
their empire in the Indian subcontinent. It developed the styles of earlier Muslim
dynasties in India as an amalgam of Islamic, Persian, and Indian architecture. Mughal
buildings have a uniform pattern of structure and character, including large bulbous
domes, slender minarets at the corners, massive halls, large vaulted gateways and
delicate ornamentation. The Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and Humayun Tomb are the
finest examples of the synthesis of Indo-Iranian style in architecture. The Iranian
influence is visible in Qutab Minar. Persian architects and artisans were brought to
India to design and construct palaces and forts, mosques and public buildings.
Iranian painters introduced the art of portrait and miniature paintings in Mughal
courts. The Mughal schools of paintings owed much to Iran and blossomed under

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Akbar‘s patronage. Mir Sayyed Ali and Khwaja Abdussamad from Persia were the
founders of the Mughal School of paintings in India. There were major developments
in the technique of miniature painting, portraits, and scenes of war, social events and
illustrations of manuscripts.
The Kashmir carpet weavers absorbed the Persian design of the ‘tree of life’, mehrab,
vase and floral medallion designs. In the 17th century, a kind of handmade carpets by
the name of Indo-Esfahan carpets with designs inspired from heart were exported by
the East India company to Europe and are frequently seen in Dutch paintings of that
time. Indian bed sheets, curtains, and jah-namaz were being exported to Persia.
The Srikalahasti style of kalamkari (Kalankari), wherein the "kalam" or pen is used
for freehand drawing of the subject and filling in the colours, is entirely hand worked.
This style flowered around temples and their patronage and so had an almost religious
identity - scrolls, temple hangings, chariot banners and the like, depicted deities and
scenes taken from the Hindu epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and the
mythological classics.
CONCLUSION
The relations between Mughals and Safavids had fluctuated in varying degrees. It was
normal as bilateral state relations, like those between two individual persons, do not
remain static, nor do they run in straight lines as there were curves and verges.
The relations have gone through numerous vicissitudes. The strong historical and
cultural relations have always played a significant role in bringing the two dynasties
closer to each other. The civilizational bonds between the two countries were further
strengthened in the period of Mughal rule in India, with the migration of large
numbers of Iranians to India, the use of Persian as the language of the imperial court
and the impact of Persian culture on north Indian literary and artistic traditions. They
share significant cultural, linguistic and ethnic characteristics. The Mughal Empire
attained a strong position in the economic life of the Persian capital and the Persians
became influential in the politics and culture of the Mughal Dynasty.
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