Relations Of Golkonda with Iran: Diplomacy , Ideas, and Commerce 1518 - 1687

Between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Deccan sultanates of southern India lay at the crossroads of maritime and agrarian empires of the early modern world. While the artistic and architectural merits of the Deccan's Indo-Islamic courts are wellknown, the region's unique historical relationship to Iran remains unexamined, often subsumed under the shadow of the Mughal Empire. This volume explores the diplomatic connections and intellectual linkages of the Golkonda sultanate with Safavid Iran and Mughal Hindustan. Complementing studies of early modern empires, it examines a breadth of Persian manuscripts, epistolary correspondence, archival documents, and European travel accounts from the Deccan. It is one of the first of its kind to explore the movement of knowledge, talent, and people in the early modern world from the perspective of a non-imperial, regional polity. Regional sultanates were not merely receivers of statecraft, religion, and politics from large empires, but also a critical site where diplomatic negotiations and new forms of intellectual exchange transpired and bore upon broader shifts in the eastern Islamic world. "The present work originally took the form of a doctoral thesis entitled 'Relations of Golkonda with Iran, 1518-1687' submitted by Mohammed Ziauddin Ahmed Shakeb to the Department of History at Deccan College, Poona, in 1976"--Editor's introduction Présentation de l'éditeur : "Between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Deccan sultanates of southern India lay at the crossroads of maritime and agrarian empires of the early modern world. While the artistic and architectural merits of the Deccan's Indo-Islamic courts are wellknown, the region's unique historical relationship to Iran remains unexamined, often subsumed under the shadow of the Mughal Empire. This volume explores the diplomatic connections and intellectual linkages of the Golkonda sultanate with Safavid Iran and Mughal Hindustan. Complementing studies of early modern empires, it examines a breadth of Persian manuscripts, epistolary correspondence, archival documents, and European travel accounts from the Deccan. It is one of the first of its kind to explore the movement of knowledge, talent, and people in the early modern world from the perspective of a non-imperial, regional polity. Regional sultanates were not merely receivers of statecraft, religion, and politics from large empires, but also a critical site where diplomatic negotiations and new forms of intellectual exchange transpired and bore upon broader shifts in the eastern Islamic world." Maps viii Foreword ix Acknowledgements xi Editor’s Introduction xv Abbreviations xxxi 1. Introduction: Two Dynasties 1 2. Political and Diplomatic Relations 28 3. Ties of Religion and the Traic of Ideas 93 4. Commercial Contacts 130 5. Conclusion 164 Appendices I Evaluation of Sources 167 II Notes on the Maps of Golkonda & Iran 183 III Selected Documents Used in his Study 190 Bibliography 205