The courts of the Deccan sultanates : living well in the Persian cosmopolis

Illuminates the centrality of courtliness in the political and cultural life of the Deccan in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Cover 1 Half-title page 3 Title page 5 Copyright page 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 List of Figures 12 Acknowledgements 14 Note on Transliteration 17 Chronology of the Deccan Sultanate Rulers 18 List of Abbreviations 20 Introduction: Cosmopolitanism, Courtliness and Ethics in the Deccani Sultanates 23 Historical Background 25 The Court, Courtiers and Courtly Societies 32 Ethics 37 ‘The Persianate’ and the ‘Persian Cosmopolis’ 39 Structure of the Book 46 Part I Courtly Society 51 1 Courtly Disposition 53 A ‘Cosmopolitan’ Education 55 An Ethical Education 61 A Courtly Disposition 65 Knowledge and Action 73 Courtly Bodies 74 Bodies and Objects 82 Conclusion 94 2 Networks, Patrons and Friends 96 Travel and Knowledge 97 Immigration to the Bahmani Sultanate 101 Nimdihi’s Network 105 Immigration to the Successor Sultanates 110 The Poet as Peripatetic Courtier 113 Patronage, Family and Friendship 122 Promoting New Courtiers: Mahmud Gavan 125 Friendship and Sociability123 127 The Majlis: Performative Sociability 131 Sociable Stimulants and Bodily Anxieties 136 Conclusion 141 3 Courts, Merchants and Commodities 142 Trade in Sultanate Deccan 142 Elite Involvement in Trade 149 Horse Trader, Kingmaker and Governor: Khalaf Hasan Basri 152 ‘Prince of Merchants’, Vizier and Scholar: Mahmud Gavan 155 Bijapuri Kingmaker, Portuguese Banker: Asad Khan Lari 161 Courtly Traders 167 Conspicuous Courtly Consumption 170 Trade, Titles and Courtly Rhetoric 172 ‘Mercantilisation’ and ‘Courtisation’ 182 Exchange and Ethics 184 Conclusion 186 Part II Courtly Skills 187 4 Scribal Skills 189 Letter Writing as a Courtly Skill 191 Epistolographic Networks 193 The Development of Insha 195 Defining Insha in the Bahmani Sultanate: The Manāz̤īr al-Inshāʾ 197 The Transformative Powers of Speech 200 Insha and the Science of Letters 202 Transforming the Social World 205 Language Choices in the Persian Cosmopolis 210 The ‘True Munshi’ 219 Bodily Transformations 226 Conclusion 231 5 Esoteric Skills 232 Defining the Esoteric Sciences 234 Powerful and Effective Forces 237 ‘Necessary Medicine for their Lives’ 239 Triangular Gardens 242 Planetary Associations 244 Reading Chakram: Practical Courtly Tools 246 Enchantment, Submission and Control: Invocations and Talismans 251 The Esoteric Sciences as Ethical Training 255 Esoteric Bodily Practices 257 Olfactory Transformations 264 Esoteric Sciences in Bijapur 267 Commensurable Cosmologies 272 A Deccani Courtly Culture 281 Vernacularisation, Cosmopolitanism and the Cosmos 286 Conclusion 288 6 Martial Skills 290 The Ambiguity of Youth 291 Javanmardi and Futuvat 293 An Ethical Ideal 295 Javanmardi in the Deccan 298 Consolidating Martial Knowledge 303 Wrestling and Javanmardi 311 A Courtly Wrestler: Yusuf Adil Shah 314 Critiquing the Ethical Ideal 320 Conclusion 324 Concluding Remarks 325 Select Bibliography of Primary Sources 330 Index 333 In The Late Fifteenth And Sixteenth Centuries, Courtliness Was Crucial To The Political And Cultural Life Of The Deccan. Divided Between Six States Competing For Territory, Resources And Skills, The Medieval And Early Modern Deccan Was A Region Of Striking Ethnic, Linguistic And Religious Diversity. People Used Multifaceted Trans-regional Networks - Mercantile, Kinship, Friendship And Intellectual - To Move Across The Persian-speaking World And To Find Employment At The Deccan Courts. This Movement, Emma J. Flatt Argues, Was Facilitated By The Existence Of A Shared Courtly Disposition. Engagement In Courtly Skills Such As Letter-writing, Perfume-making, Astrological Divination, Performing Magic, Sword-fighting And Wrestling Thus Became A Route To Both Worldly Success And Ethical Refinement. Using A Diverse Range Of Treatises, Chronicles, Poetry And Letters, Flatt Unpicks The Ways This Challenged Networks Of Acceptable Behaviour And Knowledge In The Indo-islamicate Courtly World - And Challenges The Idea Of Perpetual Hostility Between Islam And Hinduism In Indian History. "The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates In the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, courtliness was crucial to the political and cultural life of the Deccan. Divided between six states competing for territory, resources, and skills, the medieval and early modern Deccan was a region of striking ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity. People used multi-faceted trans-regional networks--mercantile, kinship, friendship and intellectual--to move across the Persian-speaking world and to find employment at the Deccan courts"-- Provided by publisher Emma J. Flatt shows the centrality of courtliness in the political and cultural life of the Deccan in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. She argues that a shared courtly disposition facilitated travel, knowledge acquisition and encounters in the Persian-speaking world. This became a route to employment, worldly success and ethical refinement.