View source for Foreign relations of the Mughal Empire

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[[File:The Surrender of Kandahar.jpg|thumb|''The Surrender of Kandahar'', a miniature painting from the ''[[Padshahnama]]'' depicting Persians surrendering keys of the city to Kilij Khan in 1638.]]
The '''foreign relations of the [[Mughal Empire]]''' were characterized by competition with the [[Safavid Iran|Persian Empire]] to the west, the [[Mughal–Maratha Wars|Marathas]] and others to the south, and the [[British East India Company|British]] to the east. Steps were taken by successive Mughal rulers to secure the western frontiers of India. The [[Khyber Pass]] along the [[Kabul]]- [[Kandahar|Qandahar]] route was the natural defence for India, and their foreign policy revolved around securing these outposts, as also balancing the rise of powerful empires in the region.<ref name="Kchandra" /> 

During the break up of the [[Timurid Empire]] in the 15th century, the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]]s in [[Turkey]], the [[Safavid]]s in [[Persia]] and the [[Uzbeg]]s in central Asia emerged as the new contenders of power. While the Safavids were [[Shia]] by faith, Ottomans along with Uzbegs were [[Sunni]]. The Mughals were also Sunni and Uzbegs were their natural enemies, who caused [[Babur]] and other Timurid princes to leave [[Khurasan]] and [[Samarqand]]. The powerful Uzbegs who held sway over central India sought an alliance of Sunni powers to defeat the Shia-ruled Persia, but Mughals were too broadminded to be driven away by the sectarian conflicts. The Mughal rulers, especially [[Akbar]], were keen to develop strong ties with Persia in order to balance the warring Uzbegs. Thus, the foreign policy of Mughals was centred around strengthening their ties with Persia, while maintaining the balance of power in the region by keeping a check on the evolution of a united Uzbeg empire.<ref name="Kchandra">{{Cite book|author=Satish Chandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHnHHwAACAAJ|title=History of Medieval India: 800-1700|publisher=Orient BlackSwan|year=2007|isbn=978-81-250-3226-7|pages=282–292|quote=We have seen how following the break up of Timurid empire in the second half of 15th century, three powerful empires the Uzbeg, the Safavid and the Ottomon established themselves in the Trans oxiana, Iran and Turkey. The Uzbegs were the natural enemy of the Mughals, having been responsible for the expulsion of Babur and other Timurid princes from Samarqand and adjoining areas including Khurasan. At the same time the Uzbegs clashed with the rising power of Safavids who claimed Khurasan. The Khurasanian pleatue linked Iran with Central Asia and the trade route to China and India passed across it. It was natural for the Safavids and the Mughals to ally against the Uzbeg danger, especially as there were no frontier dispute between them with the exception of Qandhar. (p. 282)|author-link=Satish Chandra (historian)|access-date=2020-09-24|archive-date=9 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009090727/https://books.google.com/books?id=qHnHHwAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Arabian peninsula==

The Mughal emperors were generally enthusiastic with their donation with the Shariff of [[Mecca]].<ref name="Naser Dumairieh; Mughal Mecca relation" /> 

[[Mariam-uz-Zamani]], wife of emperor [[Akbar]], built a massive trading ship named [[Rahīmī]] for trade and Haj pilgrims at the Khizri Darwaza on the [[Ravi River]]. This place was later renamed by Maharaja [[Ranjit Singh]] as Sheranwala Darwaza.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Sheikh |first=Majid |date=2021-04-11 |title=harking back: The Empress and her two doomed pilgrim ships |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1617497 |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":20">{{Cite journal |last1=Safdar |first1=Aiysha |last2=Khan |first2=Muhammad Azam |date= |title=History of Indian Ocean-A South Asian Perspective |url=http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/44/v7_no1_21.html |journal=Journal of Indian Studies |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=186–188 |quote=The  most  influential  queen  of  the  Mughal  Emperor  Akbar  (1542-1605),  and mother  of  Emperor  Jahangir,  was  the  beautiful  Empress  Mariam-uz-  Zamani, commonly  known  as  Jodha  Bai.  She  stands  out  as  an  adviser  who  maintained  that without  a  strong  navy,  the  Mughal  Empire  would  be  overtaken  by  foreign  armies. As  the  Mughals  had  come  from  Afghanistan  and  Turkmenistan,  both  landlocked countries,  the  concept  of  a  navy  was  just  not  in  their  DNA.  But  then  Akbar allowed  his  favourite  and  most  loved  wife  to  build  ships  for  trade  and  Haj  pilgrims at  the  Khizri  Darwaza  on  the  River  Ravi.  This  place  was  later  renamed  by Maharajah  Ranjit  Singh  as  Sheranwala  Darwaza  after  he  tied  two  lions  there  to celebrate  his  victory  over  Multan.}}</ref> The Rahimi was homeported in [[Surat]] but often traveled to [[Jeddah]], the port near [[Mecca]] on the Red Sea, where she carried merchandise for the vendors of the holy city and trafficked in pilgrims on various parts of their journey.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Danvers |first=Frederick Charles |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.529461 |title=Letters Received By The East India Company Vol.1 |date=1896 |pages=163, 167, 178, 179, 183, 184}}</ref> The successor of Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb, also owned a trading ship bigger than Rahīmī, [[Ganj-i-Sawai]], which mainly purposed for annual Hajj pilgrimage travel from India to Hejaz.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Jonathan Eacott |title=Selling Empire: India in the Making of Britain and America, 1600-1830 |date=2016 |publisher=UNC Press Books; Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-4696-2231-6 |page=73 |edition=illustrated, reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Vm0CAAAQBAJ |access-date=12 July 2024 |language=En}}</ref>

Another example was the Mughal emperor appointing an official title of "Mir Haj" in 1577 with 500,000 ''rupee'' and 10,000 ''Khil'lat'' for attribution for the Shariff, and distributing many more to the peoples of Mecca and [[Medina]] (which usually called ''al-Haramayn'', or two holiest city in [[Islam]] religion). Aside from minted coins, the Mughals also gave more non currency gifts such as candlestick studded with diamonds , which estimated as 100 carats according to some historians. At one point, the Shariff of Mecca also exchanging gift with the Mughal by giving them [[Arabian horse]]s, high quality swords, and some sacred relics.<ref name="Naser Dumairieh; Mughal Mecca relation">{{cite book |author1=Naser Dumairieh |title=Intellectual Life in the Ḥijāz before Wahhabism: Ibrāhīm al-Kūrānī's (d. 1101/1690) Theology of Sufism Volume 9 of Islamicate Intellectual History |date=2021 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-49905-8 |page=31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oytVEAAAQBAJ |access-date=12 July 2024 |language=En}}</ref>

Mughal chronicler [[Muhammad Saqi Musta'id Khan]] has recorded in his work, ''[[Ma'asir-i-Alamgiri]]'', that emperor [[Aurangzeb]], who known for his strict observance of Islamic teachings. Aurangzeb also has reportedly shipped two [[Quran]] manuscripts which personally transcribed by himself to Medina as gifts. Rishad Choudhury interprets the phrase "ba-masāba hajj-i kobra būd" in the ''Ma'asir-i-Alamgiri'' to suggest that Aurangzeb's patronage of the [[Hajj]] through financial support, Quranic offerings, and salaried delegates was considered spiritually equivalent to performing the pilgrimage himself.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Rishad Choudhury |title=Hajj across Empires: Pilgrimage and Political Culture after the Mughals, 1739–1857 |date=2024 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-009-25371-0 |page=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4vxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 |access-date=12 July 2024 |language=En}}</ref>

==Europeans==
{{further|Mir Jumla II|Aurangzeb#Foreign_relations}}

The Mughal empire had developed relationships with Europeans such as British, Portuguese, Russia, and France.

Mughal relations with the British in the 16th century were quite difficult, as local Mughal officials usually exploited the [[East India Company]], who responded the Mughal's harmful policies towards the British interest with harassing the Mughal vessels at the sea.<ref>{{harvtxt|J. C. Sharman |2019 |p=84}}</ref> The Mughals, with dominant military power in India, usually responded with threats, which caused the EIC to cease hostilities and both sides returned the status quo relationship.<ref>{{harvtxt|J. C. Sharman |2019 |p=84}}</ref>

=== Britain ===
The [[East India Company]] persuaded King James to send [[Thomas Roe]] as a royal envoy to the [[Agra]] court of the Great [[Mughal emperors|Mughal Emperor]], [[Jahangir]].<ref name="Anarchy">{{cite book |last1=Dalrymple |first1=William |title=The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |isbn=978-1-4088-6437-1 |pages=15–19 }}</ref> Roe resided at Agra for three years.{{sfn|Dalrymple |2019 |pp=15–19}}

Together with Thomas Roe, [[William Hawkins (fl. c. 1600)|William Hawkins]], captain of ''Hector'', a first company ship, arrived at Surat in India on 24 August 1608. William travelled to Agra to negotiate consent for a factory from Emperor Jahangir in 1609.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Marshall|first1=P J|editor1-last=Canny|editor1-first=Nicholas|title=The Oxford History of the British Empire, Vol 1: The Origins of Empire, British Overseas Enterprise to the Close of the Seventeenth Century|date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-820562-7|page=272|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryofb00loui/page/272}}</ref> Hawkins even gained trust from emperor [[Jahangir]] and was appointed as [[Mansabdar]] or military governor of Mughal territories. Hawkins himself has provided records about the details about the administrations of Mansabdar, where during his life, he has recorded about 41 names of Mansabdar officers who commanded about 3,000-5,000 ''Zat'' or horsemens.<ref name="Jorge Flores 74-75">{{harvtxt|Jorge Flores |2015 |pp=74-75}}</ref> Roe allegedly gained favor of emperor Jahangir and may have been his drinking partner; certainly he arrived with gifts of "many crates of red wine"{{sfn|Dalrymple |2019 |pp=16}} However, It was thought that Roe's political career in the Mughal court also ended due to a report about roe's drinking habit reached Jahangir, who strongly forbade wine in his court. This incident caused Roe to fell from favour of Jahangir.<ref name="Revival: A Constitutional History of India (1936): 1600-1935">{{cite book |author1=Arthur Berriedale Keith |title=Revival: A Constitutional History of India (1936): 1600-1935 |year=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-35002-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHFuEAAAQBAJ |access-date=24 July 2024}}</ref>

In the thirty years following 1603, the trading factories established by the English on at [[Machilipatnam]] (estd. 1611) reported to English [[Banten (town)|Bantam]].<ref>{{Cite book
|last       = Ramaswami
|first      = N. S.
|title      = Fort St. George, Madras
|series     = Pub. No. 49
|publisher  = Tamilnadu State Department of Archaeology (T.N.S.D.A.)
|location   = Madras
|date       = 1980
|edition    = First
|oclc       = 21545218
|url        = 
}}</ref>

=== Dutch ===
{{further|Dutch Suratte}}
The Mughal empire also recorded to establish relationship the Dutch,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Muzaffar Alam |author2=Sanjay Subrahmanyam |author1-link=Muzaffar Alam |author2-link=Sanjay Subrahmanyam |title=Writing the Mughal World: Studies on Culture and Politics |date=2012 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-15811-4 |page=360 |edition=illustrated |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mmLOKuzT-IC |access-date=12 July 2024 |language=En}}</ref> particularly with their trading company [[Dutch East India Company]], as shown when the Dutch has established their embassy within Mughal empire. The company representative, Van Adrichem, was presented with Arabian horses, a red cloth, green cloth, lacquered palanquin, Japanese drawer, several Japanese boxes, a Venetian made mirror, two Japanese shields, and couple of exotic [[Bird-of-paradise]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Tracey A. Sowerby |author2=Jan Hennings |title=Practices of Diplomacy in the Early Modern World c.1410-1800 |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-73690-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YSfZDgAAQBAJ |access-date=12 July 2024 |language=En |quote=During these audiences Van Adrichem gifted...}}</ref> The first Dutch factory was first established at Surat by Pieter van den Btoecke.<ref>{{Cite book
|author = Banarsi Prasad Saxena
|author-link= Banarsi Prasad Saxena
|title      = History of Shahjahan of Dihli
|date       = 1962
|publisher  = Central Book Depot
|location   = Allahabad
|language   = en
|pages      = 303, 306
|oclc       = 672548944
|url        = https://www.google.co.id/books/edition/History_of_Shahjahan_of_Dihli/bqE9AAAAIAAJ?hl=en
|access-date= 2025-12-03
}}</ref>

{{Location map+|India Gujarat|width=320|float=right
 |alt=Dutch Suratte
 |caption=Dutch Suratte (Note: Agra and Burhanpur not in their actual position)
 |places=
  {{Location map~|India Gujarat|lat_deg=21.17|lon_deg=72.83|position=left|mark=Gold_pog.svg|marksize=12|label='''Suratte'''}}
  {{Location map~|India Gujarat|lat_deg=23.03|lon_deg=72.58|background=white|position=left|mark=Gold_pog.svg|label_size=90|label=Ahmedabad}}
  {{Location map~|India Gujarat|lat_deg=24.8167|lon_deg=74.6167|background=white|position=left|mark=Gold_pog.svg|label_size=90|label=Agra→}}
  {{Location map~|India Gujarat|lat_deg=21.17|lon_deg=74.6167|position=left|background=white|mark=Gold_pog.svg|label_size=90|label=Burhanpur→}}
  {{Location map~|India Gujarat|lat_deg=21.7|lon_deg=72.97|position=left|background=white|mark=Gold_pog.svg|label_size=90|label=Bharuch}}
  {{Location map~|India Gujarat|lat_deg=22.3|lon_deg=72.62|position=left|background=white|mark=Gold_pog.svg|label_size=90|label=Cambay}}
  {{Location map~|India Gujarat|lat_deg=22.3|lon_deg=73.200278|position=right|background=white|mark=Gold_pog.svg|label_size=90|label=Baroda}}
}}

In 1602, the Dutch government sponsoring the creation of a single "United East Indies Company" that was also granted monopoly over the Asian trade.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/archief/1.04.02/invnr/1/file/NL-HaNA_1.04.02_1_01 |title=Octrooi verleend door de Staten-Generaal betreffende de alleenhandel ten oosten van Kaap de Goede Hoop en ten westen van de Straat van Magallanes voor de duur van 21 jaar |year=1602 |publication-place=Amsterdam |page=5 |language=nl |trans-title=Patent granted by the States General concerning exclusive trade east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Strait of Magallanes for a period of 21 years |quote='Dese vereenichde Compaignie sal beginnen ende aenvanck nemen met desen Jaere xvi C ende twee ende sal gedurende den tyt van eenentwintich Jaren achter (This United Company shall commence operations in the year of 1602, and shall continue for a period of twenty-one consecutive years)' |access-date=22 April 2022 |orig-date=20 March 1602 |via=Nationaal Archief |archive-date=22 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422184915/https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/archief/1.04.02/invnr/1/file/NL-HaNA_1.04.02_1_01 |url-status=live}}</ref> For a time in the seventeenth century, it was able to monopolise the trade in nutmeg, mace, and cloves and to sell these spices across European kingdoms and [[Akbar]] of [[Mughal Empire]] at 14–17 times the price it paid in [[Indonesia]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450–1680|last=Reid|first=Anthony|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1993|location=New Haven, Connecticut|page=290}}</ref>

During the reign of [[Jahangir]], after intense lobbying by [[Dutch East India Company|VOC]] factors during Jahangir's visit to Ahmedabad, Jahangir issued the first known Firman directed towards the VOC in [[Gujarat]], contained in a letter from P. G. van Ravesteyn and A. W. Goeree to [[Jan Pieterszoon Coen]], dated 12th March 1618. The firman granted few notable assurances to the factors, such as freedom to trade at any Mughal ports, autonomy to govern their affairs, application of normal customs duty (believed to be 2.5% during Jahangir's reign),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Salim |first=Nur-ud-din Muhammed |url=https://rarebooksocietyofindia.org/book_archive/196174216674_10152026750366675.pdf |title=Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri or Memoirs of Jahangir: From the first to the twelfth year of its reign |publisher=Royal Asiatic Society, London |year=1909 |editor-last=Beveridge |editor-first=Henry |editor-link=Henry Beveridge (orientalist) |volume=1 |location=London |page=417 |language=English |quote=In the time of the Sultans of Gujarat, the customs of this port came to a large sum. Now in my reign it is ordered that they should not take more than one in forty. In other ports, calling it a tithe, they take one in ten or one in eight, and give all kinds of trouble to merchants and travellers. |author-link=Jahangir |editor-last2=Rogers |editor-first2=Alexander}}</ref> freedom to trade with local merchants and profess their religion.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Coen |first=Jan Pieterszoon |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/p1janpieterszcoen07coen/page/316/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Bescheiden omtrent zijn bedrijf in Indie |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |year=1952 |editor-last=Coolhaas |editor-first=Willem Phillipus |location=The Hague |pages=316–317 |language=Dutch |chapter=Pieter Gillisz, Van Ravesteyn en Adriaen Willemz, Soeratte 12 Maart 1618 |author-link=Jan Pieterszoon Coen |access-date=23 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fischer |first=Karl |date=1965 |title=The beginning of Dutch trade with Gujarat 1686 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=27 |page=209 |jstor=44140624}}</ref>

=== France ===
In 1667, the French East India Company ambassadors Le Gouz and Bebert presented [[Louis XIV of France]]'s letter which urged the protection of French merchants from various rebels in the Deccan. In response to the letter, Aurangzeb issued a ''[[firman]]'' allowing the French to open a factory in [[Surat]].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

<gallery>
File:Voyage de Francois Bernier by Paul Maret 1710.jpg|[[François Bernier]], was a French physician and traveller, who for 12 years was the personal physician of Aurangzeb. He described his experiences in ''Travels in the Mughal Empire''.
File:Indostan - a Map of India by Vincenzo Coronelli, Venice 1692.jpg|Map of the Mughal Empire by Vincenzo Coronelli (1650–1718) of Venice, who served as Royal Geographer to Louis XIV of France.
File:1652 Sanson Map of India - Geographicus - India-sanson-1652.jpg|French map of the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]].
</gallery>

[[François Caron]] succeeded in founding French outposts at [[Surat]] around 1668; where he was said to be Accompanied by a [[Persian people|Persian]] named Marcara,<ref name=r1>{{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qBZg0OhbiXMC&pg=PA747 | title = Asia in the making of Europe | page = 747| isbn = 978-0-226-46767-2 | last1 = Lach | first1 = Donald Frederick | year = 1998 | publisher = University of Chicago Press }}.</ref><ref name=r2>{{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-08AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA66 | title = The Cambridge history of the British Empire | year = 1940 | page = 66 | last1 = Benians | first1 = Ernest Alfred | last2 = Newton | first2 = Arthur Percival | last3 = Rose | first3 = John Holland }}.</ref> and at [[Masulipatam]] around 1669;<ref name="p266">{{cite book|author=George Uglow Pope |year=1880 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpABAAAAQAAJ&dq=francois+caron&pg=PA266 |title=A Text-book of Indian History |page= 266| publisher=Allen}}</ref> and Louis XIV acknowledged those successes by awarding him the [[Order of St. Michael]].<ref name="f42">{{cite book |author=Robert Watson Frazer |year=1896 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=axg3AAAAMAAJ&dq=francois+caron&pg=PA42  |title=British India |p=42 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons}}</ref>

== Ethiopian Empire ==
[[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopian]] [[Fasilides|Emperor Fasilides]] dispatched an embassy to India in 1664–65 to congratulate Aurangzeb upon his accession to the throne of the Mughal Empire.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bernier |first=François |title=Travels in the Mogul Empire: A.D. 1656–1668 |year=1671}}</ref>

== Aceh Sultanate ==
For decades, the Malabari [[Mappila Muslims]] which representing the Mughal empire are already patronized [[Aceh Sultanate]].<ref name="Leaves of the Same Tree Trade and Ethnicity in the Straits of Melaka">{{cite book |author1=Leonard Y. Andaya |author-link= Leonard Y. Andaya |title=Leaves of the Same Tree Trade and Ethnicity in the Straits of Melaka |date=January 22, 2008 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-3189-9 |pages=121–122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w7AqZR1ZUZgC |access-date=2 December 2023 |language=En |format=Hardcover |quote=... Aurangzeb and Dara Shukoh participated in Aceh's trade, and Aurangzeb even exchanged presents with Aceh's sultan in 1641. For two decades after the Dutch conquest of Portuguese Melaka in 1641, the VOC tried to attract trade to Melaka by the VOC tried to attract trade to Melaka by restricting Muslim trade to Aceh. Angered by}}</ref> Aurangzeb, and his brother, Dara Shikoh, participated with Aceh trade and Aurangzeb himself also exchanging presents with the Sultan of Aceh in 1641.<ref name="Leaves of the Same Tree Trade and Ethnicity in the Straits of Melaka" /> In that year, it is recorded the daughter of  [[Iskandar Muda]], Sultanah Safiatuddin, has presented Aurangzeb with eight elephants.<ref name="The Indian Ocean in the Making of Early Modern India; Pius Malekandathil">{{cite book |author1=Pius Malekandathil |title=The Indian Ocean in the Making of Early Modern India |date=2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-99745-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-WEPDQAAQBAJ |access-date=11 March 2024 |language=En |format=ebook |quote=... 1641 , his daughter , Sultanah Safiatuddin presented Aurangzeb with eight ...}}</ref>

When the VOC, or [[Dutch East India Company]] trying to disrupt the trade in Aceh to make their own Malaka trade lucrative, Aurangzeb threatened the Dutch with retaliation against any losses in Gujarat due to Dutch intervention.<ref name="Leaves of the Same Tree Trade and Ethnicity in the Straits of Melaka" /> This effort were caused due to VOC realization that Muslim tradings were damaging to the VOC.<ref name="The Indian Ocean in the Making of Early Modern India">{{cite book |editor1-last=Malekandathil |editor1-first=Pius |title=The Indian Ocean in the Making of Early Modern India |date=September 13, 2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-99746-1 |page=154 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=viUlDwAAQBAJ |access-date=2 December 2023 |quote=... backed out and allowed Indian traders to sail to Aceh and other southern ports without restriction.74 According to S ...}}</ref> The [[Firman]] issued by Aurangzeb caused the VOC to back down and allowed Indian sailors to pass into Aceh, [[Perak]], and [[Kedah]], without any restrictions.<ref name="Leaves of the Same Tree Trade and Ethnicity in the Straits of Melaka" /><ref name="The Indian Ocean in the Making of Early Modern India"/><ref name="Reading Asia New Research in Asian Studies">{{cite book |author1=Frans Huskin |author2=Dick van der Meij |title=Reading Asia New Research in Asian Studies |date=October 11, 2013 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=87 |isbn=978-1-136-84377-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVhUAQAAQBAJ |access-date=2 December 2023 |language=En |format=ebook |quote=... 1660s the VOC backed down and allowed Indian traders to sail to Aceh, Perak, and Kedah without restriction.ll Another important trading community in Aceh consisted of Indians from the Coromandel Coast who had been prominent in Malay ...}}</ref>

== Safavid dynasty ==
In 1626, emperor Jahangir began to contemplate an alliance between the [[Ottoman Empire]], the Mughals, and the [[Khanate of Bukhara]] of the [[Uzbeks]] against the Safavids, who had defeated the Mughals at [[Kandahar]].<ref name="Mughal-Ottoman Relations A Study of Political & Diplomatic Relations Between Mughal India and the Ottoman Empire, 1556-1748; Naimur Rahman Farooqi">{{cite book |author1=Naimur Rahman Farooqi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uB1uAAAAMAAJ |title=Mughal-Ottoman Relations A Study of Political & Diplomatic Relations Between Mughal India and the Ottoman Empire, 1556-1748 |date=1989 |publisher=Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli |page=38 |language=En |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref> He even wrote a letter to the Ottoman [[Sultan]], [[Murad IV]]. Jahangir's ambition did not materialise due to his death in 1627.

Aurangzeb establish an embassy of [[Abbas II of Persia]] in 1660 and presented him with gifts. However, relations between the Mughal with [[Safavid dynasty]] was not good since the Safavid attacked the Mughal army near [[Kandahar]]. Aurangzeb had prepared his armies in the Indus River Basin for punitive campaign, although the death of Abbas II in 1666 caused Aurangzeb to cease the hostility. Aurangzeb's rebellious son, [[Sultan Muhammad Akbar]], also known refuge with [[Suleiman I of Persia]], who had rescued him from the [[Imam]] of [[Musqat]]. However, the Imam later refused to assist Sultan Muhammad in any military campaign against Aurangzeb.<ref>{{cite book |first=Rudi |last=Matthee |title=Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan |pages=126, 136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fFaw4od7nfUC&pg=PA126|isbn=978-1-84511-745-0 |date= 2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref>

[[File:Tahmasp, Humayun Meeting.jpg|thumb|Shah [[Tahmasp I]] and the Mughal Emperor Humayun in [[Isfahan]].]]
The relationship between Mughals and the [[Iran]] (Persia) was cordial but the Qandhar served as a bone of contention between them, being claimed by both. Qandhar was a strategic place and could serve as a better defence against any future onslaught from North-West. Before 1507, the year in which Uzbegs ousted the cousins of Babur from Qandhar, it was ruled by Timurid princes. For the [[Persian people|Persian]]s, Qandhar was not a strategic fort but for Mughals it was of much importance. It was well supplied with water, was necessary for protection of Kabul and controlling it implied the best way to keep a tab upon the [[Afghans|Afghan]] and [[Baloch people|Baluch]] tribes who possessed a tribal sense of independence and were difficult to control otherwise. Qandhar was also a rich and fertile area and after conquest of [[Sindh]] and [[Baluchistan]], Akbar was determined to capture it. Akbar also wanted to promote trade via it.<ref name=Abraham>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7kPQs8llvkC|title=Emperors Of The Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Moghuls|chapter=Another prince another rebel|author=Abraham Eraly|publisher=Penguin UK|year=2007|isbn=978-93-5118-093-7|access-date=2020-09-23|archive-date=26 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726140618/https://books.google.com/books?id=h7kPQs8llvkC|url-status=live}}</ref>

Initially in the reign of Jahangir, [[Nur Jahan]] served as a bridge between the Mughals and Persians, and due to her connections with the Persia, relationship remained cordial. In 1620, Shah Abbas 1, the ruler of Persia, sent a friendly request to Jahangir to return the Qandhar and subsequently made preparation for the expedition. Jahangir was surprised and he decided to send prince [[Khurram]] to Qandhar, but the prince put many impossible demands and was reluctant to move onto the campaign. This was the phase of tussle between [[Nur Jahan]] and Prince [[Khurram]], who was supported by his father in law [[Asaf Khan IV|Asaf Khan]]. Thus, Qandhar passed into Persian hands by 1622. [[Abbas the Great|Shah Abbas 1]] sent lavish embassies and costly gifts to erase the bitterness that developed in the mind of Jahangir after his failure at Qandhar, but the cordiality in the Mughal-Iran relationship came to an end.<ref name="ChandraK"/><ref name="Itinerant">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VHTQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|title=The Emperor Jahangir: Power and Kingship in Mughal India|author=Lisa Balabanlilar|chapter=7.International diplomacy and wars|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2020|isbn=978-1-83860-045-7|access-date=2020-09-23|archive-date=2 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002122934/https://books.google.com/books?id=VHTQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1629, following the death of Shah Abbas 1, Shah Jahan, who succeeded Jahangir made the Persian governor [[Ali Mardan Khan]] to his side and formally Qandhar was retained by the Mughals in 1638.<ref>[[R C Majumdar|Majumdar, R.C.]] (ed.) (2007). ''The Mughul Empire'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{Listed Invalid ISBN|81-7276-407-1}}, p.204<br />- Mahajan, V.D. (1991, reprint 2007). ''History of Medieval India'', Part II, {{ISBN|81-219-0364-5}}, p.144</ref> In 1647, the setback of Mughals at Balkh even after winning the war against Uzbegs emboldened the Persians to attack and conquer Qandhar (1649). The success of Aurangzeb in the battle against Uzbeks persuaded Shah Jahan to send him to Qandhar with an army of 50,000. Mughals under Aurangzeb though defeated Persians but were not able to capture the fort.<ref name="ChandraK"/>

In total, Mughal made three attempts twice under Aurangzeb and once under [[Dara Shukoh]], the elder son of Shah Jahan. But, able Persian commander and determined resistance made all the efforts waste. After ascending the throne, Aurangzeb, the successor of Shah Jahan, decided not to get embroiled into the Qandhar affair provided it had lost its strategic significance following the weakening of both Persians and Uzbegs. In 1668, the new ruler of Persia, [[Abbas II of Persia|Shah Abbas II]] insulted the Mughal envoy and made derogatory remarks on Aurangzeb. But, before any conflict happened, Shah Abbas II died and Persian danger to India faded away until [[Nadir Shah]] ascended the throne of Persia.<ref name="ChandraK"/>

== Sultanate of Maldives ==

In the 1660s, the Sultan of the Maldives, [[Ibrahim Iskandar I]], requested help from Aurangzeb's representative, the [[Faujdar]] of [[Balasore]]. The Sultan wished to gain his support in possible future expulsions of Dutch and English trading ships, as he was concerned with how they might impact the economy of the Maldives. However, as Aurangzeb did not possess a powerful navy and had no interest in providing support to Ibrahim in a possible future war with the Dutch or English, the request came to nothing.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tripathy |first=Rasananda |year=1986 |title=Crafts and commerce in Orissa in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ybX1-CqEXPkC&pg=PA91 |location=Delhi |publisher=Mittal Publications |page=91 |oclc=14068594 |access-date=29 April 2012}}</ref>

== Uzbeks ==
The relationships between the Mughal empire with the Uzbeks political entities, particularly the [[Khanate of Bukhara]] remains complex. particularly during the reign of Akbar and Jahangir, as the to vied for control of Lahore and Kabul.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Jorge Flores |title=Unwanted neighbours: the Mughals, the Portuguese, and their frontier zones |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-19-948674-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ITxsDwAAQBAJ |access-date=4 August 2024}}</ref> 

When [[Uzbeks]] chief, [[Shaibani Khan]] was defeated by the Safavids in 1510, Babur was able to control Samarqand for a brief period of time. But, the Uzbegs soon struck back by defeating the Safavids and Babur lost the control over it. During this time, he was helped by the Safavids, which established a tradition of mutual friendship between the two empires.<ref name="Kchandra"/>

In 1522, Babur captured Qandhar following the disruption created by Uzbegs in Khurasan. But this victory was short lived as following the death of Humayun, Shah Tahmasp, the ruler of Persia at whose court Humayun had taken refuge after being ousted by [[Sher Shah Sur]], captured it.<ref name="ChandraK" /> Later, [[Humayun]] was also given refuge by the [[Shah Tahmasp]] of Persia, when he was ousted from India by [[Sher Shah Suri]]. In 1572, 
[[Abdullah Khan II|Abdullah Khan Uzbeg]] captured [[Balkh]] and sent embassy to the court of Akbar, seeking the coalition of Sunni powers against Persia. But, Akbar admonished him, and in his reply, let him know, that mere sectarian strife was not a justifiable reason for conquest.<ref name="Kchandra"/>

In a letter dated 1577 [[Akbar]] informed Abdullah Khan Uzbek about his intention to expel the Portuguese from [[Mughal Empire|India]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Farooqi |first=Naim R. |date=1988 |title=Moguls, Ottomans, and Pilgrims: Protecting the Routes to Mecca in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40105867 |journal=The International History Review |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=198–220 |issn=0707-5332}}</ref> Meanwhile, though Uzbegs had captured Balkh, which along with [[Badakhshan]] was ruled till 1585 by [[Mughal Empire|Timurids]], he had no desire to be embroiled into a conflict with them until they threatened Mughal position in [[Kabul]] and [[Qandhar]].<ref name="Kchandra"/> In his message sent to Akbar, Abdullah Uzbeg had also rose the issue of pilgrims to [[Mecca]], who were facing difficulties due to unfavourable route traversing across Persian territory. Akbar convinced him that opening up of a new route from the [[Gujarat]] coast will bring the difficulties down.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=John F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC&dq=badakhshan+in+1584&pg=PA49 |title=The Mughal Empire |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-56603-2 |page=49 |language=en |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=2 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002122932/https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC&dq=badakhshan+in+1584&pg=PA49 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In 1584, Abdullah Uzbeg captured [[Badakhshan]] and the Timurid prince ruling over the area, Mirza Sulaiman along with his grandson were forced to seek refuge in Akbar's court, who were assigned suitable ''[[Mansabdar|Mansab]]''. Akbar felt Abdullah Uzbeg was a possible threat to Kabul, and hence in 1585, transferred his capital to [[Lahore]]. Meanwhile, he  immediately despatched an army under [[Man Singh I|Raja Man Singh]] to occupy Kabul, who succeeded in doing so.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=John F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC&dq=man+singh+kabul&pg=PA49 |title=The Mughal Empire |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-56603-2 |page=49 |language=en |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=2 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002122932/https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC&dq=man+singh+kabul&pg=PA49 |url-status=live }}</ref> Abdullah sent a second embassy which was received by Akbar. He was uneasy with the presence of Akbar at [[Attock]] at the time when Uzbeg and Mughal borders were running side by side.<ref name="Kchandra"/>

According to historian [[Satish Chandra (historian)|Satish Chandra]], both the Mughals and Uzbegs reached to an informal agreement, according to which Mughal gave up their claims in Balkh and Badkhshan while Uzbegs left Kabul and Qandhar for Mughals. In 1595, when Abdullah Khan Uzbeg captured Balkh and Badkhshan, the area ruled by Timurids till 1585, Akbar was forced to capture Qandhar in 1595 to make a defensible frontier against the Uzbegs. The relationship between Mughals and Persians remained cordial since then and embassies were frequently exchanged between the two until the reign of Jahangir came. Akbar, with the capture of Qandhar in 1595 was able to set up {{clarify span|scientific frontier|date=December 2025}} along the [[Hindukush]]. But, Akbar remained at [[Lahore]] until 1598, and left for [[Agra]] only after the death of Abdullah Khan.<ref name="ChandraK">{{Cite book|author=Satish Chandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC&pg=PA218|title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|year=2005|isbn=81-241-1066-2|pages=218–230|author-link=Satish Chandra (historian)|access-date=2020-09-26|archive-date=2 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002122932/https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC&pg=PA218|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Balkh campaign of Shah Jahan===
{{Main|Mughal Central Asia Campaign}}

In 1598 after the death of Abdullah Khan Uzbeg, the Uzbegs became ineffective to threaten Mughal position in North-West for a long period of time until a new Uzbeg ruler, Nazr Muhammad captured [[Balkh]] and [[Bokhara]]. Both Nazr Muhammad and his son Abdul Aziz were ambitious, and their control over the Balkh and Bokhara implied their future attempt to threaten Mughals in [[Kabul]]. Later, Abdul Aziz rebelled against his father and Nazr Muhammad was able to control only Balkh, which was also threatened by the activities of his son. Threatened by his rebel son, Nazr Muhammad sought the help of [[Shah Jahan]] who was keen to help as he wanted a friendly ruler at Bokhara. Shah Jahan ordered Prince [[Murad Baksh]] to march toward [[Balkh]], and to help Nazr Muhammad in maintaining his hold upon his empire as well as to assist him in capturing [[Samarqand]] and Bokhara. Prince Murad marched as per the order but made a mistake by not waiting for the order of Nazr Muhammad and rushed Balkh in hurry. He also commanded his army to march into the fort of Balkh, in which Nazr Muhammad was seeking shelter.<ref name=Abraham/>

The hasty action by the prince made Nazr Muhammad skeptical of his intention, and thus, he fled. Mughals occupied Balkh but they were soon attacked by Abdul Aziz, the rebel son of Nazr Muhammad who mustered an army of 1,20,000 to cross [[Oxus]] river and launch strike against the Mughals. Prince Murad who was unable to continue in the campaign was now replaced by prince [[Aurangzeb]]. Under the command of Aurangzeb, the Mughals routed Uzbegs under Abdul Aziz, in 1647, near [[Balkh]]. After the Mughal's success at Balkh, the prestige of Mughal army rose and the supporters of Abdul Aziz renounced him. Nazr Muhammad, who was taking refuge at [[Persia]] by then, started conversation with the Mughals for regaining his empire, and his claims were supported by Shah Jahan.<ref name=Abraham/>

Nazr Muhammad was asked to submit personally and apologise to [[Aurangzeb]], but According to [[Satish Chandra (historian)|Satish Chandra]]:
{{quote|This was a mistake since the proud Uzbeg ruler was unlikely to demean himself in this way, particularly when he knew that it was impossible for the Mughals to hold on to Balkh for any length of time.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHnHHwAACAAJ|title=History of Medieval India: 800-1700|author=Satish Chandra|publisher=Orient BlackSwan|year=2007|isbn=978-81-250-3226-7|page=289|access-date=2020-09-24|archive-date=9 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009090727/https://books.google.com/books?id=qHnHHwAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
The unfriendly Uzbeg population of the Balkh and the harsh Winter accompanied by shortage of supplies made Mughals left in the same year(1647) in which Balkh was captured. The gain of Shah Jahan was his success in keeping Uzbeg divided and preventing a united Uzbeg state to rise, which could have been a danger to Mughals at Kabul. The motive of "Balkh campaign", as Shah Jahan's attempt to regain Mughal homeland of Samarqand and [[Fargana]], and setting up a scientific frontier at [[Oxus]], is discarded by Satish Chandra, as Oxus was hardly defensible and no serious attempt were made for the former.<ref name=Abraham/>

== Ottomans ==
[[Babur]]'s early relations with the Ottomans were poor because the Selim I provided Babur's rival Uzbek [[Ubaydullah Khan]] with powerful [[matchlock]]s and [[cannon]]s.<ref name="Farooqi">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uB1uAAAAMAAJ&q=Ubaydullah+Khan |title=Mughal-Ottoman relations: a study of political & diplomatic relations between Mughal India and the Ottoman Empire, 1556-1748|first=Naimur Rahman |last=Farooqi |year=2008 |access-date=2014-03-25}}</ref> 

In 1507, when ordered to accept Selim I as his rightful [[suzerainty|suzerain]], Babur refused and gathered [[Qizilbash]] servicemen in order to counter the forces of Ubaydullah Khan during the [[Battle of Ghazdewan]] in 1512. In 1513, Selim I reconciled with Babur (fearing that he would join the [[Safavid Iran|Safavids]]), dispatched [[Ustad Ali Quli]] and Mustafa Rumi, and many other Ottoman Turks, in order to assist Babur in his conquests; this particular assistance proved to be the basis of future Mughal-Ottoman relations.<ref name="Farooqi"/> From them, he also adopted the tactic of using matchlocks and cannons in field (rather than only in [[siege]]s), which would give him an important advantage in India.<ref>{{citation |first=Abraham |last=Eraly |author-link=Abraham Eraly |title=Emperors Of The Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Moghuls |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7kPQs8llvkC|year=2007 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-93-5118-093-7|pages=27–29}}</ref> Babur referred to this method as the "Ottoman device" due to its previous use by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] during the [[Battle of Chaldiran]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals, Part II |isbn=978-81-241-1066-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC |first=Satish |last=Chandra |author-link=Satish Chandra (historian) |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |year=2009 |page=29}}</ref>

Later in 1527, the Ottoman also assisted the Mughals in the [[battle of Khanwa]].<ref name="Farooqi">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uB1uAAAAMAAJ&q=Ubaydullah+Khan |title=Mughal-Ottoman relations: a study of political & diplomatic relations between Mughal India and the Ottoman Empire, 1556-1748|first=Naimur Rahman |last=Farooqi |year=2008 |access-date=2014-03-25}}</ref>

In 1626, Jahangir began to contemplate military alliance between the Ottoman Empire, the Mughals, and the [[Khanate of Bukhara]] of the [[Uzbeks]] against the Safavids, who had defeated the Mughals at [[Kandahar]].<ref name="Mughal-Ottoman Relations A Study of Political & Diplomatic Relations Between Mughal India and the Ottoman Empire, 1556-1748; Naimur Rahman Farooqi">{{cite book |author1=Naimur Rahman Farooqi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uB1uAAAAMAAJ |title=Mughal-Ottoman Relations A Study of Political & Diplomatic Relations Between Mughal India and the Ottoman Empire, 1556-1748 |date=1989 |publisher=Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli |page=38 |language=En |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Religious policy of the Mughals after Akbar]]
* [[Dutch Suratte]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a_kNAQAAMAAJ|title=Akbar the Great: Evolution of administration, 1556-1605 A.D Volume 2|author=Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava|publisher=	Shiva Lal Agarwala|year=1962|access-date=2020-09-28}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ITluAAAAMAAJ|title=History of Jahangir|author=Beni Prasad|publisher=Indian Press, Limited|year=1940|access-date=2020-09-28}}
* {{cite book |author1=J. C. Sharman |title=Empires of the Weak: The Real Story of European Expansion and the Creation of the New World Order |date=2019 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-18279-7 |language=En }}
* {{cite book |author1=Jorge Flores |title=The Mughal Padshah: A Jesuit Treatise on Emperor Jahangir's Court and Household |date=2015 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-30753-7 |page=74 |series=Volume 6 of Rulers & Elites |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o3XsCgAAQBAJ |access-date=13 July 2024 |language=En}}


{{Mughal Empire}}
{{Foreign relations of former countries}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreign Relations Of The Mughal Empire}}
[[Category:Foreign relations of the Mughal Empire|*]]
[[Category:Wars involving the Mughal Empire]]