Foreign relations of the Mughal Empire

The Khyber Pass along the Kabul- 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.

[1] During the break up of the Timurid Empire in the 15th century, the Ottomans in Turkey, the Safavids in Persia and the Uzbegs in central Asia emerged as the new contenders of power.

Thus, the foreign policy of Mughals was centred around strengthening the ties with Persia, while maintaining the balance of power in the region by keeping a check on the evolution of a united Uzbeg empire.

[3][4] 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.

[5] 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.

[6] Another example was the Mughal emperor appointed an official title of "Mir Haj" in 1577 with 500,000 rupee and 10,000 Khil'lat for attribution for the Shariff, and distribute many more to the peoples of Mecca and Medina (which usually called al-Haramayn, or two holiest city in Islam religion).

At one point, the Shariff of Mecca also exchanging gift with the Mughal by giving them Arabian horses, high quality swords, and some sacred relics.

[8] 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.

[9] The East India Company persuaded King James to send Thomas Roe as a royal envoy to the Agra court of the Great Mughal Emperor, Jahangir.

[citation needed] Ethiopian Emperor Fasilides dispatched an embassy to India in 1664–65 to congratulate Aurangzeb upon his accession to the throne of the Mughal Empire.

[21] 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.

[24] 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.

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.

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.

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.

Meanwhile, though Uzbegs had captured Balkh, which along with Badakhshan was ruled till 1585 by Timurids, he had no desire to be embroiled into a conflict with them until they threatened Mughal position in Kabul and Qandhar.

[1] 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.

In 1584[30] 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 Mansab.

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.

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.

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.

[24] Nazr Muhammad was asked to submit personally and apologise to Aurangzeb, but According to Satish Chandra: 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.