Military history of Bassein

[1] The Greek merchant Cosmas Indicopleustes is known to have visited the areas around Bassein in the sixth century, and the Chinese traveller Xuanzang later on June or July 640 CE.

According to Historian Joseph Gerson Da Cunha, during this time, Bassein and its surrounding areas appeared to have been ruled by the Chalukya dynasty of Karnataka.

[7] According to Historian Faria y Souza, the coast of Bassein was first visited by the Portuguese in 1509, when Francisco de Almeida on his way to Diu captured a Mohammedan ship in the harbour of Bombay, with 24 Moors belonging to Gujarat.

The dynasty was founded when Babur, hailing from Ferghana (in modern-day Uzbekistan), invaded parts of North India and defeated Ibrahim Shah Lodhi, the ruler of Delhi Sultanate, at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.

To exterminate the threat from the Rajputs and the Mughals, he decided to sign a peace treaty with Nuno da Cunha, the Governor of Portuguese India.

[11] He dispatched his chief officer Xacoes (Shah Khawjeh) to Nuno da Cunha with an offer to hand over the port of Bassein, its dependencies, and revenues by sea and land, and the seven islands of Bombay.