The Empires of the Near East and India

The Empires of the Near East and India provides, really for the first time, a body of early modern primary sources from the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal contexts in translation. A variety of types of text are provided, from poetry to judicial rulings, and the translations are readable while maintaining the flavor of the original Arabic, Persian, or Ottoman Turkish. This will prove a valuable resource for those of us who teach any or all of these imperial histories. -- Michael Talbot, University of Greenwich This is the first accessible, high quality, English language sourcebook on medieval and post-classical Islamic empires. Thirty-three original commentaries and translations enrich our understanding of life under the most powerful global empires of the day: The Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals. The book tells the story of diverse peoples: poets and painters, kings and conquerors, scientists and Sufis, and more. For students of world literature and history, this is an indispensable resource. -- Emran El-Badawi, University of Houston The Empires of the Near East and India is a treasure trove of carefully selected, freshly translated, and accurately contextualized primary sources from the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal worlds. Covering a rich array of themes that range from political culture and religiosities to scientific writing and artistic production, this one-of-a-kind collection will become standard reading for students of early modern (Muslim) empires. -- A. Tun en, Columbia University This volume is a laudable effort to compile a handy and well-edited volume with expert contributions on a wide range of topics of interest to historians studying and teaching the pasts of these three empires, their global histories and their encounters with other political and social protagonists of the early modern period. * H-Soz-Kult * This is an invaluable book for anyone studying, teaching, and/or researching the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires and will definitely find its way onto many university reading lists as a core text. * H-History and Theory *

Hani Khafipour received his doctorate at the University of Chicago. A historian of medieval and early modern Iran, he teaches in the Department of Middle East Studies at the University of Southern California.

Editors Note Editors Acknowledgments Introduction, by Hani Khafipour Part I. The Religious Landscape 1. Converts, Apostates, and Polytheists I. Confessions of an Armenian Convert: The Itirafnama of Abkar (Ali Akbar) Armani, by Rudi Matthee II. Conversion, Apostasy, and Relations Between Muslims and Non-Muslims: Fatwas of the Ottoman Shaykh al-Islams, by Nikolay Antov III. The Night Debates at Jahangirs CourtAbd al-Sattars Majalis-i Jahangiri, by Corinne Lefvre 2. Heretics, Polytheists, and the Path of the Righteous I. The Shia Path of the Righteous: The Strength of Akhbarism in Safavid Iran, by Maryam Moazzen II. Ottoman Religious Rulings Concerning The Safavids: Ebussuud Efendis Fatwas, by Abdurrahman Atl III. A Mughal Debate About Jain Asceticism, by Audrey Truschke 3. The Zealot, the Sufi, and the Quest for Spiritual Transcendence I. Opposition to Sufism in Safavid Iran: A Debate Between Mulla Muhammad-Tahir Qummi and Mulla Muhammad-Taqi Majlisi, by Ata Anzali II. The Worldview of a Sufi in the Ottoman Realm: Hakiki and His Book of Guidance, by F. Betul Yavuz III. Sufism and the Divine Law: Ahmad Sirhindis Ruminations, by Arthur F. Buehler Part II. Political Culture 4. Conceptions of Sovereignty: The Poet, the Scholar, and the Court Sufi I. The Safavid Claim to Sovereignty According to a Court Bureaucrat, by Hani Khafipour II. Kingship and Legitimacy in the Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Empire, by Huseyin Ylmaz III. The Millennial and Saintly Sovereignty of Emperor Shah Jahan According to a Court Sufi, by A. Azfar Moin 5. The Kings Deathbed: Coronation, Execution, and Fratricide I. In the Shadow of Shah Abbas: The Succession of Shah Safi (r. 16291642), by Sholeh A. Quinn II. The Ottoman Conception of Sovereignty and Succession: Mustafa Alis Essence of History (Kunh al-Akhbar), by Zahit Atl III. The Way of Tradition and the Path of Innovation: Aurangzeb and Dara Shukuhs Struggle for the Mughal Throne, by Jane Mikkelson 6. A Tale of Three Cities: Diplomacy and Conquest I. Imperial Geopolitics and the Otiose Quest for Qandahar, by Hani Khafipour II. The Ottoman Conquest of Buda(pest): Sultan Suleimans Imperial Letter of Victory, by Zahit Atl III. The Mughal Conquest of Chittor: Study of Akbars Letter of Victory, Taymiya R. Zaman Part III. Philosophical Inquiries 7. Philosophy as a Way of Life I. The Many Faces of Philosophy in the Safavid Age, by Sajjad Rizvi II. Philosophia Ottomanica: Jalal al-Din Davani on Establishing the Existence of the Necessary Being, by Ahab Bdaiwi III. Philosophy and Legal Theory: The Musallam al-thubut of Muhibballah al-Bihari and Its Commentary by Abd al-Ali Bahr al-Ulum, by Asad Q. Ahmad 8. Lettrists, Alchemists, and Astrologers: The Occult Sciences I. The Occult Sciences in Safavid Iran, by Matthew Melvin-Koushki II. A Commentary on The Secret of Ta-Ha by the Pseudo-Erefolu Rumi, by Tuna Artun III. The Occult Sciences at the Mughal Court During the Sixteenth Century, by Eva Orthmann Part IV. Literature and the Arts 9. Three Poets and the Three Literary Climes I. Selections from the Poetry of Muhtasham Kashani, by Paul Losensky II. The Poet Azmizade Haleti and the Transformation of Ottoman Literature in the Seventeenth Century, by Berat Acil III. Mughal Sanskrit Literature: The Book of War and the Treasury of Compassion, by Audrey Truschke 10. Royal Patronage: A College, Poets, and the Making of an Imperial Secretary I. The Leading Religious College in Early Modern Iran: Madrasa-yi Sultani and Its Endowment, by Maryam Moazzen II. Imperial Patronage of Literature in the Ottoman World, 14001600, by Murat Umut Inan III. A Letter of Advice from a Mughal Gentleman to His Son, by Rajeev Kinra 11. Painters, Calligraphers, and Collectors I. Reading a Painting: Sultan-Muhammads The Court of Gayumars, by Sheila Blair II. The Making of a Legendary Calligrapher: Textual Portraits of Sheikh Hamdullah, by Esra Akn-K