Akbar the Great (1542–1605) and Christianity. Between religion and politics

 By: Agnieszka Kuczkiewicz-Fraś (Jagiellonian University in Krakow)

The second half of the 16th century, during the reign of India’s third, and  widely regarded as the greatest, ruler of the Mughal dynasty, Jalāl ud-Dīn  Muḥammad Akbar, was also the time when the Europeans were becoming  increasingly present on the Indian Subcontinent. Especially active among them  were the Portuguese – both in the political and economic sense as well as in  the cultural and the religious dimension. 

After reaching India with the expedition of Vasco da Gama in 1498, the  Portuguese very quickly – already in 1505 – started their expansion on the  Western cost of the Subcontinent and throughout the next thirty years conquered  the territories of Goa (where they established a powerful trading post and which  also became the seat of the viceroy and council appointed by the Portuguese  king in Lisbon), and Diu. From 1558 the Portuguese forces occupied also  Daman, which was an important port on the Cambay Gulf, and thus created  a great problem for the Mughals, especially after the annexation of the rich  and prosperous province of Gujarat into the Mughal Empire in 1572. The  Portuguese naval dominance over the Arabian Sea caused that no Indian ship  could sail without the so-called cartaz or special pass for safe conducts. For  Indian Muslims this situation was especially oppressive since the ports of the  Western coast were the point of embarkation for pilgrims going to Mecca.1 The  conflicts (also the armed ones) between the Mughal authorities of the province  and the Portuguese happened during the whole of the Akbar’s reign.

With the Portuguese territorial and economic expansion, also the Catholic  missionaries started arriving in India. The Portuguese actually had a monopoly  on promoting Christianity in Asia, and on conducting trade in the overseas  territories, provided in 1455 by Pope Nicholas V in the famous bull Romanus  Pontifex addressed to King Alfonso V of Portugal. In 1534 the Diocese of Goa  was established, covering in fact the whole East, from the Cape of Good Hope  to China. The missionaries from the newly founded Jesuit order were sent there,  partly to serve the Portuguese as chaplains and partly for genuine missionary  activities. The colonial authorities in Goa supported the mission with various  actions, like distributing rice among the poor, providing jobs in administration  or even offering military assistance to the local Indian rulers.

This period of the Indian history – the time of Akbar’s reign and of the  strengthening the presence of Portuguese – is very well documented in the  historical sources. On the one hand, there are records of Muslim chroniclers,  the most prominent place among whom belongs to Abu ’l-Faẓl,2 ‘Abdu ’l Qādir  Badāʾūnī3 and Niẓāmu ’d-Dīn Aḥmad Baxšī;4 on the other hand, a great amount  of documents and letters written by Portuguese missionaries, who often spent  many years at the imperial court.5 All these writings depict Akbar as a man  of extraordinary intellect (although he was illiterate), interested in the world,  tolerant, finding pleasure in philosophical and religious deliberations, with  a tendency to mysticism, whose great desire was to find a religious system  that would satisfy all aspects of his expectations. Akbar was also undoubtedly  a brilliant and skilful politician, and as such he understood well that the reign  of his dynasty might last only as long as it was widely accepted by those over  whom he reined. Even though conversions to Islam were relatively common  after the arrival of Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent, still there was no doubt  that the old religions did not disappear, and that not all the people of India would  adopt Islam. Akbar knew that there must be some concessions in such areas as  religion, language or customs, to ensure peace in the country.

Akbar undertook a whole range of actions that were supposed to prove that  he wanted to be a ruler and protector of all citizens of his realm, regardless of  the religions they professed. Among other things, in 1564 he abolished jizya – a poll tax levied on non-Muslims, which in a sense resulted that only Mus lims were full citizens of the empire while the rest of the society was merely  tolerated – provided, however, that they humbly endured the condition of being  subjected. Consequently, Hindus and Muslims could feel to be equal sharers in  a common citizenship for the first time. Another restriction revoked by Akbar  was a ban on erecting temples in honour of various gods. Therefore, Hindu  places of worship began to rise again from the ground in the entire country.  Later this privilege was also extended to Christians, which allowed the erecting  of churches in Lāhaur (1597) and Āgrā (1598/1599). 

There is no doubt that these decisions were dictated by Akbar’s political  considerations and principles of his domestic policy, the basic guideline of  which was “peace with all” (ṣulḥ-i kull). One objective of such actions was  to provide all his subjects with the equal status and rights; the other intention  was to limit the influence of a strong faction of the orthodox Muslim clergy  (‘ulamā) at the court. But surely neither of them would have been possible if  the emperor had been lacking innate tolerance and a syncretic way of thinking.

In the beginning of 1575, Akbar ordered the erection of a spacious, elegant  structure “consisting of four halls, near the new palace in Fatḥpúr”6 in his newly  built capital of Fatḥpūr Sīkrī.7 The structure, known as ‘Ibādat xāna (“House of  Worship”), was to function as a hall for religious and philosophical debates that  took place each Thursday evening. Various Muslim scholars and learned men:  pious šaix-s, orthodox ‘ulamā-s and dignified saiyid-s, representing different  schools of Islam, as well as the nobles of the court, were invited to take part in  the debates and discuss important questions of law and faith.8 But very soon  it appeared that the participants of these meetings failed to reach agreement  either on issues of fundamental importance or in minor cases and their mutual  aggression caused the palace guard to intervene a few times. “Akbar was […]  fairly disgusted […] he never pardoned pride and conceit in a man, and of all  kinds of conceit, the conceit of learning was most hateful to him”9 and finally,  disappointed, he suspended the debates. 

Akbar’s dissatisfaction with the ‘ulamā-s led him to the decision which  eventually was to break their power up. In September 1579, a document known  as the maḥẓar was announced and signed by the leading ‘ulamā-s (although  against their will10). According to this decree Akbar put himself in a position  of the Imām-i Ādil, “equitable leader,” the highest legal authority in the realm  and supreme arbiter in all disputes.11 His verdicts – both religious and secular  – were to be final, with no possibility of appeal; he also had the privilege of final  interpretation of legal provisions contained in the Qurān (which still remained the  highest legal and religious authority in the empire).12 Soon after the proclamation  of the maḥẓar the religious debates in ‘Ibādat xāna were resumed, but now also  the representatives of other religions were invited to take part in them and the  scope of the disputes was extended to include views and dogmas of religious  systems different from Islam. Furthermore, Akbar’s interest in other religions  was not a new phenomenon – for quite a long time he was studying the secrets  of the Zoroastrians, and even observed some of their rituals; he was also vividly  interested in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Christianity.13

Akbar’s first encounter with Christianity might have been in 1576. The  apparently insignificant news about two Christian missionaries’ arrival in Bengal  reached the emperor. Refusing them absolution, they severely reproved some  Portuguese merchants who were accused of defrauding the Mughal state treasury  by not paying the required taxes.14 The emperor was very impressed, both  because of the nature of the Christian priests and the dogmas of their religion,  which he considered exceptionally valuable since it condemned categorically  any dishonesty – even in relation to a foreign government.

Wishing to learn more about the Christian doctrine, Akbar invited Father Julian  Pereira, the then Vicar-General in Bengal, to his court. Yet, the pious but poorly  educated clergyman was not able to satisfy the emperor’s curiosity. Similarly,  neither Pietro Tavàres, a Portuguese officer in his service and the commandant  of the port of Hugli, nor Antonio Cabral sent to his court as an ambassador of  the Portuguese Viceroy Dom Diogo de Meneses, could authoritatively give  further details about the more profound matters of the faith, even though they  were able to provide the emperor with a considerable amount of information  concerning Christian manners and customs. In this situation Akbar decided to  seek the assistance of the Portuguese Catholic mission that had been residing  in Goa for the last several decades. In December 1578, Akbar sent a following  letter to the authorities in Goa:

The commandment of Zelaldinus the Great, King by God constituted. Know, o chief Fathers  of the Order of St. Paul,15 that we are very well disposed unto you. We are sending unto  you Ebadulla,16 our envoy, and Dominicus Petricus,17 that they may communicate to you in  our own words our desire that two learned priests should be sent unto us, to bring the chief  books of the Law and the Gospel in order that we may learn the Law and its full meaning  and perfect truths in every respect. For I earnestly desire thoroughly to learn that Law. Let  them not hesitate, therefore, to set out with the same envoys when they leave Goa on the  return journey; and let them bring the books of the Law with them. Let the priests understand  that I shall receive them with all possible kindness and honour. Their arrival will be a great  delight to me: and when I have learnt what I long to know about the law and its perfection and  the salvation it offers, they shall be allowed to return as soon as they like. I shall send them  back again dignified with very many honours and gifts. Let them have no fear in coming.  For I take them under my own protection and guarantee. Farewell!18

The legation reached Goa in September 1579 and was welcomed according  to the state ceremony usually reserved for the arrival of a new Portuguese  Viceroy. The emperor’s invitation aroused great enthusiasm and high hopes  among missionaries who for many years tried to find a way of preaching God’s  word in the Mughal’s empire without any success. The prospect of winning  such a powerful ruler and such a vast country for the glory of the Church  and the benefits of the Portuguese was worth taking any risks. Despite the  initial resistance from the Viceroy it was decided in November that a mission  consisting of three carefully selected priests would be sent to the court of the  Great Mughal. These priests were: Rudolf Aquaviva, aged 29, the head of  the mission, coming from an aristocratic family from Naples, an intellectual  and expert in philosophy who spoke the local languages (Konkani, and later  also Persian); Antonio Monserrate, a Catalan aged 41, as Aquaviva’s deputy  and chronicler of the expedition,19 and François Henriqués, a Muslim convert  of Persian origin, coming from Ormuz, who was to act as an interpreter and  assistant to the mission.

After a tiring and dangerous journey, which lasted over three months, the  missionaries reached Fatḥpūr Sīkrī on 28 February 1580. Akbar was waiting   for them with great anticipation, and as soon as they had arrived, they were  taken before the emperor and stayed with him till late in the night, answering  his questions about the Christian faith. Akbar’s sons, aged from 8 to 11, as  well as he, wore Portuguese clothes: scarlet cloaks with golden fastenings and  Portuguese hats – which the emperor used to wear to please his guests. He also  presented the Jesuits with considerable amount of gold, but the Fathers, bound  by the vow of poverty, refused the gift and “[n]othing that he could say would  persuade them to accept the present.”20 This aroused the emperor’s immense  surprise because at that time offering money and accepting gifts of this type  was a universally recognised custom.

The following day the missionaries were again received by Akbar in a private  audience, and a few days later (on 3 March) they presented to him a beauti fully bound copy of Biblia Regia (also known as Plantin Polyglot), in eight  volumes, commissioned by Filip II, the King of Spain, and printed in Antwerp  by Christopher Plantin between 1569 and 1572.21 With immense astonishment  the missionaries observed that Akbar “received these holy books with great  reverence, taking each into his hand one after the other and kissing it, after  which he placed it on his head, which, amongst these people, signifies honour  and respect. He acted thus in the presence of all his courtiers and captains, the  greater part of whom were Mahometans. Afterwards he inquired which of these  books contained the Gospels; and when it was pointed out to him, he looked  at it very intently, kissed it a second time, and placed it as before on his head.  He then gave orders to his attendants that the books were to be conveyed to his  own apartment, and ordered a rich cabinet to be made for their reception.”22 He  also ordered the court artists to produce a golden reliquary and make copies of  portraits of Christ the Saviour of the world and Virgin Mary his holy Mother,  which the Jesuits brought with them.23

The chapel was built in the palace and one of Akbar’s sons, Murād, then a boy  of ten, was entrusted to Father Monserrate to study the Portuguese language  and the principles of Christian ethics.24 The priests were allowed to preach and  convert freely in the whole city, and they could perform publicly their religious  services, which was in opposition to the principles of Islam. When a certain  Portuguese had died at a court, Akbar acceded to organise “a public funeral with  Christian rites, that is to say, with lighted candles, and preceded by the cross.”25 The Jesuits enjoyed unlimited, continuous access to the emperor,26 and were  also regular participants in the religious debates in ‘Ibādat xāna as well as in  those conducted outside the court, during the military or hunting expeditions.

There is no doubt that the Jesuit missionaries were amazed by the tolerance  of the Mughal ruler – they were coming, after all, from Europe, dominated at  that time by the raging Inquisition, tracking down and persecuting heretics,  where the sovereigns imposed their own religion on their subjects according to  the principle Cuius regio, eius religio. The missionaries took it for granted that  Akbar was close to reject Islam totally and become a Christian. This erroneous  belief was surely strengthened by the reports of Badāʾūnī, who described the  terrible relationship that prevailed between the ruler and the Philistine orthodox  Muslim clergy. For the conservative historian it was one of the proofs of the  emperor’s anti-Islamic attitude.27 Thus the Fathers were truly disappointed when  it finally turned out that the earnest desire to find spiritual truth, so characteristic  of Akbar, was caused by his inclinations towards mysticism rather than his  sincere desire of conversion, even though some of his deeds might have created  such an impression.28

On the other hand, the behaviour of the Jesuits was uncompromising, even  fanatical, and many a time it was only the authority of the emperor that saved  their lives. The priests broke the rules of court etiquette repeatedly and spoke  in a derogatory manner about Islam and its prophet. Their presence at the court  and Akbar’s explicit favours intensified discontent and the hostile attitude among  the courtiers – especially those connected with the conservative Muslim faction.  During the debates the dispute concerning the superiority of the Bible over the  Qur’ān and vice versa returned over and over again. The ordeal by fire was  even proposed as a means of proving the trueness of the claims of both parties,29 but eventually it never took place. For the Jesuits the unsolvable problem was  polygamy – unacceptable for them but at the same time impossible to be given  up by Akbar. The emperor could not and did not want to reject the practice of  having many wives for purely political reasons – the alliances established by  marrying women from powerful families who were mostly daughters of the  mighty local rulers. Polygamy was one of the pillars of the imperial policy of  expansion and uniting Indian territories under the Mughal rule. Moreover, the  missionaries were unable to come to terms with the fact that Akbar allowed his  subjects to enjoy complete freedom of religion and consequently, “cared little  that in allowing every one to follow his own religion he was in reality violating  all religions”30 – as Father Monserrate commented.

Although his attitude towards the Christian missionaries was very positive,  even cordial,31 Akbar did not stop taking more or less ambiguous attempts to  remove the Portuguese from the territories occupied by them on the Western  coast. The main goal was to regain from the foreign hands the harbours of Diu  and Daman, which was justified by the necessity of providing Indian Muslims  with the possibility of setting off to Ḥijāz without additional troubles caused  by the Portuguese authorities. However, military actions taken during the years  1580–1583 did not bring any results, and finally Akbar gave up these plans,  probably having realised that it was impossible to deal effectively with the  Portuguese naval power without strong fleet, which the Mughals did not have. 

However, the Jesuits learned about the actions taken by Akbar against the  Portuguese, and acknowledged them to be deceitful and ambiguous. They also  abandoned hope that they would manage to persuade Akbar to accept Christianity  and succeed in changing him into “Asian Constantine the Great,” especially  that the emperor started to reveal his increasingly stronger tendency to religious  syncretism.32 Their observations and rather unfavourable impressions of the  prospects of the mission were reported to the provincial in Goa, who summoned  them to return if only they decided that there were no chances for any positive  results of their staying at Akbar’s court. The first who returned to Goa, already in  1581, before the termination of the mission, was Father Henriqués. A year later  Antonio Monserrate left the court but he was delegated by Akbar to become one of  the members of the planned Mughal legation to the king of Spain. Monserrate was  equipped with a written request to send another Christian in his place as well as  more books concerning Christianity. However, the embassy to Spain never came to  fruition and Monserrate stayed in Goa. The last member and leader of the mission  Rudolf Aquaviva remained at the court for another year, and eventually, he took  leave of Akbar in February 1583, with great and mutual regret. The emperor and  the missionary, who befriended each other during those three years, were never to  meet again – Aquaviva was martyred a few weeks after his return to Goa.

Thus the first Christian mission to the Mughal empire ended up in an ap parent failure. Monserrate summarised it with disappointment, “Hence we may  justly suspect that Zelaldinus had been led to summon the Christian priests not  by any divine prompting but by curiosity and to ardent an interest in hearing  new things, or perhaps by a desire to attempt the destruction of men’s souls in  some novel fashion. For if this enterprise had been of God, it could have been  hindered by no hardship or obstacles. Since it was not of God, it collapsed of  itself, in spite of the King’s obstinacy.”33

But was the failure of the mission really so complete? In fact, seven years  later Akbar sent another written request to the authorities in Goa, asking again  for sending Christian priests to his court. The letter, obviously dictated by  the emperor himself, may indicate that in the year 1590 Akbar may have had  some thoughts of accepting Christian faith.34 We can read there the following  passages: “I have knowledge of all the faiths of the world, both of those of  the Gentile35 of various sorts, and the law of Mahomet, excepting only that of  Jesus-Christ which is the law of God, and as such is accepted and followed by  many. […] Fathers […] may dispute with my doctors, and […] I, by comparing  the knowledge and other qualities displayed on either side, may be able to  see the superiority of the Fathers over my own learned men, whom we call  Caziques, and who by this means may be taught to know the truth […].”36 And  the document which Akbar sent to the governors of the provinces in order to  ensure a safe journey of the Jesuits from Goa to Lāhaur, says again: “I hope,  […] to ensure the despatch of certain other Fathers whom I have invited to come  to me from Goa, and through whose holy doctrine I hope to be restored from  death to life, even as their master, Jesus-Christ, who came down from heaven  to earth, raised many from the dead, and gave them new life.”37 In response to Akbar’s request, and in hope of his prospective conversion,  a mission consisting of two Jesuit priests38 and a lay brother was sent from Goa  and reached Lāhaur in 1591. But very soon it appeared that in fact, the emperor  did not intend to adopt Christianity. It is highly probable that his declarations  suggesting his devotion to Christianity were never truly sincere. He might have  valued Christian dogmas above those of other religions. However, he never  declared openly any desire to be baptized nor admitted publicly that he was  a follower of Christ. The second mission failed very soon, which was most  likely caused by the strong resistance of the influential members of the royal  court. The partakers of the expedition returned to Goa after several months. However, despite the absence of Christian missionaries in the immediate  vicinity of Akbar his tolerant attitude towards Christianity – as well as towards  other religions – was constant and strong. A farmān (decree) issued in 1603  guaranteed the right of Christians to preach and carry out conversions as well as  to erect churches not only in Āgrā and Lāhaur but also in Bombay and Ṭhaṭṭa.  Akbar’s three grandsons – offspring of his youngest son Dāniyāl who died in  1604 – were even baptized although they converted back to Islam soon. Yet, it  was in all probability a purely political ploy, designed to eliminate these three  grandsons from fight for succession after Akbar’s death. 

The third and last time Akbar renewed his wish to investigate the secrets  of faith in Christ in 1594 when he sent a request to the Portuguese Viceroy  in Goa asking him to delegate priests to his court. Having experienced two  earlier unsuccessful missions, the Jesuits were rather reluctant to send another  expedition, but the secular authorities of the colony – definitely for political  reasons – insisted on meeting the demands of the Great Mughal. The General  of the Order in Rome also favoured the idea strongly. The grand-nephew of St.  Francis Xavier, known as Jerome Xavier of Navarra, was appointed to head  the mission.39 This time the Fathers were luckier: the Jesuit mission lasted at  the Mughal court throughout the next two centuries. Naturally, its character  transformed over time and the prosperity of the mission also changed continually,  depending on who sat on the imperial throne. Finally, the attempts to convert  the Mughal emperor to Christianity were abandoned; the primary task of the  missionaries was to take spiritual care and to support the Christians gathered  around the Mughal court. Jerome Xavier, who possessed fairly good knowledge  of the Persian language, was the author of several books devoted to various  aspects of Christianity. The Jesuits studied geography and astronomy, and  conducted research work in the observatories in Delhi and Jaipur.  One of the probable reasons why Akbar required constant presence of  Jesuits at his court was their unexpected impact on the cultural and artistic  life of the milieu in Delhi and Āgrā. The existence of the mission provided  a supply of books, often richly illustrated, as well as of European paintings or  their reproductions. The Europeans, who arrived in the Mughal India in the  first half of the 17th century, were amazed to see numerous examples of murals  featuring Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin and Catholic saints, on the walls of  palaces and mausoleums. Christian motives were also employed in miniature  painting, jewellery and sculpture.

In the declining years of Akbar’s reign, political tension between the Por tuguese colonial authorities and the Mughals was growing and this situation  inevitably affected the presence of Christian mission at his court to some extent.  Akbar was an excellent and shrewd politician. He treated his Christian guests  with great reverence and fondness as well as maintained friendly contacts with  the authorities in Goa, but his real intentions towards the Portuguese were  not friendly. In vain did he try to conceal this fact from Fr Aquaviva and Fr  Monserrate during the first mission, but nearly twenty years later, he declared  his attitude openly. His friendly legations, sent avowedly with the innocent  goals of attaining religious instructions and purchasing European wares, had  baleful political intentions at the same time and were used as means of espionage. On the other hand, the Jesuit fathers, especially those who came with  the third mission, although deeply religious and very enthusiastic about their  missionary work and their service to the Church, tried to serve the interests of  their homelands. Undoubtedly, they were perceived by their superiors as some  kind of Portuguese or Spanish agents who had to play certain political roles. 

Despite the constant friendliness of the emperor himself, the missionaries  experienced overt hostility at his court, which on the one side, was traditionally  exposed by the conservative Muslim nobles, and on the other hand, fuelled  by the machinations of other Europeans, who began arriving in increasing  numbers to the realm of the Great Mughal. Consequently, the unique position  which they enjoyed, practically having a monopoly on contacts with Akbar, was  weakened so significantly that when in October 1605 the emperor was lying on  his deathbed, the Jesuits were not allowed to assist at his side. The 63-year-old  emperor “died as he had lived; for, as none knew what law he followed in his  lifetime, so none knew that in which he died”40 – du Jarric commented. “Some  wished to pray for him in the Saracen manner; others did not dare to; and in the  end neither Saracens, nor Gentiles, nor Christians would claim him as theirs,  so that he had the prayers of none.”41 His impressive, monumental mausoleum  in Sikandrā, which he designed for himself while still alive, is the last proof  of his syncretic way of thinking, combining elements of all three architectural  styles: Muslim, Hindu and Christian.

Bibliography

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Society 1860–1894 (repr. 1993).

Akbarnāma The Akbarnāma of Abu-l-Faẓl, vol. I-III, transl. from the Persian by  H. Beveridge, Calcutta: Asiatic Society 1897-.

Chandra 1993 Satish Chandra, Medieval India: from Sultanat to the Mughals, Vol. 2,  New Delhi: Har Anand Publications 1993.

Correia-Afonso 1980 Letters from the Mughal Court: the first Jesuit mission to Akbar  (1580–1583), edited with an introduction of John Correia-Afonso, 

Studies in Indian History and Culture of the Heras Institute, vol. 24, 

Anand: Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, 1980.

Du Jarric 2004 Pierre Du Jarric, Akbar and the Jesuits: an account of the Jesuit  missions to the court of Akbar, translated with introduction and notes 

by C. H. Payne, London: George Routledge & Sons, 1926 (repr. 

London: Routledge 2004).

Fernando & Gispert-Sauch 2004

 Leonard Fernando, G. Gispert-Sauch, Christianity in India: Two  Thousand Years of Faith, New Delhi: Viking, 2004.

Frykenberg 2003 Robert Eric Frykenberg, Christians and Missionaries in India:  Cross-cultural Communication since 1500, London: RoutledgeCurzon, 

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Frykenberg 2008 Robert Eric Frykenberg, Christianity in India: From Beginnings to  the Present, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press 2008.

Gigot 1909 Gigot Francis, Gentiles, [in:] The Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol.  6, New York: Robert Appleton Company, retrieved July 15, 2011, 

<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06422a.htm>

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41 Ibid., 100.

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Monserrate 1922 The commentary of Father Monserrate, S.J., on his journey to the  Court of Akbar, translated from the original Latin by J. S. Hoyland 

and annotated by S. N. Banerjee, London: Humphrey Milford, 1922.

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(vol. III), Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal 1884–1925

Neill 1984 Stephen Neill, A history of Christianity in India: the beginnings to  AD 1707, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

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Notes

1 It was reported by Badāʾūnī that the pilgrims going to Mecca by sea “had to put up with  indignities from the Portuguese, whose passports had pictures of Mary and Jesus (peace be upon  Him!) stamped on them” and – as Badāʾūnī remarks – for the Muslims to make use of them  “would mean to countenance idolatry” (Muntaxab al-tavārīx II: 203). 

76 Agnieszka Kuczkiewicz-Fraś

2 Abu ’l-Faẓl ‘Allāmī (1551–1602) – Akbar’s court historian, secretary and biographer,  military commander and theologian. He criticised the traditional Muslim clergy (‘ulamā) and  influenced the development of Akbar’s religious synthesis. Opposing the narrow-mindedness  of the religious leaders and blaming their involvement in shallow forms of worship instead of  the praise of transcendent God, Abu ’l-Faẓl had a vast influence at court. His major literary  achievement was a history of Akbar and his predecessors Akbarnāma (“Book of Akbar”), the  last part of which is constituted by Ā‘īn-i Akbarī (“The Institutions of Akbar”). Both works  give a vivid and detailed description of Akbar’s court and reign. Abu ’l-Faẓl also translated the  Bible into Persian. 

3 ‘Abdu ’l Qādir Badāʾūnī (1540-c. 1615) – an Indo-Persian historian, one of the most important  writers concerning the Mughal period in India. From 1574 he worked in the religious office at the  court of Akbar and received money from him. His most important work is the Muntaxab al-tavārīx (“Selection from History”), also called Tārīx-e Badāʾūnī (“Badāʾūnī’s History”), a history of  Muslim India including additional sections on Muslim religious figures, physicians, poets, and  scholars. The work contains the author’s hostile remarks about Akbar and his religious practices.

4 Niẓām al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad Muqīm Haravī (d. 1594) – a prominent official  during the reign of Akbar, from 1593 a paymaster and commander-in-chief (baxšī) of the entire  empire. He became famous as the author of the much celebrated history of India, Ṭabaqāt-i  Akbarī, which is a comprehensive historical study of the rule of Akbar and includes a study of  the other Indo-Muslim dynasties from the 10th to the 17th centuries. His work was the first general  history devoted solely to India and became a model for later authors who were to undertake  similar historical projects. 

5 One has to remember that the missionaries were not casual travellers in the Mughal empire,  but they had the opportunity of the closest contacts with Akbar and were often acquainted with  Indian languages and customs. The detailed accounts of the Indian flora and fauna, religions and  traditions, ethnography and history which they sent to their superiors in Europe were usually  invaluable and unbiased records. There are three main published books, which contain the earliest Jesuit sources regarding the Akbar’s times: Letters from the Mughal Court: the first Jesuit  mission to Akbar (1580–1583), edited and introduced by John Correia-Afonso (1980), who  examines the letters of the first Jesuit Mission at Fatḥpūr Sīkrī and Āgrā; The commentary of  Father Monserrate, S.J., on his journey to the court of Akbar, translated from the original Latin  by J. S. Hoyland and annotated by S. N. Banjeree (1922) – cf. footnote 19; and Akbar and the  Jesuits: an account of the Jesuit missions to the court of Akbar by Pierre Du Jarric (1926, repr. in  2005), reproducing or recapitulating the most valuable missionaries’ letters written prior to 1610. 6 Muntaxab al-tavārīx II: 198.

78 Agnieszka Kuczkiewicz-Fraś

7 The exact location of the structure is not known since no building suiting the description  given by Badāʾūnī or Abu ’l-Faẓl has remained at Fatḥpūr. The specification left by the chroni clers clearly indicates some building resembling Dīvan-i-‘ām, enclosing a great quadrangle. Cf.  Havell 1904 (Part Sixteen: Fatehpur Sikri, footnote 16): <http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/ pritchett/00artlinks/agra_havell/16fatahpursikri.html>  

8 Badāʾūnī describes these initial meetings in the following way: “…every Thursday evening  he [Akbar] invited Sayyids, Shaikhs, Ulamá, and Amírs. But ill-feeling arose in the company  about the seats and order of precedence, so His Majesty ordered that the Amírs should sit on  the east side, the Sayyids on the west, the Ulamá on the south, and the Shaikhs on the north.  His Majesty would go from time to time to these various parties, and converse with them, and  ascertain their thoughts…” (Muntaxab al-tavārīx II: 202).

9 Badāʾūnī’s Muntaxab al-tavārīx II: 202, quoted in the Ā‘īn-i Akbarī in translation of  H. Blochmann; cf. Ā‘īn-i Akbarī I: 180.

10 Muntaxab al-tavārīx II: 272.

11 The text of the maḥẓar is quoted by Badāʾūnī (Muntaxab al-tavārīx II: 271–272). Cf. also  Frykenberg 2008: 168, Smith 1919: 178–181, Rizvi 1975: 141–160.

12 “… should therefore in future a religious question come up, regarding which of the  opinions of the Mujtahids [jurist; the highest authority in jurisprudence – AKF] are at variance,  and His Majesty in his penetrating understanding and clear wisdom be inclined to adopt, for the  benefit of the nation, and as a political expedient, any of the conflicting opinions, which exist  on that point, and issue a decree to that effect, we do hereby agree that such a decree shall be  binding on us and on the whole nation. […] should His Majesty think fit to issue a new order,  we and the nation shall likewise be bound by it, provided always that such order be not only The commandment of Zelaldinus the Great, King by God constituted. Know, o chief Fathers  of the Order of St. Paul,15 that we are very well disposed unto you. We are sending unto  in accordance with some verse of the Qur’án, but also of real benefit to the nation; and further,  that any opposition on the part of his subjects to such an order passed by His Majesty shall  involve damnation in the world to come, and loss of property and religious privileges in this…”  (Muntaxab al-tavārīx II: 271–272).

13 More on Akbar’s attitude towards other religions cf., e.g., Nizami 1989; Rizvi 1975. 14 The occurrence was described by John Correia-Afonso in the Introduction to his book  and the names of the two missionaries can also be found there – Anthony Vaz and Peter Dias.  Cf. Correia-Afonso 1980: 5. 

15 The Jesuit Fathers at Goa were known as Paulists on account of the College of St. Paul,  which gave rise to this name. The college – primarily an ordinary lay seminary – was converted  into a Jesuit institution by St. Francis Xavier. Many Jesuit priests were trained there and the  college was seen by the Fathers of the Society as their Indian Alma Mater. Cf. Du Jarric 2004:  107 (note 8).

80 Agnieszka Kuczkiewicz-Fraś 16 It was most probably Sayyid ‘Abdallāh, one of Akbar’s officers, mentioned by Abu ’l-Faẓl  among the commanders of the seven hundred (no. 189), cf. Ā‘īn-i Akbarī I: 518. 17 Dominic Perez was an Armenian Christian at the Akbar’s court, married to an Indian wife.  He served as an interpreter of the Akbar’s embassies to Goa in 1578 and 1594. Cf. Monserrate  1922: 2 (footnote 2) and Du Jarric 2004: 107 (note 9).

18 The text of the letter is cited here after Monserrate 1922: 2. Its slightly different English  versions were also published in, e.g., Smith 1919: 169; Du Jarric 2004: 9; Correia-Afonso 1980: 6. 19 It is worth mentioning here that the chronicles of Antonio Monserrate titled Mongolicae  Legationis Commentarius, discovered in 1906 and published in 1922 in English translation as  The Commentary of Father Monserrate S.J. on his Journey to the Court of Akbar, have a unique  historical importance being the earliest, from the times of Vasco da Gama, European report  concerning North India. Monserrate described – among other things – the details of a successful  campaign run by Akbar in 1581 against his rebellious half-brother Mirzā Ḥakīm, governor of Kābul.  He also included a map of North India prepared on the basis of his astronomical observations,  which has been the oldest European map of India since the times of Ptolemy and Eratosthenes.

20 Monserrate 1922: 28. And du Jarric adds: “As for their livelihood, for which the King  urged them to accept what he offered them, they said that it was sufficient happiness for them to  enjoy his favour, and that they trusted to God to supply their daily needs. The King was much  impressed by their refusal of the money, and for a long time could talk to his courtiers of nothing  else” (Du Jarric 2004: 10).

21 Fifteen years later, in 1595, Akbar offered this Polyglota, together with other European  books that he had in his library, to the Jesuit priests of the third mission sent from Goa. Among the  donated volumes there were “different Bibles and concordances, the Summa theologiae and other  works of Thomas Aquinas, surely in Latin, works of Domingo de Soto, of Antonio Forciglione,  Historia Pontificalis [of John of Salisbury – AKF], Chronicles of St. Francis, Constitutions of the  Society of Jesus and Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius” (Fernando & Gispert-Sauch 2004: 137).  All these books Akbar had in his possession as a result of his interactions with the Europeans  and they prove how rich and well equipped his library was. More on Akbar’s library see also  Du Jarric 2004: 31, 117.

22 Du Jarric 2004: 10.

23 Ibid., p. 14.

24 Father Monserrate praised the young prince to be “an ideal pupil as regards natural ability,  good conduct and intellectual capacity. In all these respects it would have been hard to find any  Christian youth, let alone a prince, surpassing him” (Monserrate 1922: 52).

25 Du Jarric 2004: 15. The funeral procession that passed through the city of Fatḥpūr Sīkrī aroused great curiosity among its inhabitants: “the infidels, […] were strongly impressed by  reverent respect shown by the Portuguese towards their dead; and many even of the Saracens  uttered prayers for the deceased, and offered to assist in the interment” (Ibid.).

26 It happened quite often that Akbar conducted long night-time conversations with the Jesuits  in the privacy of his own throne-room; in one of his letters to Father Vincente, dated 24 July  1582, Rudolf Aquaviva writes that such discussions occurred “at least once a week, till midnight  and at times beyond that” (Correia-Afonso 2003: 110).

27 Badāʾūnī charges Akbar with rejecting “the Resurrection, and Judgment, and other details  and traditions, of which the Prophet was the repository” (Muntaxab al-tavārīx II: 256). He states  that “after five or six years not a trace of Islám was left in him [Akbar]: and every thing was  turned topsy turvy” (Ibid., 255), and admits openly that “His Majesty firmly believed in the truth  of the Christian religion, and wishing to spread the doctrines of Jesus, ordered Prince Murád to  take a few lessons in Christianity under good auspices, and charged Abul-fazl to translate the  Gospel. Instead of the usual Bismilláh-irraḥmán-irraḥín the following line was used: Ai námí  vey Gesu Christu, that is «O thou, whose name is merciful and very bountiful»” (Ibid., 260).  Badāʾūnī accuses the Fathers “those accursed men”, and other “persons of novel and whimsical  opinions, in accordance with their pernicious ideas, and vain doubts” (Ibid., 255) of causing this  disastrous situation. The Christian missionaries make the same statement, “And yet one does not  know for certain what law he follows; for though he is certainly not a Mahometan as his actions  show plainly enough…” (Du Jarric 2004: 34).

28 Akbar occasionally took part in Christian services kneeling bareheaded; he prostrated  himself before the image of the Saviour or even kissed an icon of Jesus on a public occasion.  Cf. Correia-Afonso 1980: 138, 176.

29 Both Badāʾūnī and Abu ’l-Faẓl mention these events though their reports differ when it  comes to indicating which of the parties proposed the ordeal by fire. According to Badāʾūnī it was  Quṭb-ud-dīn of Jalesar, regarded as a holy man (majz̤ūb), intoxicated (xarābī) with the Divine  Love, who “brought […] to a conference with some Christian priests, and philosophers, and great  law-authorities of the age, after a discussion […] exclaimed: «Let us make a peat fire, and in the  presence of His Majesty we will pass through it, and whichever gets safely through it, will prove  thereby the truth of his religion.» The fire was made. The Shaikh pulled one of the Christian priests by the coat, and said to him: «Come on, in the name of God!» But none of the priests had the  courage to go” (Muntaxab al-tavārīx II: 299). Abu ’l-Faẓl relates however: “The Padre [Rudolf  – AKF] quietly and with an air of conviction said: «Alas, that such things should be thought to  be true! In fact, if this faction has such an opinion of our Book, and regard the Furqān (Qoran)  as the pure Word of God, it is proper that a heaped fire be lighted. We shall take the Gospels in  our hands, and the ‘Ulamā of that faith shall take their book, and together we shall enter that  testing-place of truth. The escape of any one will be a sign of his truthfulness»” (Akbarnāma III:  369). Cf. also Monserrate 1922: 39–43; Rizvi 1975: 133 ff.; Nizami 1989: 200–201.

30 Monserrate 1922: 142.

31 A description of Akbar’s friendly, even a familiar, attitude towards the Jesuits can be found  e.g. in Monserrate’s Commentary, cf. Ibid., 63–64. 

32 Monserrate emphasises Akbar’s eclecticism, quoting his words with which he concluded  one of the religious debates: “I perceive that there are varying customs and beliefs of varying  religious paths. For the teachings of the Hindus, the Musalmans, the Jazdini [Zoroastrians  – AKF], the Jews and the Christians are all different. […] Wherefore I desire that on appointed  days the books of all the religious laws be brought forward, and that the doctors meet together  and hold discussions, so that I may hear them, and that each one may determine which is the  truest and mightiest religion” (Ibid., 182). He further states that “… the priests began to suspect  that he was intending to found a new religion with matter taken from all the existing systems”  (Ibid., 184). This opinion, shared also by Badāʾūnī, who charged Akbar with apostasy and read  his intentions as a sign that he had abandoned Islam, was then vastly repeated by the historians  in reference to Tauḥīd-i ilāhī (Divine Unity), the circle of scholars and followers, which Akbar  initiated in 1582. Tauḥīd-i ilāhī, called by Pirbhai a kind of “theosophical society” resembling  a Ṣūfī order but incorporating some rites more usually related to Hinduism, like vegetarianism  or cremation (cf. Pirbhai 2009: 82), has been widely regarded as Akbar’s attempt to construct  a new religion for all his Indian subjects. However, the idea of the Divine Unity, even though  built on Akbar’s strong faith in monotheism and Ṣūfī beliefs concerning the communion with  God (tauḥīd – ‘declaring God to be one alone,’ ‘believing in the unity of God’), also had a strong  political motivation. Akbar was trying to shape his state and its ruling class on the basis of such  principles as liberation, tolerance, justice and equal treatment to all faiths. This was a goal which  neither Christian missionaries nor narrow-minded Muslim ‘ulamā such as Badāʾūnī could realise  or support. Tauḥīd-i ilāhī helped Akbar to create a tradition of absolute loyalty to the Mughal  throne which became his legacy to his successors. More on religious and political aspects of  Tauḥīd-i ilāhī cf. Pirbhai 2009: pass.; Chandra 1993: 177–183.

33 Monserrate 1922: 192.

34 Cf. Smith 1919: 249.

35 Gentile(s) is a word of Latin origin, usually employed in the plural, designating primarily  in the English versions of both Testaments the nations distinct from the Jewish people. Since  the spread of Christianity the word Gentiles designates, in theological parlance, those who are  neither Jews nor Christians (i.e., they do not worship the true God). Cf. Gigot 1909: <http://

www.newadvent.org/cathen/06422a.htm>.

36 Du Jarric 2005: 24.

37 Ibid., 23.

38 Father Edward Leioton (Leitanus) and Father Christopher di Vega.

39 Two other priests were sent to assist him: Father Emmanuel Pinheiro, a Portuguese, and  Brother coadjutor Benedict de Goes.

40 Du Jarric 2005: 97.

 

 

 

 

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