In this article, we explore the longue durée philosophical background of Mughal Emperor Akbar’ssun worship. Although Akbar’s sun project may have been triggered by contemporary Hindu andZoroastrian... Show moreIn this article, we explore the longue durée philosophical background of Mughal Emperor Akbar’ssun worship. Although Akbar’s sun project may have been triggered by contemporary Hindu andZoroastrian ideas and practices, we argue that Akbar’s Neoplatonic advisers reframed it as a universalcosmotheistic tradition that, at the start of the new millennium, served as the perfect all-inclusiveimperial ideology of Akbar’s new world order. The astonishing parallels with the much earlierNeoplatonic sun cult of Roman Emperor Julian demonstrate that, although having characteristic ofits own, Akbar’s sun project was not that unique and should be seen as a fascinating late example ofa so-far completely forgotten ancient Neoplatonic legacy of seeing the philosopher king, via the Sun,via illumination, connected to the One. Show less
This dissertation addresses the dynamic process of the Arab Muslim conquests in Bactria and their socio-political impacts in the region. It covers almost a century from 31–128/651–746. It discusses... Show moreThis dissertation addresses the dynamic process of the Arab Muslim conquests in Bactria and their socio-political impacts in the region. It covers almost a century from 31–128/651–746. It discusses the conquests within the context of the geographical and political complexity of the region. It highlights the local political situation before the Arab Muslims’ arrival and the active role of Bactrian rulers whose cooperation and resistance shaped and reshaped the conquests. In doing so, it combines a broad spectrum of sources. It brings Bactrian, Arabic (and relevant Middle Persian and Sogdian) documents with the literary sources, specifically Arabic narratives related to the conquests and Persian and Chinese reports. It also consults numismatic data, seals and sealings, inscriptions, and archaeological reports. Based on a systematic analysis of these sources, this dissertation shows that the Arab Muslim conquests of Bactria were not simply the results of a series of ‘pre-planned’ military operations initiated and led by the Arab Muslims, as it is often assumed to have been the case. In contrast, the conquests were highly complicated as they were deeply affected by the local and regional political situation that were not considered. The local and regional political competitions in late Sasanian Khurasan pulled the Arab Muslims into the region, where they helped the local rulers to implement their political agendas. However, being in Sasanian Khurasan allowed the Arab Muslims to learn about local political competition, become part of it, create their niche of power, and eventually establish their political domination over the region. The conquests of Sasanian Khurasan, Bactria, Sogdiana and Khwarazm (that formed Umayyad Khurasan) became possible only with the help of some local rulers who viewed the Arab Muslims as powerful allies to overcome their internal or neighbouring rivals. The local rivalries benefited the Arab Muslims the most as they provided space for the expansion and consolidation of Arab Muslim authority in the region in the long term. At the same time, the Arab Muslim settlements in the region marked the beginning of a centuries-long process of Islamicisation in Bactria, out of which the Islamic Balkh has emerged. Show less
This article argues that ṣulḥ-i kull (peace for all) as a specific termwas introduced inthe 1590s by a small group of avant-garde Neoplatonists who worked at the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar.... Show moreThis article argues that ṣulḥ-i kull (peace for all) as a specific termwas introduced inthe 1590s by a small group of avant-garde Neoplatonists who worked at the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar. It was only in the following century that ṣulḥ-i kull developed into the ethos that became the ideological mainstay of Mughal rule both internally, for its administrative elites, and externally, vis-à-vis their main rivals: the Uzbeks in Central Asia and the Safavids in Iran. The early stages in the making of this ideology can be followed in some detail by studying Akbar’s neglected millennial history, the Tarikh-i Alfi. In fact, this vast Mughal world history demonstrates that apart from Neoplatonic akhlāq, there was another important building block that so far has been missing altogether in the making of ṣulḥ-i kull, that is, the practical model of the Pax Mongolica, as established under Chinggis Khan, the most famous of Mughal ancestors. Most crucially, it is in the Tarikh-i Alfi that we find the legacies of Persianate akhlāq and Mongol yasa (law) married to each other. In fact, it was through akhlāq that the peace of the Mongols became the Mughal peace for all. Show less
On the basis of the neglected Mughal world history, the Tarikh-i Alfi, this study investigates the making of immanentist cosmic kingship under the aegis of emperor Akbar. This remarkable chronicle... Show moreOn the basis of the neglected Mughal world history, the Tarikh-i Alfi, this study investigates the making of immanentist cosmic kingship under the aegis of emperor Akbar. This remarkable chronicle was part of a post-Islamic project to demarcate the end of the Islamic millennium and to announce the coming of Akbar as saviour with a new covenant of universal peace. During a global Neoplatonic Renaissance, it turned Akbar into a messianic philosopher-king. Different from his royal colleagues in the West, though, Akbar could build on an existing Neoplatonic legacy of Chinggisid rule and post-nomadic state-formation along the arid frontiers of the Islamic world. Show less
