The Rashīdī History 8.4.6

8.4.6

Previous to this period it was the same with the Tatars, on account of their power, and this is the reason why the Mongols are still called Tatars in China and in India, by the Kirghiz, the Bashgirds, in the Kapchak country, in the north of Asia, in Arabia, in Syria, in Egypt, and in Africa." It has been observed above, that in India the word Moghul was employed, subsequent to the days of Chingiz, in the same way as the word Turk in Central Asia, and Tatar in Europe, and on this subject Mr. H. G. Keene has come to conclusions which coincide with the teachings of Rashid-ud-Din. It denoted, in the first place, the group of tribes or nations who composed the armies of the northern invaders, with little or no reference to their racial origin; and secondly, at the time of Baber, it was regarded as something scarcely better than a term of contempt. But later, when the so-called Moghul dynasty came to be looked up to as the supreme power, the name assumed a different and more respectful significance. Mr. Keene writes: "Under Akbar, when the empire had become a firm result of successful war, the word [Moghul] recovered its prestige and—like the name of 'Goth' in Spain—came to indicate 'a noble conqueror,' or the descendant of one";