The Memoirs of Jahāngīr (Jahāngīrnāma) 27.1

27.1

‘‘Unfeigned thanks, and pure thanksgivings are due to the sole object of worship (God) for that the maintenance of the compacts and treaties of great princes is the cause of the order of Creation and the repose of mankind. A proof of this is the harmony and unity which existed between us and the exalted family (of Persia), and which were increased during our time. These things were the envy of contemporary sovereigns. The glorious Shah — the star of heaven’s army, the ruler of the nations, the adorner of the Kayani tiara, the fitting occupant of the throne of Chosroes, the fruitful tree of the gardens of sovereignty, the splendid nursling of the parterres of prophecy and saintship, the cream of the Safawi dynasty — hath without ground or reason, engaged in disturbing the rose-garden of love and friendship and brotherhood in which for long periods there has been no possibility of a breath of confusion. Clearly the methods of union and concord among princes require that they make oaths of friendship to one another, and that there should be perfect spiritual agreement between them. There should be no need of physical contact, and still less should there be any necessity for visiting one another’s countries for ‘shooting and spectacle’ (sair u shikār). Verse. Alas, a hundred times for the love passing thought!