Later Mughals v2.c17.s6: Sec. 103.—Causes of the Diplomatic Rupture Between the Persian Government and the Mughal Empire.
Later Mughals v2.c17.s6
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Sec. 103.—Causes of the Diplomatic Rupture Between the Persian Government and the Mughal Empire.
v2.c17.s6.1
The conduct of the effete Court of Dihli towards Persia had been marked by violation of diplomatic usage and courtesy and even by unfriendly negligence. For several generations past there had been an exchange of envoys, presents and diplomatic courtesies between the Mughal Emperors of India and the Safawi Shahs of Persia. Abbas II. continued this practice even after he had wrested Qandahar from Shah Jahan and fought four campaigns against Mughal arms. At all events formal letters of congratulation used to be written by the one Court to the other at every new accession to the throne. But Muhammad Shah, forgetting this usage, neglected to felicitate Shah Tahmasp II. after he had overthrown the Afghan usurper and recovered the throne of his ancestors. Nay, the Dihli Government, no doubt out of a timid love of quiet, had kept up friendly relations with Mir Wais and his son Husain (the usurpers of Qandahar), though the latter had raided the province of Multan and ravaged the imperial territory.
v2.c17.s6.2
After the expulsion of the Afghans from Persia, Nadir had sent Ali Mardan Khan Shamlu as ambassador to India to inform the Dihli Court that a campaign against the Afghans of Qandahar would be soon undertaken,* and to request that the Emperor would order his subahdar of Kabul to prevent these Afghans from escaping into his territory. Muhammad Shah replied that he had issued instructions to this effect and would reinforce the army in Kabul to have this work done.
v2.c17.s6.3
After some time Nadir sent a second messenger, Muhammad Ali Khan with a similar request, and the Dihli Government replied in the same terms. When early in 1737 the Persians invested Qandahar and the local Afghans began to flee northwards into Mughal Afghanistan, Nadir despatched a force to Ulang Muragha, in the Qalat district, which was his last outpost on the Perso-Mughal frontier, to bar the path of the retreating Ghilzais. This detachment ravaged the country up to the end of the hills of Kalat, slaying about a thousand Ghilzais and capturing much booty and many prisoners. The rest of the tribe fled into Mughal territory, towards Ghazni and Kabul, there being no Mughal officer or army on the frontier to obstruct them. The Persian generals, not having received orders to cross the frontier, stopped there and reported the affair to their master. Nadir Shah then (30th April 1737) sent a third envoy, Muhammad Khan Turkoman to India by way of Sindh, to ask for an explanation of this breach of promise on the part of the Emperor. The messenger was ordered to spend not more than forty days in India but bring a reply within that period. The Dihli Court, however, would give him neither a reply nor the permission to return. Its imbecile policy is thus described by Ali Hazin: "As soon as this envoy arrived at Shahjahanabad, he delivered his letter and was told to wait; but they were silent as to any answer. Sometimes they were unable to agree in their own minds on the question of writing any answer at all; at other times they were perplexed [as to] what titles they should use to Nadir Shah......Thinking the detention of the ambassador a stroke of State policy, they waited to see, if perchance Husain the Afghan with the troops besieged in Qandahar gained the victory over Nadir Shah, and destroyed him or put him to flight; on which event there would be no need of writing any answer to his letter."
v2.c17.s6.4
∗ Ali Hazin says that Shah Tahmasp II. after recovering Isfahan sent one of his nobles to India as envoy to report his accession and to request Muhammad Shah to keep the Ghilzais out of his territory, and that after the accession of the infant Abbas III. a similar message was sent. But Jahankusha 331 shows that both these embassies were sent by Nadir.
v2.c17.s6.5
A year passed away in this way, and then after the fall of Qandahar, Nadir wrote to his envoy in India to return at once. The matter had passed beyond the stage of correspondence and discussion. Nadir had decided on invading India. [Jahankusha, 331-332; Belfour's Ali Hazin, 281-287 (which is paraphrased in Siyar i. 93-94.)]