Epistolary Strategies of Negotiation: Reading a Fraternal Dispute at the Mughal Court, 1593–1594

IF 0.1 Q3 HISTORY

Medieval Encounters Pub Date : 2023-11-16 DOI:10.1163/15700674-12340176

Shounak Ghosh

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This article examines a dispute between the Mughal emperor Akbar and his foster brother Mirzā ʿ⁠Azīz Koka in the late sixteenth century through a study of two epistolary compositions (inshāʾ) – a royal mandate (farmān) issued by Akbar and a petition (ʿ⁠arẓ-dāsht) from the mirzā in response. By focusing on the language of negotiation in these letters, I argue that epistolary practices were critical for reconfiguring kinship bonds, imperial service, and courtly disposition that were central to the rupture in fraternal and courtly relations. Letters served as the discursive site to reiterate norms of courtly comportment, register complaints against controversial actions, express emotions, and record reactions to exigent situations. Finally, the correspondence reveals the ways in which the complex dynamics of a court society were deeply intertwined with global power contestations and could have far-reaching implications on the imperial competition between early modern Islamic empires.

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谈判的书信策略：解读 1593-1594 年莫卧儿宫廷的兄弟争端

本文通过研究两封书信作品 (inshāʾ)--阿克巴尔发布的皇家命令 (farmān) 和 Mirzā 的请愿书 (ʿarẓ-dāsht)--探讨了 16 世纪晚期莫卧儿皇帝阿克巴尔与其养兄 Mirzā ʿAzīz Koka 之间的争端。通过关注这些书信中的协商语言，我认为书信实践对于重新配置亲缘关系、皇室服务和宫廷处置至关重要，而这正是兄弟关系和宫廷关系破裂的核心所在。书信是重申宫廷礼仪规范、记录对有争议行为的投诉、表达情感以及记录对紧急情况反应的话语场所。最后，书信揭示了宫廷社会的复杂动态是如何与全球权力争夺深深交织在一起的，并可能对近代早期伊斯兰帝国之间的帝国竞争产生深远影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Medieval Encounters Arts and Humanities-Religious Studies

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期刊介绍： Medieval Encounters promotes discussion and dialogue accross cultural, linguistic and disciplinary boundaries on the interactions of Jewish, Christian and Muslim cultures during the period from the fourth through to the sixteenth century C.E. Culture is defined in its widest form to include art, all manner of history, languages, literature, medicine, music, philosophy, religion and science. The geographic limits of inquiry will be bounded only by the limits in which the traditions interacted. Confluence, too, will be construed in its widest form to permit exploration of more indirect interactions and influences and to permit examination of important subjects on a comparative basis.