guldaban to mecca -- 8/6/24

06 Aug 2024

guldaban to mecca -- 8/6/24

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Today's selection -- from Vagabond Princess by Ruby Lal. The splendid caravan that took Guldaban, daughter of Babur, founder of the vaunted Mughal Empire of India (1526-1857), to the holiest city of Mecca:

“Seated upon a tent-shaped palanquin, its silken cover held firmly with clasps of gold and silver, Gulbadan was primed to take the road to Mecca. Brocade and soft linen textiles from India were spread on the single hump of her brownish-yellow dromedary, also called the Arabian camel, an elegant being with black eyes, a long body, and long hair on its neck. A red steering cord was fastened around its mouth.

“Gulbadan was dressed in her classic flowing attire and a finely stitched muslin stole. A pearl- and cornelian-embedded gold necklace graced her neck. When the day got hot, she could wrap her face with the soft muslin. Similarly dressed, Salima and other women would ride upon their finely decorated Arabian camels.

“As royal guests, it was expected that the Mughal women would ride the mamiyya, the best dromedaries with excellent pacing, so smooth that ‘one could easily go to sleep while riding such beasts.’ For the distinguished aunt of the Great Mughal of lndia, it is also certain that the special laissez-passer—called yol emri in Ottoman Turkish—was arranged. The document was an important part of Ottoman practice in easing the travel of eminent guests and ensuring that no interruption took place. Local jurists and provincial governors had instructions to provide escorts and local guides along the dangerous stretches. The governor of Jeddah, a major regional Ottoman appointee, would enable the arrangements for the Mughal convoy.

“Mughal court historian Nizam al-Din Ahmad says that Gulbadan's kafila, or cavalcade, was patterned after the style and order of the legendary Egyptian and Syrian desert caravans." The Egyptians went from Cairo to Mecca via Ajrud and Aqaba, then south along the eastern shore of the Red Sea. They usually took between forty-five and fifty days to reach their hajj destination, making lengthy stops along the way. The Damascus caravan took the same time, although its route was through the desert forts such as Hasa, Tabuk, and al-Rahba, used for stopovers.

“The logistics of a mixed land and sea convoy with a ‘multitude of people,’ as an imperial Ottoman document remarked about the Mughal procession, were of a different nature. Gulbadan had in the first leg of her journey covered approximately eight hundred miles between Fatehpur-Sikri and Surat. After spending nearly a year in Surat before securing the cartaz from the Portuguese, the group had sailed across the Arabian Sea for nearly four weeks before reaching Jeddah. Now that they were on the desert road to Mecca, it was possible to emulate the Egyptian and Syrian desert processions.

“Members of the Mughal convoy assembled in designated places before exiting Jeddah from the Mecca Gate. In the Egyptian and Damascene caravans, the hajj commander's secretary was in charge of important decisions on the road, such as paying subsidies to Bedouin leaders to ensure their safety. Thieves and poor Bedouins with meager resources lurked around the ancient shrines along the Arabian roads. Attacks on caravans during the forty-mile route between Jeddah and Mecca, which typically took two to three days, were possible. Bedouin guides familiar with the challenging and dangerous stretches of the desert would gallop at the head of the Mughal caravan. Water carriers would be with the party.

“At the epicenter of the procession, perched upon an elegant camel, Gulbadan, ‘the leader of the caravan,’ heightened the splendor of the pilgrim ensemble. The Mughal haraman rode by her side, adding to the stateliness of the convoy. Encircling the royal women were Akbar's foster brother, Gulbadan's elderly uncle, and Sultan Khwaja, the commander of pilgrimage.

“In close proximity behind Sultan Khwaja marched armed soldiers with lances and bows. They guarded the boxes containing cash in gold and silver, goods, and textiles. They also carried 600,000 rupees for donations and twelve thousand dresses of honor designated as gifts for the inhabitants of Mecca and Medina, as well as gifts for the Holy Sanctuaries and largesse for the sherifofMecca. There was an unspecified but enormous amount of cash for the upkeep of the Mughal women, too. Gulbadan had a ‘large amount of money and goods,’ wrote Abul Fazl in his Akbamama. Akbar had ‘poured into the lap of each [woman] the money that they wanted,’ Faz added. Emperor Akbar had also set aside separate amounts for the free-passage pilgrims, such as the child who had earlier fallen into the sea.

“Then there were allowances for the maintenance of staff, saddlers, cooks, tasters, tent pitchers, and torch bearers. The valuable merchandise that the Indian traders brought for sales had to be shielded: incense, prized cotton, silk, brocade, satin, linen textiles, candlesticks, pepper, ginger, indigo, and mastic. As Ludovico di Varthema saw in the 1510s, aside from the extensive traffic of jewels and spices of every kind from India, there was ‘wax and odoriferous substances in the greatest abundance.’ Merchants sold their goods in the markets of Mecca and Medina and donated part of the earnings in alms, in addition to the dues owed to the Mughal state. Behind the soldiers guarding the treasured gifts, merchandise, and cash were storekeepers, cooks, and assistants, followed by merchants and common folks. At the tail end were more soldiers.

“The grand Arabian caravans that inspired the Mughals had a unique feature, the mahmal. In the likeness of a majestic lady covered in splendid fabric and gold, an enclosed tent topped by a circular finial made of gilded silver, this insignia in procession was the star attraction of the Egyptian and Damascus processions. The color of the mahmal depended on which dynasty it represented. Yellow was the color of the Mamluk sultans, black the color of the Abbasids. The silken fabric of the mahmal was handsomely stitched in silver- or gold-plated wire with arabesques, scrollwork designs, and inscriptions from the Qur'an. The patron's name was usually embroidered in the front of the pyramid-shaped roof. Sizes varied. The height of a fifteenth-century Syrian mahmal, now housed in the Topkapi Palace Museum, is 12 feet from its base to the pyramid and the wooden tuft on the top.”