Millennial Sovereignty and the Mughal Dynasty
A distinguishing feature of the Mughal (or Timurid) Empire is that several of its most powerful rulers styled themselves not only as temporal sovereigns but also as sacred beings, and claimed authority over matters of religion. This aspect of Mughal sovereignty was institutionalized by Emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) when he publicly proclaimed his spiritual lordship close to the turn of the first Islamic millennium and protected all religions and sects under a “universal peace” (sulh-i kull). This article connects and compares this style of Mughal sacred kingship to religious developments in Iran and Central Asia after the Mongol conquests led by Chinggis Khan. There the destruction of the caliphate and the strengthening of Sufi orders had given shape to saintly and messianic forms of sovereignty as exemplified by the Safavid dynasty of ‘Alid and Sufi origins. Less tolerant than the Mughals in India, the Safavids forcibly converted Iran to Shi‘ism.