Jesuits At Akbar's Court

In 1579, Akbar, the Great Mughal, as the Indian emperor of the Turkish-Mongolian dynasty of Muslim origin was known in the West, invited some Jesuit theologians, bearing the sacred texts of Christianity, to his court. This was perhaps an unprecedented episode in history, as it was rather unusual for the ruler of an Islamic state to wish to host missionaries clearly motivated by specific evangelical intentions. Indeed, Muslims firmly believe that Islam is the natural religion of man, and, as such, their consequent disinterest in other faiths is a continuous thread running through many countries of Islamic influence. Despite inevitable difficulties, the Church has never given up on its work of promoting Christianity; a right, however, that could hardly be recognised by a sultan. The precise purpose of this volume is to identify the reasons that led a Muslim emperor, such as Akbar, to request the presence of Jesuits at his own court. In the wake of blinding and misleading optimism in the West, there was talk of the Great Mughal's imminent conversion to Christianity. In reality, the reasons behind his invitation were anything but this, though they were still somewhat surprising.