The Persian language is one of the oldest Indo-European languages in the world, belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch. In India, Persian was established as a culture of the elites by the Delhi Sultans during the 13th century.

Before we go in-depth to discuss the impact of Persian in the Indian subcontinent, let us first understand why Akbar, who was of Turkish background, patronized a foreign culture and went to such lengths to make it popular in his empire.

Akbar’s grandfather, Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire belonged to a Turkish background. In fact, his autobiography, Tuzuk-i-Baburi, was written in Chagatai Turkish. Babur’s son and Akbar’s father, Humayun, also patronized Turkish, being his mother tongue. However, Akbar did not follow in the footsteps of his predecessors.

Scholars who later studied the culture of the Mughal empire have come up with some possible reasons for Akbar’s inclination towards the Persian language. During the Sur Invasions, Humayun, who was forced to go into exile, had sought refuge in the Iranian court. The Safavid emperors, who ruled Iran during the time, had been generous enough to let Humayun stay in their court until he could win back his empire.

When Humayun came back to Hindustan and reclaimed his throne, he brought many Persian scholars, poets, artists and other intellectuals with him. Through them, Akbar was exposed to the rich culture of Persian, particularly their Kingship style.

When Humayun died and Akbar sat on the throne, he became particularly concerned with the increasing influence of the Turkish nobles in his court. He found it difficult to exert his own authority and power over them. Such a situation, Akbar felt, would prevent him from ruling over subjects justly.

Gradually, Akbar became determined to make Persian the official culture of the Mughal court. Akbar also introduced the position of Malik-us-Shuaura. This position was only given to an Iranian scholar. The aim was to attract as many Iranians into the Mughal court as possible. The position of Malik-us-Shuaura continued until the reign of Shah Jahan.

According to Badayuni, a famous historian during Akbar’s time, there were about 168 Persian poets who received patronage from Akbar and his nobles. Badayuni himself was a major contributor in this regard. He was the one who translated the great Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, the latter being renamed as Razmnama in Persian.

The royal household and the Mughal elite also started interacting in the Persian language. All court sessions, the records of revenue, administration and other aspects were maintained in Persian at the orders of Akbar.

Akbar encouraged scholars to come and settle in India. He appointed Persian teachers and made Persian an essential part of the Madrasa syllabus.  One of the prominent scholars in this regard was Ahmad Chalapi, who took on the task of drafting a syllabus in Persian. Akbar introduced the learning of Persian alphabets and basic words as the first stage of language training. The children were asked to memorize Persian concepts so that they could understand the ethics, arithmetical concepts, astronomy, geometry, logic, medicine that the Iranians followed. He also encouraged the reading of Persian historical works by scholars from Iran and other parts of central Asia.

The bazaars (shops) of Agra, Delhi and Lahore began to be flooded with Persian books, which soon became accessible to common people as well. Even the Hindus started emulating the concepts of Persian culture and started using them in their everyday lives.

In the later Mughal period, other aspects of Persian culture also became extremely popular at the elite and local levels. The architecture of the Taj Mahal, for instance, was a blend of Indian and Persian styles.

Hence, the adoption of Persian as a courtly culture had a major impact on Mughal society. Persian ceased to be a language that was only associated with the Muslim elites.

Instead, it transgressed boundaries of religion, art and culture. In a period when religious differences and hostility towards the invading Mughals were apparent among the local people, Persian became somewhat of a unifying element, even though it was still limited to the elite groups. People may not have liked the Mughals, but literature, art, and architecture were appreciated by Hindus and Muslims, alike.