Islamic Traditions Just as the regions within the subcontinent were not isolated from one another, so too, contact with lands beyond the seas and mountains had existed for millennia. Arab merchants, for instance, frequented ports along the western coast in the first millennium CE , while Central Asian people settled in the north-western parts of the subcontinent during the same period. From the seventh century, with the advent of Islam, these regions became part of what is often termed the Islamic world. .
Faiths of rulers and subjects One axis of understanding the significance of these connections that is frequently adopted is to focus on the religions of ruling elites. In an Arab general named Muhammad Qasim conquered Sind, which became part of the Caliph’s domain. Later ( c. thirteenth century) the Turks and Afghans established the Delhi Sultanate.
This was followed by the formation of Sultanates in the Deccan and other parts of the subcontinent; Islam was an acknowledged religion of rulers in several areas. This continued with the establishment of the Mughal Empire in the sixteenth century as well as in many of the regional states that emerged in the eighteenth century. Theoretically, Muslim rulers were to be guided by the ulama, who were expected to ensure that they ruled according to the shari‘a. Clearly, the situation was complicated in the subcontinent, where there were populations that did not subscribe to Islam.
It is in this context that the category of the zimmi, meaning protected (derived from the Arabic word zimma , protection) developed for people who followed revealed scriptures, such as the Jews and Christians, and lived under Muslim rulership. They paid a tax called jizya and gained the right to be protected by Muslims. In India this status was extended to Hindus as well. As you will see (Chapter ), rulers such as the Mughals came to regard themselves as emperors of not just Muslims but of all peoples.
In effect, rulers often adopted a fairly flexible policy towards their subjects. For instance, several rulers gave land endowments and granted tax exemptions to Hindu, Jaina, Zoroastrian, Christian and Jewish religious institutions and also expressed respect and