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      ReOrient

      Volume 5, Issue 2
       
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      Revisiting the History and Historiography of Mughal Pluralism

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      Journal: ReOrient
      Publisher: Pluto Journals
      Keywords: pluralism, Mughal history, ṣulḥ-i kull, Abu al-Fazl, tolerance
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            Abstract

            The concept of ṣulḥ-i kull is well known as a core feature of the Mughal Empire's state ideology, one that made it, comparatively speaking, arguably the most tolerant and inclusive state in the entire early modern world. Often translated as “peace with all,” the term has become almost synonymous in South Asian historiography with the policies of religious pluralism promoted by the dynasty's most celebrated emperor, Jalal al-Din Muhammad Akbar “the Great” (r. 1556–1605) and his famed courtier and biographer, Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak (1551–1602). Surprisingly enough, however, despite its ubiquity in discussions of Mughal attitudes toward religious and cultural pluralism, a comprehensive intellectual history of the term ṣulḥ-i kull does not, in fact, appear to have ever been attempted. It is often taken for granted that ṣulḥ-i kull was the obvious term to express the ethos of civility, universal reason, and inclusiveness that Akbar wanted to promote. But why did Akbar and Abu al-Fazl choose this term, specifically? What exactly did they mean by it? And how was the term actually understood in practice, not just in Akbar's era but also in the subsequent decades and indeed centuries? These are the kinds of questions this article seeks to address.

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            Journal
            Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50009694
            Journal ID (jcode): reorient
            Title: ReOrient
            Publisher: Pluto Journals
            ISSN: 2055-5601
            ISSN: 2055-561X
            Publication date (Print): 1 April 2020
            Volume: 5
            Issue: 2 ( doiID: 10.13169/reorient.5.issue-2 )
            Pages: 137-182
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            Northwestern University, USA
            Article
            Publisher ID: reorient.5.2.0137
            DOI: 10.13169/reorient.5.2.0137
            SO-VID: 9e82fe0e-43b4-49f5-b51f-cb25ecfdfd4f
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            ScienceOpen disciplines: Literary studies,Religious studies & Theology,Social & Behavioral Sciences,History,Philosophy
            Keywords: tolerance,Mughal history,ṣulḥ-i kull,pluralism,Abu al-Fazl

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