A Mughal prince lost Ottoman support through courtly discourtesy toward the Sultan.

Evidence

The Mughal prince seems to have made a bad impression at the Turkish court. Naima describes him as boastful, arrogant, and discourteous. Full of pride at his own royal descent he failed to comply with the ceremonial of the Ottoman court and was even so tactless as to brag of his ancestor Timur—not very wise on the part of a Timurid guest of an Ottoman Sultan. When he was given a sum of money for his expenses he distributed it, as soon as he came out of the audience, among the porters and guards. As a result of these acts of discourtesy the Sultan ceased to rise from his seat when the prince called on him, and eventually stopped receiving him altogether. Baysunkur, however, went on de­ manding an army from the Sultan, to win him the throne of India. The Sultan was not interested. His relations with Shah Jehan, he said, were good, and the Mughal Emperor had already sent him two embassies, with gifts and protesta­ tions of friendship. In any case such an expedition, to so remote a country, would be enormously difficult, and even if one could be sent, it would be wasted effort. Baysunkur’s incapacity was well known even if an Ottoman army placed him on his throne, he would soon lose it through his own folly. Eventually Baysunkur gave up hope of winning Turkish support and left the country. “What became of him is not known for certain,” says Naima, “but some say he became a dervish.” — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 604

Categorization

• SHARE: Someone interested in cross-cultural etiquette and diplomatic protocol would enjoy this example of how ceremonial failure in one court cost a claimant his foreign backing.