Description
This book traces how royal dynastic cults and shrine-centred Sufism came together in the imperial cultures
of Timurid Central Asia, Safavid Iran, and Mughal India. By juxtaposing imperial chronicles, paintings, and
architecture with theories of sainthood, apocalyptic treatises, and manuals on astrology and magic, this
book uncovers a pattern of Islamic politics shaped by Sufi and millennial motifs. It shows how alchemical
symbols and astrological rituals enveloped the body of the monarch, casting him as both spiritual guide
and material lord. Uncovering a startling yet widespread phenomenon, it shows how the charismatic pull of
sainthood (wilayat)—rather than the draw of religious law (sharia) or holy war (jihad)—inspired a new style
of sovereignty in Islam.