Why were Muslim leaders in the Indian Subcontinent and Aceh willing to acknowledge Ottoman authority?

by kaykhosrow

I read the Ottoman Age of Exploration a few months back and decided to reread a few sections.

Some sections said that the Ottoman Sultan's name would be read out before prayers in the mosque. Another part of the book quotes the rulers of Aceh practically begging to be made part of the Ottoman empire.

So what's the deal with this? Why not just ask for an alliance, seeing how the Ottomans were so far away?

Axiom292

Different reasons:

  • Military and technological support (Aceh)
  • Obtaining legitimacy as an independent ruler (Tipu Sultan of Mysore)
  • Protection from foreign powers (Portuguese and Dutch for Aceh, British for Mysore), invoking the Caliph's responsibility to protect Muslims
  • Establishment of trade relations
  • Pan-Islamism: Religio-political unity and loyalty

The traditional mentioning of a ruler's name in the khutbah (Friday sermon) was a sign of the community's wider allegiance. Lambourn writes regarding Muslim communities in the Indian Ocean:

While a common sense of Sunni belonging was frequently expressed via the inclusion of the name of the Caliph in these khutbas, it was the inclusion of the name of a contemporary Muslim ruler alongside this that allowed communities to construct new and qualitatively different types of network. Whereas the da'wat al-sultān within Islamic polities was tightly bound to actual territorial rule, among these autonomous mercantile communities the mention of the name of a contemporary Muslim ruler in the khutba formalized a relationship of allegiance (tā'a) between each local Muslim community and a specific Islamic polity. From the evidence available so far these networks appear to have been constituted essentially along politico-economic lines, forging and maintaining favored trading relations between parties.

[..]

The second part of this study moves on to the sixteenth century and the question of the use of the Ottoman Caliph’s name in the khutba of various Islamic polities and autonomous communities in the Indian Ocean at this period. In particular, this study discusses a complex, hybrid document from the Ottoman archives known as T.S.M.A. E.8009, which maps a number of such networks in south India, Sri Lanka, and Sumatra during the mid-1560s. Through the study of this and other documents, this analysis suggests that the Indian Ocean’s khutba networks were transformed beyond recognition as superior Ottoman military technology and Ottoman claims of universal Caliphal authority changed the relationship between parties into a barter of khutba for cannon with which to confront the recent European entry into the Indian Ocean.

The document mentioned is a letter from the Sultan of Aceh requesting vassal status from the Ottoman Sultan.

As for in the Indian subcontinent, khutbas were usually given in the name of the Mughal Emperor as a show of allegiance by local princes. Tipu Sultan was the only Indian ruler to actually seek investiture from the Ottomans, which he did in order to gain legitimacy as an independent monarch after failing to receive recognition from the Mughal court. Tipu's recognition as an independent king by the Ottoman Caliph gave his rule legitimacy, because as Caliph the Ottoman Sultan was regarded by Muslims worldwide as their political and religious head. Additionally with his allegiance to the Ottomans Tipu hoped to secure military and political support against his enemies - the British. Later, as the as the Mughal Empire declined, more Indian Muslims began reading the khutbah in the Ottoman Caliph's name.