The Sun and the Lion

In June 1504, the fleet departing from the port of Hormuz successfully arrived in Goa under the rule of Bijapur, where the envoy from Tabriz landed.

The small boat carrying the envoy slowly docked, and the attendant sent to receive him humbly saluted the envoy, asked him to sit on the shoulder carriage specially prepared for distinguished guests, and went to the palace in Goa surrounded by these Indian entourage.

The palace residence of the Bijapur Sultanate is not in the port of Goa, but in the city of Bijapur. But the Port of Goa also has palaces, gardens and a large mosque. For the Sultan of Bijapur, this important coastal town and the most valuable trading port was his second capital.

Before the Safavid envoys set off, the Bijapur envoys who returned to their homeland first returned to Goa on a warship and reported the good news of the success of their mission to the Sudan who was still inland. When Yusuf learned that the newly recognized sect was going to send an envoy, he put aside other matters and came to Goa to prepare to welcome the envoy from the kingdom.

The messenger sat calmly and looked around at the cityscape of Goa until the attendant who was leading the way reminded him that he was there. He came back to his senses and stepped into the courtyard of the palace. The place was crowded with warriors from all ethnic groups loyal to the sultan. They were lined up. On both sides of the road.

Yusuf Adil Khan sat on the main seat and watched the Safavid envoy walking along the path in front of him. Without waiting for the other party to salute first, he took the initiative to say hello: "Dear envoy from your country, you have worked hard all the way from your country to our country. No discomfort?"

Seeing that the other party was so attentive, the envoy was overjoyed and bowed and said: "Thank you, His Majesty the Sultan, for your concern for foreign ministers. May Huda protect you and your country until the Day of Judgment."

After some polite words, Yusuf took the initiative to get to the point: "According to what our envoy said, the King of Kings agreed to accept the suzerainty over our country and gave me a red hat to show my orthodox belief. Your envoy must be because of this. Those who came to visit our country under orders.”

The messenger nodded in affirmation: "Yes, respected Sultan, the foreign minister has been ordered to bring you the documents, the red hat and some other gifts given to you by our Lord, and to discuss with you on several issues."

Yusuf immediately became solemn and said, "I don't know if your envoy has anything important to discuss with me. Please tell me quickly."

As for Red Hat, he has long been a Shia. He made this request just to see Ibrahim's attitude towards him. If he doesn't give it to Red Hat, it means he still has some doubts about him. Yusuf is not surprised that the gift is so generous now. After all, Shia monarchs are a minority in the world today, and it is not unreasonable for them to take someone of their kind seriously.

When the messenger saw that Yusuf was so concerned about what he wanted to discuss, he went with the flow and simply discussed with him first: "You must know that a group of pagans broke into the sea recently. They drove ships to bring destruction and turmoil everywhere, and blasphemed everyone's Belief."

"I have heard what you have said. The atrocities committed by these pagans are outraged by both men and gods. However, it is said that Calicut Zamorin in the south has sent troops to attack Cochin, which harbors these pirates. I think these pirates will not be able to survive for long. "Youssef is a little disapproving of this issue. These Portuguese have not yet made trouble in his territory, and besides, there are still people who are supporting them now.

"Your Majesty, we cannot tolerate these pirates, nor can we underestimate them. The King of Kings has received reliable information that these pirates were sent by a pagan monarch with all his might to defeat or even destroy the pagans in Cochin. There will also be more enemy warships near the coast in the future, and all Catholics who own a coast must be prepared to defend them for a long time."

The envoy also cited the Crusade movement three to four hundred years ago to illustrate that pagans would not give up easily on their identified goals. This was a new extension of the Crusade movement: “The Sultans of Egypt and the Levant were trying to expel these pagans. The believers have been using it for two hundred years, and we should also have this awareness now."

In the end, Yusuf finally began to take it seriously. He had no intention of easing negotiations with these pagans yet. After all, blocking the pilgrimage road and massacring pilgrims made him unable to accept the existence of these Portuguese. The war situation has not yet developed to the point where the Portuguese were forced to admit coexistence or even surrender.

Since such a dirty existence is likely to operate in the Indian Ocean for a long time, he has to carefully consider how to prevent it, especially a prosperous trading port like Goa, which is likely to arouse the covetousness of pagans.

"So, what can your country do about this matter, and what do you want to talk to me about?"

The messenger then told Ibrahim's plan: "The King of Kings wants you to allow our country to repair fortifications in Goa and surrounding areas, and to allow our troops to be stationed in these fortifications."

Yusuf never expected that the other party would directly ask to garrison troops in this critical place. Find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com He was quite worried about this: "I would like to thank the King of Kings of your country for your kindness, but... …”

He hesitated for a moment but didn't say the last half of the sentence.

The envoy persuaded: "Dear Sultan, since you are willing to be my lord's vassal, the King of Kings needs to shoulder the obligation to protect the vassals. As far as the foreign minister knows, there is currently no fleet in the entire Indian Ocean. How many rupees and time do you think you can spend to build a fleet if you can defeat these pagans? It is better to accept the protection of the King of Kings, so that you can save money and the trade of Goa will not be disturbed or even cut off. For you It’s very beneficial financially.”

The envoy then offered preferential terms to win over him, including that royal merchants could provide him with horses at special prices in Goa and send missionaries to help him spread the Shia faith. The Safavid army stationed in Goa could also help train Bijapur's army, giving them an advantage against Vijayanagar and other Deccan sultanates.

Of course, in contrast, Bijapur also had to give some concessions to the Safavids, the most important of which was allowing the Safavid court to station a consul in Goa and a permanent ambassador in the palace, and granting Iranian merchants trade privileges - charging The commercial tax and parking fees shall not be higher than three-quarters of those of merchants from other countries, and all categories of goods are allowed to be sold regardless of any government decree.

After hearing these conditions, Yusuf, who was not under immediate threat at the moment, continued to hesitate and responded to the envoy: "As for this condition, we can wait a few days to discuss it. Now that your envoy is tired from traveling, he still needs to have a good rest. , not suitable for a long conversation..."

The envoy knew that the other party needed time to think about it, so instead of pressing forward, he changed the subject and showed the Sultan of Bijapur the gifts brought by the envoy.