محمد زین العابدین

Iran-India relations are deeply rooted in history,going back to the onset of Indo-migration. Based on the policy of neighborhood, their relationshipgrew smoothly in the spheres of commerce and tradeand thentheir cultural relations and exchangesforged. Thecommercial convergence and cultural similarities between two nations extendedthroughout the Islamic age, followed by the Muslimization of Iran and some parts of the western and southern India. However, the promotion of their relationships can be seenthroughout the relations of the Safavids with the Bāberiyān and Shi’a-ruled states in south Indiasuch asBahmani, Adil Shāhī and Qutb Shāhī and particularlyNīzām Shāhī.It seems that The Shi’areligion have greatly affected these governments to be closer to the Safavids in Iran as aShi’a-ruled state. According to the research sources, the growth of Shi’a-ruled states throughout India began in the 8th century and reached its peak in the 13th century. These states emerged in some areas such as Kashmir, southern India, Awadh and Bengal. The factors behind the spread of Shi’as throughout India have been the presence of Iranian Shi’a Muslim scholars and businesspersons and the propaganda of Shia missionaries. However, not only didthese Shi’as, especially Nīzām Shāhī dynastyshare the religious similarities with Safavids, but also they were considered one of the significant trading partners of this state, who was knownas the main economic, political and religioussponsor of Shi’a-ruled states and Nīzām Shāhī in India in this period. This study aims to investigate the elements affecting the relationships between the Safavids and the Nīzām Shāhīsconsidering the political developments of thisDynasty.“Which factors have created huge impacts on the interpersonal growth of relations between two governments” and “how much impressionsthese relations have had on the political policies of Nīzām Shāhī Dynasty?”To explorethe raised questions, this papertries to hypothesizethe Shi’a-ruled states like the Nīzām Shāhī dynastyin South India have been given the supportof Safavid dynastyin the economic, political and cultural spheres for antagonism towards the Sunnislike the Bāboriyānsin India. Ultimately, what brought about the overthrow of the Shi’a-ruled statesin southern India, such as the Nīzām Shāhī dynasty was that the increased Bāboriyāns’power in northern India had been simultaneous with the vicissitudes of Safavids’ power in Iran. This researchin a descriptive-analytic method has used original library resources.