The Mughals as a Buddhist or Christian dynasty

[VVD0D95]

So, was mulling over the Mughals again, and a thought came to my mind, as far as I know Hinduism doesn’t have the same desire to brig in converts as some other religions (please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.) so I’m unsure if the Mughals or more broadly the timurids would consider converting to Hinduism. But I know loosely that both Christianity and Buddhism did hold some influence over their regions of influence at some point.

so I guess my question is, what consequences would there be to thr Mughals either embracing Buddhism or Christianity durinf the esrlt days of their existence (perhsos from timur onwards?) is ir feasible or am I barking up the wrong tree?

 

[Kaushlendra pratap singh]

same desire to brig in converts as some other religions (please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.)

The whole clan can be converted and established into caste system and you can become hindu.
If some people of same caste accept you as there part you can be become hindu.
Or shudhikaran is known mathod to convert into Hinduism .

Netaji Palkar - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Netaji palkar a supreme commander of Maratha Empire in time of Shivaji converted into muslim religion in captivity after escaping reconvert into Hinduism and accepted by his caste people.

 

[VVD0D95]

The whole clan can be converted and established into caste system and you can become hindu.
If some people of same caste accept you as there part you can be become hindu.
Or shudhikaran is known mathod to convert into Hinduism .

Netaji Palkar - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Netaji palkar a supreme commander of Maratha Empire in time of Shivaji converted into muslim religion in captivity after escaping reconvert into Hinduism and accepted by his caste people.

The whole clan can be converted and established into caste system and you can become hindu.
If some people of same caste accept you as there part you can be become hindu.
Or shudhikaran is known mathod to convert into Hinduism .

Netaji Palkar - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Netaji palkar a supreme commander of Maratha Empire in time of Shivaji converted into muslim religion in captivity after escaping reconvert into Hinduism and accepted by his caste people.

Interesring

 

[Beacon]

(please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.)

Hinduism consists of wide-ranging set of beliefs. Some sects of hinduism try in converting people to their beliefs, while others don't bother. Arya Samaj is an example of the former, while Brahmo Samaj is an example of the latter. And these are just two sects out of many.

 

[VVD0D95]

Hinduism consists of wide-ranging set of beliefs. Some sects of hinduism try in converting people to their beliefs, while others don't bother. Arya Samaj is an example of the former, while Brahmo Samaj is an example of the latter. And these are just two sects out of many.

Indeed that is true

 

[Gopu]

So, was mulling over the Mughals again, and a thought came to my mind, as far as I know Hinduism doesn’t have the same desire to brig in converts as some other religions (please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.) so I’m unsure if the Mughals or more broadly the timurids would consider converting to Hinduism. But I know loosely that both Christianity and Buddhism did hold some influence over their regions of influence at some point.

so I guess my question is, what consequences would there be to thr Mughals either embracing Buddhism or Christianity durinf the esrlt days of their existence (perhsos from timur onwards?) is ir feasible or am I barking up the wrong tree?

South Indian Vaishnava and Shaiva sects were actively involved in converting Buddhist and Jain populations to hinduism. Gaudiya Vaishnavas of Chaitanya were also involved in missionary works in Bengal, Orissa and as far into North East India .

 

[VVD0D95]

South Indian Vaishnava and Shaiva sects were actively involved in converting Buddhist and Jain populations to hinduism. Gaudiya Vaishnavas of Chaitanya were also involved in missionary works in Bengal, Orissa and as far into North East India .

Indeed that's true, though there doesn't seem to have been an active effort beyond India no?

 

[Gopu]

Indeed that's true, though there doesn't seem to have been an active effort beyond India no?

Well Hinduism did spread to south east Asia. Till 15th century, Indonesia, Champa, Combodia all were ruled by Hindu monarchs.

 

[VVD0D95]

Well Hinduism did spread to south east Asia. Till 15th century, Indonesia, Champa, Combodia all were ruled by Hindu monarchs.

Indeed that’s true

 

[Madhukar_Shah]

so I guess my question is, what consequences would there be to thr Mughals either embracing Buddhism or Christianity durinf the esrlt days of their existence (perhsos from timur onwards?) is ir feasible or am I barking up the wrong tree?

To go back to the original question though, by Timur it's already possibly too late for a switch to Buddhism or Christianity while in turan- I think you'd need to keep the whole Chagatai Khanate more pluralist religiously, perhaps by keeping Yuan influence stronger in the region. This gets you a Chagatai khanate which is more based on the corporate rule of the entire Mongol aristocracy rather than the absolutist rule of the sultan, and if there's a Buddhist tradition, it'd mean they already have strong sanskrit traditions, but might make them more polemically biased against Hindu philosophies, as these are generally less compatible with Buddhism than Sufism. Of course that butterflies the timurids, but a Mongol leader establishing himself in India is still not crazy.

For the same situation with Christianity, I think you'd need all three western khanates to go Christian, which is a tall order with a pod after the late 13th century.

 

[Cregan]

By the time the Mughal dynasty is established by Babur, it is way too late for them to adopt another religion. There is little to no benefit in them doing so, Babur himself was a devoted Muslim as were the top Mughal generals, warriors and administrators, and if they did convert they would be swiftly overthrown by their Muslim Persianate Turco-Mongol or Afghan rivals. It wasn't the right milieu for conversion.

If you want a POD going back earlier, than it wouldn't be the Timurid-Gurkani-Mughal dynasty as we know it. Islam (among other things) is a foundational part of their identity.

If you want to go back even earlier to the founding of the Timurid dynasty by Timur, it still isn't the right milieu for conversion. If Timur converted from Islam, he would not get very far in his career and would be swiftly destroyed by his Muslim Persianate Turco-Mongol rivals as well. The Timurid Empire would never rise to power in this scenario.

Any further back than that, and there are no Timurids full stop.

You'd probably have to have a more anti-Islamic Chagatai Khanate that actually managed to defeat the Delhi Sultanate ITTL (rather than their repeated failures IOTL) and conquered North India for this scenario to somehow occur.

 

[VVD0D95]

To go back to the original question though, by Timur it's already possibly too late for a switch to Buddhism or Christianity while in turan- I think you'd need to keep the whole Chagatai Khanate more pluralist religiously, perhaps by keeping Yuan influence stronger in the region. This gets you a Chagatai khanate which is more based on the corporate rule of the entire Mongol aristocracy rather than the absolutist rule of the sultan, and if there's a Buddhist tradition, it'd mean they already have strong sanskrit traditions, but might make them more polemically biased against Hindu philosophies, as these are generally less compatible with Buddhism than Sufism. Of course that butterflies the timurids, but a Mongol leader establishing himself in India is still not crazy.

For the same situation with Christianity, I think you'd need all three western khanates to go Christian, which is a tall order with a pod after the late 13th century.

Mongol northern India would be fascinating I think