Sublime

Every nation has a messenger. Once their messenger has come, judgement will be passed upon them in all fairness and they will not be wronged.

To every people (was sent) a messenger:150 when their messenger comes (before them), the matter will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.

When asked for a decision, Shah Soltan Hosein would tend to agree with whoever approached him last – usually with the words Yakhshi dir (‘It is good’ in the Turkic court language).

Above all, Zafar always put huge emphasis on his role as a protector of the Hindus and the moderator of Muslim demands. He never forgot the central importance of preserving the bond between his Hindu and Muslim subjects, which he always recognised was the central stitching that held his capital city together.

Almost alone of his class, Ghalib had, without leaving the city, survived the cataclysm that destroyed Delhi. But now he had to face the intense loneliness of the sole survivor—a

“The natives all look upon the King of Delhi as their rightful Lord, and so he is, I suppose.”33 As his coronation portrait described him, he was “His Divine Highness, Caliph of the Age, Padshah as Glorious as Jamshed, He who is Surrounded by Hosts of Angels, Shadow of God, Refuge of Islam, Protector of the Mohammedan Religion, Offspring of the Hou