‘A Brother’s Portion’: Regifted and Requested Items in Safavid–Mughal Diplomatic Gift Exchanges

Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Safavid and Mughal empires forged a remarkable history of dynastic interaction through the frequent exchange of correspondence and gifts. The ‘regifting’ of luxury objects and exotic goods across physical and cultural boundaries was a common practice in the early modern period. Safavid and Mughal rulers mainly regifted precious items of a rare nature to impress their counterparts. The paper examines the intermediary role of the Safavids in the circulation of objects between India, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire.