48 HE. D. Maclagan—Jesuit Missions to the Emperor Akbar. [No. 1, 
March, 1578. This priest occupied himself largely in exposing the 
errors of Muhammadanism (which Akbar had not as yet publicly re- 
nounced) and the Emperor was greatly interested and satisfied with 
what he taught him. Weare told, that when the chief Mulla, ‘the 
Sultan of Mecca’! defended his faith, the Emperor rose up and said ‘ May 
God help me! May God help me!’ as though he were not content with 
the Mulla’s defence: and it is recorded that many fruitless discussions 
between the priest and the Mullas were held in his presence. He went 
so far, however, as to ask the priest to teach him Portuguese, so that he 
might the better understand the doctrines of Christianity. The first 
thing he was taught was to pronounce the name of Jesus, and he took 
great pleasure in repeating the word many times. 
About this period, during the year 1578, a Portuguese Embassy 
under Antony Cabral* arrived at the Court, and Akbar made enquiries 
from the members of the embassy regarding the Christian faith. Father 
Perreira, moreover, informed him of the Jesuit missionaries in the College 
of St. Paul at Goa and said that His Majesty would gain much by hear- 
ing what they could tell him of the Christian religion, for they were 
men of more learning than himself. On this Akbar despatched an 
ambassador to the Fathers’ at Goa and accredited him with the following 
firman:— 
(Forman de Zeladin Mahamet Hquebar.) 
Venerable Fathers of the order of St. Paul. Know this that in good 
friendship to you I have sent to you Abdulla my ambassador and Dominic 
Peres* his interpreter to ask you to send me two Fathers well versed in 
letters who shall bring with them the principal books of your faith and the 
Gospels: as I have a great desire to know your faith and its perfection and 
pray you exceedingly that you fail not to send them with these same ambas- 
sadors. For I would have you know that the Fathers who shall come here 
shall be received of me with all honour and I shall take singular pleasure in 
seeing them. After I have been well informed of your faith and its perfec- 
tion, as I wish, they may if they desire return when it seems good to them: 
and I shall send them back with much honour and courtesy. Let them not be 
afraid to come for I shall take them under my own protection.® 
1 No doubt this was Sultan Khwaja ‘Abdul ‘Azim, who had been Mir Hajj, and 
returned from Makka in 1578. See Blochmann, An I. 423. 
2 Antony Cabral had negotiated a treaty at Daman in 1572. (Danvers’ Port. in 
India, 11. 4). Danvers’ book does not however mention any Embassy in 1578. 
3 Du Jarric II 440. Similar letters appear to have been sent to the Viceroy and 
Archbishop also (Annuae Lit. 1582). 
4 Or Pires. Said by Bartoli (p. 9, Missione) to have been an Armenian Chris- 
tian. He married a native wife in 1582 (see p. 57 below) and accompanied the third 
mission (p. 64 below). 
5 Fr. DeSousa adds the date ‘ Decembre 1578.’ 
