An ambassador from England in Ajmer

AFTER MANY FRUSTRATING months of waiting and much travelling to follow him from place to place, the English diplomat Thomas Roe (c 1581 – 1644) finally got an audience with the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Roe had been sent to India by King James I to establish a formal trading relationship.

Roe meeting Jahangir

 The meeting took place in the Mughal fort in Ajmer in 1618. At first, he had to communicate with the Emperor from outside the fort. Eventually, he was granted an audience with Jahangir within the fort. The meeting took place in the Diwan-i-Khas, the structure within the fort, where audiences were granted to important persons. The result of Roe’s meetings with Jahangir was an agreement that the British East India Company would have exclusive rights to establish factories (trading establishments) in Surat and other places.

 Yesterday (30th November 2024), we visited the Diwan-i-Khas in which Roe had discussions with Jahangir. The fort is well-preserved and now serves as a museum. The rooms in the fort house collections of sculptures, coins  paintings, inscriptions, weapons, and textiles. The museum is simply laid out, and the exhibits are lit well.

It was curiously moving to visit the place in which Roe met Jahangir. I am not sure why we felt that way, but maybe it was because we had previously read about Thomas Roe and his exploits in India.