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| Jews in the Mughal Empire Following in the wake of the Muslim conquest of North India, Jews from Afghanistan and Persia became courtiers of the Mughal emperors of Agra and Delhi. They became court advisors, poets, and physicians. And of course, some became mystics. One even combined all these roles. Sa’id Sarmad, known as the naked Sufi poet, became the guru to the crown prince and heir apparent to the Peacock Throne – until the prince’s avaricious brother beheaded him. Today, Sarmad is one of the patron saints of Delhi, and his tomb is an important pilgrimage site at Delhi’s fabled Juma Masjid. Who were these obscure Jews so close to the most powerful Court of the day? And who was the enigmatic Sarmad, the naked Jewish fakir who almost ruled an empire? | 
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