The emperors of this dynasty cultivated friendly relations with the Muhammadan princes on their western frontier, and there was a frequent interchange of embassies between them and the Tīmūrid princes. One of these is of interest in the missionary history of Islam, inasmuch as Shāh Rukh Bahādur in 1412 took advantage of the arrival of a Chinese embassy at his court in Samarqand, to include in his answer an invitation to the emperor to embrace Islam. He sent with his envoy, who accompanied the Chinese ambassadors on their return, two letters, the first of which, written in Arabic, was to the following effect:—“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. There is no god save God: Muḥammad is the Apostle of God. The Apostle of God, Muḥammad (peace be on him!) said: ‘There shall not cease to be in my church a people abiding in the commandments of God; whosoever fails to help them or opposes them, shall never prosper, until the commandment of the Lord cometh.’ When the Most High God purposed to create Adam and his race, he said ‘I was a hidden treasure, but it was my pleasure to become known; I therefore created man that I might be known’; It is manifest from hence that the divine purpose (great is His power and exalted is His word!) in the creation of man was to make Himself known and uplift the banners of right guidance and faith. Wherefore He sent His Apostle with guidance and the religion of truth that it might prevail over all other faiths, though the polytheists turn away from it, that he might make known the laws and the ordinances and the observances of what is lawful and unlawful, and He gave him the holy Qurʼān miraculously that thereby he might put to silence the unbelievers and stop their mouths when they discussed and disputed with him, and by His perfect grace and His all-pervading guidance He has caused it to remain even unto the day of judgment. By His power He hath established in all ages and times and in all parts of the world, in east and west, and in China, a mighty monarch, lord of great armies and authority, to administer justice and mercy and spread the wings of peace and security over the heads of men; to enjoin upon them righteousness and warn them against evil and disobedience and lift up among them the banners of the noble religion; and he drives away idolatry and infidelity from among them through belief in the unity of God. The Most High God thus disposeth our hearts by His past mercies and His ensuing grace to strive for the establishing of the laws of pure religion and the continuance of the ordinances of the shining path. He also bids us administer justice to our subjects in all suits and cases in accordance with the religion of the Prophet and the ordinances of the Chosen One, and build mosques and colleges and monasteries and hermitages and places of worship, that the teaching of the sciences and the schools of learning may not cease nor the memorials and injunctions of religion be swept away. Seeing that