
Before 1890s, the prosperity and upkeep of the Haramain (Mecca & Medina) and Hejaz largely depended on the Indian Muslims. Henceforth, the Ottomans referred to the Hajj as mevsim-i Hindî (“the Indian season”). The largest & most lavish grants & endowments came from Indian Muslim monarchs and aristocrats. For instance, the Muzaffarids sultanate (just 1 out of 8 or 9 sultanates in India) used to remit 70,000 misqals of gold annually. This sum equalled the annual revenue of the Republic of Genoa, a third of the net annual revenue of Venice at its peak, and amounted to nearly 3.5% of the total annual revenue of the Ottoman Empire. (scroll below for sources)









