1526 A.D. – 1707 A.D.

Babar & the birth of Mughal Empire Babur faced rebellion from his own relatives at the age of 12 when he ascended the throne of Fergana in 1495. He conquered Samarkand two years later, only to lose the city of Fergana soon after. In his attempt to reconquer it, he lost control of Samarkand. Babur formed a partnership with Safavid ruler Ismail I and reconquered parts of central Asia including Samarkand, only to lose again to the Uzbeks. After losing the city for the third time, Babur turned his attention to creating his empire in north India. Babur's victory over Ibrahim Lodi, the last ruler of the Delhi Sultanate in the First Battle of Panipat (1526) paved way for the Mughal rule in India.

Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Babar Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi

Humayun (Insān-i-Kamil) The second Mughal Emperor who ruled over territory of Afghanistan, Pakistan & parts of northern India from 1531–1540 and again from 1555–1556. After coming to power, Humayun had to deal with many problems such as enemity of Bahadur Shah of Gujarat & hostility of his own brothers. In 1540, the Mughal domain came under the control of one of the nobles, Sher Shah Sur. Humayun would spend the next 15 years in exile in Sind, Iran, and then Afghanistan. Sher Shah Suri died in 1545; his son and successor Islam Shah died too, in 1554. These two deaths left the dynasty reeling and disintegrating. This enabled Humayun to recapture Delhi & bring back Mughal rule.

Sher Shah Sher Shah Suri was born as Farid Khan in the present day town of Sasaram in the state of Bihar India. The name Sher (tiger) was conferred upon him when, as a young man, he killed a tiger. He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal army under Babur and then as the governor of Bihar. In 1537, when Babur's son Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Khan overran the state of Bengal and established the Sur dynasty. Sher Shah defeated Humayun & his brothers at Battle of Kannauj & put a temporary break to Mughal rule. Sher Shah also conquered Punjab, Sindh, Gwalior & Malwa.

Sher Shah : A Great Administrator Military : Sher Shah’s army consisted of 25000 infantry, 150000 cavalry & 500 elephants. Army was divided into various units & a ‘Diwan-e-arz’ was appointed as military head. Sher Shah himself paid attention to organization of the army, organization of the army & discipline. He also constructed forts at Delhi, Kannauj & Patna. Administration: Sher Shah classified land based on fertility.1/3 of income was collected as Land tax. For administrative convenience Sher Shah divided his whole empire into 47 divisions called sarkars. He appointed Diwan-i-Wazarat, Diwan-i-Muhtasib etc. to simplify the administration. He reformed the postal system brought new coins Daam & Rupiya into circulations. He also built ‘Grant Trunk Road’ which is one of the oldest & longest in the World.

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri’s Currency

Grant Trunk Road

Akbar (Sultan-i-Adil) Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in India.. Akbar's army, led by Bairam Khan, defeated Hemu and the Sur army on 5 November 1556 at the Second Battle of Panipat. Akbar conquered Malwa, Jaipur, Chittor, Ranathambore, Gujarat & Bengal. Rana Pratap Singh, a Rajput ruler, however, continuously attacked Mughals and was able to retain most of the kingdom. He was later defeated by the Mughals at the Battle of Haldighati in 1576. The remaining states of Kashmir, Sindh, Orissa, Baluchistan, Kandahar were annexed to the Mughal empire.

Maharana Pratap Akbar

Extent of Mughal Empire

Akbar & Religion : Din-e-Ilaahi The Din-i-Ilaahi was a syncretic religion propounded by the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great in 1582 AD, intending to merge the best elements of the religions of his empire. Akbar promoted tolerance of other faiths. He encouraged debate on philosophical and religious issues. Abul fazal was the highest priest of this religion. He repealed the jizya tax in 1568. Piety, prudence, abstinence and kindness were the core virtues of this religion. The slaughter of animals was forbidden. The best elements of Islam, Catholicism, Hinduism & Jainism formed the basis of this religion.

Akbar’s Administration Akbar divided his kingdom into Central government, Provincial government & paraganas. The provinces were called Subhas. He employed Mansabdari system. There were ministers called Vakil, Diwan, Mirabakshi, Khan-i-Jahan and Sadar-i-Sadar. Akbar established many hierarchies in military. He had a properly organized infantry, cavalry, elephant units & cannons. He had a separate department for horses called Daag Mahali. There were other officers like faujadar, Batikchi, an amal gujar, shikdar, amil, potdar & Qanungo. Akbar had an able Police system (Kotwali). Every paragana had a Police Station.

Akbar’s Administration Akbar brought Zabti System in practice. One-third of the average produce was the state share. Land which were continually under cultivation were called polaj. Lands which were fallow for one year were called Parauti. Chachar was land which had been fallow for 3-4 years. Banjar was the barren land. The peasant was given remission in the land revenue if crops failed on account of drought, floods, etc. The amil was to advance money by way of loans to the peasants for seeds, implements, animals, etc. in times of need. He repealed the Jizya tax in 1568. He also abolished pilgrimage tax & other taxes which were not in the interests of the people.

Navaratnas The Mughal ruler Akbar was a great lover of the artists and intellectuals. His passion for knowledge and interest in learning from great minds attracted him to men of genius to his court, known as the nine courtiers of Emperor Akbar or Navratnas. Birbal Faizi Todar Mal Man Singh I Abdul Rahim Khan Fakir Aziao-Din Tansen Mulla Do-Piyaza Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak

Jahangir He revolted in 1599 while Akbar was engaged in the Deccan. Jahangir was defeated, but ultimately succeeded his father as Emperor in 1605 . The first year of Jahangir's reign saw a rebellion organized by his eldest son Khusrau. The rebellion was soon put down. Jahangir built on his father's foundations of excellent administration and his reign was characterized by political stability, a strong economy and impressive cultural achievements. From 1615 to 1618, a British diplomat Sir Thomas Roe served as an ambassador of the East India Company to Mughal Court. A very indisciplined personal life and lack of interest in administration resulted in the fall of Jahangir.

Shah Jahan He inherited a vast and rich empire. Shah Jahan expanded his empire in all directions: he annexed the Rajput kingdoms of Baglana and Bundelkhand to the west. In 1635, he captured the kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda in the Deccan. Shah Jahan also captured petty kingdoms in Kashmir and the Himalayas. Shah Jahan also tried to conquer Central Asia but failed each time. It was at his command that the Taj Mahal was built in Agra in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. His ‘Peacock Throne’ featured precious stones like Ruby embedded in gold. In 1648, he moved his court to the newly constructed capital, Shahjahanabad, at Delhi.

The Peacock Throne

Aurangazeb (Alamgir) Aurangazeb imprisoned Shah Jahan fort of Agra & seized power. Aurangazeb strictly put the principles of Quran into practice. He banned the practice of Sati, music, gambling, alocohols & cultivation of Cannabis. Aurangazeb imprisoned & killed Guru Tegh Bahadur & successfully suppressed the revolts of the Jats, Bundelas & the Sikhs. He reimposed Jizya on non-Muslims. Further, Aurangzeb levied discriminatory taxes on Hindu merchants. He became very unpopular because of forced conversions. Aurangazeb fought with the Maratahas for more than three decades which ultimately resulted in the decline of the Mughal empires.

Trade during Mughal Period Towns & Cities grew rapidly during Mughal rule: Srinagar, Lahore,, Karachi, Ahmadabad, Surat, Bombay, Poona, Goa, Calicut,, Kanchipuram, Madras, Delhi, Agra, Lucknow etc. The coast of Coromandel had become a centre of textile production. It exported fine textiles and silk (patola) to north India, with Burhanpur and Agra as the two nodal points of trade. North India imported luxury items and also exported indigo and food grains. It imported pepper from Malabar. Lahore was center of handicraft production. It was also the distribution center for the luxury products of Kashmir — shawls, carpets, etc. India had trade relations with many European & Asian countries. Items like cotton cloth, silk, pepper, saffron etc. were exported.

Literature Babur & Jahangir were great scholars. They wrote their autobiographies ‘Baburnama’ & ‘Tuzk-e-Jahangiri’. Abul fazal wrote ‘Akbarnama’ & ‘Ain-e-Akbari’. He also translated Panch Tantra (Anwar-i-Sahili). Many books were translated to Persian such as Badauni transalted Ramayana, Raja Todarmal translated Bhagavata Puran & Faizi translated Leelavati. Ramacharimanas was composed by Tulasidas & Surdas composed Sursagar. Many books written in Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Hindi & Sanskrit languages.

Art & Architecture The period of Shah Jahan (1627-1658) witnessed a glorious outburst of activity in the development of architecture. The Mughal rulers built magnificent gates, forts, mausoleums, mosques, palaces, public buildings and tombs etc. A common characteristic of the Mughal buildings is “the pronounced domes, the slender turrets at the corners, the palace halls supported on pillars and the broad/gateways.” During the Mughal period, buildings were constructed mostly of red sandstone and white marble. One of the important distinguishing features of the Mughal buildings is their ornamentation as compared with the simple buildings of the previous Muslim rulers of India.

Jama Masjid, Delhi

Red Fort, Delhi Jodha’s Palace, Fatehpur Sikri

Taj Mahal, Agra

Painting Painting developed as a blending of Persian and Indian ideas. . When Humayun returned to India, he brought with him two accomplished Persian artists, Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad. During Jahangir’s era, Brushwork became finer and the colors lighter. He was also deeply influenced by European painting. Mughal painting flourished during the late 16th and early 17th centuries with spectacular works of art by master artists such as Basawan, Lal, Miskin, Kesu Das, and Daswanth. Govardhan was a noted painter during the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Mughal-style miniature paintings are still being created today by a small number of artists in Rajasthan.

A gift of Mughals to India : Mughalai Cuisine Kashmiri Rogan Josh Kebabs Mughlai Parathas

Mughalai Cuisine Mughlai Chicken Curry