Mughal Empire under the rule of Babur At the age of 14, Babur inherited the kingdom in the area that is now Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The year was 1494 and soon after he got the kingdom, his elders took it away.

Babur had to move south while doing so, built an army. In the following years, he swept south down into India and laid the foundation for the vast Mughal empire.

Babur was a great military general. He once won a battle against the sultan of Delhi who had 100,000 when he only had 12,000 soldiers. After his death, his incompetent son took over control and lost most of the empire his father had gained. His grandson, Akbar, took over control after his father passed away.

Mughal Empire under the rule of Akbar Akbar which means “Greatest One”, ruled from Akbar- military power was the root of his strength.

Just like the Safavids and Ottomans did, Akbar equipped his troops with heavy artillery. He used cannons to take on cities with walls to expand into the Deccan Plateau area.

He appointed some rajputs as officers which helped him turn potential enemies into allies. This military and political wisdom allowed Akbar to unify a land of around 100 million people. More than all of Europe combined.

Religion under Akbar Akbar was a Muslim who practiced religious freedom. He allowed his wives to practice whatever religion they desired. He married two Hindus, a Christian and a Muslim.

He abolished taxes on the Hindu pilgrims and the tax on non- Muslims known as the jizya. He even appointed a Spanish Jesuit to tutor his second son.

Government under Akbar He ruled through a bureaucracy of officials. Everyone could rise to a high office in government including Natives, Hindus, Muslims and foreigners. This type of policy allowed for a high quality of government.

His chief finance minister was Hindu; created a graduated tax system very similar to the one the U.S. uses today. It was based off the crops the peasants grew.

He gave land to his bureaucrats but when they died, he took it back and redistributed as he saw fit. Therefore, the officials saw no point in devoting themselves to the land.

Culture As the empire expanded, many cultures had influences such as art, education, politics, and language. Persian was the language of the courts and high culture but Hindi was the language of the common people.

Hindi is a mixture of Persian and local languages. Urdu was the language of the soldiers and is now the official language of Pakistan today. Urdu is a mixture of Arabic, Hindi and Persian languages.

Arts & Literature The arts flourished in the Mughal court in the form of book illustrations. These were called miniatures which were small, highly detailed paintings.

Literature also enjoyed a revival under the reign of Akbar. Poets told stories and the epic story Ramayana was written. (Close to the Iliad, Hindu version)

Architecture Akbar loved architecture and the style developed under his rule is still known as Akbar period architecture. The stonework is massive and portrays Hindu themes.

The capital city of Fatehpur Sikri is the best example of this type of architecture. He had this red sandstone city built to thank a holy man for predicting the birth of his first son.