1. Chapter 7: Section 3
The Mughal Empire

2. India’s Geography India falls into three distinct geographic regions:
The Himalayas: the highest mountains in the world and a perfect natural barrier to foreign invasion
The fertile plains of Northern India: includes the Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Indus rivers and includes some of the richest farmland in the world
The Deccan (southern plateau): separated from the north by the Vindhya mountains; terrain is mountainous and contains numerous rivers
Geographic regions of India led political divisions
Sultan Mahmud captured several Indian cities and set up a new government
Both Hindu and Muslim states wanted to control the rich agricultural land near the Ganges and Indus rivers

3. Founders of the Mughal Empire
The greatest of the Muslim states was the Sultanate of Delhi
Conquered by a Muslim Turk named Babur and established the Mughal Empire
Related to Genghis Khan on his mother’s side
His empire was called the Mughal, from the Persian-Indian word for Mongol
A wise and kind leader and well-educated
Wrote about the Indian world he had conquered- its people, animals, landscapes, and customs
Babur’s grandson, Akbar reigned for 49 years and is remembered as the greatest Mughal emperor
Empire expanded during his rule which started when he was only 13 years old
Greatest political accomplishments were bringing Hindus into the government of the empire and reforming the empire’s unfair tax system
Divided the empire into provinces and set up a civil service system to manage its lands
Had a great deal of power, but was limited by the power of the nobles, of the cities, and of the army
Developed his own religion for the state
Conflicts between religions prompted him to find a new combination of all the relgions known to him

4. Inheritors of the Empire
The Mughal Empire continued to grow in size and splendor as Akbar’s successors followed his policies
Akbar’s eldest son Jahangir inherited the throne
Continued to expand the empire and sponsored the repair and rebuilding of schools and monasteries
Married a Persian woman named Mehrunissa, meaning “Light of the World”
During these years, some upper class women studied the arts and sciences; although most women generally concentrated on the domestic world, including spinning and weaving
Jahangir’s son, Shah Jahan is known as the largest Mughal spender and builder
Poured huge amounts of money into construction projects in Delhi, which he named the capital
Brought Mughal laws into closer agreement with some aspects of Muslim law
The empire’s income doubled
Had the Taj Mahal built- reflects the Mughal style of architecture

5. End of the Empire
Shrinking resources, loss of control, and growing disorder reduced the Mughal Empire in size
The last ruler reinstated the jizya, the tax on non-Muslims
Also prohibited the building of new Hindu temples causing many Hindus to rebel
Successive rulers continued to lose land, but the final blow came from European invaders drawn to its pepper, spices, and fine cotton textiles
In the 1700s, a trading company from Great Britain took over the government of an Indian province and forced the last Mughal emperor from the throne in 1858