THE GREAT MUGHAL EMPIRE

By: Samra Mustajab

INTRODUCTION:-

The Mughal emperors were members of the Timurid Dynasty who ruled the Mughal Empire in from the early 16th century to the early 18th century. During the 18th century their power rapidly dwindled and, with the establishment of the British Raj, the last of the emperors was deposed in 1857.[1] The dynasty was of central Asian Turco-Mongol origin from the area now part of modern-day Uzbekistan and the emperors claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan and Timur. At their empire's greatest extent in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they controlled much of the Indian subcontinent, extending from Bengal in the east to Kabul & Sindh in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri basin in the south.

GREAT MUGHAL EMPERORS:-

BABUR:-

Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur (14 February 1483 – 26 December 1530) was a conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty in the Indian Subcontinent and became the first Mughal emperor. He was a direct descendant of Timur, from the Barlas clan, through his father, and also a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. Culturally, he was greatly influenced by the Persian culture and this affected both his own actions and those of his successors, giving rise to a significant expansion of the Persianate ethos in the Indian subcontinent.

EARLY YEARS:-

 Bābur’s empire was Turkish in character. Bābur’s father spent his life trying to recover Timur’s old capital of Samarkand, and Bābur followed his footsteps. The qualities needed to succeed in this dynastic warfare were the abilities to inspire loyalty and devotion, to manage the turbulent factions often caused by family feuds, and to draw revenue from the Bābur came from the Barlas tribe of Mongol origin, but isolated members of the tribe considered trading and agricultural classes. Bābur eventually mastered them all, but he was also a commander of genius.In 1504 Bābur seized Kabul with his personal followers, maintaining himself there against all rebellions and intrigues. His last unsuccessful attempt on Samarkand (1511–12) induced him to give up a futile quest and to concentrate on expansion elsewhere. In 1522, when he was already turning his attention to Sindh (Pakistan) and India, he finally secured Kandahār, a strategic site on the road to Sindh. When Bābur made his first raid into India in 1519, the Punjab was part of the dominions of SultanIbrāhīm Lodī of Delhi, but the governor, Dawlat Khan Lodī, resented Ibrāhīm’s attempts to diminish his authority. By 1524 Bābur had invaded the Punjab three more times but was unable to master the tangled course of Punjab and Delhi politics sufficiently enough to achieve a firm foothold. Yet it was clear that the Delhi sultanate was involved in contentious quarreling and ripe for overthrow. After mounting a full-scale attack there, Bābur was recalled by an Uzbek attack on his Kabul kingdom, but a joint request for help from ʿĀlam Khan, Ibrāhīm’s uncle, and Dawlat Khan encouraged Bābur to attempt his fifth, and first successful, raid.

Victories in India:-

Setting out in November 1525, Bābur met Ibrāhīm at Panipat,) north of Delhi, on April 21, 1526. Bābur’s army was estimated 12,000 cavalrymen however Ibrāhīm’s army was said to number 100,000 cavalrymen with 100 elephants, but its tactics were antiquated and it was dissentious. Bābur won the battle by coolness under fire, his use of artillery, and effective Turkish wheeling tactics on a divided, dispirited enemy. Ibrāhīm was killed in battle. Bābur occupied Delhi three days later and reached Agra on May 4. His first action there was to lay out a garden, now known as the Ram Bagh, by the Yamuna (Jumna) River. His small force was surrounded by powerful foes. All down the Ganges (Ganga) River valley were militant Afghan chiefs. To the south were the kingdoms of Malwa and Gujarat, both with extensive resources, while in Rajasthan Rana Sanga of Mewar (Udaipur) was head of a powerful confederacy threatening the whole Muslim position in northern India. Bābur’s first problem was that his own followers, suffering from the heat and disheartened by the hostile surroundings, wished to return home as Timur had done. By employing threats, reproaches, promises, and appeals, vividly described in his memoirs, Bābur diverted them. He then dealt with Rana Sanga, who, when he found that Bābur was not retiring as his Turkish ancestor had done, advanced with an estimated 100,000 horses and 500 elephants. With most of the neighbouring strongholds still held by his foes, Bābur was virtually surrounded. He sought divine favour by abjuring liquor, breaking the wine vessels and pouring the wine down a well. His followers responded both to this act and his stirring exhortations and stood their ground at Khanua, west of Agra, on March 16, 1527. Bābur used his customary tactics—a barrier of wagons for his centre, with gaps for the artillery and for cavalry sallies, and wheeling cavalry charges on the wings. The artillery stampeded the elephants, and the flank charges bewildered the Rajputs (ruling warrior caste), who, after 10 hours, broke, never to rally under a single leader again.

Bābur now had to deal with the defiant Afghans. Other Afghans had rallied to Sultan Ibrāhīm’s brother Maḥmūd Lodī, who had occupied Bihar. There were also Rajput chiefs still defying him, principally the ruler of Chanderi. After capturing that fortress in January 1528, Bābur turned to the east. Crossing the Ganges, he drove the Afghan captor of Lucknow into Bengal. He then turned on Maḥmūd Lodī, whose army was scattered in Bābur’s third great victory, that of the Ghaghara, where that river joins the Ganges, on May 6, 1529.

After Babur fell seriously ill, Humayun, his eldest son, was summoned from his Jagir. He died at the age of 47 on January 5’1531, and was succeeded by Humayun. In accordance with his will, his body was moved to Kabul, Afghanistan there it lies in Bagh-e Babur (Babur Gardens).                   

HUMAYUN:-

Humāyūn, also called Nāṣin al-Dīn Muḥammad   (born March 6, 1508, Kabul[Afghanistan]—died January 1556, Delhi [India]), second Mughal ruler of India, who was more an adventurer than a consolidator of his empire. The son and successor of Bābur, who had founded the Mughal dynasty, Humāyūn ruled from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 to 1556.

VICTORIES OF HUMAYUN:-

Humāyūn inherited the hope rather than the fact of empire, because the Afghans and Rajputs were merely restrained but not reconciled to Mughal supremacy by the Mughal victories at Panipat (1526), Khanua (1527), and the Ghaghara (1529). Bahādur Shah of Gujarat, encouraged by Afghan and Mughal émigrés, challenged the Mughals in Rajasthan, and, although Humāyūn occupied Gujarat in 1535, the danger there ended only with Bahādur’s death in 1537. Meanwhile, an Afghan soldier of fortune, Shēr Shah of Sūr, had consolidated his power in Bihar and Bengal; he defeated Humāyūn at Chausa in 1539 and at Kannauj in 1540, expelling him from India.

Humāyūn became a homeless wanderer, seeking support first in Sindh, then in Marwar, and then in Sindh again; his famous son, Akbar, was born there in 1542. Reaching Iran in 1544, Humāyūn was granted military aid by Shah Ṭahmāsp and went on to conquer (in what is now Afghanistan) Kandahār (1545) and to seize Kabul three times from his own disloyal brother, Kāmrān, the final time being in 1550. Taking advantage of civil wars among the descendants of Shēr Shah, Humāyūn captured Lahore (now in Pakistan) in February 1555, and, after defeating Sikandar Sūr, the rebel Afghan governor of the Punjab, at Sirhind, he recovered Delhi and Agra .

HUMAYUN’S DEATH:-

Humāyūn was fatally injured by falling down the staircase of his library. His tomb in Delhi, built several years after his death, is the first of the great Mughal architectural masterpieces; it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.

AKBAR THE GREAT:-

Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar, known popularly as Akbar  literally "the great"; (14 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), also known as Akbar the Great was Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death. He was the third and one of the greatest rulers of the Mughal Dynasty in India. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in India. A strong personality and a successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include nearly all of the Indian Subcontinent north of the Godavari river. His power and influence, however, extended over the entire country because of Mughal military, political, cultural, and economic dominance.

EXPANDING THE EMPIRE:-

Akbar was a cunning general, and he continued his military expansion throughout his reign. By the time he died, his empire extended to Afghanistan in the north, Sindh in the west, Bengal in the east, and the Godavari River in the south. Akbar’s success in creating his empire was as much a result of his ability to earn the loyalty of his conquered people as it was of his ability to conquer them. He allied himself with the defeated Rajput rulers, and rather than demanding a high “tribute tax” and leaving them to rule their territories unsupervised, he created a system of central government, integrating them into his administration. Akbar was known for rewarding talent, loyalty, and intellect, regardless of ethnic background or religious practice. In addition to compiling an able administration, this practice brought stability to his dynasty.

ADMINISTRATION:-

In 1574 Akbar revised his tax system, separating revenue collection from military administration. Each  governor, was responsible for maintaining order in his region, while a separate tax collector collected property taxes and sent them to the capital. This created checks and balances in each region, since the individuals with the money had no troops, and the troops had no money, and all were dependent on the central government. The central government then doled out fixed salaries to both military and civilian personnel according to rank.

RELIGION:-

Akbar was religiously curious. He regularly participated in the festivals of other faiths, and in 1575 in Fatehpur Sikri. He built a temple (ibadat-khana) where he frequently hosted scholars from other religions, including Hindus, Zoroastrians, Christians, yogis, and Muslims of other sects. He allowed the Jesuits to construct a church at Agra, and discouraged the slaughter of cattle out of respect for Hindu custom. Not everyone appreciated these forays into multiculturalism, however, and many called him a heretic.In 1579, a mazhar, or declaration, was issued that granted Akbar the authority to interpret religious law, superseding the authority of the mullahs. In 1582 he established a new cult, the Din-i-Ilahi (“divine faith”), which combined elements of many religions, including Islam, Hinduism and Zoroastrianism.

PATRONAGE OF ARTS:-

Akbar is known for ushering in the Mughal style of architecture, which combined elements of Islamic, Persian and Hindu design, and sponsored some of the best and brightest minds of the era in his courts at Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri.Some of Akbar's more well-known courtiers are his navaratna, or "nine gems." They served to both advise and entertain Akbar, and included Abul Fazl, Akbar's biographer, who chronicled his reign in the three-volume book "Akbarnama"; Abul Faizi, a poet and scholar as well as Abul Fazl's brother; Miyan Tansen, a singer and musician; Raja Birbal, the court jester; Raja Todar Mal, Akbar minister of finance; Raja Man Singh, a celebrated lieutenant; Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, a poet; and Fagir Aziao-Din and Mullah Do Piaza, who were both advisors.

AKBAR’S DEATH:-

On 3 October 1605, Akbar fell ill with an attack of dysentery, from which he never recovered. He is believed to have died on or about 27 October 1605, after which his body was buried at a mausoleum in Sikandra, Agra.                 

                                        

JEHANGIR:-

Nur-ud-din Mohammad Salim, known by his imperial name Jahangir (30 August 1569 – 7 November 1627), was the fourth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1605 until his death in 1627.Jahangir was the eldest surviving son of Emperor Akbar and was declared successor to his father from an early age.

JEHANGIR’S REIGN:-

The first year of reign saw a rebellion organized by his eldest son, Khusraw; it was soon put down and Jahangir’s renegade son was brought in chains. After subduing and executing nearly 2000 members of the rebellion, he blinded his renegade son of Khusrau.Prince Salim forcefully succeeded to the throne on 3 November,1605. Salim ascended to the throne with the title of Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir Badshah Ghazi.Soon after his ascension to the throne, he had to fend off his son, Prince Khusrau Mirza, when he attempted to claim the throne based on Akbar’s will to become his next heir. Khusrau Mirza was defeated in 1606 and confined in the fort of Agra. As punishment Khusrau Mirza was blinded, and the Sikh Guru Arjan Dev (the fifth Sikh guru) tortured for five days until he disappeared while taking a bath in a river—for giving the then fugitive Khusrau Mirza money when he visited Guru Arjan.It was then when Jahangir considered his third son, Prince Khurram , his favorite. To this end, he enacted Twelve Decrees that are remarkable for their liberalism and foresight. During his reign, there was a significant increase in the size of the Mughal Empire, half a dozen rebellions were crushed, prisoners of war were released, and the work of his father, Akbar, continued to flourish. Jahangir continued to expand the Mughal Emperor though conquests targeted at the people of Assam near the eastern frontier and bring a series of territories controlled by independent rajas in the Himalayan foothills from Kashmir to Bengal. Jahangir would challenge the hegemonic claim over Afghanistan by the Safavid rulers with an eye on Kabul, Peshawar and Kandahar which were important centers of the central Asian trade system that northern India operated within. In 1622, Jahangir would send his son Prince Khurram against the combined forces of Ahmednagar, Bijapur and Golconda. After his victory Khurram would turn against his father and make a bid for power. As with the insurrection of his eldest son Khusraw, Jahangir was able to defeat the challenge from within his family and retain power. Mehr-Un-Nisa or Nur Jahan occupies an important place in the history of Jahangir. She was the widow of a rebel officer, Sher Afghan, of Mughals. The governor of Bengal Qutubuddin Koka who was the emperor’s foster-brother and Sheikh Salim Chishti’s grandson was killed by him and consequently he suffered the same fate at the hands of the guards of the Governor. His widow, Mehr-un-Nisaa, was brought to Agra and placed in—or refused to be placed in—the Royal harem in 1607. Jahangir married her in 1611 and gave her the title of Nur Jahan or “Light of the World”. Jahangir loved his wife so much that he began to mint coins in honor of his wife. Nur Jahan was also not like most elegant-styled women – she occasionally went on hunting tours . Simultaneously, Jahangir lost Kandahar to the Persians. An important conquest/battle was in 1613 when the Portuguese seized the Mughal ship, Rahimi, which had set out from Surat on its way with a large cargo of 100,000 rupees and Pilgrims, who were on their way to Mecca and Medina in order to attend the annual Hajj. Jahangir was outraged by the capture of the ship and the captivity of its crew and guests. The Mughal Emperor Jahangir, ordered the apprehension of all Portuguese within the Mughal Empire, he further confiscated churches that belonged to the Jesuits.He was trying to restore tranquility by visiting Kashmir and Kabul. He went from Kabul to Kashmir but returned to Lahore on account of a severe cold.

JEHANGIR’S DEATH:-

Jahangir died on the way back from Kashmir near Sarai Saadabad in 1627. To preserve his body, the entrails were removed and buried in the Chingus Fort, Kashmir. The body was then transferred to Lahore to be buried in Shahdara Bagh, a suburb ofLahore, Punjab.  Jahangir’s elegant mausoleum is located in the Shahdara locale of Lahore and is a popular tourist attraction in Lahore.

SHAH JAHAN:-

Shahabuddin Muhammad Shah Jahan (  January 1594 – 22 January 1666) was the fifth Mughal Emperor ofIndia. He is also known as Shah Jahan I. He ruled from 1628 until 1658. Born Prince Khurram, he was the son of Emperor Jahangirand his Hindu Rajput wife, Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani (13 May 1573 – 18 April).He was chosen as successor to the throne after the death of his father in 1627. He was considered one of the greatest Mughals. His rule has been called the Golden Age and one of the most prosperous ages of Indian civilization.

EARLY LIFE:-

Shah Jahan was the son of Emperor Jahangir. His name Khurram, which means "joyful" in Persian, was given to him by his grandfather Akbar the Great. Displaying great military skills at an early age against numerous enemies including Mewar, the Lodi in the Deccan, and Kangra, impressed his father so much that Shah Jahan received the title "Shah Jahan Bahadur" from him. He wasn't just a sharp military leader, but also had an exceptional talent for building and proved it by re-designing buildings within the Agra fort. Among many titles he had earned, "The Builder of the Marvels" was one that was about to be proved the most deserving in the time to come.

ADMINISTRATION:-

 Shah Jahan army consisted of 911,400 infantry, musketeers, and artillerymen, and 185,000 Sowars commanded by princes and nobles and were maintained out of the revenues of the Mughal Empire which amounted to 120,071,876,840 dams.During his reign the Marwari horse was introduced becoming Shah Jahan's favorite and various Mughal Cannons were mass-produced in the Jaigarh Fort. Under his rule, the empire became a huge military machine. But due to his measures in the financial and commercial fields, it was a period of general stability—the administration was centralized and court affairs systematized.The Mughal Empire continued to expand moderately during his reign as his sons commanded large armies on different fronts. India became the richest center of the arts, crafts and architecture and some of the best of the architects, artisans, craftsmen, painters and writers of the world resided in his empire.

MUMTAZ MAHAL AND TAJ MAHAL:-

The most significant part of Shah Jahan's life history began in 1607 when he was 15 and was betrothed to Arjumand Banu Begum, the granddaughter of a Persian noble and was just 14 at that time. Khurram bestowed her with the title of Mumtaz Mahal, meaning "Jewel of the Palace".After she died in 1631 while giving birth to their 14th child, Shah Jahan undertook the work of constructing world's most beautiful monument in her memory. This monument, which entombs Mumtaz Mahal as well as Shah Jahan, came to be known as "Taj Mahal", the building of which took 22 years and 22000 laborers.

DEATH OF SHAH JAHAN:-

He was overthrown by a rebellion led by his son Aurangzeb. In 1657, Shah Jahan became ill and was widely reported to have died. The struggle for succession began among his sons, though the real contenders were his eldest son Dara Shukoh and his third son Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb defeated Dara and declared Shah Jahan incompetant to rule. He imprisoned Shah Jahan in Agra Fort where he lived till his death in 1666. Dara was eventually captured and Aurangzeb had him marched back to Delhi in chains and then was publicly executed.

AURANGZEB:-

Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb, (14 October 1618 – 3 March 1707) commonly known as Alamgir by his imperial title ("world-seizer or universe-seizer") was the sixth Mughal Emperor and ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent. His reign lasted for 49 years from 1658 until his death in 1707.Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and during his reign, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent.

AURANGZEB’S REIGN:-

Aurangzeb's 48-year reign is often cited as a "Golden Age" of the Mughal Empire. Although Mughal rulers from Akbar the Great through Shah Jahan practiced a remarkable degree of religious tolerance and were great patrons of the arts, Aurangzeb reversed both of these policies. Both Muslims and Hindus were forbidden to sing, play musical instruments or to dance.Aurangzeb also ordered the destruction of Hindu temples, although the exact number is not known. Aurangzeb expanded Mughal rule both north and south. He did not hesitate to torture and kill prisoners of war, political prisoners, and anyone he considered unIslamic. Aurangzeb imposed ever-higher taxes in order to pay for his wars.The Mughal army was never able to completely quash Hindu resistance in the Deccan, and the Sikhs of the northern Punjab rose up against Aurangzeb repeatedly throughout his reign. Perhaps most worryingly for the Mughal emperor, he relied heavily on Rajput warriors, who by this time formed the backbone of his southern army, and were faithful Hindus. Although they were displeased with his policies, they did not abandon Aurangzeb during his lifetime, but they revolted against his son as soon as the emperor died.

AURANGZEB’S DEATH:-

On February 20, 1707, the 88-year-old Aurangzeb died in central India. He left an empire stretched to the breaking point and riddled with rebellions under his son, Bahadur Shah I, which finally ended when the British sent the last emperor into exile in 1858, and established the British Raj in India.