Mogul

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شاهان مغول Mughal Empire ← 1526–1858 → Capital Delhi and Agra Language(s) Persian (initially also Chagatai; later also Urdu) Government Absolute monarchy, unitary government with federal structure Emperor  - 1526–1530 Babar  - 1530–1539, 1555–1556 Humayun  - 1556–1605 Akbar  - 1605–1627 Jahangir  - 1628–1658 Shah Jahan  - 1659–1707 Aurangzeb History  - Established April 21, 1526 1526  - Ended September 21, 1857 1858 Area 3,000,000 km² (1,158,306 sq mi) Population  - 1700 est. 150,000,000  Currency Rupee

The Mughal Empire (Persian: شاهان مغول Shāhān-e Moġul; self-designation: گوركانى - Gūrkānī)^[1][2] was an Islamic ^[3] imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, ruled most of Hindustan (South Asia) by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century.^[4] The Mughal Emperors were descendants of the Timurids, and at the height of their power around 1700, they controlled most of the Indian Subcontinent — extending from present-day Bangladesh in the east to Balochistan in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri basin in the south.^{[citation needed]} Its population at that time has been estimated as between 110 and 130 million, over a territory of over 4 million km² (1.5 million mi²).^[5]

Following 1725 the empire declined rapidly, weakened by wars of succession, agrarian crises fueling local revolts, the growth of religious intolerance, and British colonialism. The last Emperor, Bahadur Zafar Shah II, whose rule was restricted to the city of Delhi, was imprisoned and exiled by the British after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and his sons and descendents were slaughterd by British.

The "classic period" of the Empire started with the accession of Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, better known as Akbar the Great, in 1556. It ended with the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, although the Empire continued for another 150 years. During this period, the Empire was marked by a highly centralized administration connecting the different regions. All the significant monuments of the Mughals, their most visible legacy, date to this period.

The name Mughal is derived from the original homelands of the Timurids, the Central Asian steppes once conquered by Genghis Khan and hence known as Moghulistan, "Land of Mongols". Although early Mughals spoke the Chagatai language and maintained Turko-Mongol practices, they were essentially Persianized.^[6] They transferred the Persian literary and high culture^[6] to India, thus forming the base for the highly sophisticated Indo-Persian culture^[6].

Early history

The foundation for the Baburids empire was established around the early 1500s by the Timurid prince Babur, when he took control of the Doab and eastern regions of Khorasan, which controlled the fertile Sindh region and the lower valley of the Indus River.^[7] In 1526, Babur defeated the last of the Delhi Sultans, Ibrahim Shah Lodi, at the First Battle of Panipat. To secure his newly founded kingdom, Babur then had to face the Rajput confederacy led by Rana Sanga of Chittor, at the Battle of Khanwa. These early military successes of the Turks, achieved by an army much smaller than its opponents, have been attributed to their cohesion, mobility, horse-mounted archers, and use of artillery.^[8]

Babur's son Humayun succeeded him in 1530 but suffered major reversals at the hands of the Pashtun Sher Shah Suri and effectively lost most of the fledgling empire before it could grow beyond a minor regional state. From 1540 Humayun became a ruler in exile, reaching the Court of the Safavid rule in 1554 while his force still controlled some fortresses and small regions. But when the Pashtuns fell into disarray with the death of Sher Shah Suri, Humayun returned with a mixed army, raised more troops and managed to reconquer Delhi in 1555.

Humayun crossed the rough terrain of the Makran people with his wife, but left behind their infant son Jalaluddin to spare him the rigours of the journey. Akbar, as Jalaluddin would be better known in his later years, was born in the town of sindh in where he was raised by his uncle Askari. There he became an excellent outdoorsman, horseman, and hunter, and learned the arts of war. The resurgent Humayun then conquered the central plateau around Delhi, but months later died in an accident, leaving the realm unsettled and in war.

Historical map of the Mughal Empire.

Akbar succeeded his father on 14 February, 1556, while in the midst of a war against Sikandar Shah Suri for the throne of Delhi. He soon won his eighteenth victory at age 21 or 22. He became known as Akbar, as he was a wise ruler, set fair but steep taxes. He investigated the production in a certain area and taxed inhabitants one-fifth of their agricultural produce. He also set up an efficient bureaucracy and was tolerant of religious differences which softened the resistance by the conquered. He made alliances with Rajputs and appointed Hindu generals and administrators.

Jahangir, the son of Baburid Emperor Akbar ruled the empire from 1605–1627. In October 1627, Shah Jahan, son of Baburid Emperor Jahangir succeeded to the throne, where he inherited a vast and rich empire in India. At mid-century this was perhaps the greatest empire in the world. Shah Jahan commissioned the famous Taj Mahal (1630–1653) in Agra which was built by the Persian architect Ustad Ahmad Lahauri as a tomb for Shah Jahan's wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. By 1700 the empire reached its peak under the leadership of Aurangzeb Alamgir with major parts of present day India and most of Afghanistan under its domain. Aurangzeb was the last of what are now referred to as the Great Turk kings.

Mughal dynasty

The Badshahi Mosque (King's mosque) was built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan

The Mughal Empire was the dominant power in the Indian subcontinent between the mid-16th century and the early 18th century. Founded in 1526, it officially survived until 1858, when it was supplanted by the British Raj. The dynasty is sometimes referred to as the Timurid dynasty as Babur was descended from Timur.

The Mughal dynasty was founded when Babur, hailing from Ferghana, invaded parts of northern India and defeated Ibrahim Shah Lodhi, the ruler of Delhi, at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526. The Mughal Empire superseded the Delhi Sultanate as rulers of northern India. In time, the state thus founded by Babur far exceeded the bounds of the Delhi Sultanate, eventually encompassing a major portion of India and earning the appellation of Empire. A brief interregnum (1540-1555) during the reign of Babur's son, Humayun, saw the rise of the Afghan Suri Dynasty under Sher Shah Suri, a competent and efficient ruler in his own right. However, Sher Shah's untimely death and the military incompetence of his successors enabled Humayun to regain his throne in 1555. However, Humayun died a few months later, and was succeeded by his son, the 13-year-old Akbar.

The greatest portions of Mughal expansion was accomplished during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605). The empire was maintained as the dominant force of the present-day Indian subcontinent for a hundred years further by his successors Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb. The first six emperors, who enjoyed power both ‘’de jure’’ and ‘’de facto’’, are usually referred to by just one name, a title adopted upon his accession by each Emperor. The relevant title is bolded in the list below.

Akbar the Great initiated certain important policies, such as religious liberalism (abolition of the jizya tax), inclusion of Hindus in the affairs of the empire, and political alliance/marriage with the Hindu Rajput caste, that were innovative for his milieu; he also adopted some policies of Sher Shah Suri, such as the division of the empire into sarkars, in his administration of the empire. These policies, which undoubtedly served to maintain the power and stability of the empire, were preserved by his two immediate successors but were discarded by Aurangzeb, who pursued a policy where religious tolerance had little space. Furthermore, Aurangzeb spent nearly his entire career seeking to expand his realm into the Deccan and south India; this venture sapped the resources of the empire while provoking strong resistance from the Marathas, Sikhs of Punjab, and some elements within Hindu Rajputs.

After Aurangzeb's reign, the empire fell into decline. Beginning with Bahadur Shah I, the Mughal Emperors progressively declined in power and became figureheads, being initially controlled by sundry courtiers and later by various rising warlords. In the 18th century, the Empire suffered the depredations of invaders like Nadir Shah of Persia and Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan, who repeatedly sacked Delhi, the Mughal capital. The greater portion of the empire's territories in India passed to the Marathas before falling to the British. In 1803, the blind and powerless Shah Alam II formally accepted the protection of the British East India Company. The British had already begun to refer to the weakened Mughal as "King of Delhi" rather than "Emperor of India", a usage, formalized in 1803, which avoided the uncomfortable implication that the British sovereign was outranked by the Indian monarch. Nonetheles, for a few decades afterwards, the BEIC continued to rule the areas under its control as the nominal servants of the emperor, and in his name. In 1827, even these courtesies were dispensed with. After some rebels in the Sepoy Rebellion declared their allegiance to Shah Alam's descendant, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the British decided to abolish the institution altogether. They deposed the last Mughal Emperor in 1857 and exiled him to Burma, where he died in 1862. Thus came to an end the Mughal dynasty, which had contributed a momentous chapter to the history of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. There are still many Mughal's living in pakistan or India( Hyderabad,Calcutta etc )maybe abraod but are not given much importance than the ones earlier as they are not royal and live as every day people. Most seem to be from a small village in Pakistan called Kakrali.

List of Mughal Emperors

Certain important particulars regarding the Mughal Emperors is tabulated below:

Mughal influence on the Indian Subcontinent

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The Taj Mahal built by the Mughal Empire

A major Mughal contribution to the Indian Subcontinent was their unique architecture. Many great monuments were built by the Muslim emperors during the Mughal era including the Taj Mahal. The Muslim Mughal Dynasty built splendid palaces, tombs, minars and forts that stand today in Delhi, Dhaka , Agra, Jaipur, Lahore, Sheikhupura and many other cities of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.^[9]

The Shalimar Gardens in summer.

His successors, with fewer memories of the Central Asian homeland he pined for, took a less prejudiced view of cultures of the Subcontinent, and became more or less naturalised, absorbing many subcontinental traits and customs along the way. The Mughal period would see a more fruitful blending of Indian, Iranian and Central Asian artistic, intellectual and literary traditions than any other in India's history. The Mughals had a taste for the fine things in life — for beautifully designed artifacts and the enjoyment and appreciation of cultural activities. The Mughals borrowed as much as they gave; both the Hindu and Muslim traditions of the Indian Subcontinent were huge influences on their interpretation of culture and court style. Nevertheless, they introduced many notable changes to societies of the subcontinent and culture, including:^{[citation needed]}

• Centralised government which brought together many smaller kingdoms
• Persian art and culture amalgamated with native Indian art and culture
• Started new trade routes to Arab and Turk lands. Islam was at its very highest
• Mughlai cuisine
• The Urdu language developed from the local language Hindawi by borrowing heavily from Persian and later Arabic and Chaghatai Turkic. Urdu developed as a result of the fusion of the Indian and Islamic cultures during the Mughal period. Modern Hindi which uses Sanskrit-based vocabulary along with loan words from Persian and Arabic, is mutually intelligible with Urdu. The two are sometimes collectively known as Hindustani. This is best exemplified by the language used in Bollywood films and in the major urban settings of the Pakistan.
• A new style of architecture
• Landscape gardening

The remarkable flowering of art and architecture under the Mughals is due to several factors. The empire itself provided a secure framework within which artistic genius could flourish, and it commanded wealth and resources unparalleled in the history of the Subcontinent. The Mughal rulers themselves were extraordinary patrons of art, whose intellectual caliber and cultural outlook was expressed in the most refined taste. Although the Hindustan they once ruled has separated into what is now Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh their influence can still be seen widely today. Tombs of the emperors are spread throughout India and Pakistan. There are 16 million descendants spread throughout the continent and possibly the world.

Alternate meanings

• The alternate spelling of the empire, Mogul, is the source of the modern word mogul.^[10] In popular news jargon, this word denotes a successful business magnate who has built for himself a vast (and often monopolistic) empire in one or more specific industries. The usage is a reference to the expansive and wealthy empire built by the Mughal kings. Rupert Murdoch, for example, is called a news mogul.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mughal Empire

• List of Mughal emperors
• Mughal era (part of the History of South Asia series)
• Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
• List of wars in the Muslim world
• Turco-Persian/Turco-Mongol
• List of the Muslim Empires
• Islamic architecture
• Mughal painting
• Timurid dynasty
• The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period (Book)
• Charlemagne to the Mughals
• Mughal (tribe)

References

Further reading

• Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877 - This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)
• Preston, Diana and Michael; Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire; Walker & Company; ISBN 0802716733.

External links

• Mughal India an interactive experience from the British Museum
• The Mughal Empire from BBC
• Mughal Empire
• The Great Mughals
• Gardens of the Mughal Empire
• Indo-Iranian Socio-Cultural Relations at Past, Present and Future, by M.Reza Pourjafar, Ali
• A. Taghvaee, in Web Journal on Cultural Patrimony (Fabio Maniscalco ed.), vol. 1, January–June 2006
• Adrian Fletcher's Paradoxplace — PHOTOS — Great Mughal Emperors of India
• A Mughal diamond on BBC