Mughal Empire

Babur (1526 – 1530)

• Mughal Empire was founded by Babar
• 1^st battle of Panipat (21^st April 1526)

• B/w Babur & Ibrahim Lodi
• Lodi was Killed
• Babur occupied Delhi

• Babar sent his son Humayu to seize Agra; & claimed himself “Emperor of Hindustan”.
• Battle of Khanua (Near Agra → 1527)

• Babur V/S Rana Sanga of Mewar
• Babur won the battle & assumed the title of Ghazi

• Babur wrote his memoirs in Tuzuk – i – Baburi in Turki language & died in 1530.

Humayu (1530 – 1540)

• Eldest son of Babur; means fortunate but was most unfortunate ruler of Mughal empire
• Gave Kabul & Kandhar to Kamran; Sambhal to Aksari & Alwar to Hindal (All 3 his brothers)
• Humayun → Busy fighting with Afgans (Sher khan / Sher shah) in east, got the news that Bahadur shah of Gujrat was advancing towards Delhi → Hence made treaty with Sher Shah.
• Humayu captured Gujrat from Bahadur shah & made Aksari its governor, but soon Bahadur shah recovered it from Aksari who fled from their

Battle of Chausa (1539)

• Between Humayu & Sher Shah
• Sher Shah destroyed Mughal army
• Humayu fled from there

Battle of Kannauj or Bilgram (1540)

• Between Humayu & Sher Shah
• Brothers’ dint supported Humayu, hence he fought alone.
• Humayu was thoroughly defeated by Sher shah.
• Result → Humayu became exile for next 15 years. 

Sur interregnum (1540 – 1555)

• Founded by Sher Shah; became ruler of Delhi in 1540
• Formed 4 ministries for central administration viz.

• Diwan – i – Wazirat → Headed by Wazir (Incharge of finance & revenue)
• Diwan – i – Ariz → Headed by Military Incharge
• Diwan – i – Rasalat → Headed by Foreign minister.
• Diwan – i – Insha → Headed by Communication minister.

Administration

• Sher Shah empire was divided in 47 Sarkars with

• Chief Shiqdar to maintain law & order in each sarkar.
• Chief Munsif as Judge in each Sarkar

• Each Sarkar was divided into Parganas with each pargana consisted of

• Shiqdars → Military officer
• Amin → Land revenue officer
• Fotedar → Treasurer
• Karkuns → Accountant

Architecture

• Introduced new silver coins called ‘Dam’ which were in circulation till 1835.
• Laid foundation of 4 important highways & constituted rest houses alongside highways viz.

• Sonargaon to Sind
• Agra to Burhampur
• Jodhpur to Chittor
• Lahore to Multan

• Built a new city on banks of river Yamuna near Delhi (Purana quila & its mosque are remains of the same)
• Built Mausoleum at Sasaram → Considered one of the masterpiece of Indian Architecture
• Patronized Malik Muhammad Jayasi who wrote famous Hindi work Padmavat during his reign.

Humayun (1555 – 1556)

• Humayun defeated Afgans in 1555
• Died in 1556 after falling from the staircase of his library 

Akbar (1556 – 1605)

• During 1^st five years of Akbars reign, Bairam khan acted as his regent & consolidated Mughal empire
• 2^nd battle of Panipat

• Between Akbar & Hemu (Commander of Afgans)
• Akbar emerged victorious with the help of Bairam Khan

• Akbar married Rajput princess Jodha, daughter of Raja Bhairomal of Amber
• This marriage became a turning point in the history of Mughals, as Rajputs supported them now
• Many Rajputs like Raja Man Singh & Raja Bhagwan Das were given senior position in Akbar’s court.
• Battle of Haldighati, 1576

• Between Akbar and Maharana Pratap of Mewar
• Mughals under the leadership of Raja Man Singh defeated Rana Pratap of Mewar

• Akbar was very tolerant towards religious policies → abolished pilgrim tax & later Jiziya
• He formed a strong alliance b/w Mughals & Rajputs which ensured peace in Rajasthan & Northern India

Akbars’ Religious Touch

• Early contact with Sufi saints
• Teachings from his teacher Abdul Latif
• His marriage with Rajput princess
• His association with intellectual giant like Shaikh Mubarak & his 2 sons – Abul Faizi & Abul Fazal
• After marrying Jodha Bai, he abolished pilgrimage tax & Jiziga
• Allowed his Hindu wife to worship her own God
• He was a pious Muslim in his early life but later became a skeptic one
• Constructed Ibadat Khana (house of worship where scholars from all religion meet to discuss religious policies) at his new capital Fatehpur sikri
• Invited learned scholars from all religions to discuss religious policies
• Disliked the interference of Muslim Ulemas in political matters
• In 1579, He issued infallibility decree & asserted his religious powers
• In 1582, he promulgated a new religion “Din – i – Ilahi” or divine faith in one God
• Din – i – Ilahi contained good points of all the religions & uphold no dogma
• Din – i – Ilahi mainly aimed to bridge gap b/w all religions (Only 15 followers joined including Birbal)

Akbars’ Land Revenue system

• Land revenue system of Akbar was known as Zabti / Bandobast system
• Further modified by Raja Todarmal, now known as Dahsala system which included

• Measurement of land
• Revenue fixed on average yield of last 10 years
• Land divided into four categories viz.

Mansabdari system of Akbar

• Under this system, every officer was assigned a Rank (Mansab)
• Lowest officer got 10 coins & highest officers (Nobles) got 5000 coins for their services
• Includes all public services except Judiciary
• Ranks were divided into 2 categories, namely

• Zat → Described the personal status of a person
• Sawar → Number of cavalry man a person is required to maintain

Jahangir (1605 – 1627)

• Prince Salim succeeded the throne with the title Jahangir (Conqueror of the world)
• Witness rebellions from his son Khusaro, but was defeated & imprisoned
• Beheaded 5^th Sikh Guru Arjun dev
• In 1611, Married Mehrunnisa (Nurjaha → Light of the world)
• Wrote his Autobiography → Tuzuk – i – Jahagiri

Shahjaha (1627 – 1658)

• Married Mumtaj (Banu Begum)
• Conquered Deccan (Bijapur & Golkunda and put it under the leadership of his son Aurangzeb)
• Later, Aurangzeb killed his 3 brothers & confined Shahjaha to female apartments in Agra fort.
• Though Aurangzeb never ill-treated Shahjaha

Aurangzeb (1658 – 1707)

• Assumed the title Alamgir (or World Conqueror)
• To contain Marathas (Shivaji), he attacked Golkunda & Bijapur (Deccan Shias)
• Though Aurangzeb defeated them, but it removed the only boundary b/w Marathas & Mughals
• According to JN Sarkar, Deccan ulcer ruined Aurangzeb

Religious Policies of Aurangzeb

• Very orthodox & staunch Muslim; tried to change India into an Islamic state.
• Created separate departments to enforce moral codes called ‘Muhtasib’.

• Prohibited drinking, cultivation & use of Bhang & drugs
• Forbid music in Mughal court, Dismissed royal astrologers & astronomers
• Discontinued practice of Jharoka darshan
• Discontinued celebration of Dussehra

• Destroyed Hindu temples & banned construction of them
• Reimposed Jiziya & pilgrimage tax (in 1679)
• Stopped celebration of Muharram (Not tolerant towards other Muslim sects)
• Was against Sikhs & executed 9^th Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur, which resulted transformation of Sikhs into warring community

His religious policies turned Rajputs, Sikhs, Marathas, Jats & Satnamis against him & hence became the sole reason for decline of Mughal Empire

Personality & Character of Aurangzeb

• Very simple in dressing & food; Very disciplined & industrious
• Earned money for personal expenses by copying Quran & selling those copies
• Did not consume wine, learned & proficient in Arabic & Persian language
• Lover of books, strict follower of Islam
• Daily Namaz for 5 times & strictly observed Ramzan
• Overall, an orthodox Muslim intolerant to other religions

“After Aurangzeb’s death Nadir shah looted Delhi & imprisoned new Mughal emperor in 1739”

Architecture under Mughals

Painting & Music

• Akbarnama was the main theme of Mughal paintings
• Hamznama was the most important work of Mughals time consisting 1200 paintings
• Tansen (from Gwalior) was a great musician in Akbar’s court.

Literature

• Abul Fazal → Ain – i – Akbari, Akbarnama (Persian Language)
• Abul Faizi →  Converted Mahabharata into Persian language (Leading poet of Akbar’s Court)
• Abdul Hamid Lahori → Padshah Nama (Shahjaha’s Court)
• Inayat Khan →  Shahjaha Naha (Shahjaha’s Court)
• Dara Shikoh (Eldest son of Shahjaha) → Converted Bhagvat Gita & Upanishads into Persian

Trivia

• During 17^th century, two new crops “Tobacco & Maize” were added
• Potato & Chili came later in 18^th century.
• Ghee & oils were cheaper; Salts & sugar were more expensive.