The Mughal Empire

                         The Mughal Empire


Babur attacked India in early 16th century.At that time India was an easy prey for any invader,as it was divided into a number of small states. These small kingdoms were incapable of standing up to any foreign aggression. There was widespread lawlessness and disorder. The local rulers were unpopular among the masses. At that time Babur laid the foundation of Mughal empire in India. He was succeeded by his son Humayun. But it was Humayun's son Akbar the Great , who proved to be the real glory of the Mughal empire.

                              BABUR  [1526-1530]

Zahir-ud -din Muhammad, commonly known as Babur [tiger] was the great grandson of Timur and a descendent  of Turkish ruler Chengis Khan. Babur was a brave soldier, an experienced general, a skilled horse rider, a sure shooter and a skilled swordsman.He became the ruler of Hindustan by defeating the army of Ibrahim Lodi in the first battle of Panipat in 1526. He distributed his wealth generously to buy the confidence of the public and  Afghans who had opposed him. He was not only a great military commander but also a learned scholar.


                    HUMAYUN[1530-1540 AND 1555-1556]

Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Humayun , the eldest son of Babur faced innumerable difficulties to retain the Mughal Empire in India.Humayun had inherited an empty treasury.He had to face opposition from his brothers ,relatives , Afghans and Rajputs . He multiplied his problems with his own follies. He was addicted to opium.He was defeated by an afghan,  Sher Shah Suri at Chausa and Kanauj and was forced to leave India and take refuge in Iran in 1540. After 15 years , he defeated Sikandar Suri,  a weak successor of Sher Shah Suri and restored the Mughal empire in India once again.


                                      AKBAR[1556-1605]

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar ascended the throne at the age of fourteen under the guardianship of Bairam Khan. Under Akbar, Mughal empire stretched from Kashmir in the north to Godavari river in the south and from Afghanistan in the west to   Bengal in the east. Akbar also conquered Gondwana, Chittor, Ranthambhor, Bihar, Bengal, Kabul, Kashmir, Sindh, Deccan and Gujarat. Akbar set up an Ibadat-Khanna at Fatehpuri Sikri where religous discussion were held every Friday evening.      He started Din-i-llahi (Divine Faith) in 1582 by blending the good points of all religions like Hinduism, Christianity, Janism and other faiths with Islam. Din-i-llahi was not a religion but also a socio-religous path to bridge the differences among different community.In 1605, Akbar passed away. He was buried at Sikandara, six miles from Agra.


                                 JAHANGIR[1605-1627]

Akbar was succeeded by his son Muhammad Sultan Salim. He ascended the throne in 1605 at the fort of Agra and assumed the title of Jahangir. Jahangir defeated his son Prince Khusrau,at the Battle of Bhairowal as many nobles were trying to make Khusrau the emperor. Jahangir consolidated his territories and developed the administrative system. He had a keen interest in gardens. Jahangir died in 1627 due to excessive drinking and his son, Shah Jahan succeeded the throne.


                                   SHAH JAHAN[1628-1658]

Khurram, the eldest son of Jahangir, took the title of Shah Jahan. His mother was the daughter of Udai Singh, the ruler of Jodhpur. The Mughal empire reached its greatest prosperity during the reign of Shah Jahan. His ministers were able and efficient. He was an orthodox muslim, but also fair to non-muslims. Shah Jahan increased the magnificience of the court. The Peacock Throne, the Taj Mahal at Agra, the Red Fort and Jama Masjid in Delhi, and  numerous other works of art and architecture testify his wealth as well as his aesthetic sense. That's why he is also known as 'Engineer King'. He gave patronage to scholars, artisans and craftsmen. Poetry, music, painting, astronomy, mathematics and medicine flourished under this intelligent emperor. In September 1657, Shah Jahan fell ill. In 1658, Aurangzeb took over the throne and imprisoned his father Shah Jahan, who died in captivity in 1666.          
  

                             AURANGZEB[1658-1707]

Aurangzeb assumed the title of  Alamgir. His rule was a period of ceaseless wars in different parts of India. He killed Guru Teg Bahadur, whose son, Guru Govind Singh fought the Mughals till Aurangzeb's death in 1707.Due to his short-sighted policies, his vast empire went out of his grip. Many governers revolted against the emperor and established themselves as independent rulers.

Though Mughal empire survived till 1857, its rulers were the pensioners of the East India Company after 1803. The last emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar-II  had to face a trial for leading the mutiny of 1857. He was convicted and sent to Rangoon.    


             Governance under Mughal empire 


Administration


The Mughals managed to unite the country politically . They established a uniform system of administration which was a combination of both Indian and Persian systems . They believed in the supreme authority of the king . A strong army and efficient ministers assisted the emperor. The empire was divided into subas [provinces] which were governed by subedar [governors].The Diwan was the collector of land revenue . The kotwal looked after the law and order in the city.


Akbar introduced the Mansabdari system based on rank or position in the official hierarchy . The Mansabdars were responsible for both civil and military administration.


Society and Eonomy


The society was divided into two levels .The nobility and the high officials formed the upper class .They lived a life of luxury.The lower class was involved in agricultural and lowly jobs  in the cities .They lived miserable lives.The main source of state income was land revenue which was fixed at one - third of the produce . The state land was known as Khalisa . Trade was well developed as Indian goods were exported to different parts of Asia , Africa and Europe . Many foreign companies like the Portuguese, Dutch and the English were involved in trading . The Mughal emperors encouraged trade by building sarais , roads etc.


Religion


The Mughal emperors followed Islam. Akbar was the first mughal ruler to adopt a policy of religious tolerance [ Sulh-e-Kul ] towardas other religions to build a strong empire in India. It aimed at harmony among different religions . He set up a hall for worship [ Ibadat khana ] , which was open to believers of different religions like Jains , Hindus ,Zorastrians , Christians etc. Jahangir and Shahjahan were also tolerant towards other religions but Aurangzeb was a staunch Muslim.He forced the hindus to adopt Islam .He imposed Jazia on Hindus  . His policy of religious  intolerance weakened the foundations of the Mughal empire . 


Literature , Art and Architecture 

All great works of Sanskrit were translated into Arabic like Rajatarangini, Ramayana , Mahabharata , Puranas etc. History became an important part of Indian writings . Babarnama , Akbarnama and Ain-i -Akbari are the main sources of i nformation of that period .Jahangir was a scholar of persian language. He wrote Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri , Shah Jahan patronised famous writers of that time.

Mughal rule was a golden period of music. Tansen was a famous jewel of Akbar's court. Poetry was very popular . It was based on a variety of themes ranging from royal court to worship . 

The Mughals built fine specimen of architecture . Akbar build the famous Fatehpur Sikri and Buland Darwaza near Agra . Jahangir laid beautiful gardens like Shalimar Bagh , but it is Shah Jahan , who is known as an engineer emperor . He built Red Fort , Jama Masjid and the world famous Taj Mahal . Aurangzeb did not favour fine arts .


                 Decline of Mughal Empire 


The factors responsible for the Decline of Mughal empire are as follows :

• The religious intolerance of Aurangzeb turned the Rajputs, the Marathas and the Sikhs against him .
• The Mughals did not have any rule of succession and hence,  the death of each ruler resulted in bloody wars and conspiracies of nobles .
• Weak and inefficient successors of Aurangzeb provided an open invitation for internal rebels and foreign invasions.
• Corrupt officials and heavy burden of land revenue resulted in revolts by peasants and low tax collection . 
• The Europeans were the rising power in the world at that time and gradually they took over the internal administration , trade and territories of the Mughal empire to strengthen their rule. 

                
                                            The End