Mughal Empire

 

• The Mughals, descended from the mother’s side, Mongol Chengiz Khan and the father’s side, Turk Timur. Also linked with the Uzbegs.
• Babur was the founder of the Mughal empire which was established in 1526 after Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the battle of Panipat capture Delhi & Agra.
• Beginning from 1526 to 1857
• Akbar, created a polity integrating Hindus and Muslims into unified Nation.

Rulers

Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur (1526–1530)

• Political supremacy in Central Asia amongst the Uzbeks (Turkic ethnic group), the Safavids (the members of the dynasty that ruled Iran patronising Shia Islam) and the Ottomans (Turkish people practicing Sunni Islam)
• Succeeded to the throne of Ferghana in 1494, Babur lost his throne but soon reclaimed it. But soon he realized that, with the powerful Safavid dynasty in Iran and the Uzbeks in Central Asia, he should rather turn to the southeast towards India to build an empire of his own.
• After conquering Kabul and Ghazni, Babur crossed the Indus to India and established a small kingdom.
• Babur marched to India he first defeated the forces of Daulat Khan Lodi (Principle opponent of Inrahim Lodi) at Lahore as he had gone back on his promise to help Babur.

First Battle of Panipat

• 21 April 1526 - defeated the formidable forces of Ibrahim Lodi by effective use of artillery.
• conquered Delhi and Agra

Battle of Khanwa, 1527

• The ferocious march of Rana Sanga with a formidable force strengthened by Afghan Muslims, Mahmud Lodi, brother of Ibrahim Lodi, and Hasan Khan Mewati, ruler of Mewati.
• Defeat Rana Sanga’s Rana Sanga, Rajput rulers and allies at Khanua.

Battle of Chanderi, 1528

• Against Medini Rai at Chanderi follow growing of Rebellious activities of Afghans.

Battle of Ghagra, 1529

• Last battle Babar fought against Afghan.
• Ibrahim Lodi’s brother Mahmud Lodi and Sultan Nusrat Shah, son-in-law of Ibrahim Lodi, conspired against Babur.
• Babur defeat afghan but died in 1530.
• Estimate of Babur - Memoirs Tuziuk-i-Baburi (Baburnama)

Humayun (1530-1540 & 1555-1556)

• Cultured and learned person, not a soldier like his father.
• Bahadur Shah, the ruler of Gujarat, also posed a great threat. Humayun’s brother Kamran who was in-charge of Kabul and Kandahar extended his authority up to Punjab.
• Bihar and Uttar Pradesh under leadership of Sher Khan (later Sher Shah)
• 1532 - Humayun besieged the powerful fort of Chunar.
• Humayun, believing the word of Sher Shah that he would be loyal to the Mughals, withdrew the siege.
• All anti-Mughal elements, Humayan marched against him. He captured Gujarat and Malwa and left them under the control of his brother Askari.
• Askari would take Agra for himself. Hence, abandoning Gujarat and Malwa Humayun pursued his brother.
• Sher Khan captured the fort of Rohtas and Bengal.
• Humayun reached Gaur or Gauda. Sher Khan defeated Humayun at Chausa (1539) and Kanauj (1540), forcing him to flee to Iran.
• After capturing Chunar Humayun marched to Bengal to confront Sher Khan. He started attacking the army of Humayun.

Battle of Chausa (1539)

• Won by Sher Khan, Humayun who had arrived at Agra assembled his army with the support of his brothers Askari and Hindal to counter Sher Khan.

Battle of Kanauj (1540)

• Won by Sher Khan.

Sher Shah and Sur Dynasty

• Received the title of Sher Khan after killing a tiger. Victory over Humayun and many other Rajput rulers, Malwa fell without fight.
• Succeeded by his second son Islam Shah who ruled till 1553.
• Humayun regaining of power in 1555.

Sher Shah’s Reforms

• Government highly centralized.
• Make village headmen responsible for goods stolen within the area under their control became vigilant.
• Welfare of the peasants was a prime concern.
• Movement of Army not damage Crop & flexible revenue system.
• Land survey by fertility of soil.
• Some area, jagirdari and zamindari systems were allowed to continue.
• Jagirdari - Collection of the revenue of an estate and the power of governing it were bestowed upon an official of the state.
• Zamindari – Powerful chieftains. Drawn from the class of nobles or descendents of old ruling families and allowed them to enjoy it hereditarily, collected revenue from the tenants and cultivators and remitted a fixed amount to the state. Tax was fixed on each crop in cash, revenue system was known as zabt.
• Simplified trade imposts, collecting taxes only at the point of entry and the point of sale.
• Gold, silver and copper coins to facilitated trade
• Robust Highway System.
• Highways with large network of sarais, rest houses, where the traders were provided with food and accommodation, ensuring brisk commerce.
• Orthodox and devout Sunni.
• Fiscal administration for which Akbar and Todar Mal largely based on the methods of Sher Shah.
• New walled city, Purana Qila (Old Fort)
• Built his own mausoleum in Sasaram.

Humayun’s Return from Exile

• Humayun defeat at Kanauj, Taken asylum in Persia
• Went to Afghanistan with Persian troops, received help from the Safavid Shah. He recaptured Delhi in 1555 but died the next year after an accident in this building.
• Sur empire had fragmented, and so Humayun’s invasion became easy.
• Emperor Akbar (1556–1605)
• Jalaluddin, known as Akbar, in 1542. Crowned at the age of 13.
• Guardian and protector in Bairam Khan.

Second Battle of Panipat

• Hemu, the Hindu general of the displaced Afghan king Adil Shah, successor of Sher Shah, induced the king to permit him to lead the Afghan army against the Mughals.
• He marched on Agra and captured it without any resistance.
• November 1556 Akbar marched towards Delhi to meet the forces of Hemu in the Second Battle of Panipat.
• Hemu was captured and executed.

Akbar and Bairam Khan

• First four years of Akbar’s rule saw expansion of the Mughal.
• Farman dismissing Bairam Khan, led to Bairam Khan’s revolt.
• Bairam Khan, finally agreeing to submit himself to Akbar, proceeded to Mecca. But murdered by Afghan.
• His son Abdur Rahim became one of the luminaries of Akbar’s court with the title Khan-e-Khanan.

Akbar’s Military Conquests

• 1556 – 1570
• Malwa in 1562.
• Gondwana region after a fierce battle with Rani Durgavati and her son Vir Narayan in 1564.
• The capture of Chittor was followed by the surrender of Rajput states like Ranthambhor, Kalinjar, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer.
• Suppress the revolt of his half-brother Mirza Hakim
• 1570-1585
• Gujarat from Muzaffar Shah in 1573.
• Bihar and Bengal in 1576.
• Campaigns were complicated by the 1579-1580 revolt in support of Mirza Hakim.
• 1585-1605
• Kashmir (1586) and Sindh (1591).
• Khandesh region in 1591.
• By 1600 parts of Ahmed Nagar had fallen into the hands of Mughal forces. Akbar fell sick in September 1604 and died on 27 October 1605
• Last years of his reign Akbar was distracted by the rebellion of Prince Salim, the future Emperor Jahangir.

Rajput Policy

• Abolished the jizya (poll tax) on non-Muslims and the tax on Hindu pilgrims.
• Sati by Hindu widows was also abolished.
• Matrimonial alliances with Rajput.
• Married Harkha Bhai (Jodha) daughter of Raja Bhar Mal.
• Also married the Rajput princesses of Bikaner and Jaisalmer.
• Prince Salim who was born of Harkha Bhai married the daughter of Raja Bhagwan Das.
• Raja Man Singh, son of Bhagwan Das, became the trusted general of Akbar.
• Raja Todar Mal expert in revenue affairs.
• Birbal favourite companion of Akbar.
• After the death of Rana Udai Singh, his son Rana Pratap Singh refused to acknowledge Akbar’s suzerainty and continued to fight the Mughals till his death in 1597.
• Ruler Chandra Sen, son of Maldeo Rathore, resisted the Mughals till his death in 1581.

Mansabdari System

• Nobles, civil and military officials combined into one single service with each officer receiving the title of Mansabdar. Mansabdar rank was divided into Zat and Sawar.
• Mansabdar’s military - Maintain a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen.
• Promotions and demotions were made through additions or reductions of Mansabs.
• Nobles drawn exclusively from Central Asians or Persians.
• After the introduction of the Mansabdari system, the nobility encompassed Rajputs and Shaikhzadas (Indian Muslims).
• Salary paid by assigning him a jagir. (an estate from which he could collect money in lieu of his salary) somewhat like iqtas. But unlike muqtis, most mansabdars did not actually reside in or administer their jagirs.
• Rank of Mansabdar was not Hereditary. Death of Mansabdar jagir was resumed by the state.

Akbar’s Religious Policy

• Learn about the doctrines of all religions, Philosophy of Sulh-i-Kul (Peace to all or Universal Peace). Established an Ibadat Khana
• Principle of governance was followed by Jahangir and Shah Jahan as well.
• Religious scholars who emphasised ritual and dogma were often bigots.
• The exact word used by Akbar and Badauni to illustrate the philosophy of Akbar is Tauhid-i-Ilahi namely Din Ilahi. Tauhid-i-Ilahi literally meant divine monotheism. Din Ilahi ceased to exist after Akbar.
• Become a Pir (Sufi Guru) who enrolled Murids (Sufi disciples).
• Set up a big translation department. The Ramayana, Mahabharata, the Atharva Veda, the Bible and the Quran were translated into Persian.

Jahangir (1605–1627)

• Akbar was succeeded by his son Salim with the title Nur-ud-din Jahangir.
• Mother of Jahangir was a Kachhwaha princess.
• Challenged by his eldest son Prince Khusrau who staged a revolt with the blessings of Sikh Guru Arjun Dev.
• Prince Khusrau was defeated, captured and blinded, while Guru Arjun Dev was executed.
• Sisodiya ruler of Mewar, Amar Singh, accepted Mughal service
• In 1608 Ahmad Nagar in the Deccan had declared independence under Malik Ambar.
• Malik Ambar - slave from Ethiopia to India, Prime Minister of Ahmad nagar. learnt about statecraft, military and administrative affairs from Chengiz Khan. Deccan Muslims and Marathas had united to resist Mughal. Malik Ambar was the brain behind this move.
• British factory at Surat.
• Political intrigues because of Nur-Jahan (Jahangir wife), led Prince Khurram to rebel against his father but due to the efforts of Mahabat Khan, a loyal general of Jahangir, the rebellion could not be fruitful. Later Mahabat Khan also retreated to Deccan to join Prince Khurram.
• Nur-Jahan wanted to crown her son-in-law Shahryar Khan.
• Efforts of Nur-Jahan’s brother and Prince Khurram’s father-in-law Asaf Khan, Prince Khurram succeeded as the next Mughal emperor with the title Shah- Jahan.
• Jahangir’s death in December 1645.

Shah Jahan (1627-1658)

• The mother of Shah Jahan was a Rathor princess.
• Afghan Pir Lodi, with the title Khanjahan, governor of the southern provinces transfers, he aligned with Murtaza Nizam Shah II, the Sultan of Ahmed-Nagar, and conspired against Shah Jahan.
• Afghan noble Khan Jahan Lodi rebelled and was defeated.
• New governor of the Deccan, Iradat Khan, title Azam Khan. Invaded the Balaghat.
• Shah Jahan left the Deccan after dividing it into four provinces: Ahmednagar with Daulatabad; Khandesh; Berar; & Telengana.
• Viceroyalty of the four provinces was conferred by Shah Jahan on his son Aurangzeb.
• Golkonda (Qutb Shahs), Bijapur (Adil Shahs), Berar (Imad Shahs), Bidar (Barid Shahs) and Ahmad Nagar (Nizam Shahs), which go by the collective name of Deccan Sultanates or Southern Sultanates.
• Ahmad Nagar annexed despite the efforts of Malik Ambar, Shah Jahan help of Mahabat Khan subdued the Nizam Shahi in 1639.
• Qutb Shahs imprisoned his own minister Mir Jumla. Pre text by Aurangzeb to invade Golkonda, treaty made the Qutub Shahi ruler a vassal of the Mughal empire.
• Kandahar, conquered by Akbar and lost by Jahangir.
• Shah Jahan ordered the Mughal Governor of Bengal, to drive out the Portuguese from their settlement at Hugli.
• 1641, His father-in-law Asaf Khan died, Asaf Khan sister and Shah Jahan’s old enemy Nur Jahan, survived until December 1645.
• Contemporary of Louis XIV.
• Peacock Throne was made for the King.
• Contest for the throne amongst his four sons. Dara Shukoh, the eldest, was the favourite of his father. Dara, professed the Sunni religion, but was deeply interested in Sufism. Aurangzeb (3^rd Son) emerged victorious.
• Shah Jahan died broken hearted as a royal prisoner in January 1666.
• Taj Mahal
• Indian, Persian and Islamic styles.
• Shah Jahan to immortalize his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
• chief architect was Ustad Ahmad Lahawri, Indian of Persian decent.
• Buildings were finished by 1643, and decoration work continued until at least 1647.

European Factories/Settlements during Mughal Rule

Portuguese

• In 1510, Albuquerque captured Goa from the ruler of Bijapur and made it the capital of the Portuguese Empire in the East. Subsequently Daman, Salsette and Bombay on the west coast and at Santhome near Madras and Hugli in Bengal on the east coast had become Portuguese settlements.

Dutch

• The Dutch set up factories at Masulipatam (1605), Pulicat (1610), Surat (1616), Bimilipatam (1641), Karaikal (1645), Chinsura (1653), Kasimbazar, Baranagore, Patna, Balasore, Nagapattinam (all in 1658) and Cochin (1663).

Danes

• Denmark also established trade settlements in India and their settlements were at Tranquebar in Tamilnadu (1620) and Serampore, their headquarters in Bengal.

French

• Surat (1668), Masulipatnam (1669), Pondicherry, a small village then (1673), Chandernagore in Bengal (1690). Later they acquired Mahe in the Malabar, Yanam in Coromandal (both in 1725) and Karaikal (1739).

English

• The Company first created a trading post in Surat (where a factory was built in 1612), and then secured Madras (1639), Bombay (1668), and Calcutta (1690). Though the Company had many factories, Fort William in Bengal, Fort St George in Madras, and the Bombay Castle were the three major trade settlements of the English.

Aurangzeb (1658–1707)

• First twenty-five years he resided in the north, chiefly at Delhi. Leaving the Deccan in the hands of his viceroy.
• Campaigns in the north-west against the Yusufzai and the Sikhs were temporarily successful.
• Around 1681 Rebellion of one of his sons, Prince Akbar, to go to the Deccan. He never returned to Delhi, dying disappointed at Ahmad Nagar in 1707.
• Keep the peasantry heavily taxed.
• Capital was shifted to wherever Aurangzeb would set up camp.
• The Jats (Mathura district), the Satnamis (Haryana region), and the Sikhs rebelled against Aurangzeb.
• Satnamis revolt was crushed with the help local Hindu zamindars.
• Sikh (The Punjab) rebellion, political intrigues of Ram Rai, against the incumbent Guru Tegh Bahadur. Ended with the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru.
• Jizya (Poll tax) levied on Hindu.
• 1681 Rana Jai Singh, the new Rana of Mewar, signed a peace treaty with Aurangzeb.
• Huge increase in the number of mansabdars created a shortage in the number of jagirs. As a result, many jagirdars tried to extract as much revenue as possible while they had a jagir.

Aurangzeb’s Deccan Policy

• Growing influence of the Marathas, the rebellious attitude of the Shia kingdoms of Deccan like Golkonda and Bijapur and to curtail the rebellious activities of his son Akbar who had taken refuge in the Deccan.
• Aurangzeb first sent his son Azam Shah (1685) but to no avail. Then he sent another son, Shah Alam to capture Bijapur. Aurangzeb himself entered, Bijapur was annexed in 1685 & Golkonda was captured in 1687. defeating the ruler Abul Hasan.

Against Marathas

• Marathas under Shivaji were a threat to Aurangzeb.
• General Shaista Khan & Jai Singh capture Sivaji, Aurangzeb insulted Shivaji when he came to accept Mughal authority, Shivaji escape to Deccan.
• Shivaji, employing guerrilla tactics. Defied the Mughal till death in age of 53 in 1680, Aurangzeb tested by the Marathas till his death in 1707 as the sons of Shivaji continued the rebellion.
• Aurangzeb nursed a grudge against the Sikhs for having supported his brother and principal rival to the throne, Dara Shukoh.
• Guru Tegh Bahadur, was killed at Aurangzeb’s command.
• Prince Akbar, had declared himself the emperor, Prince Akbar rebelled against Aurangzeb and received support from the Marathas Shivaji’s son, Sambhaji and the Deccan Sultanate. He finally fled to Safavid Iran.
• Eventually drove his own son into exile in Persia. Sambhaji was captured in 1689 and executed.
• re-imposed jizya issued orders that new temples should not be constructed; Repaire of old temple is permitted.
• Aurangzeb had discontinued the practise of levying abwab, a tax levied on the lands over and above the original rent, not sanctioned by Shariah.
• Reign of Aurangzeb the number of Hindu officials increased when compared to the reign of Shah Jahan.
• His death was followed by a succession conflict amongst his sons.
• Weak successors of Aurangzeb throne the next 150 years.

Mughal Traditions of Succession

• Did not believe in the rule of primogeniture where elder son inherited his father’s estate.
• Custom of coparcenary inheritance, or a division of the inheritance amongst all the sons.
• Relation with other Ruler: Campaigned constantly against rulers who refused to accept their authority