Mughal

Empire
HISTORY

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Mughal Empire (1526 - 1857)

 The Mughals were originally Turks and they belonged to the Chagatai branch of the
Turkish race.

 The Period of the Mughal empire is known as Second Classical Age.

 First Classical Age is the period of Guptas.

 Mughal Empire is also known as the Timurid Empire because of its relation to Amir
Timur.

Mughal Rulers Years of Ruling

Babur 20 April 1526 – 26 December 1530

Humayun 26 December 1530 – 17 May 1540

22 February 1555 – 27 January 1556
Akbar-i-Azam 27 January 1556 – 27 October 1605

Jahangir 15 October 1605 – 8 October 1627

Shah-Jahan 8 November 1627 – 2 August 1658

Alamgir I (Aurangzeb) 31 July 1658 – 3 March 1707

THE LATER MUGHALS

Bahadur Shah 19 June 1707 – 27 February 1712

Jahandar Shah 27 February 1712 – 11 February 1713

Farrukhsiyar 11 January 1713 – 28 February 1719

Rafi-ud-Darajat, Rafi-ud-Dallah 28 February – 6 June 1719

Shah Jahan II 6 June 1719 – 19 September 1719

Muhammad Shah 27 September 1719 – 26 April 1748

Ahmad Shah Bahadur 26 April 1748 – 2 June 1754

Alamgir II 2 June 1754 – 29 November 1759

Shah Alam II 10 October 1760 – 19 November

Akbar Shah II 19 November 1806 – 28 September 1837

Bahadur Shah II 28 September 1837 – 23 September 1857

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Name Babur

Time Period 20 April 1526 - 26 December 1530

Birth Name Zahir-ud-din Muhammad

 Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, was the fifth

descendant of Timur on Father’s side and the
 fourteenth descendant of Chengiz khan on the mother’s side.

 Babur was born in Farghana in Turkey on 14 Feb 1483 as the

son of Umer Sheik Mirza ad Qulik Ni- garkhanum.
 Babur’s father Umershiek Mirza was the grandson of Amir Timur
and the ruler of Farghan.
 Babur became the ruler of Samarkhand at the Age of 11. He
captured Kabul in 1504. Then Babur attacked India 5 times for
want of wealth.
 Babur’s first Attack of India was in 1519. Bhera was the first place
captured by Babur. In 1524 Daulatkhan, Ibrahim Lodhi’s brother
invited Babur to India.

Description  On 21 April 1526, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi, the last Lodhi
Sulthan in the First Battle of Panipat.
 On 16 March 1527, he defeated Rana Sangha of Mewar, in the
Battle of Khanwa.
 The Rajputs in 1528 under Medini Raj of Malwa fought against
Babur in the Battle of Chanderi, but were defeated.
 In 1529 the Afghans under Muhammed Lodhi fought against
Babur in the Battle of Ghaghra but were de- feated.
 In 1530 December 26, Babur died and was cremated at Kabul.

 Babur was the first to use Artillery in India.

 His memoirs or autobiography ‘Tuzuk-i-Baburi or Baburnamah'

were written in the Turkish lan- guage.
 Babur was a contemporary of Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijaya
Nagara Empire.

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Name Humayun

26 December 1530 – 17 May 1540

Time Period
22 February 1555 – 27 January 1556

Birth Name Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Humayun

 Humayun was born in 1507 in Kabul as the son of Babur and

Mahim Sulthana.
 He became the Mughal Emperor on 29 December 1530 at the
age of 23.He divided the empire among his brothers - Askari,
Hindal and Kamran.
 The word ‘Humayun’ means ‘fortunate’.
 Humayun was an accomplished mathematician and astronomer.
 In 1539 by the Battle of Chausa, Humayun was defeated for the
first time by Shershah Suri.
 In the next year (1540) Shershah completely defeated Humayun
in the battle of Kanauj and founded the Sur dynasty.
 After the lapse of 15 years Humayun recaptured the Empire by
defeating the last Sur ruler Sikandar Shah Suri by the battle of
Sirhind in 1555, July.

Description  After the restoration, Humayun ruled for only six months. The
period from 1540 to 1555 is known as the period of a temporary
eclipse of the Mughal.
 Humayun died by an accidental fall from the staircase of his
Library ‘Shermandal’ at the Purana Qila in Delhi on 24 January
1556.
 The Purana Qila was constructed by Humayun but its
construction was completed by Sher- shah.
 Humayun’s biography Humayun Namah was written by
Humayun’s sister Gulbadan Begum. The lan- guage used to write
this biography was a mixture of Turkish and Persian.
 In 1533 Humayun built the City of Dinpana in Delhi.
 Humayun’s tomb is situated in Delhi (The first building in India
having double domes)
 Humayun tomb is known as predecessor of Tajmahal because
Taj was modeled after this, also known as a dormitory of the
house of Timur. Mirak Mirza Ghias is its architect.

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Name Akbar-i-Azam

Time Period 27 January 1556 – 27 October 1605

Birth Name Jalal-ud-din Muhammad

 Akbar was born at Amarkot in Sindhonn 23 Nov. 1542. He came

to the throne on February 14, 1556, at the age of 14 at Kalanur.
 Hemu the Hindu Prime Minister of Muhammed Adilshah of Bihar
occupied Agra and accepted the title Ma- haraja Vikramaditya.
 Akbar killed Hemu in the Second Battle of Panipat on 1556
November 2.
 Akbar became an independent ruler at the age of 18 in 1560,
after dismissing Bairamkhan. Later he married Bairam Khan's
widow Salima Begum.
 In 1561 he defeated the musician Sulthan of Malwa - Baz
Bahadur. In 1562 Akbar married Joda Bhai, the daughter of Raja
Bharmal of Amber
 In 1564, he abolished the religious tax Jizya. Jizya was imposed
for the first time by Firoz Tughlaq.
Description
 In 1572 he captured Gujarat and in memory of that he built a new
capital city Fathepur Sikri (City of Vic- tory) near Agra.
 The early name of Fathepur Sikri was the City of Sikri. Buland
Darwaza is the gateway of Fathepur Sikri, built by Akbar.
 In 1575 Akbar constructed a prayer house in Fathepur Sikri
known as Ibadatkhana.
 In 1579 he issued the Infallibility Decree by which he made
himself the supreme head in religious matters. In 1580 the first
Jesuit missionaries arrived at the court of Akbar.
 In 1585 Ralph Fitch became the first English man to reach India
reached Akbar’s court.
 Ralph Fitch is known as pioneer English man or torch bearer
Englishman. In 1582 Akbar founded a new religion for universal
peace and monotheism known as ‘Din Ilahi’ means Divine Faith.

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 In 1583 he started a new Calendar called Ilahi Calendar.

 In 1576 Akbar defeated Maharana Pratap of Mewar in the battle
of Haldighat. (Haldighat is a mountain pass in the Aravalli
hills in Rajasthan.)
 The Portuguese introduced tobacco for the first time in India in
the court of Akbar in 1604. Akbar was the Mughal Emperor when
the English East India Company was being founded on 1600 De-
cember 31.
 Akbar died in 1605. His tomb is situated at Sikandra near
Agra. Akbar was an illiterate person, but he was a patron of
men of eminence. He maintained a Scholas- tic Assembly in
his court. They included the following personalities.
 Abul Fazal: Akbar’s court historian who wrote Akbar’s
biographical works - Ain-i-Akbari and Akbar Namah.
 Abul Faizi: Persian poet and brother of Abul Fazal. He
translated Mahabharata into Persian in name ‘Razam Namah’
and Bhaskaracharya’s mathematical work Leelavati into
Persian.
 Mian Tansen: His original name was Ram Thanu Pande.
He was the court Musician of Akbar. He com- posed a Raga,
Rajdarbari in honor of Akbar.
Description
 Birbal: His real name was Mahesh Das. He is the court
jester of Akbar.
 Raja Todarmal: RajaTodarmal was Akbar’s finance or
revenue minister. He formulated Akbar’s revenue system
Zabti and Dashala systems. Raja Todarmal also translated
Bhagavatapurana into Persian.
 Maharaja Mansing: Akbar’s military commander.
 Badauni: a historian who translated Ramayana into
Persian - Tarjuma -1-Ramayan.
 Tulasidas: Hindi poet who wrote Ramacharitamanas.
 Akbar’s military system was known as the Mansabdari
system, which included Ranks from 10 - 7000. He was also
responsible for the introduction of Persian as the official
language of Mughals.
 He divided the Mughal Empire into 12 Subahs (provinces) for
the administrative conveniences.
 Akbar was also the first ruler to organize Hajj. Pilgrimage at
the government expense. The Port Cambay in Gujarat is
known as the ‘Gateway to Mecca from Mughal India’. He
was an accomplished Sitar player.Mughal - Rajput friendly
relation began during the period of Akbar.

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Name Jahangir

Time Period 15 October 1605 – 8 October 1627

Birth Name Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim

 Early name of Jahangir was Salim. Akbar called him Sheika

Baba.

 Jahangir came to the throne in 1605. He was the son of Akbar

and Jodabai.

 He married Mehrunnisa, an Afghan widow in 1611. Later he

gave her the titles, Noor Mahal (light of the palace) Noor
Jahan (light of the world) and Padusha Begum.

 In 1606 Jahangir executed fifth Sikh Guru Guru Arjun Dev

because he helped Jahangir’s son Prince Khusru to rebel
against him.

 In 1609, Jahangir received William Hawkins, an envoy of King

James I of England, who reached India to obtain trade
concession.
Description
 In 1615 Sir Thomas Roe reached the court of Jahangir as the
first ambassador of James I of England in the court of
Jahangir. As a result of his efforts, the first English factory
was established at Surat in Gujarat.

 Period of Jahangir is considered as the Golden Age of Mughal

Painting. Jahangir himself was a painter. Ustad Mansur and
Abul Hassan were famous painters in the court of Jahangir.

 Jahangir built Shalimar and Nishant Gardens in Srinagar.

Jahangir suspended a chain of Justice known as Zndiri Ada in
front of his court.

 Anarkali was Jahangair’s lover. Jahangir wrote his

autobiography Tuzukh-i-Jahangiri in the Persian language.

 Jahangir died in 1627 and was cremated at Shahdara in

Lahore.

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Name Shah-Jahan

Time Period 8 November 1627 – 2 August 1658

Birth Name Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram

 Shah Jahan was born on 5th January 1592 at Lahore. His

mother was Jagat Gosain and his childhood name was Khurram.

 He married Arjumand Banu Begum, daughter of Asaf Khan,

brother of Noor Jahan. She later came to be known as
Mumtaz Mahal which means “Beloved of the Palace”.
 Shahjahan destroyed the Portuguese settlements at Hoogly.
Shah Jahan’s period is considered as the Golden Age of Mughal
Architecture and Shah Jahan is known as the Prince of
Builders.
 In 1631 he started the construction of Tajmahal in memory of his
wife and completed in 1653. It is situated on the banks of the
Yamuna river in Uttar Pradesh.

 Utad Iza a Turkish/ Persian was its architect. and British

administrator Furgurson called it ‘a love in marble’. In 1638 Shah
Jahan built his new capital Shah Jahanabad in Delhi and shifted
Description
the capital from Agra to there.
 In 1639 he started the construction of Red Fort in Delhi on the
model of Agra fort built by Akbar. Its con- struction was
completed in 1648. The Diwan-i-Am, Diwan-i-Khas and the
Moti Masjid are situated inside the Red Fort. The Masjid in
Agra was constructed by Shahjahan.
 The Gateway of Redfort is the Delhi Gate. It is here at the
Delhi Gate that the Prime Minister of India hoists the
National Flag and addresses the nation on the
Independence day.
 In 1656 Shahjahan constructed the Juma Masjid in Delhi. It is
the biggest masjid in India. First masjid in India was
constructed at Kodungallur in Kerala (Cheraman Palli) in 644
A.D. by Malik Ibn Dinar. Shah Jahan’s period is known as the
Golden Age of the Mughal Empire.

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 The Portuguese introduced European paintings in India during

the reign of Shah Jahan.

 In 1658 Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son

Aurangazeb and he died in 1666, after eight years. His
daughter Jahan Ara was also kept in prison along with him
at the Agra fort.
 Shah Jahan’s son Dhara Shukoe was a famous scholar. He
translated Bhagavat Gita and Sixty Upani- shads into Persian.
Description He also wrote a book titled Mujm-ul-Bahrain (Mingling of the
Oceans) He also translated Atharva Veda into Persian.
 Shah Jahan was a famous Lyricist. He wrote Lyrics in Hindi.

 The famous Peacock Throne was built by Shah Jahan. It was

abducted from here by Nadir shah in 1739 during his Indian
invasion. Now it is kept at the London Tower Museum, Britain.
 French travelers Bernier and Tavernier and Italian
traveler Manucci visited India during Shahja- han's
period.

Name Alamgir I (Aurangzeb)

Time Period 31 July 1658 – 3 March 1707

Birth Name Muhy-ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb

 Aurangazeb imprisoned his father and made himself

the Padushah in 1658. But his actual corona- tion was
conducted in 1659.
 Alamgir was the name adopted by Aurangazeb when he
Description became the Bashaw.

 Aurangazeb is known as ‘Zinda Pir’ or living saint because of his

simple life.

 He banned music and dance.He ousted all the artists from his
court. At the same time, he was an accomplished Veena player.

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 Aurangazeb was the last great Mughal Emperor.

 In 1675 he executed 9th Sikh Guru Guru Tej Bahadur because of

his reluctance to accept Islam.

 Teg Behadur was executed at the Chandni Chauk.

 In 1679 Aurangzeb constructed the tomb of his only
wife Rubiad Daurani at Aurangabad in Maharash- tra. It
is known as Bibi ka Makabara.
 ·It is otherwise known as Mini Tajmahal as it was the blind
imitation of Tajmahal. In the same year he reimposed Jaziya
upon all the non-Muslims, which was earlier abolished by
Akbar
 Aurangazeb called Shivaji a ‘mountain rat’ and gave him
the title Raja because of his guerilla tac- tics.
Description
 In 1660 he entrusted Shaisthakhan to defeat Shivaji.
 Later in 1665 the treaty of Purandar was signed
between Maharaja Jaisingh of Amber and Shivaji.
Maharaj Jaisingh was deputed by Aurangazeb.
 The Mughal Rajput relation became worse during the period of
Aurangazeb.
 Aurangazeb was the only Mughal Emperor who was not a
drunkard.
 Aurangazeb is considered as religious fanatic. He was also a
temple breaker. He persecuted the Hindus and imposed
prohibition against the free exercise of Holi and Diwali.
 Aurangazeb died in 20 February 1717 at Ahmednagar.
 Aurangazeb’s tomb is situated at Daulatabad in Maharashtra.

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The Later Mughals

Name Bahadur Shah

Time Period 19 June 1707 – 27 February 1712

Birth Name Qutb-ud-Din Mu'azzam Shah Alam

 Mu'azzam ascended throne in 1707 after having killed his

brothers in the battle field, under the title of Bahadur Shah ( also
known as Shah Alam-I).
Description
 A person of mild temper, learned and dignified, was too old. He
could not prevent the decline of the empire due to his sudden
death in 1712.

Name Jahandar Shah

Time Period 27 February 1712 – 11 February 1713

Birth Name Mu'izz-ud-Din Jahandar Shah Bahadur

 Bahadur Shah's death followed a fresh war of succession among

his four sons, Jahandar Shah, Azim-us-Shah, Jahan
Shah and Rafi-is-Shah.
Description  The last three were killed in the course of war and Jahandar
Shah managed to ascend the throne.
 The fate did not allow him to rule, and Azim-us-Shah's
son Farrukhsiyar took his toll and ascended the throne.

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Name Farrukhsiyar

Time Period 11 January 1713 – 28 February 1719

Birth Name Farrukhsiyar

 Farrukhsiyar was feeble, cowardly and contemptible.

 He owed his elevation to the throne to two Sayyid brothers, who
were the real power in the state.
Description
 His attempt to assert his own power made his reign agitated and
perplexing one, ending in another imperial tragedy. He was
deposed, blinded and executed by his own Sayyid ministers.

Name Rafi-ud-Dallah

Time Period 28 February – 6 June 1719

Birth Name Rafi-ud-Darajat

 The King-makers (the Sayyid Ministers),

'Abdullah and Hussain Ali, raised to the throne two
phantom kings, Rafi-Ud-Darajat & Rafi-ud-Dallah, sons
of Rafi-us-Shan.
Description
 But within few months the Sayyids who determined to rule
through the Imperial puppets thought that a youth of
eighteen named Roshan Akhtar, son of Jahan
Shah could be a better docile agent of them.

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Name Muhammad Shah

Time Period 27 September 1719 – 26 April 1748

Birth Name Roshan Akhtar Bahadur

 Roshan Akhtar ascended the throne as Muhammad Shah in

1719.

 The new emperor did not prove to be a docile agent of Sayyid

brothers, Sayyid brothers were soon killed by Muhammad Shah.

 Young and handsome Muhammad Shah, with all the pleasures,

addicted to inactive life.

 Though destiny granted him a long reign, he let affairs drift in

their own way, and soon province after province slipped out of
Description imperial control.

 The Marathas established their power again, Jats became

independent near Agra, the Ruhelas founded
Ruhelkand, Sikhs became active in Panjab.

 The invasion of Nadir Shah of Persia hit the empire with a

greater blow.

 The mighty Mughal empire ceased to exist within three decades

of Aurangzeb's death, and the result was a budding of numerous
independent states.

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Name Bahadur Shah Zafar II

Time Period 28 September 1837 – 23 September 1857

Birth Name Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad

 With the British control, all that remained by way of an empire for
the emperors Akbar-II and Bahadur Shah-II was their shabby
residence in Delhi's Red Fort, where they allotted a home.

 A symbol of the durability of a once glorious empire, the Great

Mughal was still officially recognized as the potentate.

 British maintained the authority of the puppet dynast to legitimize

their presence. But in 1857, it backfired them, during the Sepoy
rebellion.
Description
 In order to counter the British power, the sepoys proclaimed
Bahadur Shah-II emperor of Hindustan.

 But after the mutiny at Meerut, the British emerged victorious,

and Bahadur Shah-II was accused of disruption, treason and
rebellion.

 He was condemned to exile in Burma. The descendants were

executed, and the glorious Mughal empire was swept away once
and for all.

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