The Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire was founded by Zahiruddin Muhammed Babur. The term Mughal can be traced back to Baburs ancestry. He was related to the Mongol chief henghi! "han on his mothers side. Babur(1526-1530) was the ruler of a small entral #sian kingdom. He in$aded %ndia and defeated %brahim &odhi at 'anipat in ()*+ which was the first battle of 'anipat. This marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire. Babur defeated the combined forces of the ,a-put rulers in ()*./ and the #fghan chiefs of Bengal and Bidar in ()*0. He died in ()12. He was a scholar of the Turkish and 'ersian languages. He recorded his e3periences in the Tu!uk4i4Baburi/ which is regarded as a classic. Humayun(1530-1540 and 1555-1556), Baburs son inherited his empire. Howe$er/ after a battle at "anau- in ()52/ he lost it to 6her 6hah/ an #fghan chief of Bihar. %n ()))/ Humayun recaptured 7elhi and #gra/ and re4 established Mughal rule. The ur ul!ana!e(1540-1555)" %n ()52/ 6her 6hah o$erthrew Humayun and started the 6ur dynasty in #gra. He ruled till ()5). 7uring his brief reign he built an empire stretching roughly from Bengal to the %ndus/ e3cluding "ashmir. He also introduced an efficient land4re$enue system/ built many roads/ and standardi!ed coins8rupaiya9/ weights and measures. He died in ()5) and his dynasty ruled until Humayun restored Mughal rule in ())). #$bar(1556-1605)" Humayun died in ())+. His fourteen year old son/ #kbar was then crowned king. Humayuns trusted officer Bairam "han was made regent. 6oon after #kbar became king/ Hemu/ a general of the 6ur dynasty/ occupied #gra and 7elhi. %n the same year/())+/ Bairam "han defeated and killed Hemu in the second battle of 'anipat and reoccupied 7elhi and #gra. #kbar then persuaded Bairam to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He then took o$er the reins of go$ernment. He brought most of %ndia under his control through con:uests and alliances. %n ()+2s/ #kbars army con:uered Malwa and parts of entral %ndia. #kbar also captured the fort of hittor from ,ana ;day 6ingh of Mewar. %n ().2s/ #kbar con:uered <u-arat/ Bengal and =rissa. Thus/ he won control o$er <u-arats o$erseas trade with the #rabs and the Europeans/ and Bengals o$erseas trade with 6outh4East #sia and hina. #mong #kbars other con:uests were "abul / "ashmir/ 6ind and >andahar. %n the 7eccan/ #kbar con:uered parts of the northern 7eccan/ including #hmadnagar. #t its peak/ #kbars empire stretched from the Himalayas and "ashmir in the north to the ri$er <oda$ari in the south/ and from >andahar in the west to Bengal in the east. #kbar is known as #$bar !he %rea!& with a good reason. He is greatly respected for his wise policies. 'a(pu! )*li+y" To make the powerful ,a-put chiefs his allies/ #kbar married a number of ,a-put princesses/ including ?odha Bai of #mber. He also ga$e the ,a-puts high posts in his army and go$ernment. #nd the ,a-puts helped #kbar to e3pand his kingdom.

'eligi*u, )*li+y" #kbar mi3ed freely with Hindus/ 6ufis and foreigners. He treated all religious groups e:ually. He abolished the pilgrim ta3 called ?a!iya/ which was paid by non4muslims. He e$en celebrated certain ,a-put festi$als. %n the new city that #kbar built at @atehpur 6ikri near #gra/ there was a hall called %badat "hana. Here/ scholars of all religions met for religious discussions. #kbar tried to combine the good points of all religions into a single faith called 7in4%lahi87i$ine @aith9. #kbar had the Mahabharata and ,amayana translated into 'ersian. -ul!ural -*n!ribu!i*n,A #kbar ne$er recei$ed formal education. %nspite of this / he was a great patron of learning . %t is belie$ed that #kbars library had more than four thousand manuscripts. #kbar patroni!ed talented persons from all fields. The nine gems / namely/ #bul @a!l/ @ai!i and #bdur ,ahim "han4i4"hanan/ the witty Birbal/ ,a-a Todarmal/ ,a-a Bhagawandas/ ,a-a Man 6ingh/ musician Tan 6en of <walior and artist 7aswant/ adorned #kbars court. #bul @a!l was #kbars close friend. He wrote #kbarnama/ a biography of #kbar. #kbar died in (+2). He was buried at 6ikandra near #gra. .ahangir(1605-162/)" #fter #kbar/ his son 6alim ascended the throne as Bur4ud4din Muhammed ?ahangir8 on:ueror of the world9. &ike #kbar / ?ahangir showed religious tolerance. Howe$er he had the 6ikh leader <uru #r-un e3ecuted for helping "husrau/ who had rebelled. This started a long conflict between the 6ikh and the Mughals. #nother setback was loss of >andahar to the 'ersians. #s a result of this the Mughals lost control o$er the trade routes to #fghanistan/ 'ersia and entral #sia. ?ahangir granted trading rights to the 'ortuguese/ and later to the English. ?ahangirs wife Mehr4un4nisa/ also known as Bur4?ahan/ was $ery powerful in the court. 6he ad$ised ?ahangir on the matters of the state. hah .ahan(1620-1650)" %n (+*C/ 'rince "hurram ascended the throne at #gra as 6hah ?ahan 8 "ing of the world9 . He con:uered #hmednagar and Bi-apur/ and <olkonda accepted his o$erlordship. =ccasional conflicts / howe$er/ broke between the Mughal and these 7eccan kingdoms. 6ome Maratha warriors/ like 6hah-i Bhonsle/ entered the ser$ices of 7eccan kingdoms and trained groups of Maratha soldiers to fight against the Mughals. Thus long conflict de$eloped between the Mughals and the Marathas. #urangaeb(1650-1/0/)" 6hah ?ahans third son #uranga!eb/ imprisoned him in the #gra @ort and ascended the throne in (+)C. He increased the ta3es payable by non4muslims and permitted the destruction of temples. He also had 6ikh leader <uru Tegh Bahadur e3ecuted. Measures like these angered his sub-ects and he had to face many re$olts. He also lost the loyalty of the ,a-puts. %n the 7eccan/ the Marathas/ under 6hah-i Bhonsles son 6hi$a-i/ had formed their own state. 6hi$a-i died in (+C2. %n (+C(/ #uranga!eb went to the 7eccan to crush the Marathas/ who were now led by 6hi$a-is son 6hambha-i. He con:uered the Bi-apur and <olkonda. He captured and e3ecuted 6hambha-i in (+C0. He also took 6hambha-is infant son 6hahu as prisoner. Howe$er/ he could not completely crush the Marathas. 7uring #uranga!ebs reign/ trade with Europeans flourished. The English had their trade centres at Bombay/ Madras and alcutta/ while the @rench had their main trade centre at 'ondicherry.

The Mughal -*ur!" The Mughal darbar8court9 was famous for its grandeur. The rulers attended the formal affairs of the state in the 7iwan4i4aam8 hall of public audience9. Here the king recei$ed reports from ministers / met generals lea$ing on military campaigns/ announced appointments and promotions of offices/ and welcome foreign $isitors and $ictorious generals. aptured rebels/ criminals and defeated opponents were also presented here. 6ometimes talented persons such as e3pert wrestlers/ musicians and artists were brought here to show their skills before the king. They discussed the important matters of state in the diwanDi4khas8hall of pri$ate audience9. The king also entertained his guests of honour 7iwan4i4khas. #dmini,!ra!i*n" The Mughal administration was based on entral #sian/ %ndian and 'ersian traditions. %ts details are mentioned in the #in4i4#kbari written by #bul @a!l of #kbars court. -en!ral #dmini,!ra!i*nA The king controlled the entire administration. He was assisted by a council of ministers. #mong his ministers were Eakil8prime minister9/ the 7iwan or wa!ir8 minister of re$enue and e3penditure9/ the mir bakshi 8minister of military administration 9/ the mir saman8 minister of royal household9 and the sadr 8minister for enforcing the 6haria or %slamic law9. )r*1in+ial #dmini,!ra!i*nA The empire was di$ided into subahs8pro$inces9/ each go$erned by subahdar. The subahs were di$ided into sarkars8districts9 and the sarkars into parganas/ each made of number of $illages. =fficers were posted in e$ery administrati$e di$ision. They were paid regular cash salaries. 6ometimes they recei$ed -agirs8land grants9 for distinguished ser$ice. 2*+al #dmini,!ra!i*nA The towns were administered by kotwals. "otwals maintained law and order/ checked weights and measures/ and kept a record of the people li$ing in the area. The police stations were called kotwalis/ a name still used in north %ndia. 6her 6hahs $illage administration continues throughout the Mughal period . Fillage headmen called mu:addams/ collected land re$enue and maintained law and order. =fficials called 'atwaris maintained re$enue records. #rmy" The Mughal army had infantry/ ca$alry/ war elephants and artillery. The emperor maintained a group of trained and well e:uipped royal bodyguards and armed palace guards. Man,abdari ,y,!emA #kbar introduced the Mansabdari system. He graded officers on the basis of their mansab8rank9 and called them mansabdars. # mansabdar generally entered ser$ice in a low rank and rose through promotion on the basis of his loyalty and ser$ice. # mansabdars rank depended on the number of horsemen he maintained. #ccording to #bul @a!l/ it ranged from (2 horsemen to (2/222 horsemen. # mansabdar also had to maintain a fi3ed number of elephants/ camels and carts. The emperor could use the troops maintained by a mansabdar whene$er he wished. 6ome mansabdars were paid in cash/ but generally recei$ed -agirs from which they would collect re$enue. Howe$er no mansabdar could hold a -agir at one place for more than three or four years. 2and 'e1enue ,y,!emA #kbars land re$enue policy was framed by ,a-a Todarmal. Each peasants land was measured and its yield was assessed. The states share was about one4third of the a$erage produce. ,e$enue could be paid in cash or kind. @armers could get loans from state.

#grarian 'ela!i*n,A The land whose re$enue went to the royal treasury were known as "halisa. 6ome lands were gi$en to mansabdars as -agirs. ?agirs were not granted on a permanent basis and had to be renewed periodically. Mansabdars who recei$ed -agirs were also called -agirdars. The -agirdars collected land re$enue from their own -agirs. The emperor granted ta34free lands for life and the rights to collect re$enue from such lands. These lands were called suyurghal and they were granted to fa$oured scholars/ holy men/ religious institutions etc. 3ey4*rd,A (. ,egentA # person who rules on behalf of minor monarch. *. Mu:addamsA The $illage headmen who collected land re$enue and maintained law and order. 1. 'atwarisA The officials who maintained the re$enue records. 5. MansabdarA The officer who was graded on the basis of his mansab8rank9 in the Mughal army. ). "halisaA The lands whose re$enue went to the royal treasury. +. ?agirdarA Mansabdars who recei$ed the -agirs8land grants9. .. "otwalA # person who maintained law and order/ checked weights and measures and kept a record of the people li$ing in the area. C. 6uyurghalA The ta34free lands granted by emperor for life and the rights to collect re$enue from such lands. #nswer the followingA (. 6her 6hah 6ur was the efficient ruler of 6ur dynastyG *. Ehy did ?ahangir ha$e <uru #r-un e3ecutedG 1. Ehat caused re$olts during #uranga!ebs reignG 5. Ehat were the duties of a mu:addam and a patwariG ). How did Humayun lose his throne and when did he reco$er itG +. Ehat was the e3tent of #kbars empire at its peakG .. How did #kbar win o$er ,a-put chiefsG C. 7escribe the main features of entral and 'ro$incial administrationG 0. Erite briefly about #kbars mansabdari systemG (2. Ehat were the main features of #kbars land4re$enue systemG Eho de$ised this systemG