Ana Muggo

Mughal Empire Class Notes

Social and cultural conditions in subcontinent before Mughal Empire
o Divided into Hindus and Muslims
o Transition from conflict to opposition
o Turk invasion of subcontinent
Mughals followed Muslim tradition
Hindus divided into castes
Property rights of women were recognized
o Economy
Indian economy was sound
General prosperity in India
Agriculture was very important
o Administration
Indian administration was weak in 16
th
century
No discipline or training in feudal military armies
No uniformity in fighting
Babur was the first emperor, born in Farhana 1483 and died in 1530
o Ruled from 1526 to 1530
o One of the most interesting figures in medieval history
o Struggled for glory his whole life and was a great empire builder
and scholar
o Empire extended from Khyber Pass to Bengal frontier
o Busy only in conquest
o Samarkand fascinated Babur but first 2 attempts failed
o Babur led 5 expeditions to India: 1
st
in 1519, 2
nd
in 1520, 3
rd
in
1520, 4
th
in 1524, and 5
th
in 1524 when he occupied Lahore
5
th
is Battle of Panipat where Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi
Lodhis military power shattered
o 1526- foundation of Mughal Empire
o Babur occupied Delhi and Agra, Baburs task began after Panipat
o Conflict w/Rajputs in 1527
o 1529-free to settle score w/Afghans led by Muhammad Lodhi
Battle of Ghogra near Patna

Naseerudin Muhammad Humayun was the eldest son of Babur, was born
in Kabul, and lived from 1508-1556
o Fathers made best efforts in training, and he was assigned to
certain planning in army
o Became governor of Padakhasha at age 20; One of the chief
commanders of invading army
o Left post in 1524 w/o telling Babur
o Babur nominated him as successor, but nobles did not approve of
Humayun
There was a plan to put Mehdi Khawaja on throne, but did
not materialize
o Internal difficulties (No primogeniture in Islam) b/c of War of
Succession
B/c of conflict, Battle of Kharjala occurred
o Mughal army was not a national army, so there were compatibility
issues in army
o Shershah Suri was the most ambitious of Afghan party and wanted
Mughal throne, and there was a threat from Gujurat ruler Bahadur
Shah
o Humayun lacked many good qualities needed for emperor
o Defeat at Battle of Kanoj in 1540
o Humayun fled to Lahore after being chased by Shershah Suri
Suri founded Sur dynasty after Battle of Kanoj; Suri had
short reign
Islam Shah ryled for 8 years and died in 1553
o Afghan dynasty began to decay; Humayun used it to his advantage
and came back in 1555
o Humayun was kind and generous and a true Muslim; good father
and fighter, but not a good administrator





Akbar the Great was born in Amorkot, Sindh on 15 October 1542 in
house of Rajput chief, reign was 1556 to 1605
o Akbar was less interested in studies and more in sports and
martial arts
o Governor of Ghazni from 1551 to 154
o Became ruler in 1556 an fought in 2
nd
Battle of Panipat
o Greatest rival of Akbar at the time was Hindu prime minister
Hemu
o After Humayuns death, Behram Khan was Akbars guardian from
1556 to 1560
His most important achievement was victory at 2
nd
Battle of
Panipat
o Dismissed by Akbar b/c he wanted power
o Became an independent ruler in 1562
o Before Jahangir, Akbar lost all his children in early youth
Princes Danyal and Murad died in youth du to excessive
drinking


Jahangir (1605 1627) AKA Saleem
o Born august 30
th
, 1569
o His mother was a Rajput princess of amber
o Akbar married Saleems mother in 1562
o The two brothers of Saleem were Danyaal and Murad who died in
prime youth due to excessive drinking
o He knew 4 languages- Persian, Turkish, Arabian, and hindu
o In 1585 saleem married raja bhagwandass daughter Man Bai
o Saleem revolted against Akbar in 1599
o After his assesion to throne Jahangir tried to win the hearts of the
people by following layers/steps
He issued an ordance to be uniformily implemented over
the empire
Regulations of highway robbery or theft
Free inheritance of property of a deceased person
Prohibition of sale of wine and all kinds of
intoxicating liquor
Banned physical punishments
Prohibition of clamming of property
Building of hospitals and appointment of doctors to
ill patients
No torturing prisoners
o Prince Khusro the eldest son of Jahangir started a rebellion in
1606 and later the prince and his followers were brought before
Jahangir
o Khusro was blinded and imprisoned and he died in confinement in
the fort of Agra in 1622
o Jahangirs marriage to Noor Jahan was one of the most important
events in the history of the world
o Noor Johans original name was Merunisa and she was the
daughter of a Persian noble, Mirza Naiaz Baig
o At the time of the marriage with Jahangir, Noor Jahan was a
widow and had a daughter, Ladly Begum
o Jahangir was a highly educated and cultured prince
o His memoirs were Tuzk-e-Jahangiri
o He died in 1627 October 28
th
buried in a beautiful garden in
Shard. He was on his way back to Lahore from Kashmir
o He had 4 sons, Khusro, Pervez, Khurram, and Shehryar



Shah Jahan AKA prince Khurram (1627 -1658)
o Born on 5
th
January 1592
o Mother was Jagat
o Shah Jahan was a favorite son of his grandfather
o Prince Khusro was put to death by Shah Jahan
o He marched up to Agra and ascended to throne
o Shah Jahan weighted the throne thoroughly the blood of his own
kings men which out a huge dent on his reputation forever
o Noor Jahan was prisoned by shah Jahan to live in Lahore where
she died
o Two great rebellions took place
Bundeyla rebellion 1625
Khan Jahan Lodhi rebellion 1629
o Aurangzeb, son of shah Jahan was the last Mughal emperor of India
(1658-1707)
o Ruled for 50 years
o He ascended to throne in July 1658 immediately after he captured
Agra
o He assumed the title of alamgir
o In history Aurangzeb has been regarded as the most fanatic
Muslim to spread Islam.
o In April 1679 Aurangzeb reimposed jizya, it is a tax payable by non
Muslims for there own protection and welfare in the society
o Akbar abolished this in 1564 before Aurangzeb imposed it again
o Aurangzebs religious policy generated feeling of discontent among
certain sections of people which by distracting his energys during
remainder of his reign prove to be one of the most potent causes
for the decline of the Mughal empire