Mughal Empire

Mughal empire under Aurangzeb

The Mughal Empire (Urdu: ????? ??????, Mug_?liyah Sal?anat), self-designated as
Gurkani (Persian: ??????????, Gurkaniyan), was a Persianate empire extending ove
r large parts of the Indian subcontinent and ruled by a dynasty of Mongol and Ch
agatai-Turkic origin.
In the early 16th century, northern India, being then under mainly Muslim rulers
, fell to the superior mobility and firepower of the Mughals. The resulting Mugh
al Empire did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule, but rather bala
nced and pacified them through new administrative practices and diverse and incl
usive ruling elites, leading to more systematic, centralized, and uniform rule.
Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar, the Mughals
united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised
culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status.
The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the founder Babur's victo
ry over Ibrahim Lodi in the first Battle of Panipat (1526). It reached its peak
extent under Aurangzeb, and declined rapidly after his death (in 1707) under a s
eries of ineffective rulers as well as due to Aurangzeb's extremism. The empire'
s collapse followed heavy losses inflicted by the smaller army of the Maratha Em
pire in the Deccan Wars (1680 1707), which encouraged the Nawabs of Bengal, Bhopal
, Oudh, Carnatic, Rampur, and the Nizam of Hyderabad to declare their independen
ce from the Mughals. Following the Third Anglo-Maratha war in 1818, the Mughal e
mperor became a pensioner of the Raj, and the empire, its power now limited to D
elhi, lingered on until 1857, when it was effectively dissolved after the fall o
f Delhi during the Indian Rebellion that same year.
The Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turko-Mongols from modern-day Uzbekistan,
who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan (through his son Chagatai Kha
n) and Timur. At the height of their power in the late 17th and early 18th centu
ries, they controlled much of the Indian subcontinent, extending from Bengal in
the east to Kabul & Sindh in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri basin
in the south. Its population at that time has been estimated as between 110 and
150 million (quarter of the world's population), over a territory of more than 3
.2 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles).
More about the Mughal Empire...
Show new selections
edit
Selected article
Tomb of Jahangir
The Tomb of Jahangir (Urdu: ?????? ????????, Punjabi: ??????? ?? ?????) is a mau
soleum built for Jahangir, who ruled the Mughal Empire from 1605 to 1627. The ma
usoleum is located in Shahdara Bagh in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
The entrance to the mausoleum is through two massive gateways of stone and mason
ry opposite each other (to the north and south) which lead to a square enclosure
known as the Akbari Serai. This enclosure leads to another one, on the Western
side, giving full view of the garden in front of the mausoleum, which is travers
ed by four bricked canals proceeding from the center, and in which many fountain
s were placed which are now ruined. The corridor around the mausoleum is adorned
with a very elegant mosaic, representing flowers and verses from the Quran.
The mausoleum is a building with one floor. The ground floor has a square shape.
Its structure consists of a platform with a tall, octagonal tower and a project
ing entrance in the middle of each side. The exterior of the mausoleum, includin
g the lowest stage of the towers, is clad with red sandstone facing with rich pa
nel decoration inlaid with marble decorative motifs. The four corners of the tow
er, with the white marble cupolas, rise in five stages to a height of 100 feet (

30m) with a zigzag inlay of white and yellow marble. The building is divided int
o a series of vaulted compartments. The interior is embellished with floral fres
coes with delicate inlay work and marble of various co