Today I am going to speak about the rise and fall of one of the

early modern empires in South Asia that reigned for over 3

centuries.
The empire was widespread and span across the Indus basin in
the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, Kashmir at the
north, to the highlands of present-day Assam and Bangladesh in
the east, and the uplands of the Deccan plateau in south India.
The founder of the Mughal dynasty was Zahīr ud-Dīn
Muhammad Babur, the first emperor of the dynasty who ruled
from 1526 to 1530. He was a descendant of the Turco-Mongol
conqueror Timur on his father's side, and from Genghis Khan on
his mother's side. He ruled over a small kingdom in Turkestan
and expanded his kingdom by attacking Afghanistan and
capturing Kabul in 1504. Babur's forces occupied much of
northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526 until his death in
1530.
Babur was succeeded by his son Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad
Humayun who lost his empire to the Sur Empire after 10 years of
reign. He regained his empire after 15 years with the help of the
Iranian Safavid Dynasty who later had major cultural influence
over the Mughal Empire. However, Babur died the Next year and
was succeeded by his son.
Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, popularly known as Akbar the
great, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, who
helped consolidate the Mughal Empire in India. He attempted to
resolve socio-political and cultural differences in his empire by
establishing a new religion, Din-i-Ilahi. After a great reign over the
empire, he died in 1605 and left his empire to his son Jahangir.
Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim Jahangir was the fourth Mughal
Emperor who ruled until his death in 1627. He later had to defeat
his son Prince Khusrau Mirza, who attempted to claim the throne
based on Akbar's will to become his next heir. Khusrau Mirza was
defeated in 1606 and confined in the fort of Agra. As punishment,
Khusrau Mirza was handed over to his younger brother and was
partially blinded and killed.
Shah Jahan reigned from 1628–1658 was born to Jahangir and his
wife Jagat Gosaini, a Rajput princess. During the reign of Shah Jahan,
the splendor of the Mughal court reached its peak, as exemplified by
the Taj Mahal. The cost of maintaining the court, however, began to
exceed the revenue coming in.
The younger son of Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb who reigned 1658–1707,
seized the throne. Aurangzeb defeated Dara in 1659 and had him
executed. Although Shah Jahan fully recovered from his illness,
Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule, and kept Shah Jahan
imprisoned until his death in 1666. During Aurangzeb's reign, the empire
gained political strength once more and became the world's most
powerful economy. Aurangzeb fully established sharia by compiling
the Fatwa Alamgiri. Aurangzeb is considered India's most controversial
king while other historians question this, noting that he built Hindu
temples significantly, employed more Hindus during his reign than his
predecessors did, opposed bigotry against Hindus and Shia Muslims, and
married Hindu Rajput princess Nawab Bai. Aurangzeb's son, Bahadur
Shah I, repealed the religious policies of his father and attempted to
reform the administration. The Mughal empire ended with the death of
Bahadur Shah Zafar.