Bangladesh Studies

Lecture 5
 The Mughals
• Mughals in India
• Origin
 Mughal Empire
• Babur (1526-1530)
• Humayun (1530-1540; 1555-1556)
• Akbar, the Great (1556-1605)
• Jahangir (1605-1627)
• Shah Jahan (1627- 1658) died 1666
• Aurangzeb (1658-1707)
• Later rulers: 14; last: Bahadur Shah Jafar II
• (1707-1857)
Capital
 Agra (1526–1540; 1555-1571)
 Fatehpur Sikri (1571–1585)
 Lahore (May 1586–1598)
 Agra (1598–1648)
 Shahjahanabad, Delhi (1648–1857)
Akbar’s Naba-Ratna

• Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, Grand Vizier or Prime

Minister(1580-1602) of Akbar
• Raja Todar Mal, Finance Minister and
Commerce Minister of Akbar
• Faizi, Education Minister of Akbar
and Mentor of Shahzadas
• Fakir Aziao-Din, Religious Minister
of Akbar
• Tansen, Culture Minister and Singer
of Akbar
• Raja Man Singh I, Chief of Staff of
Akbar's Mughal Army
• Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, Defence Minister
of Akbar
• Raja Birbal, Foreign Minister of Akbar
• Mulla Do-Piyaza, Home Minister of Akbar
 Others
• Mughal Architecture
Influence on South Asia
• Administrative reforms
• Art & Culture
• Cuisine
• Architecture
• Infrastructure
• Buildings & gardens
• Urdu Language
• Introduction of Bangla Calendar by Akbar
• Central Government
• Provincial Government
• Administrative Units:
 Subahs
 Sarker
 Pargana/Mahal
 Gram
 Economy
• In 1600, the gross domestic product (GDP) of
India was estimated at about 22% of the world
economy, which was 2nd behind China.

• In 1700, the GDP of India had risen to 24% of

the world economy, the largest in the world,
larger than both China and Western Europe.
• India was the world leader in
manufacturing, producing about 25% of the
world's industrial output up until the 18th
century.

• India's economy has been described as a form

of proto-industrialisation, like that of 18th-
century Western Europe prior to the Industrial
Revolution.
• extensive road system
• uniform currency
• unification of the country
• Major exports: Textiles, silk, spices, yarns,
thread, silk, jute, shipbuilding, indigo, saltpeter
• Major import: bullion, silver and gold
• Taxation System
 Subah Bangala
• The Bengal Subah had the largest regional
economy in the Mughal Empire. ... Real wages
and living standards in 18th-century Bengal
were higher than in Britain, which in turn had
the highest living standards in Europe.
• Bengal was described as the Paradise of
Nations by Mughal emperors.
• Dhaka was the commercial capital of the
empire.
• The Europeans regarded Bengal as the richest
place for trade.
• Dhaka (in Bengal Subah) with over 1 million
people