The Mughal Empire

The making of a dynasty

The Mughal
Empire 1526 -
1827
What will we do today?
• Discover the narrative of the Mughal Empire.
• Compare two Mughal Emperors by using guided reading.
• Write a paragraph comparing two emperors.

How many years ago did the Mughal Empire

begin?
How many years did the Mughal Empire exist?

The mughale Empire originated from moderned day

Afghanistan and central ASIA. The first Emperor,
SPAG Badur, moved his armies into northern india and
corrections made Agra the capital citie.
…
 Beginning in 1525 powerful armies that were descended from
the Mongols of central Asia (hence the name ‘Mughal’)
The Mughal began invading northern India.
Empire These armies were Islamic and they moved into and took over
areas that were mostly Hindu (and some Christians). They
made Agra the capital and expanded their Empire across
modern day India.

They had made great rulers, including ‘Akbar the Great’ who was
famous for his religious tolerance and Shah Jahan who built
beautiful buildings like the Taj Mahal. The Empire was a centre of
culture and commerce for hundreds of years with people from
East and West meeting to do business and swap ideas.

By the reign of Emperor Aurangzeg the Mughal Empire was

1526 - 1827 beginning to decline. When the East India Company from Britain
began building bases on the shores of India it did not take them
long to break apart what was left of the once mighty Mughal
Empire.
 When and 1526,
Barbur
where did all
this take place?
1556
Akbar
Modern Day
Central Asia
1628,
1525 - 1707 Shah Jahan

How many
grandmothers 1658-1707,
Aurangzeg
ago? = 20
15…., 16…,
B…. S…. J….

1556
A…. 1658-1707,
A….
Draw and label your own
map of China y o u r
Outside the classroom is a Make neat
e l s a s Include
labelled map of India. lab t e a s all the
c c u r a labels –
and a ible. fo r w o r
w o rd
poss d.

One person from each team

at a time.

Look.
Remember.
Share. Finished?
Write. Start to learn these map locations on a spare page.
Num/Lit Settler

Look. Cover. Draw. Check

 1526,
Barbur
Descended from the Mongol
ruler Genghis Khan. Led the
Muslim Mughals into India
from modern day Afghanistan.
Captured Delhi and Agra.
1556
Akbar
Also called ‘Akbar the Great’. He was
merciless to his enemies but also led a
tolerant and open society that
embraced different religions. He
removed the jizar tax on non-Muslims
and built the Ibadat Khana in Agra – a
house or worship for all faiths together.
1628,
Shah Jahan
Famous for building the Taj
Mahal in Agra and other fine
buildings. Many historians see
his reign as the ‘height’ of the
Mughal Empire.
1658-1707,
Aurangzeg
He shifted away from Akbar’s policies of
tolerance but also faced great financial
difficulties as the Mughal Empire slowly
collapsed. He banned music and
gambling and reintroduced the Jizar tax.
He allowed the British East India
Company to build a base at Surat if they
paid a 3.5% tax.
 
Who were the Mughals?
“
Learn
more

Who started the

Mughal Empire? Explain why
Where did they
Akbar is known
come from? as ‘Akbar the
Great’
How far did the first
Emperor take the What happened
Empire?
when the EIC
What religion were arrived?
they?
What would you say was the Mughal Empire’s
greatest achievement?
Guided 1. Give each 2. Write down 3 facts
Reading paragraph a for each paragraph as
Task subheading bullet points.

Click here to
access
 Akbar

“
Rather than learning only from Muslim scholars in his court, Akbar stated that he Three Key Facts…
mingled with "learned men of all religion”Akbar also went to great lengths to integrate
non-Muslims into the Mughal empire. For example he did not forcefully convert Hindus to
Islam, but accommodated their religious demands by securing their freedom of public
prayer, and allowing Hindus to build and repair their temples.
1.
Granting Hindus the ability to freely worship baffled many critics, including his own
son Salim, who once asked his father why he had allowed Hindu ministers to spend money
on building a temple. Akbar responded to Salim: "My son, I love my own religion but the
Give each Hindu minister also loves his religion. If he wants to spend money on his religion, what 2.
right do I have to prevent him? Does he not have the right to love the thing that is his very
paragraph a own?“

subheading. Ensuring equality for all his subjects was one of Akbar's paramount concerns. In
abolishing the jizya, or poll tax on non-Muslims, and allowing for conversions to and from 3.
Islam, Akbar set an example: one did not have to be Muslim to be treated fairly in the
Mughal empire.

Akbar the Great's tolerance of other religions is also noticeable in his marriages to Go Further…
women of various faiths, most noteably Jodha Bai, a Hindu daughter of the House of
Jaipur. Akbar also took a Christian wife, Maria Zamani Begum, who had her own chapel in
one of Akbar's palaces. Do your own research
  and add in your own
Source: Craig Considine. “Finding Tolerance in Akbar, The Philosopher-King”. details to this
HuffingtonPost, 2013. paragraph…
 Aurangzeg

“
Three Key Facts…
Aurangzg banned practices such as drinking and gambling. In 1668 he
forbade music at his court and, with the exception of the royal band, The
festivities held on the emperor's birthday, including the custom of
1.
weighing him against gold and silver, were discontinued. The ceremony
of darshan, when the emperor would greet the public, was abandoned in
1679.
Give each 2.
When jizya, abolished for nearly a century, was reimposed in 1679, it
paragraph a was the Hindus and Christians who suffered. He went further and
subheading. imposed new taxes, for example, imposition of higher customs duties
and set them at 5 percent on the goods of the Hindus as against 2 3.
percent on those of Muslims.

Many of the Hindu regions rose up in rebellion against Aurangzeg’s Go Further…

new policies (laws) although he was often able to rely on other Hindu
leaders to help him shut them down. He wasted lots of money fighting Do your own research
protesting Hindus so his taxes did not make him as much money as he and add in your own
hoped. details to this
paragraph…
 Question:
What was different about the reigns of Akbar and Aurangzeg?
TRY TO WRITE TWO ‘PEEKA PARAGRAPHS’

POINT: (Identify a difference/similarity…)

EXAMPLE (Give one piece of detail/evidence to support your point):

EXPLAIN: (Explain why your point supports your argument)

KNOWLEDGE (Use your own knowledge to link to another comparison).

ANSWER (give a direct answer to the question asked)

The Legacy of the
Mughal Empire…
• In India today there is a large political party called the
Bharatiya Janata Party. Their leader is also the Prime
Minister of India – Narendra Modi. The party have been
described as ‘Hindu Nationalists’.

• They believe that the History of ‘Hindu India’ has been one
of struggle against foreign powers. First the Muslim Mughal
Empire controlled most of India and then the Christian
British Empire took over. The legacy of ‘struggle’ against the
Mughals is still with us today and can be seen in the
rhetoric/speech of India’s modern day politicians
 Scholarship/Further Reading Task (Homework).

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/whp-1750/xcabef9ed3fc7da7b:unit-1-the-world-in-17
50/xcabef9ed3fc7da7b:1-3-expanding-to-a-global-scale/a/read-mughal-empire-beta

Summarize this article in 200

words.
RESOURCES
“

15
 Key word:

Write a definition:

Glossary &
Keyword Write a sentence in which the word is used
Create a question where the keyword is the answer:
Spotlight correctly:

Got it!
Draw a small picture to help you remember this
Almost! keyword:

What other words are like this?

Not Yet!

16
 Keyword cards – can also be used for individual revision and as a QQT
activity.

Can you define…?

Taj Mahal A beautiful mausoleum built in

1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah
 Draw an
image/icon to help
Can you Jahan for his wife.
you remember this use it in a
keyword… sentence?

Can you define…?

Ibadt Khana A meeting place for all faiths to

worship, built by Akbar the Great.
 Draw an
image/icon to help
Can you
you remember this use it in a
keyword…
sentence?
 Keyword cards – can also be used for individual revision and as a QQT
activity.

Can you define…?

Tolerance When a country accepts people

from different faiths, much like the
 Draw an
image/icon to help
Can you Mughal Empire did at its height.
you remember this use it in a
keyword… sentence?

Can you define…?

Agra A city in India that the Mughals

made their capital city.
 Draw an
image/icon to help
Can you
you remember this use it in a
keyword…
sentence?
 • The Mongols
• The Silk Roads
Asian History • The Timurid Empire
• The Ottomans
5 LESSONS
• The Mughals

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