There is no denying the fact that the Mughal Territory
was a dominion that at its paramount defensive extended ruled parts of
what is today Afghanistan, Pakistan and most of the Indian
Subcontinent, then known as Hindustan, between 1526 and 1707. The realm
was set up by the Timurid forerunner Babur in 1526, when he defeated
Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Scuffle of
Panipat. “Mughal” is the Persian word for “Mongol”. The religion of the
Mughals was Islam and based on the faith upon God, the ruling system was
promulgated in the form of administration and defense as a tentative flow.The
terrain was intensively subjugated by the Afghan Sher Shah Suri in the
course of the time of Humayun, the second Mughal monarch, but under
Akbar it grew considerably, and sustained to grow until the end of
Aurangzeb’s rule. Jahangir, the son of Akbar, ruled the empire between
1605–1627. In October 1627, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, son of Jahangir,
“flourished to the throne”, where he “inherited a vast and rich empire”
in India; and “at mid-century this was perhaps the greatest empire in
the world”. Shah Jahan bespoke the famous Taj Mahal (amid 1630–1653), in
Agra.
The emperor of Mughals had faced stiff challenges from the
Marathas, and after Aurangzeb died in 1707, the empire started to
decline in actual power, giving way to the rise of the Hindu Maratha
Empire. The Mughals however managed to maintain some trappings of power
in the India for another 150 years. In 1739 it was defeated by an army
from Persia led by Nadir Shah. In 1756 an army of Ahmed Shah Abdali took
Delhi again. The British Empire finally dissolved it in 1857,
immediately prior to which it existed only at the sufferance of the
British East India Company.
Faith
The Mughal ruling class was liberal-minded Muslims, even though
furthermost of the subjects of the Empire were Hindu. Though Babur
established the Empire, the empire remained unstable (and was even
exiled) until the reign of Akbar, who was not only of liberal
disposition but also intimately acquainted, since birth, with the mores
and traditions of India. Under Akbar’s rule, the court abolished the
jizya (the poll-tax on non-Muslims) and abandoned use of the lunar
Muslim calendar in favor of a solar calendar more useful for
agriculture. One of Akbar’s most unusual ideas regarding religion was
Din-i-Ilahi (“Faith-of-God” in English), which was an eclectic mix of
Hinduism, panthiestic versions of Sufi Islam, Zoroastrianism and
Christianity. It was proclaimed the state religion until his death.
These actions however met with stiff opposition from the Muslim clergy.
However, the orthodoxy regained influence only three generations later,
with Aurangzeb, known for upholding doctrines of orthodox Islam; this
last of the Great Mughals retracted nearly all the liberal policies of
his forbears.
| Mughal Sovereigns |
| Emperor |
Reign start |
Reign end |
| Babur |
1526 |
1530 |
| Humayun |
1530 |
1540 |
| Interregnum * |
1540 |
1555 |
| Humayun |
1555 |
1556 |
| Akbar |
1556 |
1605 |
| Jahangir |
1605 |
1627 |
| Shah Jahan |
1627 |
1658 |
| Aurangzeb |
1658 |
1707 |
Formation and supremacy of Babur
In the early 16th century, Muslim armies consisting of Mongol,
Turkic, Persian, and Afghan warriors invaded India under the leadership
of the Timurid prince Zahir-ud-Din-Mohammad Babur. Babur was the
great-grandson of Mongol conqueror Timur Lenk (Timur the Lame, from
which the Western name Tamerlane is derived), who had invaded India in
1398 before retiring to Samarkand who himself claimed descent from the
Mongol ruler, Genghis Khan. Babur was driven from Samarkand by the
Uzbeks and initially established his rule in Kabul in 1504. Later,
taking advantage of internal discontent in the Delhi sultanate under
Ibrahim Lodi, and following an invitation from Daulat Khan Lodi
(governor of Punjab) and Alam Khan (uncle of the Sultan), Babur invaded
India in 1526.
Babur, a seasoned military commander, entered India in 1526 with his
well-trained veteran army of 12,000 to meet the sultan’s huge but
unwieldy and disunited force of more than 100,000 men. Babur defeated
the Lodi sultan decisively at the first Battle of Panipat. Employing gun
carts, moveable artillery, and superior cavalry tactics, Babur achieved
a resounding victory and the Sultan was killed. A year later (1527) he
decisively defeated, at the battle of Khanwa, a Rajput confederacy led
by Rana Sanga of Chittor. A third major battle was fought in 1529 when,
at the battle of Gogra, Babur routed the joint forces of Afghans and the
sultan of Bengal. Babur died in 1530 at Agra before he could
consolidate his military gains. He left behind as his chief legacy a set
of descendants who would fulfill his dream of establishing an empire in
the Indian subcontinent.
Early Sikh Gurus’ perception of the Mughal Empire Babur’s reign was
witnessed by the first Sikh Guru Nanak Dev Ji. His Raag Asa Guru records
Nanak’s observations and thoughts in his poems. It says:
“Having attacked Khuraasaan, Babar terrified Hindustan. The Creator
Himself does not take the blame, but has sent the Mugal as the messenger
of death. There was so much slaughter that the people screamed. Didn’t
You feel compassion, Lord?”
Hindu women in Babur’s rule:
“Those heads garlanded with inter-weaved mop, with their parts
highlighted with vermilion – those heads were shaved with scissors, and
their throats were choked with dust. They lived in regal manors, but
now, they cannot even sit near the palaces…. ropes were put around their
necks, and their strings of pearls were broken. Their wealth and
youthful beauty, which gave them so much pleasure, have now become their
enemies. The order was given to the soldiers, who dishonored them, and
carried them away. If it is pleasing to God’s Will, He bestows
greatness; if is pleases His Will, He bestows punishment”
Mughal rule under Babur:
“First, the tree puts down its roots, and then it spreads out its
shade above. The kings are tigers, and their officials are dogs; they go
out and awaken the sleeping people to harass them. The public servants
inflict wounds with their nails. The dogs lick up the blood that is
spilled.” Source: Rag Malar, (pg.1288) Strangely enough, the land on which the Sikh Golden temple now stands, was actually donated by Mughal emperor Akbar.
Reign of Humayun
When Babur died, his son Humayun (1530–56) inherited a difficult
task. He was pressed from all sides by a reassertion of Afghan claims to
the Delhi throne and by disputes over his own succession. He fled to
Persia, where he spent nearly ten years as an humiliated guest of the
Safavid court of Shah Tahmasp. During Sher Shah’s reign, an imperial
unification and administrative framework were established; this would be
further developed by Akbar later in the century. In 1545, Humayun
gained a foothold in Kabul with Safavid assistance and reasserted his
Indian claims, a task facilitated by the weakening of Afghan power in
the area after the death of Sher Shah Suri in May 1545. He took control
of Delhi in 1555, but died within six months of his return, from a fall
down the steps of his library.
Sway of Akbar
Humayun’s premature death in 1556 leftward the task of takeover and
magnificent amalgamation to his thirteen-year-old son, Jalal-ud-Din
Akbar. Following a decisive military victory at the Second Battle of
Panipat in 1556, the regent Bayram Khan pursued a vigorous policy of
expansion on Akbar’s behalf. As soon as Akbar came of age, he began to
free himself from the influences of overbearing ministers, court
factions, and harem intrigues, and demonstrated his own capacity for
judgment and leadership. A workaholic who seldom slept more than three
hours a night, he personally oversaw the implementation of his
administrative policies, which were to form the backbone of the Mughal
Empire for more than 200 years. He continued to conquer, annex, and
consolidate a far-flung territory bounded by Kabul in the northwest,
Kashmir in the north, Bengal in the east, and beyond the Narmada River
in central India.
Akbar assembled a enveloped capital called Fatehpur Sikri near Agra,
starting in 1571. Strongholds for each of Akbar’s senior queens, a huge
artificial lake, and sumptuous water-filled courtyards were built there.
However, the city was soon abandoned and the capital was moved to
Lahore in 1585. The reason may have been that the water supply in
Fatehpur Sikri was inadequate or of poor quality; or, as some historians
believe, that Akbar had to attend to the northwest areas of his empire
and therefore moved his capital northwest. In 1599, Akbar shifted his
capital back to Agra from where he reigned until his death.
Akbar adopted two distinct but effective approaches in administering a
large territory and incorporating various ethnic groups into the
service of his realm. In 1580 he obtained local revenue statistics for
the previous decade in order to understand details of productivity and
price fluctuation of different crops. Aided by Todar Mal, a hindu
scholar, Akbar issued a revenue schedule that optimised the revenue
needs of the state with the ability of the peasantry to pay. Revenue
demands, fixed according to local conventions of cultivation and quality
of soil, ranged from one-third to one-half of the crop and were paid in
cash. Akbar relied heavily on land-holding zamindars to act as
revenue-collectors. They used their considerable local knowledge and
influence to collect revenue and to transfer it to the treasury, keeping
a portion in return for services rendered. Within his administrative
system, the warrior aristocracy (mansabdars) held ranks (mansabs)
expressed in numbers of troops, and indicating pay, armed contingents,
and obligations. The warrior aristocracy was generally paid from
revenues of nonhereditary and transferable jagirs (revenue villages).
An astute ruler who genuinely appreciated the challenges of
administering so vast an empire, Akbar introduced a policy of
reconciliation and assimilation of Hindus (including Jodhabai, later
renamed Mariam-uz-Zamani begum, the Hindu mother of his son and heir,
Jahangir), who represented the majority of the population. He recruited
and rewarded Hindu chiefs with the highest ranks in government;
encouraged intermarriages between Mughal and Rajput aristocracy; allowed
new temples to be built; personally participated in celebrating Hindu
festivals such as Deepavali, or Diwali, the festival of lights; and
abolished the jizya (poll tax) imposed on non-Muslims. Akbar came up
with his own theory of “ruler ship as a divine illumination,” enshrined
in his new religion Din-i-Ilahi (Divine Faith), incorporating the
principle of acceptance of all religions and sects. He encouraged widow
re-marriage, discouraged child marriage, outlawed the practice of sati,
and persuaded Delhi merchants to set up special market days for women,
who otherwise were secluded at home.
By the end of Akbar’s reign, the Mughal Empire extended throughout
north India even south of the Narmada river. Notable exceptions were
Gondwana in central India, which paid tribute to the Mughals, Assam in
the northeast, and large parts of the Deccan. The area south of the
Godavari river remained entirely out of the ambit of the mughals. In
1600, Akbar’s Mughal empire had a revenue of £17.5 million. By
comparison, in 1800, the entire treasury of Great Britain totaled £16
million.
Akbar’s empire supported vibrant intellectual and cultural life. The
large imperial library included books in Hindi, Persian, Greek,
Kashmiri, English, and Arabic, such as the Shahnameh, Bhagavata Purana
and the Bible. Akbar regularly sponsored debates and dialogues among
religious and intellectual figures with differing views, and he welcomed
Jesuit missionaries from Goa to his court. Akbar directed the creation
of the Hamzanama, an artistic masterpiece that included 1400 large
paintings.
Reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan
Mughal rule under Jahangir (1605–27) and Shah Jahan (1628–58) was
noted for political stability, brisk economic activity, beautiful
paintings, and monumental buildings. Jahangir married a Persian princess
whom he renamed Nur Jehan (Light of the World), who emerged as the most
powerful individual in the court besides the emperor. As a result,
Persian poets, artists, scholars, and officers–including her own family
members–lured by the Mughal court’s brilliance and luxury, found asylum
in India. The number of unproductive officers mushroomed, as did
corruption, while the excessive Persian representation upset the
delicate balance of impartiality at the court. Jahangir liked Hindu
festivals but promoted mass conversion to Islam; he persecuted the
followers of Jainism and even executed Guru Arjun Dev, the fifth
saint-teacher of the Sikhs in 1606 for refusing to make changes to the
Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh holy book). The execution was not entirely
for religious reasons; Guru Arjun Dev Ji supported Prince Khusro,
another contestant to the Mughul throne in the civil war that developed
after Akbar’s death. Noor Jahan’s abortive efforts to secure the throne
for the prince of her choice led Shah Jahan to rebel against Jahangir in
1622. In that same year, the Persians took over Kandahar in southern
Afghanistan, an event that struck a serious blow to Mughal prestige.
Between 1636 and 1646, Shah Jahan sent Mughal armies to conquer the
Deccan and the lands to the northwest of the empire, beyond the Khyber
Pass. Even though they aptly demonstrated Mughal military strength,
these campaigns drained the imperial treasury. As the state became a
huge military machine, causing the nobles and their contingents to
multiply almost fourfold, the demands for revenue from the peasantry
were greatly increased. Political unification and maintenance of law and
order over wide areas encouraged the emergence of large centers of
commerce and crafts–such as Lahore, Delhi, Agra, and Ahmadabad–linked by
roads and waterways to distant places and ports.
The world-famous Taj Mahal was built in Agra during Shah Jahan’s
reign as a tomb for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It symbolizes both
Mughal artistic achievement and excessive financial expenditures at a
time when resources were shrinking. The economic positions of peasants
and artisans did not improve because the administration failed to
produce any lasting change in the existing social structure. There was
no incentive for the revenue officials, whose concerns were primarily
personal or familial gain, to generate resources independent of what was
received from the Hindu zamindars and village leaders, who, due to
self-interest and local dominance, did not hand over the entirety of the
tax revenues to the imperial treasury. In their ever-greater dependence
on land revenue, the Mughals unwittingly nurtured forces that
eventually led to the break-up of their empire.
Reign of Aurangzeb and decline of empire
The last of the great Mughals was Aurangzeb. During his fifty-year
reign, the empire reached its greatest physical size but also showed
unmistakable signs of decline. The bureaucracy had grown corrupt; the
huge army used outdated weaponry and tactics. Aurangzeb restored Mughal
military dominance and expanded power southward, at least for a while.
Aurangzeb was involved in a series of protracted wars: against the
Pathans in Afghanistan, the sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda in the
Deccan, the Marathas in Maharashtra and the Ahoms in Assam. Peasant
uprisings and revolts by local leaders became all too common, as did the
conniving of the nobles to preserve their own status at the expense of a
steadily weakening empire.
The increasing association of his government with Islam further drove
a wedge between the ruler and his Hindu subjects. Contenders for the
Mughal throne were many, and the reigns of Aurangzeb’s successors were
short-lived and filled with strife. The Mughal Empire experienced
dramatic reverses as regional nawabs or governors broke away and founded
independent kingdoms. In the war of 27 years from 1680 to 1707, the
Mughals suffered several heavy defeats at the hands of the Marathas.
They had to make peace with the Maratha armies, and Persian and Afghan
armies invaded Delhi, carrying away many treasures, including the
Peacock Throne in 1739.
The first Mughal emperor Babur wrote in his diary Tuzk Babri:
“Hindustan is a country which has few pleasures to recommend it….
Indians have no idea of the charms of friendly society, of frankly
mixing together, or of familiar intercourse…. They have no horses, no
good grapes, or musk melons, no good fruits, no ice or cold water, no
good food or bread in their bazaars, no bath or colleges, no candles, no
torches, not a candle stick.” The Mughals were superior to their Indian
counterparts in war but also considered themselves so culturally. They
had taste for the fine things in life – for beautifully designed
artifacts and the enjoyment and appreciation of cultural activities.
However, the Hindus of India provided the Mughals with a richer
philosophy and the plentiful spices and vegetarian options which were
incorporated into modern Indian life. While the Mughals’ superior
position may have been appreciated, in reality, they probably borrowed
as much as they gave. However, it could not be doubted that they
introduced many changes to Indian society and culture, including:
- Centralized government which conveyed collected many smaller kingdoms
- Delegated government with respect for human rights
- Persian art and culture amalgamated with native Indian art and culture
- Started new trade routes to Arab and Turk lands
- Mughal cuisine
- Urdu and Hindi languages were formed for common Muslims and Hindus correspondingly
- Periods of great religious broad mindedness
- A style of construction
- Landscape horticulture
- A system of education that took account of pupils’ needs and culture
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