Chapter 4 - The Mughal Empire

• In the middle age, an intense realm was that of the Mughals. From the last 50% of the sixteenth century they extended their kingdom from Agra and Delhi, until in the seventeenth century they controlled almost the majority of the subcontinent.
• The heritage left by them stands unparalleled.
• Who were the Mughals: The Mughals were relatives of two awesome ancestories of rulers.
  From their mother's side they were relatives of Genghis Khan and from the father's side they were the relatives of Timur.

Mughal Military Campaigns:

1. Babur, the principal Mughal sovereign, captured Delhi in 1526 by defeating Ibrahim Lodi in the Battle of Panipat.
2. Humayun captured Delhi in 1555.
3. Akbar captured Chittor (1568), Ranthambor (1569), Gujarat, Bihar, Bengal, Kashmir, Berar Khandesh, and so on (1585-1605).
4. Jahangir took battle against Sikhs and Ahoms.
5. Shah Jahan captured Ahmadnagar and Bijapur.
6. Aurangzeb pursued a long fight in the Deccan.

Mughal Traditions of Succession:

1. The Mughals did not put stock in the manage of primogeniture, where the eldest child acquired his dad's domain.
2. They took after the custom of coparcenary legacy, or a division of the legacy among every one of the children.

Mughal Relations with other Rulers:

1. The Mughal rulers battled always against rulers who declined to acknowledge their power.
2. But as the Mughals turned out to be effective numerous different rulers likewise went along with them willfully. The Rajputs served the Mughals intentionally.
3. Mughals gave mansab and jagirs which helped them to extend their domains.
4. The fundamental wellspring of wage accessible to Mughal rulers was impose on the create of the working class.

Akbar's Policies:

1. Akbar's works are found in the book Akbarnama written by Abul Fazal.
2. Akbar's nobles commanded large armies and had access to large amounts of revenue.
3. Akbar divided his kingdom into provinces called subas governed by a Subedar.
4. While Akbar was at Fatehpur Sikri, he started discussion on religion with the ulemas.
• The discussions tooks place in the ibadat khana.
• Akbar realized that religious scholars emphasized rituals and dogmas were often bigots.
• It led Akbar to the idea of Sulh-ikul or universal peace.
• Shah Jahan and Jhangir also followed this principle.

1. The administrative and military efficiency of the Mughal Empire led to great economic and commercial prosperity.
2. The Mughal emperors and their mansabdars spent a great deal of their income on salaries and goods.
3. The wealthier peasantry and artisanal groups, the merchants and bankers profited in this economic world.
4. Primary producers, however, lived in poverty.
5. By 18th century several provinces started declaring independence though they continued to regard Mughals as their masters.