The History of the Mughal Empire

Members of the imperial House of Babur, commonly known as the Gurkanis, formed the Mughal dynasty. The term "Mughal" is a distorted form of "Mongol" in Arabic and Persian languages, emphasizing the Mughal dynasty's Mongol ancestry. From around 1526 to 1857, the Mughal Empire was ruled by the Mughal dynasty. The word gained popularity in the nineteenth century, but Indologists (Termed referred to as 'Indian studies, known as Indology, is the academic study of India's history, cultures, languages, and literature. It is a subset of Asian studies') disagree. "Mogul" and "Moghul" were two terms that were used to refer to the empire. Babur's forebears, however, were distinct from the classical Mongols in that they were more interested in Persian culture than Turco-Mongol culture.

Hindustan was another name for the empire, chronicled in the Ain-i-Akbari and considered the empire's closest approximation to an official name. Finally, the name "Mughal" was mostly used in the west region to refer to the sovereign and, by extension, the empire as a total.

Babur (Reigned from 1526 – to 1530)

Zahir-ud-din Muhammad (Babur) reigned from 1526 to 1530, a Central Asian king descended from the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur (creator of the Timurid Empire) on his father's side, and Genghis Khan on his mother's side formed the Mughal Empire. Babur sought to fulfil his dreams after being expelled from his native kingdoms in Central Asia. He established himself in Kabul and then proceeded southward through the Khyber Pass (The Khyber Pass is a mountain pass in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border (Nangarhar Province). It has long been a major commerce route connecting Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent and a significant military chokepoint for the different kingdoms that have come to control it) into India from Afghanistan. In Panipat, Babur's army beat Ibrahim Lodhi. However, the Lodhi kingdom was already falling, and it was the Mewar Kingdom, led by Rana Sanga, emerged as the biggest power in Northern India. Babur sought heavenly favour before the fight by abstaining from alcohol, destroying the wine jars, and pouring the liquid down a well. Babur's Timurid armies defeated Sanga's Rajput army in a decisive battle near Agra. The conflict was one of India's most significant and historic battles since it secured Northern India's fate for the following two centuries. After the war, Agra replaced Kabul as the seat of Mughal power. However, the new emperor's obsession with wars and military campaigns prevented him from consolidating his achievements in India.

Humayun (Reigned from 1530 to 1556)

The son of Babur, Nasir-ud-din Muhammad (Humayun); reigned from 1530 to 1556, was pushed into exile in Persia by rebels, revealing the empire's instability. Sher Shah Suri (reigned 1540–1555) founded the Sur Empire (1540–1555), which briefly interrupted Mughal control. The Safavid and Mughal Courts formed diplomatic links resulting from Humayun's exile in Persia, and Persian cultural influence grew in the Mughal Empire. In 1555, Humayun returned triumphantly from Persia, restoring Mughal sovereignty in some regions of India, but he died in an accident the following year.

Akbar (Reigned from 1556 to 1605)

Jalal-ud-din Muhammad (Akbar) was born in the Rajput Umarkot Fort to Humayun and his Persian princess bride Hamida Banu Begum. He reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar ascended to the throne with the support of a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the Mughal Empire in India consolidate. Akbar expanded his empire in all directions and dominated the Indian Subcontinent practically north of the Godavari River through battle and diplomacy. He established a new ruling class devoted to him, put a modern government, and promoted cultural advancements. The reign of Akbar had a significant impact on Indian history. The Mughal Empire expanded in size and wealth during his reign. He established a strong military and implemented significant political and social reforms. He was the first Mughal monarch to gain the trust and devotion of the local subjects by removing the sectarian levy on non-Muslims and assigning them to top civil and military positions. He expanded his business relationships with European trading firms. India's economy grew stronger and more stable, allowing it to expand commercially and prosper economically. Akbar granted religious freedom at his court and attempted to reconcile his empire's sociopolitical and cultural divisions by founding a new religion, Din-i-Ilahi, which had strong ruler cult elements. He left his son a state that was internally stable and amid its golden era but would soon show signs of political weakness.

Jahangir (Reigned from 1605 to 1627)

Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (Jahangir); reigned from 1605 to 1627, was the son of Akbar and his Indian Rajput royal bride Mariam-uz-Zamani. He was addicted to opium, disregarded state concerns, and fell under the sway of rival court cliques. Jahangir set himself apart from Akbar by making concerted efforts to enlist the help of the Islamic religious establishment, gifting their vast swaths of land as madad-i ma'ash holders. In contrast to Akbar, Jahangir clashed with non-Muslim religious leaders, including Sikh guru Arjan, whose assassination marked the start of a series of disputes between the Mughal and Sikh communities. In 1626, Jahangir considered allying with the Ottomans, Mughals, and Uzbeks to combat the Safavids, who had destroyed the Mughals at Kandahar. He even wrote a letter to Murad IV, the Ottoman Sultan. Jahangir's ambitions, however, were dashed when he died in 1627.

Shah Jahan (Reigned from 1628 to 1658)

Shahab-ud-din Muhammad (Shah Jahan), reigned from 1628 to 1658, was the son of Jahangir and his Rajput princess bride Jagat Gosaini. The splendour of the Mughal court reached its pinnacle during Shah Jahan's reign, as seen by the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan built many buildings, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal in Agra, where his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, is interred. His friendship with Mumtaz Mahal has influenced Indian art, literature, and cinema. In addition, he possessed the royal treasury and several valuable stones, including the Kohinoor, and was thus often recognized as the wealthiest Indian in history. However, the cost of maintaining the court began to outweigh the cash received. Thus, "The Golden Age of Mughal Architecture" was coined during his reign. By overthrowing the Nizam Shahi dynasty and forcing the Adil Shahis and Qutb Shahis to pay tribute, Shah Jahan extended the Mughal dominion to the Deccan.

Aurangzeb (Reigned from 1658 to 1707)

The eldest son of Shah Jahan, the liberal Dara Shikoh, became regent in 1658. Dara promoted a Hindu-Muslim civilization that was syncretistic. However, with the support of Islamic orthodoxy, Shah Jahan's younger son, Muhi-Ud-Din Muhammad (Aurangzeb), reigned from 1658 to 1707, ascended to the throne. In 1659, Aurangzeb conquered Dara and had him executed. Even though Shah Jahan recovered completely from his sickness, Aurangzeb declared him incapable of ruling and imprisoned him till his death in 1666. The empire regained political strength and became the world's most powerful economy during Aurangzeb's reign. Aurangzeb supervised a rise in the Mughal state's Islamicization. He encouraged non-Muslims to convert to Islam, reinstated the jizya, and compiled the Fatwa Alamgiri, an Islamic law collection. The Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur was also executed by Aurangzeb, leading to the militarization of the Sikh community. He expanded the empire over practically the entirety of South Asia, although "many empire regions were in open revolt" when he died in 1707. Some historians argue that Aurangzeb's religious conservatism and intolerance undermined the stability of Mughal society. In contrast, others question this, pointing out that he built Hindu temples, employed significantly more Hindus in his imperial bureaucracy than his predecessors, and opposed bigotry against Hindus and Shia Muslims.

The Decline (From 1707 to 1857) of the Mughal Empire

Bahadur Shah I, Aurangzeb's son, reversed his father's religious policies and strove to reform the administration. The Mughal monarchy, however, fell into turmoil and brutal feuds after his death in 1712. In the year 1719, four emperors assumed the throne in a row. The empire began to disintegrate during Muhammad Shah's reign from 1719 to 1748, and vast swaths of central India handed over from Mughal to Maratha control. Nadir Shah's far-flung Indian campaign, which had already imposed Iranian suzerainty over most of West Asia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, ended in the Sack of Delhi, shattering the last vestiges of Mughal power and dignity. Many of the empire's elites broke away to form independent kingdoms to gain control of their affairs. However, according to Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, the Mughal Emperor continued to be the highest symbol of sovereignty. The Muslim elite and the Maratha, Hindu, and Sikh elites took part in the emperor's formal recognition as India's ruler. During the Carnatic Wars and the Bengal War, various provincial polities within the increasingly fractured Mughal Empire embroiled themselves and the state in global hostilities, only to be defeated and lose land. The Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II; reigned from 1759 to 1806, tried in vain to reverse the Mughal collapse and was forced to seek the protection of the Emir of Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah Abdali, which resulted in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, which pitted the Maratha Empire against the Afghans (headed by Abdali). The Marathas reclaimed Delhi from the Afghans in 1771, and in 1784, they were formally designated as the emperor's defenders in Delhi, a status that lasted until the Second Anglo-Maratha War. Following it, the British East India Company became the Mughal dynasty's defenders in Delhi.

After abolishing local rule (Nizamat) that lasted until 1858, the British East India Company acquired control of the old Mughal province of Bengal-Bihar in 1793, marking the start of the British colonial era on the Indian Subcontinent. By 1857, the East India Company had authority over a large portion of erstwhile Mughal India. The last Mughal, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was overthrown by the British East India Company and deported in 1858 after a catastrophic defeat in the war he officially led from 1857 to 1858. The British Crown gained direct authority over East India Company-held territory in India by the Government of India Act 1858, establishing the new British Raj. Empress of India was bestowed upon British Queen Victoria in 1876. Historians have proposed various causes for the Mughal Empire's sudden decline following a century of expansion and prosperity. First, the throne lost the necessary income to pay its chief officers, emirs (nobles), and their entourages.