The Mughal Family

Members of the imperial House of Babur, commonly known as the Gurkanis, formed the Mughal empire. The Mughals were a branch of the Turco-Mongol Timurid dynasty from Central Asia. Babur, the family's founder, was a direct descendant of Asian conqueror Timur the Great on his father's side and Mongol monarch Genghis Khan on his mother's side. Babur's forefathers shared common ancestry with the Genghisids. 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 Emperor was the ultimate head of state, government, and military throughout much of the Empire's history. Still, most of the power went to the Grand Vizier during its decline, and the Empire was divided into several regional kingdoms and princely states. Even in the last days of the Mughal Empire, the Mughal Emperor remained the ultimate expression of sovereignty on the Indian subcontinent. The Muslim nobility and the Maratha, Rajput, and Sikh leaders took part in the Emperor's formal recognition as the sovereign of South Asia. During the Indian War of Independence, the royal family was ousted, and the Empire was abolished on 21 September 1857. In the next year, the British Raj was established. After being convicted of various offences, the last Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, was banished to Rangoon in British-controlled Burma (now Myanmar).

Babur, a Timurid ruler from Uzbekistan, is widely credited with founding the Mughal empire in 1526. After losing his ancestral territories in Central Asia, Babur established himself in Kabul and then moved on to the Indian subcontinent. During Humayun's reign, the Sur Emperors halted Mughal rule for 16 years. Akbar the Great established the Mughal imperial structure in the 1580s, and it lasted until the 1740s, just after the Battle of Karnal.  The Dynasty achieved its pinnacle in terms of geographical extension, economics, military might, and cultural influence during the reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. Around 1700, the Dynasty ruled over the world's wealthiest Empire, as well as the world's greatest military.  The Mughals controlled around a quarter of the world's economy and possessed a one-million-strong force. The Mughals dominated practically all of South Asia at the time, with 160 million subjects, or 23% of the world's population. Internal dynastic struggles, incompatible monarchs, foreign invasions by Persians and Afghans, and revolts from Marathas, Sikhs, Rajputs, and provincial Nawabs decreased the Dynasty's authority swiftly in the 18th century. The last Emperor's power was restricted to the Walled City of Delhi. Because they were born to Rajput and Persian princesses, many Mughals had significant Indian Rajput and Persian ancestry through marriage partnerships. The Mughals were instrumental in the development of the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (Indo-Islamic civilization). Mughals were also enthusiastic supporters of art, culture, literature, and architecture. During the Mughal era, Mughal painting, architecture, culture, apparel, gastronomy, and the Urdu language flourished. Mughals were not only custodians of art and culture, but they were also personally interested in them. Emperor Babur, Aurangzeb, and Shah Alam II were brilliant calligraphers, while Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Bahadur Shah II were excellent painters, painters, and architects.

The Mughal dynasty was founded on the principles that the Emperor had complete sovereignty over the Empire's entire territory, that only one person could be Emperor at a time, and that every male member of the Dynasty was theoretically eligible to become Emperor, even though an heir-apparent was appointed several times throughout the Dynasty's history. The procedures by which imperial princes came to the Peacock Throne, on the other hand, were unique to the Mughal Empire. To better understand these processes, the history of Emperor succession can be separated into two periods: the Era of Imperial Successions (1526-1713) and the Era of Regent Successions (1526-1713), (1713-1857).

Babur

Birth Name: Zahir-ud-din Muhammad

Birth: 14 February 1483

Reign: 20 April 1526 – 26 December 1530

Death: 26 December 1530 (aged 47)

Humayun

Birth Name: Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Humayun

Birth: 6 March 1508

Reign: 26 December 1530 – 17 May 1540 (9 years 4 months 21 days)

Death: 27 January 1556 (aged 47)

Akbar-i-Azam

Birth Name: Jalal-ud-din Muhammad

Birth: 14 October 1542

Reign: 27 January 1556 – 27 October 1605 (49 years 9 months)

Death: 27 October 1605 (aged 63)

Jahangir

Birth Name: Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim

Birth: 20 September 1569

Reign: 15 October 1605 – 8 October 1627 (21 years 11 months 23 days)

Death: 28 October 1627 (aged 60)

Shah-Jahan

Birth Name: Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram

Birth: 5 January 1592

Reign: 8 November 1627 – 2 August 1658 (30 years 8 months 25 days)

Death: 22 January 1666 (aged 74)

Alamgir I

Birth Name: Muhy-ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb

Birth: 4 November 1618

Reign: 31 July 1658 – 3 March 1707 (48 years 7 months 0 days)

Death: 3 March 1707 (aged 88)

Bahadur Shah

Birth Name: Qutb-ud-Din Muhammad Mu'azzam Shah Alam

Birth: 14 October 1643

Reign: 19 June 1707 – 27 February 1712 (3 years, 253 days)

Death: 27 February 1712 (aged 68)

Jahandar Shah

Birth Name: Mu'izz-ud-Din Jahandar Shah Bahadur

Birth: 9 May 1661

Reign: 27 February 1712 – 11 February 1713 (0 years, 350 days)

Death: 12 February 1713 (aged 51)

Farrukhsiyar

Birth Name: Farrukhsiyar

Birth: 20 August 1685

Reign: 11 January 1713 – 28 February 1719 (6 years, 48 days)

Death: 29 April 1719 (aged 33)

Rafi ud-Darajat

Birth Name: Rafi ud-Darajat

Birth: 30 November 1699

Reign: 28 February – 6 June 1719 (0 years, 98 days)

Death: 9 June 1719 (aged 19)

Shah Jahan II

Birth Name: Rafi ud-Daulah

Birth: June 1696

Reign: 6 June 1719 – 19 September 1719 (0 years, 105 days)

Death: 19 September 1719 (aged 23)

Muhammad Shah

Birth Name: Roshan Akhtar Bahadur

Birth: 17 August 1702

Reign: 27 September 1719 – 26 April 1748 (28 years, 212 days)

Death: 26 April 1748 (aged 45)

Ahmad Shah Bahadur

Birth Name: Ahmad Shah Bahadur

Birth: 23 December 1725

Reign: 26 April 1748 – 2 June 1754 (6 years, 37 days)

Death: 1 January 1775 (aged 49)

Alamgir II

Birth Name: Aziz-ud-din

Birth: 6 June 1699

Reign: 2 June 1754 – 29 November 1759 (5 years, 180 days)

Death: 29 November 1759 (aged 60)

Shah Jahan III

Birth Name: Muhi-ul-millat

Birth: 1711

Reign: 10 December 1759 – 10 October 1760 (282 days)

Death: 1772 (aged 60–61)

Shah Alam II

Birth Name: Ali Gauhar

Birth: 25 June 1728

Reign: 10 October 1760 to 19 November 1806 (46 years, 330 days)

Death: November, 19, 1806 (aged 78)

Muhammad Shah Bahadur Jahan IV

Birth Name: Bidar Bakht

Birth: 1749

Reign: 31 July 1788 – 2 October 1788 (63 days)

Death: 1790 (aged 40–41)

Akbar Shah II

Birth Name: Mirza Akbar

Birth: 22 April 1760

Reign: 19 November 1806 – 28 September 1837 (30 years, 321 days)

Death: 28 September 1837 (aged 77)

Bahadur Shah II

Birth Name: Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar

Birth: 24 October 1775

Reign: 28 September 1837 – 23 September 1857 (19 years, 360 days)

Death: 7 November 1862 (aged 87)

The biological mothers of Mughal Emperors are included in this list. In thirteen generations, the Mughal Empire had nineteen emperors.

Birth Name: Qutlugh Nigar Khanum

Son: Babur

Ethnicity: Turkic-Mongol

Place of Origin: Moghulistan, Chagatai Khanate

Birth Name: Maham Begum

Son: Humayun

Ethnicity: Turkic-Mongol

Place of Origin: Khorasan, Persia

Birth Name: Hamida Banu Begum (Maryam Makani)

Son: Akbar

Ethnicity: Persian

Place of Origin: Khorasan, Persia

Birth Name: Mariam uz-Zamani (Jodha Bai)

Son: Jahangir

Ethnicity: Rajput

Place of Origin: Amber, India

Birth Name: Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani (Manmati bai)

Son: Shah Jahan

Ethnicity: Rajput

Place of Origin: Marwar, India

Birth Name: Arjumand Banu Begum (Mumtaz Mahal)

Son: Aurangzeb

Ethnicity: Persian

Place of Origin: Agra, India

Birth Name: Nawab Bai (Rahmat-un-Nissa)

Son: Bahadur Shah I

Ethnicity: Kashmiri Muslim

Place of Origin: Rajauri, Kashmir

Birth Name: Nizam Bai

Son: Jahandar Shah

Ethnicity: Hindu

Place of Origin: Hyderabad, Mughal Empire

Birth Name: Sahiba Nizwan Begum

Son: Farrukhsiyar

Ethnicity: Muslim

Place of Origin: Kashmir, Mughal Empire

Birth Name: Raziat un-nisa Begum

Son: Rafi ud-Darajat

Ethnicity: Turkic-Mongol

Place of Origin: Mughal Empire

Birth Name: Nur-un-Nissa Begum

Son: Shah Jahan II

Ethnicity: Persian

Place of Origin: Khurasan, Persia

Birth Name: Qudsia ul-Alqab Hazrat Begum (Fakhr un-nisa)

Son: Muhammad Shah

Ethnicity: Muslim

Place of Origin: Mughal Empire

Birth Name: Qudsia Begum (Udham Bai)

Son: Ahmad Shah Bahadur

Ethnicity: Hindu

Place of Origin: Mughal Empire

Birth Name: Anup Bai

Son: Alamgir II

Ethnicity: Hindu

Place of Origin: Mughal Empire

Birth Name: Zinat Mahal (Bilal Kunar)

Son: Shah Alam II

Ethnicity: Hindu

Place of Origin: Mughal Empire

Birth Name: Qudsia Begum (unknown)

Son: Akbar Shah II

Ethnicity: Hindu

Place of Origin: Mughal Empire