The Mughal Empire

BELLWORK

1.

List Three Things
You Notice about
this map:

2.

Make Two
inferences about the
Mughal and
Ottoman Empires

TURN AND TALK

•What problems might conquered
people present for the empire that
conquered them?
•In what ways might an empire
integrate conquered people into
society?

MUGHAL EMPIRE

• 1526-1857
• Main Emperors

1526–1530 Babur

1556-1605

Akbar the Great

1658-1707
Aurangzeb

CRASH COURSE MUGHAL EMPIRE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbuM0aJjVgE
Answer these Q’s based on the video above:

1.What religion were the rulers of the Mughal Empire?
2.Why was Babur [the founder of the Mughal Empire] and his

followers called “Mughals”?

3.The blending of Indian and Persian culture in the Mughal

Empire is an example of what?

4.According to John Green, what are two reasons why the

Mughal Empire is important to study?

5.Muslims were a minority in the Mughal Empire. Most

people in the empire were Hindu. How did the Muslim
Mughal leaders establish control over non-Muslims?

GROWTH OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

1. Using the map to

your left, describe
how the extent of
the Mughal
empire changed
from the reign of
Babur to the reign
of Aurangzeb.

2. What

geographic
feature
prevented the
Mughal Empire
from expanding
further to the
north?

MUGHAL EMPIRE 1500-1900

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWaOd-QYP8

w

ANSWER QUESTIONS

•What do the holes in
the map to your right
represent?

•What did the animated
video of the Mughal
Empire’s territorial
holdings reveal about
the stability of the
empire?

READING

• Complete Reading and 10 Q’s on Moghul Empire. If

not complete, homework.

The Great Mughal Empire

1526-1707

INTRODUCTION

• Under the Mughals, India was the heart of a great Islamic

empire and a prolific center of Islamic culture and learning.

• Dynasty was the greatest, richest and longest lasting Muslim

dynasty to rule India.

• Mongol Descendents

• The Great Mughal Emperors were:

• Babur (1526-1530) The First of the Mughals

• Humayun (1530-1556) The Luckless Leader

• Akbar (1556-1605) The Great

• Jehangir (1605-1627) The Paragon of Stability

• Shah Jehan (1627-1658) The Master Builder

• Aurangzeb (1658-1707) The Intolerant

BABUR 1526 - 1530

THE FIRST OF THE MUGHALS

• Babur was a direct descendant of the Turkish Ghengis Khan

and Timur from Tamerlane. (Rumor has it – Adele)

• Defeated the Delhi Sultanate & established the Mughal Empire.

• Gunpowder, a skilled commander, trained soldiers on horses

contributed to the victory

• Gained control of the whole northern India

• Made Agra capital

• He reigned for 4 short years and died at age 47 in 1530.
• Did not enact new laws or organization in the empire due to

early his death

HUMAYUN 1530 - 1556
THE LUCKLESS LEADER

• After Babur died, he was succeeded by his son Humayun in

1530. Humayun was 23 years old.

• He was not a soldier and unlike his father, neither skilled nor a

wise leader.

• Inherited a disunited and disorganized empire.

• In 1540, Sher Shah of Bengal defeated Humayun and took

over the Mughal Empire. The Empire was lost from 1540-1545.

• He was exiled but later regained power in 1555.

• Humayun died in 1556 after falling down the steps of his

library; he is known as “the luckless one”.

AKBAR 1556 - 1605

THE GREAT

• Akbar become the new Mughal ruler at the age of 14.

• Regent and his mother ruled in his name for 4 years

• Akbar was an ambitious and noble commander

• Built the largest army ever in the empire.
• Helped to conquer nearly all of modern-day northern India

and Pakistan.

• Great administrator

• developed a centralized government

• It delegated 15 provinces each under a governor and each

province into districts and each district was further sub-divided into
smaller sections.

• Best known for tolerance of his subjects (especially Hindus)

• Removed poll taxes on Hindus

• Invited religious scholars to debate him in his private

chambers.
• Developed his own faith call Din-I Ilahi.

• Din Ilahi was a mixture of the other religions Akbar had studied from

those debates.

• Religion never caught on

JAHANGIR 1605 - 1627

THE PARAGON OF STABILITY

• Jehangir succeeded his father Akbar in 1605.
• Opposite of his father

• Poor monarch and warrior but good at maintaining the

status quo.

• He continued many of Akbar’s policies.

• Freedom of worship.
• Fair treatment of Hindus.
• Continued friendship and alliance with Rajputs.
• Allowed foreigners like the Portuguese and English into

India for trade.

• Jehangir married Nur Jahan. She became the

real ruler of the empire until the death of her
husband.

JAHANGIR ISSUES (SPECIFIC)

• Under the influence of his wife and many others,

Jehangir was not an able ruler like his father.
• He loved to drink and enjoy himself.
• He had to suppress many rebellions.
• Important posts in the court were given to families,

friends, and especially those close to his wife, Jahan.

SHAH JAHAN 1627 - 1658

THE MASTER BUILDER

• Shah Jehan succeeded his father in 1627.
• Better ruler than Jehangir.

• Restored the efficiency of government.
• Recovered territories.
• Maintained peace
• Foreign traders were allowed into India and trade

increased considerably.

• The empire was expanded.
• Shah Jehan was a patron of the arts

• Built many great architecture buildings including the Taj

Mahal and the Peacock Throne, a brilliant gold throne
encased in hundreds of precious gems.

SHAH JEHAN

•Taj Mahal

• Built in honor of his wife who died during childbirth.
• Took over a decade to build and it nearly

bankrupted the empire.

•1657 - Shah Jehan became seriously ill and a
dispute over the succession of the throne
ensued between his three sons.
•Aurangzeb deposed Shah Jehan in a coup
d’etat in 1658. Shah Jehan was imprisoned in
the Octagonal Tower of the Agra Fort from
which he could see the Taj Mahal. He died in
1666 and was buried next to his wife in the Taj
Mahal.

AURANGZEB 1658 - 1707

THE INTOLERANT

• Aurangzeb ascended the throne after

disposing his father and beating out his
two brothers.

• Despot

• severely persecuted Hindus of Northern India.

• Empire declines under his reign

• He removed the tax-free status for Hindus
• Destroyed their temples
• Crushed semi-autonomous Hindu states

• Primary Interest - Promote Islam vs

tolerance

AURANGZEB

• Aurangzeb over expanded the empire and strained his

resources.
• Large sums of money and manpower were lost.
• He lost the support of the Hindu people.
• The over expansion of his empire weakened his administration.

• Aurangzeb died in 1707

Hiss son Bahadur Shah succeeded him. Bahadur was so old by the

time he ascended the throne, he only managed to live a few
more years. But at this point in time, the government was so
unstable and so weak, the empire become an easy target of
invasion and exploitation, first by the Persians, and then by the
British.

• The death of Aurangzeb and the short reign of his son led to

the end of the Mughal empire and the beginning of British
Rule.

AURANGZEB’S ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY

Bibi ka Maqbara, Aurangbab 1678

Aurangzeb

Taj Mahal, Agra 1631-1652

Shah Jehan

Built nearly 50 years apart, the Taj Mahal and the Bibi la Maqbara are very
similar in architectural style. Aurangzeb’s other architectural legacy included:

• Moti Masjid (Delhi Fort), Delhi (1659)

• Buri-I-Shamali (Delhi Fort), Delhi

• Badshahi Mosque, Lahore (1674)

THE SUCCESS OF THE MUGHALS

• It is agreed among many scholars that the Mughal empire

was the greatest, richest and most long-lasting Muslim dynasty
to rule India. This period of Mughal rule produced the finest
and most elegant art and architecture in the history of Muslim
dynasties.

• The Mughal emperors, with few exceptions, were among the

world’s most aesthetically minded rules. Although Turkish and
Persian in background, the Mughals were not Muslim rulers of
India but Indian rulers who happened to be Muslims. This idea
is most evident in Akbar’s obsession of a utopian India for
Hindus and Muslims.

• The longevity of the Mughal empire can be contributed to a

number of factors. The Mughal emperors were ambitious and
for the most part able rulers. But Akbar is perhaps the Mughal
emperor responsible for much of the prosperity and harmony
achieved during the Mughal Empire.

• Akbar the Great, as he is

referred, perceived that 3
things were needed if his
Empire was to be stable and
long-lasting.
• 1. Fair rent must be fixed for the

peasant and a steady revenue
for the treasury,

• 2. The land must be ruled by

men who were impartial and
responsible to himself,

• 3. The Muslim must live at

peace with the Hindu.

• Akbar strove during his lifetime

to achieve these 3 things. He
showed tolerance to Hindu
scholars and women.

• By 1650, the Mughal empire

had expanded farther North
and South.

MUGHAL ART

• The Mughal Empire and the Great Mughals will

always be remembered as a great influence on
the artistic and cultural life of India. Their
architectural style can still be seen today such as
the Taj Mahal built by Shah Jehan and the
buildings at Fatehpur Sikri.

• The remarkable flowering of art and architecture

under the Mughal Empire is due to several
factors.
• The empire provided a secure framework within

which artistic genius could flourish. Both Hindu and
Muslim artists collaborated to produce some of the
best Indian art.

• The empire commanded wealth and resources that

were unparalleled in Indian history.

• The Mughal emperors were themselves patrons of

art whose intellectual ideas and cultural outlook
were expressed in the architecture.

SUMMARY: THE DYNASTY OF THE GREAT

MUGHALS IN INDIA

• 1605-1628

Jahangir succeeded his father, Akbar.

• 1628-1658

Prince Khurram was 35 years old when he

ascended the

throne as Shah Jehan, King of the World.

• 1659-1707

In the summer of 1659, Aurangzeb held a

coronation in

the Red Fort where he assumed the title of

Alamgir

(World Conqueror). After a bitter struggle with

his

two brothers, Aurangzeb was the victor who took

the

throne.

• 1857

Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor, was

deposed

in 1858. India was brought under the direct

rule of the

British Crown. This brought the end of the

Mughal

Empire.

•1526-1530

Babur’s victory at Panipat in 1526 established the

Mughal Empire and ended the reign of the Delhi

Sultanate. The rise of the great Mughal Dynasty in

India

began with Babur.

•1530-1556

Humayun succeeded his father Babur and became

emperor. He was defeated and dislodged by

insurrections

of nobles from the old Lodi regime. In

1540, the Mughal

domain came under control of

Farid Khan Sur (Shir Shah

Sur). Humayun died at

the age of 48 when he fell down the

steps of his

library.

•1556-1605

Akbar, the most sophisticated Mughal commander

and leader, was only 14 years of age when he

succeeded his father Humayun. Under Akbar's

reign,

Muslims and Hindu’s received the same

respect.

Summary: The Dynasty of the Great Mughals in India

REMINDER: HOMEWORK