Mughal Empire - Study Botz

Babur (AD 1526-1530)

Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur founded the Mughal Empire.He was a turk.
The defeat of Ibrahim Lodhi in the first Battle of Panipat in 1526 by Babur possessed a large part of artillery ,a new kind of weapon coming into use in Europe and Turkey.
Defeat the rana of Mewar, sangram singh of sana Sanga,who was the greatest rajput prince decisive Battle of Khanwa took place on 16th March, 1527 at Khanwa.
Defeat the Afghan Chief under Mahmud Lodhi in the Battle of Ghaghra in Bihar in 1529.
Tomb of Babur is in Kabul.

Humayun (AD 1530-1556)

Babur’s eldest son Humayun divided the Empire inherited from his father among his three brothers Kamran,Hindal and Askari.
Humanyan built the Dinpanah at Delhi as his second capital.
Attacked by Sher Shah at Chausa in 1539 and defeated badly.
After the death of Sher Shah Humayun regained his kingdom in 1555,defeating Sikander Shah.
Died at 1556,after sudden fall from the stairs.
He recaptured Delhi at 1556,Bairam Khan, his most faithful follower,helped him with this.

The Afghan Interlude

Sher Shah Suri (AD 1540-1545)

He founded second Afghan dynasty (1st Lodhi dynasty).
Sher Shah’s original name was Farid.
Sher Shah was an Afghan who ruled Agra and Delhi.
Sher Shah particularly perturbed by activities of Raja Maldev of Marwar.
Sher Shah died in 1545 in an explosion during his conquest of Kalinjar fort.
Sher Shah, known for the construction of the Grand Trunk Road, from the river Indus in the West to Sonargaon in Bengal.
Introduced coins of unalloyed silver,silver and copper of fixed standards.The silver ‘Rupya’ and the copper ‘Dam’ were also available.
He built a tomb at Sasaram for himself .
He built a new city on the bank of Yamuna River.
Abbas Khan Sarwani was the historian in the court of Sher shah.

Akbar (AD 1556-1605)

Akbar was the brightest ruler of the Mughal Empire.
Jalal-ud-din Mohammad Akbar was born in 1542 at Amarkot.
At the time of his Father death he was only 13yrs old and was in the guardianship of Bairam Khan.
In the 1556 the Mughal army under Bairam Khan moved towards Delhi and defeated Hemu in the second battle of Panipat.
Akbar then built his Empire through a series of conquests, the most difficult campaign against Rana Pratap of Chittor whom he defeated in the famous battle of Haldighati in 1576.
He abolished the pilgrim tax. In 1564,he abolished Jaziya.
Land revenue system during Akbar’s rule was Zabti.
Akbar issued the ‘Degree of Infallibility’ in 1579.
Navratna lived in his court Birbal, Todar Mal, Abul Fazal, Tansen, Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana, Mullado, Payaja,Hakim Hukkam,Faizi, Mann Singh.
Akbar built Buland Darwaza in 1601 AD in Fatehpur Sikri to communicate his victory over Gujrat.

Jahangir (AD 1605-1627)

The tomb of Jahangir is located in Shahdara, a suburb of Lahore to the northwest of the city. The area had been a favorite spot of Jahangir and his wife Nur Jahan when they resided in Lahore, and the area was commonly used as a point of departure for travels to and from Kashmir and Lahore. When Jahangir died in 1627 he may have initially been buried in Shahdara in one of its many gardens. His son, Shah Jahan, ordered that a mausoleum befitting an Emperor be built as a permanent memorial.

Constructed the mausoleum, from 1627 to 37, and funded by the imperial treasury (though there is some evidence that Jahangir’s wife, Nur Jahan, may have financed the construction). It occupies a vast quadrangle measuring 600 gaz (approximately 500 meters) to a side and is subdivided into four chahar baghs (four-part gardens). A fountain occupies the center of each of the chahar baghs and the avenues in between, creating a ring of 8 fountains around the central tomb. Water for the fountains supplied by wells outside of the garden and raised into channels atop of the walls using water wheels that are no longer extant. From there, the water flowed through terra cotta pipes and into the fountains, whereupon the water cascaded into shallow channels running throughout the garden.

Shah Jahan (AD 1627-1658)

Shah Jahan succeeded in controlling the Deccan but his North-West policy was failure.
Shah Jahan the third son of Jahangir ascended the throne in AD 1628 and married Mumtaz in 1612.
Aurangzeb took control of the fort and crowned himself at Delhi,after defeating his brothers.Shah Jahan kept in strict confinement at Agra fort till his death in 1666.
Shah Jahan’s reign of 30yrs is as the Golden age of Mughal in art and architecture during which monument like the famous Taj Mahal at Agra in the memory of his wife Mumtaz.
At the time of Shah Jahan’s sickness in 1657 his eldest son was in Agra,Shuja was governor in Bengal, Aurangzeb was the viceroy in the deccan and the youngest Murad was Governor in Gujrat.
Many foreign travellers visited India during the reign of Shah Jahan.

Aurangzeb Alamgir (AD 1658-1707)

Aurangzeb ascended the throne with the title of Alamgir and ruled for almost 50yrs.
During his reign the Mughal empire reached territorial climax.
He first defeated the Imperial army at Dharmatt and then defeated a force led by Dara in the Battle of Samugarh.
He ordered the arrest and execute the ninth Sikh Guru,Guru teg Bahadur .
He discontinued the practice of inscribing the Kalima on the coins and abolished the celebration of the new year’s day.
He was constantly involve in trying to curtail the rising maratha power,however he failed to subdue them.
He died in 1707 in the deccan.
His religious policies were great setback to the standards of tolerance and liberalism set by his predecessors.
Mulhitasib was appointed in the reign.
Aurangzeb was called a Darvesh or Zinda Pir.
Aurangzeb also forbade Sati.
Patronised the greatest digest of Muslim law in Indian Fatawa-i-Alamgiri.
He was a diplomat and capable general.
He imposed Jaziya on the Hindus in 1679.
He banned music and dancing.
The decline and disintegration of the Mughal empire was completed within half a century of Aurangzeb death.
His successors were weak and incapable rulers.