Mughal Dynasty

   

Mughal Empire

 

Mughal Empire           1526–1857

Currency                     Rupee, Taka, dam 

Capital

•          Agra (1526–1530; 1560–1571; 1598–1648)

•          Delhi (1530–1540; 1554–1556; 1639–1857)

•          Fatehpur Sikri (1571–1585)

•          Lahore (1540–1554; 1586–1598)

Common languages  

•          Persian (official and court language)

•          Urdu (language of the ruling classes, later given official status)

•          Hindavi (lingua franca)

•          Arabic (for religious ceremonies)

•          Chagatai Turkic (only initially)

•          Other South Asian languages

Religion

•          Sunni Islam (Hanafi) (1526–1582, 1605–1857)

•          Din-i Ilahi (1582–1605)

Government  

•          Absolute monarchy

•          Unitary state with federal structure

•          Centralized autocracy (1526–1719)

•          Oligarchy with a restricted monarch figurehead (1719–1857)

Emperor (Padshah)

• 1526–1530   Babur (first)

• 1837–1857   Bahadur Shah II (last)

 

Preceded by

Timurid Empire

Delhi Sultanate

Lodi dynasty

Sur Empire

Bengal Sultanate

Rajput states

Chero dynasty

Deccan sultanates

 

Succeeded by

Bengal Subah

Durrani Empire

Maratha Empire

Sikh Empire

Bharatpur State

Hyderabad State

Kingdom of Rohilkhand

Company rule in India

British Raj

Titular Name	Birth Name	Reign
Babur	Zahir-ud-din Muhammad	20 Apr 1526 – 26 Dec 1530
Humayun	Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Humayun	26 Dec 1530 – 17 May 1540 9 years, 4 months, 21 days 22 Feb 1555 – 27 Jan 1556
Akbar-i-Azam	Jalal-ud-din Muhammad	27 Jan 1556 – 27 Oct 1605 49 years, 9 months, 0 days
Jahangir	Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim	15 Oct 1605 – 8 Oct 1627 21 years, 11 months, 23 days
Shah-Jahan	Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram	8 Nov 1627 – 2 Aug 1658 30 years, 8 months, 25 days
Alamgir I	Muhy-ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb	31 July 1658 – 3 Mar 1707 48 years, 7 months, 0 days
Bahadur Shah	Qutb-ud-Din Muhammad Mu'azzam Shah Alam	19 June 1707 – 27 Feb 1712 3 years, 253 days
Jahandar Shah	Mu'izz-ud-Din Jahandar Shah Bahadur	27 Feb 1712 – 11 Feb 1713 0 years, 350 days
Farrukhsiyar	Farrukhsiyar	11 Jan 1713 – 28 Feb 1719 6 years, 48 days
Rafi ud-Darajat	Rafi ud-Darajat	28 Feb – 6 June 1719 0 years, 98 days
Shah Jahan II	Rafi ud-Daulah	6 June 1719 – 19 Sept 1719 0 years, 105 days
Muhammad Shah	Roshan Akhtar Bahadur	27 Sept 1719 – 26 Apr 1748 28 years, 212 days
Ahmad Shah Bahadur	Ahmad Shah Bahadur	26 Apr 1748 – 2 June 1754 6 years, 37 days
Alamgir II	Aziz-ud-din	2 June 1754 – 29 Nov 1759 5 years, 180 days
Shah Jahan III	Muhi-ul-millat	10 Dec 1759 – 10 Oct 1760 282 days
Shah Alam II	Ali Gauhar	10 Oct 1760 – 19 Nov 1806 46 years, 330 days
Muhammad Shah Bahadur Jahan IV	Bidar Bakht	31 July 1788 – by 2 Oct 1788 63 days
Akbar Shah II	Mirza Akbar	19 Nov 1806 – 28 Sept 1837 30 years, 321 days
Bahadur Shah II	Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar	28 Sept 1837 – 23 Sept 1857 19 years, 360 days

Introduction:

• The 10^th century witnessed two important events which had far-reaching effects on both the political and the cultural history of India.
• The first was the active contact with European nations, resulting in the discovery of the sea-route to India by Vasco-da-Gama in 1498 A.D.
• The second was the establishment of the Mughal Empire in India by Babur in 1526 A.D.
• The Mughals built one of the biggest Islamic empires in India.
• They organized a very efficient administrative system.

 

Historical sources:

• The sources of Mughal history are numerous and varied.
• The autobiographies of the Mughal emperors, Babur and Jahangir, many historical works written by court historians, poems called 'Diwans', a large number of royal farmans and official orders, statistical records called Dastur-ul-Amal, revenue rules, religious literature called Malfuzat and accounts of the European travellers are the most important literary sources.
• (Note – Farman is a Mughal constitutional term that means an irrevocable royal decree issued by the emperor. A farman is a bill made into law by the assent of the head of the state, i.e., the emperor.)
• (Note – assent – expression of approval or agreement.)
• (Note - After his accession Jahangir passed twelve orders called dastur-ul-amal.)
• Some of the important archaeological sources are the various monuments and buildings of the Mughal period, the inscriptions of the Mughal rulers and coins issued by the Mughal rulers.

 

The political history of Mughal rulers:

• The establishment of the Mughal rule in India in 1526 A.D. is considered as the beginning of a new age in Indian History.
• Before the Mughals, the Delhi sultanate followed a narrow sectarian policy.
• (Note – sectarian – denoting or concerning a sect or sects.)
• The Mughals followed a new policy.

 

Babur (1526-1530 A.D.):

• Zahir-ud-din Muhammad (Babur) was the most brilliant Asiatic prince of his age.
• He was born February 1483 A.D., to Genghis Khan on his mother's side and Timur on his father's.
• He had to struggle to preserve his sovereignty in his native land.
• In 1504 A.D., at the age of 21, he conquered Kabul.
• At the age of 36 he lost all hopes of reconquering his ancestral dominions and turned his eyes towards India.
• Babur was tempted by the wealth of Hindustan.
• In 1519 A.D., he conquered Bajaur.
• In 1522 A.D., he captured Kandahar.
• In 1524 A.D., he captured Lahore and returned back to Kabul.
• Babur invaded against Delhi. His army consisted of only 12,000 soldiers.
• The two armies met on the 12^th of April 1526 A.D. at the historic plains of Panipat.
• Ibrahim Lodi was defeated and killed in the field of Battle.
• (Note - Ibrahim Khan Lodhi (died on 21^st April 1526 A.D) was the last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, who became Sultan in 1517 A.D after the death of his father Sikandar Lodhi.)
• Babur was now the King of Delhi, but he could not yet regard himself as the ruler of Hindustan.
• The Rajputs wanted to establish a Hindu Raj at Delhi on 17^th March 1527 A.D.
• Both the armies clashed at Khanwa.
• The Rajputs were defeated.
• Babur became the sovereign of Delhi.
• The battle of Khanwa only crippled the Sovereign of Delhi.
• (Note – Sovereign – a supreme ruler, especially a monarch.)
• They were able to cripple the Rajput strength, but did not crush them fully.
• Medine Rai of Chanderi gathered the Rajput forces to attack Babur.
• (Note – Medini Rai Pratihar or Medini Rao was a vassal of Sisodia king Rana Sanga. He ruled much of the Malwa under the lordship of Rana Sanga, who helped him in defeating Sultan of Malwa and conquering Malwa, Chanderi was his capital. He belonged to the Chanderi branch of Pratihar rajputs.)
• Babur personally marched to Chanderi and defeated the Rajput forces.
• Chanderi fort was captured in 1528 A.D.
• Following Babur's invasion of India, Mahmud Lodi and his Afghan confederates fled to Bengal for safety.
• (Note – Mahmud Lodi was Ibrahim Lodi's brother.)
• In 1527 A.D., Babur despatched an envoy to Bengal in order to deduce Nasrat Shah's attitude towards Mughal ascendency and collect some information regarding Bengal.
• (Note – Nasrat Shah married a daughter of Ibrahim Lodi, who was the ruler of the neighbouring Delhi Sultanate.)
• Nasrat Shah did not respond and imprisoned the envoy.
• However, Nasrat Shah later negotiated peace deals and freed the envoy, in order to send gifts to Babur.
• Babur was pleased with the response; describing Nasrat as one of the great rulers of the Indian subcontinent, praising Bengali soldiers for their gunnery and navy, and recognised the loyalty of Bengalis for their leader.
• After being pestered by the Afghans, the Mughals declared war against them and their Bengali allies.
• Attempting to defeat the Afghans on the way, the Mughals proceeded towards Bengal.
• Babur took control of Tirhut before stopping at Buxar, where he requested Bengal to dismiss their troops camped at the banks of the Ghaghara.
• Nasrat Shah's refusal led to the Battle of Ghaghra, taking place on 6^th May 1529 A.D., in which the Mughals fought the Afghans and Bengalis.
• Nasrat Shah, with the support of Mahmud Lodi, challenged the authority of Babur.
• The Mughal Empire was victorious.
• The Afghan armies were defeated.
• Mughal territory extended to Ghaghara's eastern bank in Bihar though they did not penetrate Bengal.
• Nasrat Shah maintained Bengal's status as an independent nation.
• Babur’s empire extended from Kabul to Bengal and from the Himalayas to Gwalior.
• Since he spent most of his time on some military activity, he fell ill and died on 26^th December 1530 A.D. at the age of 48.
• Babur occupied a special place not only in the history of India but also in the history of Asia.

 

Humayun (1530 — 1540 and 1555 — 1556 A.D.):

• Nasiruddin Muhammad Humayun was born in Kabul in March 1508 A.D.
• He was the eldest son of Babur.
• He was appointed as the Governor of Badakhshan by his father at the age of 20.
• In December 1530 A.D., Humayun succeeded his father to the throne of Delhi as ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinent.
• Humayun was an inexperienced ruler when he came to power, at the age of 22.
• On ascending the throne, Humayun faced many difficulties.
• His half-brother Kamran Mirza inherited Kabul and Kandahar, the northernmost parts of their father's empire.
• Kamran was to become a bitter rival of Humayun.
• Thus, it was a situation which called for energetic and diplomatic handling.
• Most of his failures were a consequence of his weak but amiable character.
• A few months after his accession, Humayun marched against Kalinjar and captured it.
• Sher Shah Suri, an Afghan chief made himself the master of Chunar.
• On hearing the news, Humayun marched against Sher Shah Suri and laid siege to the city.
• The siege took a long time and Humayun accepted the submission of Sher Shah Suri and returned to the capital.
• Qutb-ud-Din Bahadur Shah was the ruler of Malwa and Gujarat.
• In 1532 A.D., Bahadur Shah occupied the fort of Raisen.
• The expansion of Bahadur Shah alarmed Humayun.
• Humayun demanded their surrender but they refused.
• Humayun marched against Gujarat.
• When Humayun reached Malwa, Bahadur shah was busy annexing the famous fortress of Chittor.
• Humayun did not attack Bahadur Shah immediately, as he was fighting with non-Muslims.
• After the fall of Chittor, Humayun went on to fight with Bahadur Shah.
• Humayun defeated Bahadur shah but failed to organize the conquered provinces.
• Taking advantage of Humayun's preoccupations in Gujarat, Sher Shah Suri made himself formidable in Bengal.
• He advanced against the city of Gauḍa (a.k.a Gaur) in the middle of October 1537 A.D. and laid siege to it.
• Humayun marched against Sher Shah Suri.
• Instead of marching against Gaur, Humayun advanced against Chunar and besieged it.
• In the meantime, Sher Shah captured the fortress of Rohtas.
• Then Sher Shah attacked Humayun.
• A fierce battle took place at Chausa near Buxar.
• Humayun was defeated but he escaped from the battle field.
• Once again Humayun was defeated at Kannauj in May 1540 A.D.
• Then for 15 years Humayun led the miserable life of homeless exile.
• From Sind, Humayun went to Kandahar and then from there he reached Persia.
• Humayun invaded India in July 1555 A.D.
• He defeated Sikandar Shah Suri at Sirhind and seized Delhi and Agra.
• But he did not rule for a long time as he died after a reign of 6 months due to an injury caused by an accidental fall from the stairs of his library.

 

The Great Akbar (1556-1605 A.D.):

• Akbar was one of the greatest rulers of Indian history.
• He was a brave soldier and a great stateman.
• During his long reign of 50 years, there was progress, peace and prosperity in the country.
• After recapturing Delhi in 1555 A.D., Humayun declared Akbar as his successor.
• When Humayun died, Akbar was still a mere boy of 14 years.
• On the death of Humayun, Hemu, the general of Adil Shah Suri marched through Gwalior and occupied both Delhi and Agra.
• Both the armies met at the historic plain of Panipat for the second time.
• On November 5th, 1556 A.D. Hemu was, at first, successful but was later defeated and imprisoned by Akbar.
• The second Battle of Panipat was one of the most important battles in the history of India.
• It led to the establishment of Mughal rule in India.
• Akbar was a great conqueror. He began his career of expansion by attacking the small kingdom of Gondwana in the central provinces.
• The imperial forces triumphed and Gondwana was conquered in 1564 A.D.
• He first conquered Gwalior, Chunar and Martha.
• He then turned against Mewar.
• In 1567 A.D., he marched against Chittor.
• In 1569 A.D., Kalinjar was conquered.
• In July 1572 A.D. Akbar marched against Gujarat.
• Akbar’s conquest of Bengal in 1576 A.D. cemented his rule in Hindustan.
• The Mughal army marched against Bengal.
• In the battle that took place at Rajmahal, Daud Khan was killed.
• (Note - Daud Khan Karrani was the last ruler of Bengal's Karrani dynasty as well as the final Sultan of Bengal, reigning from 1572 to 1576.)
• Bihar, Bengal and Orissa were incorporated into the Mughal Empire.
• Akbar occupied Kabul in 1585 A.D.
• Kashmir was conquered in 1586 A.D.
• This was followed by the conquest of Sind in 1591 A.D.
• Kandahar was peacefully annexed in 1598 A.D.
• After conquering the North Indian states, Akbar turned his attention to the Deccan.
• At first, he invaded the Kingdom of Ahmednagar.
• Chand Bibi offered a stiff resistance to Akbar.
• Akbar's last military expedition was against Khandesh.

 

Jahangir (1605-1627 A.D.):

• On the death of Akbar, his eldest son Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (Jahangir) ascended the throne in 1605 A.D.
• The subjugation of Mewar was great achievement for Jahangir.
• Jahangir followed Akbar’s policies in the Deccan.
• Jahangir did not annex the Deccan states, but only accepted tributes from them.
• Jahangir was pleased with the achievements of his son, Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram and bestowed on him the title of Shahjahan "The king of the world".
• On the death of Jahangir, a war of succession broke out in which prince Khurram suppressed all his enemies.

                                                                                                                                                                            

Shah Jahan (1628-1658 A.D.):

• Shah Jahan ascended the throne on February 4, 1628 A.D.
• To commemorate this event, he distributed presents and constructed the famous peacock throne.
• Shah Jahan continued the aggressive Deccan policy of his predecessors.
• His predecessors attacked Deccan mainly for political reasons and a desire for conquest, but Shah Jahan had a religious cause.
• Shah Jahan turned his attention towards Bijapur and Golkonda. He invaded Bijapur and Golkanda.
• Shah Jahan was anxious to recover Kandahar because it commanded the trade route between Persia and India.
• In 1648 A.D., Shah Jahan attacked Kandahar and recaptured it.
• Kandahar was thus lost to the Mughals forever.
• Shah Jahan desired to recover the Central Asian territories of his ancestors.
• He had decided to invade Balkh and Badakhshan.
• The emperor marched his armies against these two territories.
• But his numerous military campaigns were unsuccessful and his desire remained unfulfilled.

 

Aurangzeb (1658-1707 A.D.):

• Aurangzeb crowned himself king for the second time in June 1659 A.D. and ruled for a period of nearly 50 years.
• His first 25 years were spent in North India and the later part of his rule was spent in Deccan.
• The first important event of his reign was Mir Jumla's Campaign in Assam.
• Between 1667 A.D and 1675 A.D., Aurangzeb was busy with the Afghans.
• The revolts of Champat Rai in Bundelkhand in 1661 A.D and Rai Singh of Samugarh in Kathiawar in 1663 A.D were also suppressed by him.
• Aurangzeb ascended the throne after a war of succession.
• As an orthodox Sunni MusaIman, he tried to please his orthodox Muslim supporters.
• He attempted to establish an ideal Islamic state and to achieved this he left no stone unturned.
• Aurangzeb introduced a number of policies and measures which were purely anti-Hindu in nature.
• Aurangzeb spent last 25 years of his life from 1682 to 1707 A.D. in Deccan.
• He was marched against Bijapur in April 1685 and besieged the fort.
• Finally, the city was forced to surrender.
• Aurangzeb himself arrived at Golkonda in January 1687 A.D and pressed the siege.
• His kingdom was annexed in September 1687 A.D.
• Shivaji laid a strong foundation for a Hindu kingdom in Deccan.
• Aurangzeb was forced to remain in Deccan for 25 years to tackle the Maratha menace.
• But he was not successful in his endeavour.
• Aurangzeb died on March 3, 1707 A.D.

              

Later Mughals:

• The Mughals empire was alien in nature and organization.
• The successors of Aurangzeb were weak.
• Aurangzeb never trained his sons to be able rulers and did not give them any responsibilities.
• The wars of succession considerably weakened the Mughal empire.
• The religious bigotry of Aurangzeb resulted in the Deccan wars.
• The invasions of the Persian King, Nadir Shah, and the raids of the Afghan king, Ahmad Shah Durrani (a.k.a Ahmad Khan Abdali), further weakened the empire.
• Finally, the rise of European powers and the ultimate success of the British, sealed the doom of the Mughal empire.
• With the battle of Buxar, the Mughal empire ceased to exist.

 

Sher Shah Suri (1542 — 1545 A.D.):

 

Administration Policy:

 

Sher Shah:

• Sher Shah was born in 1472 A.D. in Punjab.
• He learnt Arabic and Persian literature and History.
• In 1511 A.D., he was appointed by his father as the governor of his Jagir.
• He organized the revenue of his Jagir and improved the condition of poor people.
• He then took service under Bahar Khan Lohani, the governor of Bihar.
• During this time, he was rewarded with the title 'Sher Shah' when he killed a tiger which leaped upon Lohani.
• (NOTE – Jagir – A jagir, also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar system.)

 

Conquests of Sher Shah:

• Sher Shah's aggressive career began after the victory of Surajgarh.
• Taking advantage of Humayun's fight with Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, he conquered as far as Munger.
• He attacked Bengal in 1536 A.D., besieged its capital Gaur and forced Mahmud Shah to pay thirteen lakh dinars.
• After this, he marched against the stronghold of Rohtas and captured it.
• The Mughal Emperor Humayun was greatly alarmed by the expansion of Sher Shah.
• After the conquest of Gujarat, Humayun marched against Sher Shah.
• But Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah and forced to flee to the Safavid Empire in Persia.
• Sher Shah partially conquered Punjab.
• This was followed by the conquests of Malwa and Sindh.
• Maldev Rathore of Jodhpur was defeated through treachery.

 

Sher Shah's Administration:

• Sher Shah was a great conqueror and administrator.
• Though Sher Shah ruled for a short period of 5 years, he introduced and followed a good administrative system.
• He introduced a scientific currency and revenue system.

 

Central Government:

• Sher Shah gradually built up a solid structure of government.
• It was a highly centralized administration.
• He was the head of the kingdom and exercised all powers.
• The king was assisted by 4 ministers in the administrative affairs.
• They were Diwan-i-wijarat (Finance Department); Diwan-i-arz (Military Department); Diwan-i-insha (Royal Secretariat); and Diwan-i-Rasalat (Department for religious and foreign affairs).

 

State Government:

• For administrative purposes, the empire was divided into Sarkars.
• There were nearly 47 Sarkars during the time of Sher Shah.
• Every Sarkar was placed under 2 officers, Shiqdar-i-shiqadaran (maintain law and order) and Munshife-i-munshifan (supervise the revenue collection).
• Each Sarkar was subdivided into smaller administrative units called ‘Parganas’.
• There was a Shiqdar (Military Officer), Amin (Land Revenue), one Fotedar (Treasurer) and two Karkuns (Accountants) in each Pargana.
• Patwari collected revenue from the people and took care of village revenue records.

 

Police Organization:

• The police organization of Sher Shah was simple and primitive but highly efficient.
• The Chief Shiqdar in the Sarkar was the guardian of peace and his subordinates in the parganas exercised the same functions.
• Public morals were strictly maintained to prevent the crimes like adultery, drinking, gambling and so on.

 

Military:

• Shah borrowed many ideas from Alaud-Din Khalji and transformed the army into an imperial institution.
• (Note – Alaud-Din Khalji (reigned from 1296–1316), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes, related to revenues, price controls, and society. Sher Shah borrowed many ideas from Alaud-Din Khalji like the branding of horses, land reform policies etc.)
• Sher Shah recruited the soldiers directly after personal inspection, fixed their salaries and gave promotions and rewards for faithful service.
• New forts were constructed and the old ones were strengthened.
• He also appointed Hindus for high positions in the army.

 

Justice:

• Chief Qadi was the head of the judicial department and the king himself was the highest court of Justice.
• (Note - A Qadi (a.k.a Qazi, cadi, kadi or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions, such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works.)
• All were equal in the court of justice.
• The criminal law was very severe.
• Punishments were harsh in the case of serious offences.

 

Coinage:

• Sher Shah introduced a scientific currency system.
• There was no fixed ratio between the coins of different metals and sizes.
• The coins were made of gold, silver and copper.
• A new coin called 'Dam' was introduced.
• Sher Shah abolished the internal customs.

 

Revenue:

• All the agricultural lands were surveyed and divided into 3 classes; good, middle and bad.
• The cultivators could pay the taxes either in cash or in kind.
• 1/3 of the produce was fixed as the government's share.
• There was a direct contact between the farmers (Ryots) and the king.

 

Other Reforms:

• Sher Shah laid 4 important roadways.
• Trees were planted on either side of the road.
• He aimed at creating a secular state and kept religion in the background.

 

Glory of Sher Shah:

• Sher Shah is one of the greatest rulers of medieval India.
• Sher Shah's government was essentially a one-man rule.
• He attended to every business of the kingdom.
• His ministers were therefore secretaries who attended to the routine work.
• He described himself in his coins as “The just sultan”.
• Sher Shah was a guardian of his people and had the spirit of a legislator more than any other prince before Akbar.

 

Akbar Administration Policy:

• Akbar was endowed with great genius for organization.
• He realized the importance of organizing an efficient administrative machinery based on sound principles of good government.
• The king was the keystone of the entire administrative machinery.
• (Note – Keystone – the central principle or part of a policy, system, etc., on which all else depends.)
• He was assisted by a number of ministers in the day-to-day administration.
• He had a council of ministers, other officers and nobles to assist him.
• The council discussed the administrative, military and political policy.

 

State Government:

• For administrative purposes the empire was divided into a number of provinces or Subahs.
• These were entrusted to viceroys called Subahdar.
• There were nearly 15 such provinces in 1601 A.D.
• Subahs were divided into Sarkars.
• The Sarkar was sub-divided into parganas.

 

Revenue system:

• A system of scientific taxation of land was inaugurated by Akbar’s Finance minister, Raja Todar Mal.
• It was known as the Bandobast system.
• Akbar introduced 3 important features of his land revenue system i.e., Land, classification of land and fixation of rates.
• The lands were first divided into 4 categories like Polaj, Parauti, Chachar and Banjar according to the continuity of cultivation.
• The rates were finally fixed on the basis of these classifications.
• The land revenue was demanded only on the cultivated area of land.
• Akbar preferred cash payments.
• The average price of the previous 10 years was taken as the standard price for revenue purpose.
• It was generally believed that the settlement was fixed for 10 years.
• This settlement is called the ‘Ryotwari System’ because the tenant paid his rent to the governor without the intervention of middle men.

 

Military Administration — Mansabdari System:

• Akbar introduced the Mansabdari system in 1571 A.D.
• It was borrowed by Akbar from Persia.
• The word 'Mansab' means rank or position.
• It was the basis of civil and military setup of the Mughal Administration.
• Every officer of the Mughal state held a Mansab.
• Every officer had to supply soldiers for the military organisation of the state.
• There were nearly 33 grades of Mansabdars.
• They ranged from a Mansabdar commanding 10 horsemen to a Mansabdar commanding 10,000 horsemen.
• Each Mansabdar was paid a fixed salary.
• The military administration of Akbar was linked to the Mansabdari system.

Hierarchy of the Mansabdars is as follows;

v Amir of Amirs – These Mansabdars were given the title of Amir-al-Umara, translated as Amir of Amirs. They were Mansabdaris whose rank was above 5000.

v Amir-al-Kabir (Great Amir) – These were Mansabdars whose ranks were above 1000.

v Amir – These were administrative officials whose rank was 1000 or below.

• The Mughal Military consisted of the army maintained by the state, army of the Amirs and the army under the control of the officers.
• Akbar maintained a navy to fight the Europeans but it was not strengthened by his successors.

 

Akbar's Rajput Policy:

• Akbar was a great warrior, an efficient administrator and a dynamic politician.
• He realized that he could not survive and prosper without the co-operation of the Rajputs and the Hindus.
• Thus, he was maintained good relations with them.
• Akbar was compelled to follow the policy of conciliation and compromise with the Hindus.
• This policy helped him to counter the Afghans successfully.
• In order to improve the relations with the Rajputs, Akbar followed the policy of matrimonial alliances.
• Rajput princes were appointed as Mansabdars.
• In 1563 A.D., he abolished the pilgrimage tax on Hindus and in 1564 A.D., he abolished `Jizya'.
• (Note - Jizya or jizyah is a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on permanent non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Islamic law.)
• Both Hindus and Muslims were appointed on equal terms and qualifications.

 

Judicial Administration:

• The emperor was the head of Justice and the highest court of appeal.
• Next to him was the Chief Qadi (the top judicial officer).
• The punishments were severe.
• Whipping and mutilation were common punishments.

 

Religious Policy of Akbar:

• Until 1578 A.D. Akbar was a pious Sunni Muslim.
• But he was greatly influenced by his Hindu wives, his Hindu friends and Abul FazI (Author) and Faizi (Poet).
• Besides these influences, he had an innate desire to know the truth about things.
• In 1575 A.D., Akbar ordered a new building to be constructed at Fatehpur Sikri called the lbadat-Khana.
• At this place, he invited selected mystics, intellectuals and theologians, and held discussions on religious and spiritual themes.
• At first only the Muslim scholars of different faiths were invited to hold discussions.
• Later, he began inviting learned men of different creeds like the Brahmins, Jains, Parsis and Christians too.
• In 1582 A.D. Akbar made a formal declaration of a new order called Din-i-ilahi or Divine faith.

The salient feature of Din-i-ilahi were

1. Love and respect for all religions.

2. The member should be vegetarians.

3. The motto of the doctrine was Allah-u-Akbar or Jalla Jalalahu (meaning: "may His glory be glorified").

4. Fire was sacred and the members were to worship sun daily.

5. Everyone must be prepared to sacrifice everything when demanded by the king.

6. The followers should give an annual feast on their birthday.

• Din-i-ilahi was reflective of the liberalism and religious tolerance of Akbar.
• He introduced social reforms and attained social solidarity.
• (Note – solidarity – unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group.)
• It is rather difficult to fix Akbar's religion.

 

Cultural Development Under Mughal Period:

• During the period of Shah Jahan, the Mughal Empire reached the pinnacle of glory in certain domains, especially in literature and fine arts.
• Thus, historians call the period of Shah Jahan a Golden Age.

 

Development of Literature:

• Shah Jahan patronized poets, artisans, philosophers and painters.
• Many schools were opened throughout the country for higher education.
• Persian (Farsi) was the court language and it received special encouragement under the patronage of Dara Shikoh.
• (Note - Dara Shikoh (a.k.a Dara Shukoh), (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. He was)
• The Upanishads and other Sanskrit works like Bhagavat Gita and Ramayana were translated into Persian languages.
• The Sanskrit scholar Jagannatha Pandit lived in the court of Shah Jahan.
• Abdul Hamid Lahori and Inayat Khan were the court historians of Shah Jahan.
• Eminent Hindi and Sanskrit poets and writers like Sundar Das, Acharya Saraswathi and Chintamani spread literary fragrance far and wide with their works.
• Great advancements were made in Astronomy, Medicine and Mathematics.
• This era marked the most brilliant epoch in the development of literature and Hindi language.
• (Note – epoch – the beginning of a period in the history of someone or something.)

 

Art and Architecture:

• The period of Shah Jahan's reign undoubtedly marks the golden age of Mughal architecture.
• He constructed a number of buildings in different parts of the empire.
• The most elegant among them can be found in Agra and Delhi.
• He built a new capital at Delhi called Shahjahanabad.
• He built the Red Fort in the Shahjahanabad (Now called Old Delhi). It served as a royal residence of Mughal Emperors for many years.
• Two of the most beautiful edifices of this period were Moti Masjid and Jama Masjid.
• (Note – Edifice – a large, imposing building.)
• The grandest of all structures built by Shah Jahan is the Taj Mahal.
• It is regarded as "dream in Marble, designed by Titans and finished by jewellers".
• It was built in the memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
• The Diwan-i-Aam and the Diwan-i-Khas were the best pieces of lndo-Islamic architecture.
• Some of the most beautiful gardens of his period were Shalimar Bagh at Shahdara and Wazir Bagh in Kashmir.
• The world-famous Koh-I-Noor diamond and peacock throne were the proud possessions of Shah Jahan.
• The numerous precious articles displayed at the court dazzled the eyes of all those people whose gaze fell upon them.

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