aides-memoires

Pallava Dynasty

Pallava Empire

Pallava Empire 275 CE–897 CE

Status Dynasty

Capital Kanchipuram

Common languages Sanskrit, Tamil, Prakrit

Religion Hinduism, Buddhism

Government Monarchy

• 275–300 Simhavarman I

• 885–903 Aparajitavarman

Preceded by

Kalabhra dynasty

Satavahana dynasty

Succeeded by

Chola dynasty

Kadamba dynasty

Western Ganga dynasty

Today, it is a part of India and Sri Lanka.

Pallava Kings (200s–800s)

Virakurcha

Vishnugopa II

Simhavarman III

Simhavishnu

Mahendravarman I (600-630)

Narasimhavarman I (630–668)

Mahendravarman II (668–670)

Paramesvaravarman I (670–695)

Narasimhavarman II (700-728)

Paramesvaravarman II (728–731)

Nandivarman II (731–795)

Dantivarman (795–846)

Nandivarman III (846-869)

Nrpatungavarman (869-880)

Aparajitavarman (880-897)

Introduction:

After the fall of Satavahanas, the Pallavas gradually established their supremacy in the far south.
They ruled from three centres, Vatapi in the west, Vengi in the east and Kanjeevaram in south.
The Kanjeevaram branch of the Pallavas was the most powerful.
It ruled for 450 years.
There were many great warriors as well as patrons of art, learning and architecture.
Towards the end of the 9th century, the Pallavas were defeated by the Cholas.
The Pallavas played an important role in the history and culture of South India for nearly 6 centuries, from the 3rd century A.D. to the end of the 9th century A.D.

Origin of the Pallavas:

There is no one opinion about the origin of the Pallavas.
Some of historians held the view that the Pallavas belonged to Tondaimandalam, the area corresponding to modern Jaffna district of Ceylon.
Dr. Smith observes that they were partly native and partly foreign.

Political history of Pallavas:

The rule of the Pallavas commenced from the closing years of the 3rd century A.D.
Basically, the Pallavas rulers are divided into four groups;

1.Pallavas of Prakrit Charters

2.Pallavas of Sanskrit Charters

3.Great Pallavas

4.Nandi Varman and his successors

Pallavas of Prakrit Charter:

Virakurcha Varma and Bappa Deva were the earliest known members of this group.
Their kingdom comprised of Tondaimandalam, Andhrapatha and Kuntala.
The next ruler was Sivaskandavarman.
He performed Aswamedha and assumed the title “Dharmamaharaja".
It was during his rule that Kanchi came under the Pallavas.

Pallavas of Sanskrit Charter:

The first ruler of this branch was Vishnugopa.
He was defeated by the Gupta ruler, Samudra Gupta, during his South Indian campaign.
He was succeeded by the rulers Kumaravishnu, Buddhavarma and Simhavarma.
Nandivarman was the last ruler of this line of the Pallavas.

Great Pallavas:

The glorious period of this dynasty begins with this line of the Pallavas.
Simhavishnu was the founder of this Pallava line.
Simhavishnu was called Avanisimha, because of his great conquests.
The great poet Bharavi is said to have visited his Kingdom.

Mahendravarman - I (600 – 630 A.D.):

Mahendra Varma I was the son and successor of Simhavishnu.
He was great in war and peace.
His rule witnessed the Pallava-Chalukya and Pallava-Pandya conflict.
In 610 A.D., Pulakesin II deprived Mahendravarman of the province of Vengi.
Mahendravarman was a great poet, musician and lover of architecture.
He wrote "Mattavilasa Prahasana" in Sanskrit language.
Mahendravarman was at first a Jain and later became a Saivite.
He built stone temples at Trichinopoly, Vallam, Mahendravadi and Dalavanur.

Narasimhavarman -1 (630 - 660 A.D.):

He was the son and successor of Mahendravarman.
Early in his reign, he defeated and killed Pulakesin II in the battle of Manimangalam.
Badami, the capital of the Chalukyas was destroyed.
Narasimhavarman assumed the title of "Vatapikonda".
The Pallava king sent two naval expeditions to Ceylon, which is present day Sri Lanka, to restore him on the throne of Ceylon.
He also fought with the Cholas and Pandyas and defeated them.
The city of Mahabalipuram (a.k.a Mamallapuram) was founded by him.
Narasimhavarman had the title of 'Mahamall' or 'Mamalla'.

Nandivarman and his successors (731 — 893 A.D.):

Nandivarman II, first of the new line of rulers, belonged to the line of Bhimavarman, the brother of Simhavishnu.
In 740 A.D., the Chalukyan king, Vikramaditya II, defeated Nandivarman and captured the city of Kanchi.
Dantidurga of Rashtrakuta dynasty also attacked Pallava territory.
The successors of Nandivarman II failed to recover their position.
The last Pallava ruler Aparajitavarman was killed by the Chola ruler Aditya.
Aditya occupied the Pallava territory in 893 A.D., and thus ended the Pallava supremacy in the South.

Administration and Cultural Importance of the Pallavas:

The Pallavas established an extensive empire in the far south.
Their rule was one of the most formative periods in the cultural history of India.
The cultural unity of India was completed under them.

Socio-Economic Conditions:

Society was organized on the basis of caste system.
Women enjoyed a respectable position in the society.
Agriculture was the main occupation of the people.
The kings had the welfare of their people at heart.
Trade, in-land and overseas was encouraged.
Mamallapuram and Nagapattinam were the famous ports.
The navy was of great help in their trade with South East Asia.
They carried on trade with South Asian countries and China.

Administration:

The Pallavas followed the monarchical form of government.
King was the pivot of administration.
Thus, all the powers were concentrated in his hands.
But the king was not a despot and protected the law of the land.
The empire was divided into Rastras, Kottams and Villages.
Land revenue was the main source of income.
Besides land tax, the king had other sources of income like monopolies, custom duties and tax on various articles.
The king was assisted by a number of officers in his day-to-day administration.

Religion:

The period of Pallavas was one of great religious activity.
Both Vaishnavism and Saivism flourished during this period.
Kanchi became the seat of learning.
Saints like Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar popularized Saivism.
Thirumangai Alwar and Nammalvar were some of the famous Vaishnavite saints.
With the spread of Saivism and Vaishnavism, there was a decline of Buddhism and Jainism to some extent.
The kings, in general, followed a policy of tolerance towards other religions.
Mahendravarman-I built stone temple at Vallam, Trichinopoly, Mahendravadi and Dalavanur.

Literary Development:

The Pallavas period was a period of great literary activity.
The early kings patronized Sanskrit literature.
Poets like Dandin and Bharavi lived in the court of the Pallavas.
Mahendravarman himself was a great writer, he wrote "Mattavilasa Prahasana" in the Sanskrit language.
Kanchi was a famous centre of Sanskrit learning.
There was also a rich development of Tamil Literature.
The most important compositions in Tamil were Thevaram, Nalayira Divya Prabandham and Thiruvasagam.
The Kural of Thiruvalluvar also belonged to this period.

Art and Architecture:

The Pallava school of architecture and sculpture is one of the most important and interesting of the Indian Schools.
In a sense, the Indian architecture in the south begins under the Pallavas.
The Pallavas were the first to make full and free use of stones in buildings.
Mahabalipuram and Kanchi are the two important places of Pallava architecture and sculpture.
Mahendravarman excavated temples out of solid rock.
The example of this group of architecture are the Varaha and Durga Caves at Mahabalipuram.
Narasimhavarman built 7 pagodas at Mahabalipuram.
These are also known as 7 rathas.
The Kailasnath temple at Kanchi and Shore temple at Mahabalipuram belonged to structural form of architecture.
Rajasimha was the author of this style.
Among the Pallava sculptures, the most remarkable is the "Descent of Ganges".
The painting in the cave at Sithanavasal reveals the development of the art of dancing.
Thus, the Pallavas period was an age of multifaceted activities.
It is certainly one of the brightest periods of ancient Indian history.
The style of Pallavas art set up the standard in South India.
It also greatly influenced the Far East countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia.

Conclusion:

After the fall of the Satavahanas, the Pallavas established their supremacy in the far south.
Their rule was one of the most formative periods in the cultural history of India.
Under the Pallava kingdom, literature, art and architecture also developed to large extent.

Tags;

#Pallava art and architecture #,Pallava Empire,#History, #Ancient Indian History,Indian History,#Pallava Dynasty,#Ancient India,#India,

Satavahana Dynasty

Satavahana Empire

Satavahana Empire (Andhras) Late 2nd century BCE–Early 3rd century CE

Capital Pratishthana, Amaravati

Common languages Prakrit, Dravidian

Religion Brahmanism, Buddhism

Government Monarchy

Preceded by

Maurya Empire

Kanva dynasty

Succeeded by

Western Kshatrapas

Andhra Ikshvaku

Chutu dynasty

Vakataka dynasty

Pallava dynasty

Abhira dynasty

Today, it is a part of India

Satavahana Empire 100 BCE–2nd c. CE

Simuka 100-70 BCE

Kanha 70-60 BCE

Satakarni I 70-60 BCE

Satakarni II 50-25 BCE

Sivasvati 1st c. CE

Gautamiputra Satakarni 2nd c. CE

Vasishthiputra Pulumavi 2nd c. CE

Vashishtiputra Satakarni 2nd c. CE

Shivaskanda Satakarni 2nd c. CE

Yajna Sri Satakarni 2nd c. CE

Introduction:

The Satavahanas were the first to establish an empire in South India.
In fact, the social, political and cultural life in the Deccan started with the Satavahanas.
They established their kingdom on the ruins of the Mauryan empire.
Satavahanas ruled for a period of 3 centuries, and made a significant contribution towards administration, culture, art and architecture.
The Satavahanas achieved cultural unity in India by establishing an empire, which spread from Aryavartha to South India.

Sources:

Many sources are available for studying the history of Satavahanas.
The most important among them are the inscriptions of that age like Kanheri, Naneghat, Nasik, Bhaja and Karle, Hathigumpha inscription of Rudradaman.
They are very useful for understanding the conditions of that period.
The literary sources like Vayu, Mastya, Brahma, Vishnu Puranas; Hala's Gathasaptashati, Brihatkatha of Gunadhya, Megasthenes’s Indica, Kamasutras of Vatsayana, writings of Pliny, Ptolemy: coins of the Satavahanas are also useful for the study of Satavahanas.
The earliest mention of the Satavahanas is to be found in Aitareya Brahmana of the Rigveda.
It’s quite possible that Andhra is the name of a race and Satavahana is the name of a dynasty.
The origin of the Satavahanas is a contentious issue and there are many theories relating to the Satavahana period.
The theory that they ruled from 3rd century B.C to 3rd century A.D., is accepted to many scholars.

Political history:

From the puranas, we learn that Andhras ruled for a period of 450 years and this dynasty had 30 kings.
Among them the rulers from Srimukha to Gouthamiputra Satakarni were called the early Satavahanas.
The rulers, who ruled after Gouthamiputra Satakarni were called the later Satavahanas.

Srimukha (B.C. 235 - 213):

Srimukha was the founder of the Satavahana dynasty.
He ruled for 23 years.
He declared independence after the death of the Mauryan king, Ashoka.
Srimukha conquered neighbouring kingdoms and made Prathistanapuram his capital.
Srimukha was succeeded by his brother Krishna, who extended his empire as far as Nasik.

Satakarni I (B.C. 194 - 184):

Krishna was succeeded by Satakarni I and ruled for a period of 10 years.
He was a prominent ruler among the early Satavahanas.
Naneghat inscription described him as Dakshinapadapathi (Lord of Dakshinapatha) and Aprathihatha Chakravarthi (wielder of the unchecked wheel of Sovereignty).
Satakarni I was contemporary of Pushyamitra Sunga and Kharavela of Kalinga.
Kharavela described in his Hathigumpha inscription that Satakarni I marched his armies to the Satavahana kingdom and destroyed Mushikanagara and Pithunda.
He performed two Ashwamedhayagas and one Rajasuyayaga and gifted thousands of cows and Karshapanas (a coin from the time) to Brahmins and was praised as the Lord of the South.
Then, Satakarni II became the king.
He had a long reign of 56 years.
He defeated the Sakas and occupied Kalinga and Magadha.

Gouthamiputra Sathakarni (78 - 102 A.D.):

Gouthamiputra Satakarni was the greatest king, not only of all the Satavahanas but also among the early South Indian kings.
He was the 23rd ruler of the Satavahana empire.
He ruled for a period of 24 years.
He was named after his mother, Gouthami.
His victories are known through the inscription of Balasri.
He made many conquests and expanded his kingdom.
He destroyed the Yavanas, Sakas, Kshaharatas and Pallavas.
As a result, Gouthamiputra Satakarni’s kingdom spread from Rajasthan in North India to Vyjayanthi in Karnataka and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.
The Nashik Prasasti praised him as "Kshatriya Darpa Mardana", "Agama Nilaya", "Tri-samudra-toya-pita-vahana" and "Ekabrahmana".

Yagnasri Sathakarni (174 — 203 A.D.):

Yagnasri was the greatest among the later Sathavahana rulers.
He drove away Sakas from Central India.
He built a naval force and acquired the title "Samudradhipathi".
The ship marked coins of Yagnasri prove that he developed overseas trade in the kingdom.
The successors of Yagnasri were weak and therefore the downfall of the Satavahana kingdom started.
After the death of the last ruler Pulumavi, the Satavahana kingdom declined and it was occupied by lkshvakus, Pallavas, Abhiras and Chutus.

Conditions of the Satavahana period:

The history of South India gained clarity with advent of Satavahanas.
They brought political unity to South India and saved it from foreign invasions.
Satavahanas made significant changes in their administration, socio-economic conditions, literature, religion, art and architecture which resulted in the overall development of South India.

Administration:

Satavahanas not only founded a vast empire, but also provided an effective administrative system.
The administration followed in the footsteps of the Mauryas and was a model to Pallavas and others.
They believed in the Divine Right of kings.
They followed Dharmashastra and Arthashastra by Kautilya.
The government was based on the concepts of hereditary and absolute monarchy, still the emperor was never a tyrant.
He regarded himself as the guardian of the social and political order and cared about the welfare of his subjects.
A cabinet was formed to assist the king in administration.
The king followed the advice of his ministers.
Besides ministers, there were several employees, who helped the king in the process of administration.
The salaries of the employees were paid in money.
For administrative convenience, the Satavahana empire was divided into Janapadas and Janapadas were divided into Aharas.
Amatyas were in-charge of Aharas.
The last administrative unit was village administration.
Land tax was the main source of income to the government.
The King was not the owner of all the land in the kingdom.

Army:

Satavahanas maintained a strong army.
Hathigumpha inscription refers to the Chaturanga Bala of the army.
Chaturanga refers to ancient army divisions of infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry. Bala means strength.
We can estimate military strategy of those days by seeing the Amaravathi architecture.
The Mahasenapathi was the head of the army, the kings often lead the army into the battlefield.
Mentions of Kataka and Skandhavara were found in the inscriptions.
Kataka means permanent military camp, where as Skandhavara means temporary military camp.

Social Conditions:

During the Satavahana period, caste system was not well established in the society.
With the advent foreigners like Sakas, Pallavas and Yavanas and because of the influence of the religions like Buddhism and Jainism, the principles of the caste system had to be liberalized.
Brahmins learnt Vedic education and performed rituals.
Vysyas indulged in trade and business.
Kshatriyas, apart from taking to the military profession, also indulged in commerce and trade.
Joint family system was in vogue.
The members of the family were dependent on the father and the system of pithru swamyam was accepted.
Women occupied a prominent position in the society.
Women had their own property.
Women like Gautami Balashri and Naganika handled the administration of the state.
During this period, women added the titles of their husbands at the end of their names.
Hala's Gathasaptashati reveals that people in those days led a cheerful life.

Economic Conditions:

During the Satavahana period, the entire Dakshinapadha enjoyed economic prosperity.
Considerable development was achieved in the fields of agriculture, internal and external trade and industry.
Agriculture was the chief source of revenue.
Land tax was the chief source of income to the government.
Men and women worked together in the agricultural lands.
They were connected with the important seaports by roads.
Bullock cart was the main means of travel.
Diamonds, silver, liquor, silk clothes and perfumes were the exported commodities of Deccan.
The Roman coins discovered in several places like Arikamedu, Puducherry, Kondapur, Dhanyakataka and Nagarjunakonda are proof of the profits earned through foreign trade in Deccan.

Religion:

When the Satavahanas came into power, Vedic religion, Buddhism and Jainism of North India became the South Indian religions as well.
These religions reconciled with the faiths and customs of the locals and prospered.
Early Satavahanas were followers of Vedic religion and worked for the prosperity of that religion.
King Yagnasri’s name reveals their attachment to Vedic religion.
Foreigners like Yavanas and Sakas followed Vedic religion and mingled with the Indian society.
The prayers of Indra, Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Chandra, Yama, Surya and Varuna appearing in the inscriptions show the transfer of religion from Vedic culture to Puranic culture.
Saiva and Vyshna religions attracted both the administration and the people.
Charity, bhakti and pilgrimage are the chief characteristics of these religions.
Puranas became standard for them.
Puranic literature spread during the Satavahana period.
Historians opined that Acharya Nagarjuna lived in Sriparvatham and formed a centre of learning.
Philosophers assume that Nagarjuna's "Sunyavadam" was the basis for Sankaracharya's "Mayavadam".
Jainism also prospered along with Buddhism.
Kundakunda, a Jain ascetic wrote "Samayasara", which was adored and followed by Svetambara and Digambara sects of Jainism.

Language and Literature:

Satavahanas were also patrons of language and literature.
They continued Prakrit as the court language.
The inscriptions of those days were written in Prakrit language and in Brahmi script.
In fact, in the history of Prakrit language, the Satavahana period may be treated as the golden age.
The `Gathasaptashati’ compiled by Hala is an anthology of 700 Prakrit verses composed by a number of poets and poetesses and won him undying fame as `Kavivatsala'.
Hala, the 17^th king of Satavahanas, was a poet and gathered around himself a large number of poets.
Gunadhya, the writer of ‘Brihatkatha', belonged to this period.
Kings patronized the Sanskrit language during the latter part of the Satavahana period.
Sarva Varma wrote "Katantra Vyakarana" for easy learning of Sanskrit.
From the title of ‘Agama Nilaya', it appears that Gouthamiputra Satakarni was a master of Vedic lore.
The writings of Acharya Nagarjuna and Aryadeva were done in Sanskrit language.
`Suhrullekha’ of Nagarjuna achieved popularity.
The Chinese Traveller, Yijing, wrote that every student learnt Suhrullekha by heart and the savants continued to discuss the contents of it throughout their lives.
From Brihatkatha, it is understood that the 'desi’ language flourished along with Prakrit and Sanskrit languages.
(Desi means local, so, Desi Language means the language of locals.)
It might be the parent of the South Indian languages like Telugu and Kannada.

Art and Architecture:

The Satavahanas continued their patronage of Mauryan Architecture with little improvements.
Religion was the source of inspiration for architecture.
Hala's Gathasaptashati mentioned the temples of Ganesh, Gowri and Indra.
Buddhist ruins are the only sources available to estimate the skills and talent of Satavahanas in the field of architecture.
Almost all the architectural contributions of that period were Buddhist and they included Chaityas, Stupas, Aramas and Viharas.
Stupas were built at Nagarjuna Konda, Bhattiprolu, Amaravati, Jaggaiahpet and Ghantasala.
Amaravati stupa is the most magnificent construction out of all the stupas of Andhra Desa.
The stupa was built with bricks and name plates were carved on marble stone.
Five important incidents from the life of Buddha were shown in this stupa.
The Birth of Buddha, Mahabhinishkramana (the great departure), Jnanajyothi, Dharmachakra (wheel of dharma), Mahaparinirvana (nirvana-after-death) were inscribed in the stupa.
Chaitya is a Buddhist temple of worship with a stupa in it.
Chaityas were constructed at Karle, Kanheri, Nasik and Bhaja.
Viharas are the abodes of Buddhist monks.
Some of these viharas were carved in rocks.
Viharas were also built with bricks in Amaravati, Nagarjuna Konda and Jaggaiahpet.
Amaravati was the most famous of all Buddhist `Kshethras' in Andhra Desa.
During that period, painting was also developed.
People of those days got the puranic stories like Ramayana and Bhagavatha, painted on the walls of their houses.
Swethagaja Jathaka in the 10th cave of Ajanta belonged to the Satavahana period.

Conclusion:

The Satavahanas were the first to establish an empire in South India.
The social, political and cultural life in Deccan started with the Satavahanas.
The Satavahanas achieved cultural unity in India by establishing an empire, which spread from Aryavartha to South India.
Satavahanas brought political unity to South India and saved it from foreign invasions.
They made great effort to develop administration, socio-economic conditions, language, literature, religion, art and architecture.
In those days, life in villages was simple and in towns, it was luxurious.
Hala's Gathasaptashati reveals that people in those days led a cheerful life.

Tags;

#Satavahana Empire,Satavahana Dynasty,Ancient Indian History,Indian History,Ancient India,India,Satavahana art and architecture,

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.

Tags;

#Shah Jahan,History,India,Mughal literature,Akbar,Aurangzeb,Babur,Mughal Dynasty,Mughal Empire,Mughal art and architecture,Ancient Indian History,Indian History,Ancient India,

aides-memoires

Link List

Pallava Dynasty

Satavahana Dynasty

Mughal Dynasty

Most Popular

Tags

Categories

Report Abuse

Categories

Contact form