With the coming of the Mughals in India and the Turkish rule, there were

many developments and changes in the Indian culture. Not just culture,
there were major developments in architecture and art. The indo Islamic
culture was a blend of Hinduism and Islam. It was neither strict Hindu nor
strict Islam. The Indo Islamic architecture can be broadly classified into
two main categories:
MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
The indo Islamic style was unique and its typical characteristics were
spaciousness and width. The landscape was dominated by mosques and
the dome became an inseparable part of any architectural monument. The
dome was inspired by Hindu temples that had a circular top called
"Kalash".
The monuments were decorated with calligraphy and intricate designs. A
very important symbol of the indo-Islamic architecture was the
magnificent tomb or burial chambers for the emperors. It was developed
and refined during the Mughal era. The tombs were surrounded by
beautiful gardens and the grave used to be placed below the memorial
plaque.
Though this form of architecture started before the end of the Turkish rule,
it was under Emperor Akbar that Mughal architecture got its due
importance and fame. Akbar concentrated on using red sandstone for
most of the monuments. He blended some unique foreign styles with the
Mughal architecture like combining, high minarets, gardens, pillars, etc.
with the main monument. The monuments were lavishly decorated with
precious metals like gold, silver and precious stones like diamonds,
emeralds, rubies, etc.
All the early Mughal Rulers except Aurangzeb were great builders. With
the coming of the Mughals, Indian architecture was greatly influenced by
Persian styles. The Mughals constructed excellent mosques, forts, gardens
and cities. The Mughal buildings show a uniform pattern both in structure
and character.
The main characteristic features of Mughal architecture are the bulbous
domes, the slender minarets with cupolas at the four corners, large halls,
massive vaulted gateways and delicate ornamentation.
Sher Shah of the Sur Dynasty who ruled over the Kingdom of the Mughals
after driving Humayun out of the country was not only a great
administrator but a lover of art also. He built several forts, tombs and
mosques. The monuments of Sher Shah are a continuation of the Lodi
style. The mausoleums are octagonal in plan and have verandahs around
them, surmounted by huge domes. The verandahs have three smaller
domes on each side.

Mughal architecture begins with Akbar who showed his passion for
building by planning and constructing splendid edifices. During his reign
Mughal architecture took on new forms. Akbar made free use of both
Hindu and Persian styles. The use of red sandstone inlaid with white
marble and painted designs on walls and ceiling are the salient features of
Akbar's buildings.
Akbar constructed numerous forts, towers, palaces, mosques,
mausoleums and gateways. A structure of note built during his reign is
Humayun's Tomb in Delhi.
Mughal architecture is the distinctive Indo-Islamic architectural style that
developed in northern and central India under the patronage of Mughal
emperors from the 16th to the 18th century. It is a remarkably symmetrical
and decorative amalgam of Persian, Turkish, and Indian architecture. The
Mughals were also renowned for creating exquisite gardens in the Persian
charbagh layout, in which the quadrilateral gardens were divided by
walkways or flowing water into four smaller parts. This is the most
important aspect of transition. Mughal era witnessed the most appealing
transition and ruled out the architectural designs of Non Islamic culture.
CULTURE AND RELIGION
Islam and Hinduism have been the two most prominent religions in
India. Throughout its history the region has seen both times of cohesion
and times of strife and conflict. The Mughal Empire was a time period of
peaceful religious and cultural flourishing between the Hindus and
Muslims of India, culminating in a golden age of Islamic-Hindu cross
cultural pollination.
The last Mughal Emperors policy of intolerance towards the religious
plurality is what led to the fragmentation of this cohesive system, which
continues to deteriorate to this day. Aryan tribes invaded India sometime
around 1500 B.C.E. The Aryan invaders conquered India and created what
is referred to as Classical Indian culture; putting and end to the Golden
Age of the Mughal Empire.
The Emperor Akbur the Great, who ruled the Mughal Empire from 1556 to
1605, was one of the most important Mughal rulers for fostering religious
cohesion amongst Muslims and Hindus. His trusted friend and advisor Abul
Fazl wrote a book, the Akbarnama, describing the rule of the emperor
Akbur including Akburs religious views and policies toward Hindus. Abul
Fazl wrote a lot about the interactions and policies that the Muslim
government established in response to the Hindu majority. This is
important to note, it shows the tolerance of the Muslim leadership toward
another religion in order to keep power peacefully. The text even speaks of

the similarities in the religions. The tolerance and acceptance shown to

the Hindus by the Muslim rulers of the time was, put simply, a politically
savvy move. Ruling an empire where the majority of the population did
not have the same religious views as the ruling class, presented many
obstacles, and required the Mughal rulers to practice religious sensitivity,
in order to maintain power. This repeal of policies would play a key role in
the demise of the Empire.
By the time the Mughal empire was established, the power in the
countryside was mostly in the hands of the large and small Hindu family
and kin groups. The groups had emerged as a consolidated great Rajput
caste, spread over a very large part of northern India, incorporating the
various erstwhile ruling elements and the newly brahmanized
tribal/pastoral chiefs. They enjoyed claims over the surplus produced by
the peasants and were masters of their respective territories.
Under the Mughals this coordination was evidently reinforced. But what is
of greater significance for our purpose is the fact that besides the
enormous increase in the scale of this coordination, many of the local
Hindu elites began to identify themselves, to a certain degree, not simply
with the Mughal state system but also with the Mughal Persian culture.
Among them emerged some of the principal exponents of the Mughal
Persian learning.
The creation of a road system and a uniform currency, along with the unification
of previously disparate territories, allowed for a strong economy under Mughal
rule. The Mughal emperors were enthusiastic patrons of the arts, and their vast
royal treasuries funded many cultural achievements. Most notable among their
contributions to the culture of the Indian subcontinent were Mughal architecture
and Mughal painting , both of which were an amalgam of Persian and Turkic
styles with local styles. The Urdu language is another contribution, which
continues to be the national language of Pakistan and a co-official language in
India.

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

The Turkish Language or rather the Chaghatay Turkish ,Baburs mother
tongue also played an important role .Until the early 19th century it was
still spoken to some extent in the rulers palace and also by many of the
nobility. In the 16th century, regional languages appeared for the first time
in literature , then mystical writings ,followed by secular ones.
Sindhi, Punjabi and Pushto came into prominence during this time and
Bengali and Kashmiri which had long been literary languages are also
noteworthy.
Hindi -including the various dialects spoken in northern India, such as Braj
and Purabi ,played an important role and thanks to the translation project

initiated by Akbar and his great grandson Dara Shikoh ,Sanskrit also
became and important literary language in the Muslim world .
Finally towards the end of Aurangzebs era Urdu became the
quintessential literary language of Indian Muslims.All the Mughal emperors
were great patrons of learning and gave their full encouragement to the
spread of education in their dominions. Babur was himself a great scholar
and public works department (Shuhrat-i-Am) established by him, which,
also continued to exist under later Mughal emperors, was on trusted along
with other responsibilities to that of building the schools and colleges.
His son, Humayan had great love for study of books especially in
astronomy and geography. He constructed a Madarsa at Delhi and
converted the pleasure-house built by Sher Shah in Qila Kohana also
called Purana Qila into a library.
The reign of Akbar, well known for improvement in various other domains,
also constitutes a new epoch in the growth and improvement of
education. He established a number of colleges for high learning at Agra
and Fatehpur Sikri and also attempted to revise the curriculum of
education.
Abul Fazal writes, All civilized nations have schools for the education of
youth; but Hindustan is particularly famous for its seminaries. Akbar also
encouraged the Hindus to join the madarsa and learn Persian, the court
language.
Jahangir was himself a great scholar of Turki and Persian and had written
his memories known as the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri. It is stated that soon after
his sitting on the throne, he got repaired many old madarsa, which had
ceased to function for quite a long and filled them with pupils and their
teachers.
Towards the close of his reign, he also promulgated an order that if a rich
person or traveler died without heirs, his property would escheat to the
crown and be spent on the construction and maintenance of Madarsa and
monasteries, etc.
Shah Jahan had great fascination for study of the Turkish language and
had a regular habit of study at night for a short while.
POLITICAL ECONOMY
The Mughals used the Mansabdar system to generate land revenue. The
emperor would grant revenue rights to a Mansabdar in exchange for
promises of soldiers in war-time. The greater the size of the land the
emperor granted, the greater the number of soldiers the Mansabdar had
to promise. The Mansab was both revocable and non-hereditary. This gave
the center a fairly large degree of control over the Mansabdars.

Agriculture has been mainstay of economy in India since time

immemorial. During Mughal time also it was not only the largest source of
income to state but it was also the source of livelihood to the large
majority of people in India. Main crops that were grown were cereals,
millets, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton, hemp, chilli, indigo and betel.
The Muslim ruling class preferred to settle in the towns and cities. The
artistic life style of Mughal ruling clan encouraged handicrafts, art and
architecture and trade in India. The political and economic unification of
India under the Mughal rule and establishment of law and order over
extensive areas created the favorable environment for trade and
commerce. The improvement of transport and communications by the
Mughals.Encouragement given by the Mughals to the monetization of
economy. Arrival of European traders from the beginning of 17th century
onwards and the growth of the European trade. Decca was the famous
centre of muslin and textiles. Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Lahore were the
main centers of silk weaving. Surat, Cambay, Braoch in Gujarat was the
main ports for foreign trade.