The Origins of Mughal Empire

The Mughals were the last decedents of Mongols who lived in Turkistan. The word Mughal is a
Persian version of Mongol. Long before their ancestors have embraced Islam and have opted
the mid-eastern ways especially of Turks and Persia. In early 1500 s Babur became ruler of a
small state and soon invaded Afghanistan and then India.
The Foundation of Mughal Empire
The Mughal empire was founded by Babur, who came from Turkistan and first he invaded
Afghanistan established himself for further invasions towards India. He established the Mughal
Empire in 1526 by defeating Ibrahim Lodhi
India under Mughal Emperors
The Mughal Empire was established in 1526 by Babur with the use of fire arm technology.
Which was new to the Indian rulers. This empire was in fact of Persian and Turk origin with the
background of Far East culture. In this era Mughal gave India not only the better administration
but new ways of commerce , trades , architecture , paintings , and other technologies were also
brought in. overall the whole period was as peaceful , especially in the period of Akbar the great
there was a great harmony present among all religions due to his diplomatic and lenient
policies.
Babur
Babur was the first Mughal emperor who ruled for 1526 to 1530. He was descended from Timur
on his father's side and from Chagatai the second son of the Mongol ruler Genghis khan, on his
mother's side. His Complete name was Zaheer-ud din Mohammad Babur and he attained his
first power position in 1495 and at the Age of 12. His hobbies were Writing, Literature, music,
swimming, and gardening .He was moderately simple, more religious and was not much fond of
women. The enemies of Babur included Afghans of eastern India, Hindu Rajput, Ibrahim Lodhi,
. His eldest son was Humayun, he was saved by Babur, who sacrificed his life for Humayun by
praying. The monuments built by the first emperor included Kabuli masjid, Babri masjid, Pani
pat mosque, Gardens and madrassas. As the first Mughal emperor he was determined to
conquer the regions including central and northern India, Afghan territory, Samarkand, Kabul,
etc.
Humayun (1530-1556)
Humayun was the eldest son of Babur, who was succeeded after the death of Babur, however
he could not get good hold on the empire as it was recently established by his father so he was
thrown by Lodhis, he remained in exile for fifteen years and after that he defeated Lodhis with
the help of afghan and Persian rulers .unfortunately he also died in an accident soon after that
victory.
Akbar (1556-1605)
Akbar the great was only 12 years old when his father Humayun died. However he was having a
great mentor bairaam khan who helped Mughal Empire till he was made able to get his reign
back. His policies are still admired by all Indians. He has he was humble diplomatic and broad
minded. He also married to many Hindu girls to get a good hold of the population. He ruled for
almost fifty years. And established the strong Mughal empire and expanded his empire also he
also built many buildings including Delhi fort and Lahore fort.
The Great Jahangir (1605-1627)
The great Jahangir was the fourth Mughal emperor who succeeded d his father Akbar in
1605.soon after he faced a rebellion by his own son khuousro who claimed to be the ruler
according to Akbar’s will. However that rebellion was crushed and khuousro was blinded as a
punishment. Jahangir announced his priority for justice. And his period is considered to be
administratively one of the best as he pacified the Hindu rulers of small states and politically
handled them. He was fond of architecture, paintings and other arts forms. He was succeeded
by his third son Shahjahan .he died in 1627. His mausoleum is in Lahore.
Shah Jehan (1627-1658)
Shah Jehan was the fifth Mughal emperor who succeeded in 1627 after the death of Jehan gir,
his period is known as most prosperous and known as golden period of Indian history.
Unlike his father he was a firm Muslim and reversed the liberal policies of Jahangir. His
period is also considered to be the golden period of architecture and built many
monuments included the splendid Taj mahal in the memory of his beloved wife mumtaz
mahal. He built moti masjid in Lahore fort extended Delhi fort and built nearly
thousands of gardens.
Aurangzeb (1658-1707)
He was the sixth Mughal emperor and reigned for almost fifty years. During his reign the
Mughal Empire reached at its zenith. The empire was the largest of all Mughal emperors so far
and the wealthiest one also. He was a pious man, and he was altogether opposite to that of
Akbar the great and .he fought with all of his three brothers and imprisoned his father too to
become the Mughal emperor. After his death the empire began to collapse. He Wes also fond
of architecture and he built badshahi mosque Lahore and many others .
The Crisis of Mughal Empire
In eighteenth century Mughal empires started to collapse as it faced many crises. Marathas
attacked many areas from Deccan to benagal.Many Nawab like Bhopal Bengal Oudh Rampur
and Nizam of Hyderabad declared their independence during that weak period in 1739 nadir
shah defeated Mughals and it kept on collapsing after that defeat.
Mughal Commercial System
The Mughals were fond of commercial activities especially Akbar Jahangir also took part
by themselves they also encouraged (foreigners traders to import precious goods to India and
put nominal tax. and they were interested to export cotton and silk and spices to Europe and
other p[arts of the world. The textiles especially flourished during alamgir reign. Most of the
trades was in the hands of Hindu merchants and Muslims were enjoying high posts or were
having Karkhanas for textiles and things like that.
Mughal Art and Architecture
Mughal empire put a great influence in the field of art and culture while ruling India ,the most
important and beautiful example is Taj mahal, other include Humayun tomb, red fort, Agra
fort, Lahore fort the palaces and the tombs and gardens. New trade routes were developed.
Many Karkhanas of textiles were developed, central government and administrative control of
power system was developed. Turk and Persian ,far eastern culture and art was brought in.