The Mughal Empire 1526 1761 A Foundations 1

The Mughal Empire (1526 -1761)

A. Foundations 1. Muslim sultans reigned over largely Hindu population of India 2. founder: Babur (1483 -1530) was a descendent of the Mongol ruler Timur (“Mughal” is Persian for “Mongol”) 3. Akbar “the Great” expanded empire to all of India –promoted Hindu-Muslim coexistence (married a Hindu princess) –wealthy due to cotton trade

B. Military & Politics 1. Mughals lacked a powerful navy 2. used Dutch & English trade ships for military support in exchange for trade privileges 3. rajputs: Hindu princes who held positions of power in Mughal government

Taj Mahal: architectural example of the blending of Hindu and Muslim culture

C. Society & Religion 1. Lower social castes converted to Islam 2. Sikhism: blended Hindu & Muslim beliefs –an “army of the pure” (didn’t cut hair, wore turbans, bracelets, and carried a sword to prove devotion)

D. Decline of “Gunpowder” Empires 1. All three Muslim empires: collapsed due to their inability to adjust to complex changes in military technology & the global economy 2. too much taxation for warfare 3. internal conflict

4. fell behind Europe in invention & sciences 5. European advantages: – ship design, use of cannons on ships – joint-stock companies in new global financial system

IV. Islam in E. Africa & S. E. Asia

A. Swahili Coast 1. “sawahil”: Arabic for coast 2. Swahili: pidgin trade language made up of a mixture of Bantu speakers, Arabic, Persian, Portuguese 3. during 1600 s Portuguese lose much of Swahili Coast & Arabian entrepots – keep Mozambique (E. Africa), Goa (India), Macao/Timor (S. E. Asia)

B. East Indies 1. Islam spread rapidly in S. E. Asia in the 1300’s 2. Acheh Sultanate adopts Islam in 1600 s - Dutch seize Strait of Malacca from Portugal in 1641 3. Resistance to Portuguese, Spanish, & Dutch by Muslims - “Moros” in the Phillipines largest Muslim country today: Indonesia

ACHEH SULTANATE (Malacca) MOROS (Philippines)