The Mughal Empire 18 3 Early History of

The Mughal Empire 18 -3

Early History of the Mughals • *The Mughals are an Islamic group who were the descendants of the Mongols, invaded and conquered India. • The Word Mughal is the Indian word for Mongol • 700 -1000 AD the Indians prevented Mongol invasions • 1000 AD the Sultan Mahmud destroys many Indian cities and makes Delhi a Sultan capital • 1398 Timur the Lame destroys Delhi as an example to other Indian cities • *Between 1100 -1600 the interaction between the Hindu and Muslim societies can best be described as a period of conflict alternated with periods of religious toleration and peaceful coalition. Timur took large parts of Northern India and other parts he looted and destroyed in a brutal fashion.

Five Great Mughal Leaders 1. Babur 2. Akbar 3. Jahangir and Nur Jahan 4. Shah Jahan 5. Aurangezeb

Babur Finds the Mughal Empire • 1492 Babur becomes king at the age of 11 • He is a descendant of Timur the Lame and Genghis Kahn • At first his kingdom was small and in the area of present day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan Sultan Babur’s lineage

Babur Finds The Mughal Empire • Babur was a brilliant military strategist and understood his men • Babur is able to win a commanding victory over the sultan of Delhi – His army was greatly outnumbered 12, 000 to 100, 000 Babur’s conquest is shown as purple

Akbar the “Great One” • Grandson of Babur • A military conqueror • Believed in war for its own sake – always on the offensive conquering new lands – His armies relied on heavy artillery to take fortified cities • He will unify a land of a 100 million people Akbar’s conquest is shown as dark orange

The Religion of Akbar • Akbar was born a Muslim • He believed in and practiced religious tolerance. – *He had wives who were Christian, Hindu and Muslim (proof that he was tolerant of other religions) – He abolished religious taxes for non-Muslims • *He started his own religion called the "Divine Faith". – It combined • Hinduism, • Jainism • Islam Akbar the Great

The Golden Age of Akbar • A mixture of many cultures – Persian is the Lingua Franca and the language of the high court – *Hindi was the most common vernacular language (Still the most important language in India today) – *Urdu (from the soldiers camp) was the language of the Army- A mixture of Arabic, Persian and Hindi

The Golden Age of Akbar • Arts flourished- Example is "Miniatures" small highly detailed and colorful paintings • Literature-the writing of the book Akbarnamah (Book of Akbar) • A great period of revived architecture – Akbar built the capital city of Fatehpur Sikri city – abandoned only after 15 years due to a lack of reliable water source Palace at Fatehpur Sikri

The Reign of Janghira and Nur Jahan • Jahangir was the son of Akbar. He was a weak ruler, but his Persian wife was a skilled politician. Her name was Nur Jahan

Nur Jahan- A Woman of Power • The Woman – – – Persian wife Hunt tigers Rode horses Composed poetry Designed clothes • She manipulated the offices of state to insure her power – She put her father in the position of Prime Minister of the Mugal Court – She position Khusrau, son of Jahangir as the future emperor Nur Juhan- Wife of Janghira

The Reign of Janghira and Nur Jahan • Nur Jahan and Jahangir did not practice religious tolerance like Akbar • They supported only Islam • Khusrau rebellion – Son against father – he turned to the Guru Ajun a Sikhs for support – Khusrau is defeated and ordered to be blinded • *The Sikhs practiced a religion that combined beliefs of Buddhism, Hinduism and Sufism called Sikhism – *Main goal was to build a close and loving relationship with God through meditation Emperor Janghira receiving his two sons, Khusrau and Parviz

Shah Jahan • Grandson of Akbar • Feared all rivals to the throne and had them assassinated • Loved two things – beautiful buildings – Wife- Mumtaz Mahal • Under Shah Jahan there were great famines, high taxes and war

Mumtaz Mahal • Mumtaz Mahal was the wife of Shah Jahan – She died at 38 giving birth to her 14 th child – Shah Jahan was heart broken

The Taj Mahal • • *Shah Jahan ordered the building of the Taj Mahal as a tomb for Mumtaz Mahal’s body Perhaps one of the most beautiful buildings in the world • Made of white marble and jewels • Single towering marble dome and four slender towers • Inside is a glittering garden of a thousand carved marble flowers inlaid with precious stones Site for the Muslim faithful today *One of the finest examples of Mughal architecture, blending Persian, Islamic and Indian styles

Aurangezeb • ruled from 1658 -1707 • Master military strategist • Aggressive empire builder • The Mughal empire expands to its greatest extent Aurangezeb’s conquests is shown as light orange

The Reign of Aurangezeb • Rigidly enforced Islamic law- Shari’a – no drinking, no gambling or other vices – appointed censors to police his subjects morals • Did not practice religious tolerance – taxed non-Muslims – Hindus removed from high positions – Hindu temples destroyed • He made too many enemies and could not hold the empire together.