The Mughal Empire

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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 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 14th 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.