History (Medieval India History :- Mughal Empire)

Medieval India History :- Mughal Empire

Babur (1526 – 1530)

 *Mughal Empire was founded by Babar

 *1st battle of Panipat (21st April 1526)

 - B/w Babur & Ibrahim Lodi

 - Lodi was Killed

 - Babur occupied Delhi

 *Babar sent his son Humayu to seize Agra; & Claimed himself “ Emperor of Hindustan”

 *Battle of Khanua (Near Agra →  1527)

 - Babur V/S Rana Sanga of Mewar

 - Babur won the battle & assumed the title of Ghazi

 *Babur wrote his memoirs in “Tuzuk – i – Baburi in Turki language & died in 1530

Humayu (1530 – 1540)

 *Eldest son of Babur; means fortunate but was most unfortunate ruler of Mughal empire

 *Gave Kabul & Kandhar to Kamran; Sambhal to Aksari & Alwar to Hindal (All 3 his brothers)

Humayun  →  Busy fighting with Afgans (Sher khan / Sher shah) in east, got the news that Bahadur shah of Gujrat was advancing

towards Delhi  →  Hence made treaty with Sher shah

- Humayu captured Gujrat from Bahadur shah & made Aksari its governor, but soon Bahadur shah recovered it from Aksari who fled from their

Battle of Chausa (1539)

 *Between Humayu & Sher Shah

 *Sher Shah destroyed Mughal army

 *Humayu fled from there

Battle of Kannauj or Bilgram (1540)

 *Between Humayu & Sher Shah

 *Brothers’ dint supported Humayu, hence he fought alone

 *Humayu was thoroughly defeated by Sher shah

 *Result →   Humayu became exile for next 15 years 

Sur interregnum (1540 – 1555)

 *Founded by Sher Shah; became ruler of Delhi in 1540

 *Formed 4 ministries for central administration viz.

 - Diwan – i – Wazirat   →  Headed by Wazir (Incharge of finance & revenue)

 - Diwan – i – Ariz  →  Headed by Military Incharge

 - Diwan – i – Rasalat  → Headed by Foreign minister

 - Diwan – i – Insha  →  Headed by Communication minister

Administration

 *Sher Shah empire was divided in 47 Sarkars with

 - Chief Shiqdar to maintain law & order in each sarkar

 - Chief Munsif as Judge in each Sarkar

 *Each Sarkar was divided into Parganas with each pargana consisted of

 - Shiqdars  →  Military officer

 - Amin  →  Land revenue officer

 - Fotedar  →  Treasurer

 - Karkuns →  Accountant

Architecture

 *Introduced new silver coins called ‘Dam’ which were in circulation till 1835

 *Laid foundation of 4 important highways & constituted rest houses alongside highways viz.

 - Sonargaon to Sind

 - Agra to Burhampur

 - Jodhpur to Chittor

 - Lahore to Multan

 *Built a new city on banks of river Yamuna near Delhi (Purana quila & its mosque are remains of the same)

 *Built Mausoleum at Sasaram →  Considered one of the masterpiece of Indian Architecture

 *Patronized Malik Muhammad Jayasi who wrote famous Hindi work Padmavat during his reign

Humayun (1555 – 1556)

 *Humayun defeated Afgans in 1555

 *Died in 1556 after falling from the staircase of his library 

Akbar (1556 – 1605)

 *During 1st five years of Akbars reign, Bairam khan acted as his regent & consolidated Mughal empire

 *2nd battle of Panipat

 - Between Akbar & Hemu (Commander of Afgans)

 - Akbar emerged victorious with the help of Bairam Khan

 *Akbar married Rajput princess Jodha, daughter of Raja Bhairomal of Amber

 *This marriage became a turning point in the history of Mughals, as Rajputs supported them now

 *Many Rajputs like Raja Man singh & Raja Bhagwan Das were given senior position in Akbar’s court

 *Battle of Haldighati, 1576

 - Between Akbar and Maharana Pratap of Mewar

 - Mughals under the leadership of Raja Man singh defeated Rana Pratap of Mewar

 *Akbar was very tolerant towards religious policies →  abolished pilgrim tax & later Jiziya

 *He formed a strong alliance b/w Mughals & Rajputs which ensured peace in Rajasthan & Northern India

Akbars’ Religious Touch

 *Early contact with Sufi saints

 *Teachings from his teacher Abdul Latif

 *His marriage with Rajput princess

 *His association with intellectual giant like Shaikh Mubarak & his 2 sons – Abul Faizi & Abul Fazal

 *After marrying Jodha Bai, he abolished pilgrimage tax & Jiziga

 *Allowed his Hindu wife to worship her own God

 *He was a pious Muslim in his early life but later became a skeptic one

 *Constructed Ibadat khana (house of worship where scholars from all religion meet to discuss religious policies) at his new capital Fatehpur sikri

 *Invited learned scholars from all religions to discuss religious policies

 *Disliked the interference of Muslim Ulemas in political matters

 *In 1579, He issued infallibility decree & asserted his religious powers

 *In 1582, he promulgated a new religion “Din – i – Ilahi” or divine faith in one god

 *Din – i – Ilahi contained good points of all the religions & uphold no dogma

 *Din – i – Ilahi mainly aimed to bridge gap b/w all religions (Only 15 followers joined including Birbal)

Akbars’ Land Revenue system

 *Land revenue system of Akbar was known as Zabti / Bandobast system

 *Further modified by Raja Todarmal, now known as Dahsala system which included

 - Measurement of land

 - Revenue fixed on average yield of last 10 years

 - Land divided into four categories viz.

Polaj :- Cultivated every year

Parauti :- Cultivated every 2 years

Chachar :- Cultivated every 3 – 4 years

Banjar :- Cultivated every 5 years

Mansabdari system of Akbar

 *Under this system, every officer was assigned a Rank (Mansab)

 *Lowest officer got 10 coins & highest officers (Nobles) got 5000 coins for their services

 *Includes all public services except Judiciary

 *Ranks were divided into 2 categories, namely

 - Zat  →  Described the personal status of a person

- Sawar   →  Number of cavalry man a person is required to maintain

Jahangir (1605 – 1627)

 *Prince Salim succeeded the throne with the title Jahangir (Conqueror of the world)

 *Witness rebellions from his son Khusaro, but was defeated & imprisoned

 *Beheaded 5th Sikh Guru Arjun dev

 *In 1611, Married Mehrunnisa (Nurjaha → Light of the world)

 *Wrote his Autobiography →  Tuzuk – i – Jahagiri

Shahjaha (1627 – 1658)

 *Married Mumtaj (Banu Begum)

 *Conquered Deccan (Bijapur & Golkunda and put it under the leadership of his son Aurangzeb)

 *Later, Aurangzeb killed his 3 brothers & confined Shahjaha to female apartments in Agra fort

 *Though Aurangzeb never ill-treated Shahjaha

Aurangzeb (1658 – 1707)

 *Assumed the title Alamgir (or World Conqueror)

 *To contain Marathas (Shivaji), he attacked Golkunda & Bijapur (Deccan Shias)

 *Though Aurangzeb defeated them but it removed the only boundary b/w Marathas & Mughals

 *According to JN Sarkar, Deccan ulcer ruined Aurangzeb

Religious Policies of Aurangzeb

 *Very orthodox & staunch Muslim; tried to change India into an Islamic state

 *Created separate departments to enforce moral codes called ‘Muhtasib’

 - Prohibited drinking, cultivation & use of Bhang & drugs

 - Forbid music in Mughal court, Dismissed royal astrologers & astronomers

 - Discontinued practice of Jharoka darshan

 - Discontinued celebration of Dussehra

 *Destroyed Hindu temples & banned construction of them

 *Reimposed Jiziya & pilgrimage tax (in 1679)

 *Stopped celebration of Muharram (Not tolerant towards other Muslim sects)

 *Was against Sikhs & executed 9th Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur, which resulted transformation of sikhs into warring community

- His religious policies turned Rajputs, Sikhs, Marathas, Jats & Satnamis against him & hence became the sole reason for decline of Mughal Empire

Personality & Character of Aurangzeb

 *Very simple in dressing & food; Very disciplined & industrious

 *Earned money for personal expenses by copying Quran & selling those copies

 *Did not consume wine, learned & proficient in Arabic & Persian language

 *Lover of books, strict follower of Islam

 *Daily Namaz for 5 times & strictly observed Ramzan

 *Overall an orthodox Muslim intolerant to other religions

“After Aurangzeb’s death Nadir shah looted Delhi & imprisoned new Mughal emperor in 1739″

Architecture under Mughals

Emperor :- Monument :- Place

Akbar :- Agra fort using Red Stone :- Agra
     
      :- Panch Mahal – build on the pattern of a Buddhist Vihara :- Fatehpur Sikri
     
      :- Jama masjid with gateway Buland Darwaza – On Gujrat’s victory :- Fatehpur Sikri
     
      :- Humayu Tomb – Precursor of Tajmahal :- Delhi

Jahangir :- Shalimar Bagh     Srinagar
   
     :- Akbar’s Tomb :- Sikandara near Agra
   
     :- Itimaddaulah Tomb (Pietra dura style by Nurjaha) :- Agra

- ShahjahaRed FortDelhiJama Masjid using Red stoneDelhiMoti MasjidAgraDiwan – i – amUnder Red Fort (Delhi)Diwan – i – KhasUnder Red Fort (Delhi)Nishat Bagh (By Asif khan,  Brother of Nurjaha)SrinagarAurangzebPinjore GardenLahoreMoti Masjid with white marbleDelhi

Painting & Music

 *Akbarnama was the main theme of Mughal paintings

 *Hamznama was the most important work of Mughals time consisting 1200 paintings

 *Tansen (From gwalior) was a great musician in Akbar’s court

Literature

 *Abul Fazal  →  Ain – i – Akbari , Akbarnama   (Persian Language)

 *Abul Faizi  →  Converted Mahabharata into Persian language (Leading poet of Akbar’s Court)

 *Abdul Hamid Lahori →  Padshah Nama (Shahjaha’s Court)

 *Inayat Khan  →  Shahjaha Naha (Shahjaha’s Court)

 *Dara Shikoh (Eldest son of Shahjaha) →  Converted Bhagvat Gita & Upanishads into Persian

Trivia

 *During 17th century, two new crops “Tobacco & Maize” were added

 *Potato & Chili came later in 18th century

 *Ghee & oils were cheaper; Salts & sugar were more expensive