Medieval Indian History

MUGHAL EMPIRE – BABUR (1526-1530)

Mughals belonged to a branch of the Turks called Chagatai, which is named after the second son of Genghis Khan, the famous Mongol Leader.

The Foundation of the Mughal Empire in India was laid by Babur, who was a Chagatai Turk.

Babur – Zahiruddin Muhammad

Babur (1526-1530)

• Babur is the founder of the Mughal Empire in India.
• He was a descendant of Timur (on his father’s side) and Genghis Khan (on his Mother’s side).
• His original name was Zahiruddin Muhammad.
• In 1494 at the age of 11, Babur became the ruler of Farghana (at present in Chinese Turkistan) succeeding Umar Shaikh Mirza, his father.
• Daulat Khan, the most powerful noble of Punjab, who was discontented with Ibrahim Lodhi, invited Babur to invade India.
• He undertook four expeditions to India in order to conquer it between the years 1519 and 1523.

Babur’s Military Conquests

• In 1504, Babur occupied Kabul.
• In 1524, Babur occupied Lahore buthad to retreat to Kabul after Daulat Khan turned against him.
• In November 1525, Babur attacked and occupied Punjab again.
• On 21^st April 1526, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the first Battle of Panipat and quickly occupied Delhi and  Despite of vast and superior troop Ibrahim Lodi lost in the battle due to Babur’s superior strategy and use of artillery.
• The First Battle of Panipat marked the foundation of Mughal dominion in India.
• Babur conquered Delhi and sent his son Humayun to seize Agra.
• Babur announced himself as “Emperor of Hindustan”.

Rana Sangha

• Rana Sangha of Mewar was a great Rajput warrior.
• He gave the toughest resistance to Babur’s expansion plans.
• OnMarch 16, 1527, Rana Sangha, along with rulers of Marwar, Amber, Gwalior, Ajmer and Chanderi and Sultan Mahmood Lodi (whom Rana Sangha had acknowledged as ruler of Delhi) met Babur in a decisive contest at Kanhwa, a village near Agra. The aim was to prevent the imposition of another foreign repression on  Babur succeeded over them by using similar tactics as in the Battle of Panipat. The, he took on the title of “Ghazi”.
• In the year 1528, Chanderi was captured by Babur from Rajput king Medini Rai.
• On May 6, 1529, Babur met the allied Afghans of Bihar and Bengal on the banks of Gogra, near Patna and defeated them. With this battle, Babur occupied a considerable portion of northern India.
• Babur met the allied Afghans of Bihar and Bengal on the banks of Gogra, near Patna, and inflicted a crushing defeat on them. The following year, Babur vanquished the Afghans in the Battle of Gogra in Bihar.
• On December 26, 1530, Babur died at Agra aged 40. His body was first laid at Arambagh in Agra, but was later taken to Kabul, where it was buried.

Estimate of Babur

• He was an eminent scholar in Arabic and Persian.
• His mother tongue was Chaghatai Turkic.
• He was said to be a statesman.
• He wrote his memoirs, Tuzuk-i-Baburiin Turki language.

MUGHAL EMPIRE – HUMAYUN (1526-1530)

• Humayun was the eldest son of Babur.
• He was lacking wisdom, discretion, and strong determination and diligence of his  Thus, as a king he was a failure.
• Humayun means “fortune” but he remained the most unfortunate ruler of the Mughal Empire.
• Six months after his succession, Humayun besieged the fortress of Kalinjar in Bundelkhand, gained a decisive victory over Afghans at Douhrua and drove out Sultan Mahmood Lodhi from Jaunpur, and even defeated Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. His victories, however, were short-lived due to the weakness of his character.
• Humayun had three brothers, Kamran, Askari and Hindal
• Humayun divided the empire among his brothers but this proved to be a great blunder on his part.
• Kamran was given Kabul and Kandahar.
• Sambhal and Alwar were given to Askari and Hindal respectively.
• Humayun captured Gujarat from Bahadur Shah and appointed Askari as its governor
• But soon Bahadur Shah recovered Gujarat from Askari who fled from there.
• In the east, Sher Khan became powerful. Humayun marched against him and in the Battle of Chausa, held in 1539, Sher Khan destroyed the Mughal army and Humayun escaped from there.
• Humayun reached Agra to negotiate with his brothers.
• In 1540, in the Battle of Bilgram or Ganges also known as Battle of Kanauj, Humayun was forced to fight with Sher Khan alone and after losing his kingdom, Humayun became an exile for the next fifteen years.
• In 1952, during his wanderings in deserts of Sindh, Humayun married Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Sheikh Ali Amber Jaini, who had been a preceptor of Humayun’s brother Hindal.
• On November 23, 1542, Humayun’s wife gave birth to Akbar
• Amarkot’s Hindu chief RanaPrasad promised Humayun to help him to conquer Thatta and
• However, Humayun could not conquer Bhakker or secure  Thus, he left India and lived under the generosity of ShahTahmashp of Persia.
• Shah of Persia agreed to help Humayun and lend him a force of 14,000 men on a condition to confirm to Shia creed, to have the Shah’s name proclaimed in his Khutba and to give away Kandhar to him on his success.
• In 1545, with Persian help, Humayun captured Kandhar and Kabul but refused to cede Kandhar to Persia.
• Humayun sought help from the Iran ruler.
• Later, he defeated his brothers Kamran and Askari.
• In 1555, Humayun defeated the Afghans and recovered the Mughal throne.
• After six months, he died in 1556 due to his fall from the staircase of his library.
• Humayun was kind and generous, though he was not a good General and warrior.
• He also loved painting and wrote poetry in the Persian language.

SUR DYNASTY or SUR Interregnum (1540-1555)

Sher Shah’s Administration

• Sher Shah was the founder of Sur Dynasty.
• His original name was Farid.
• He was the son of Hasan Khan, a jagirdar of Sasaram in Bihar.
• He was given the title Sher Khan for his bravery under the Afghan Rule of Bihar.

Sher Shah Sur (1540-1545)

• Sher Shah Sur’s conquests include Bundelkhand, Malwa, Multan, Punjab, and Sind.
• His empire occupied the whole of North India except Assam, Gujarat, Kashmir, and Nepal.
• Though his rule lasted for only 5 years, he has organized an excellent administrative system.
• The king was aided by four important ministers.
  1. Diwan –i- Wizarat or Wazir – in charge of Revenue and Finance
  2. Diwan-i-Ariz – in charge of Army
  3. Diwan-i-Rasalat – Foreign Minister
  4. Diwan-i-Insha – Minister for Communications
• Sher Shah’s empire was divided into forty-seven Sarkars
• Each Sarkars was further divided into various Parganas and in charge of various officers.
  • Shiqdar – Military Officer
  • Amin – Land Revenue
  • Fotedar – Treasurer
  • Karkuns – Accountants
• Iqtas – various administrative units
• Under Sher Shah, the land revenue administration was well organized.
• The land survey was sensibly done.
• All cultivable lands were classified into three classes – good, middle and bad.
• The state’s share was one-third of the average production and it was paid in cash or crop.
• Sher Shah introduced new silver coins called “Dam” and they were in circulation till 1835.
• Police were competently restructured and crime was less during his regime.
• Shah borrowed many ideas like the branding of horses from Alauddin Khalji
• Sher Shah had also developed the communications by laying four important highways.
  • Sonargaon to Sind
  • Agra to Burhampur
  • Jodhpur to Chittor
  • Lahore to Multan

Estimate of Sher Shah

• Sher Shah remained a pious Muslim and generally tolerant towards other religions.
• He also employed Hindus in important offices.
• The old fort called Purana Qila and its mosque was built during his period.
• He also built a Mausoleum at Sasaram, which is considered as one of the masterpieces of Indian architecture.
• The famous Hindi work Padmavat by Malik Muhammad Jayasi was written during his reign.
• In 1545, Sher Shah died and his successors ruled till 1555 later which Humayun reconquered India.

AKBAR (1556-1605)

• Akbar’s position was in dangerous when he succeeded his father Humayun as Delhi was seized by the Afghans.
• In 1556, in the second battle of Panipat, Akabar defeated Hemu and the army of Hemu fled which made the victory of Mughal decisive.
• During the first 5 years of Akbar’s reign, Bairam Khan acted as his regent.
• Later, Akbar removed Bairam Khan and sent him to Mecca but Bairam Khan was killed by an Afghan on his way.
• The military conquests of Akbar were extensive.

Akbar’s Relation with Rajputs

• Akbar married the Rajput Princess, the daughter of Raja Bharmal.
• For four generation, the Rajputs served the Mughals and many served in the positions of military generals as well.
• Akbar appointed Raja Man Singh and Raja Bhagawan Das in the senior position of the Mughal Administration.
• Though majority of the Rajput states surrendered to Akbar, the Ranas of Mewar continued to confront even though they were defeated several times.
• In 1576, the Mugahl Army defeated Rana Pratap Singh in the battle of Haldighati, following the defeat of Mewar, other leading Rajput leaders surrendered to Akbar and accepted his
• Akbar’s policy towards Rajput was combined with a broad religious toleration.
• He abolished the pilgrim tax and later the jiziya. 

Akbar’s Religious Policy

• It’s Akbar’s religious policy that made way to his name in the history pages.
• Akbar was a pious Muslim but after marrying Jodha Bai of Amber, he abolished pilgrim tax.
• In 1562, he abolished jiziya.
• He allowed his Hindu wives to worship their own gods.
• In 1575, Akbar built Ibadat Khana (House of worship) at his new capital Fatepur Sikri and invited scholars from all religions like Christianity, Hinduism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism.
• He did not like the intrusion of the Muslim Ulemas in political matters.
• In 1579, he delivered the “Infallibility Decree” and proclaimed his religious powers.
• In 1582, he propagated a new religion called Din Ilahi or Divine Faith.

About Din Ilahi

• The new religion believed in one God.
• It had all the good points of every religion.
•  Its foundation was balanced.
• It didn’t endorse any philosophy.
• It aimed at bridging the gap that separated different religions.
• The new religion had only 15 followers including Birbal.
• Akbar did not compel anyone to join his new religion.
• However, the new religion proved to be a failure, after Akbar’s death.

Land Revenue Administration

• With the help of Raja Todar Mal, Akbar experimented on the land revenue administration, which was completed in 1580.
• The land revenue system was called Zabti or Bandobast system or Dahsala System.
• The revenue was fixed on the average yield of land measured on the basis of previous ten years.
• The land was divided into four categories
  1. Polaj (cultivated every year)
  2. Parauti (once in two years)
  3. Chachar (once in three or four years)
  4. Banjar (once in five or more years)
• Payment of revenue was made generally in cash. 

Mansabdari System 

• Akbar introduced the Mansabdari system in his administration
• Under this system every officer was assigned a rank (Mansab)
• Lowest rank was 10 and the highest was 5000 for the nobles.
• Princes of royal blood received even higher ranks.
• The ranks were divided into two – Zat and Sawar.
• Zat means personal and it fixed the personal status of a person.
• Sawar rank indicated the number of cavalrymen of a person who was required to maintain.
• Every sawar had to maintain at least two horses.
• All appointments, promotions and dismissals were directly made by the emperor.

 

Jahangir (1605-1627), Shah Jahan (1627-1658), Aurangazeb (1658-1707)

 

Jahangir (1605-1627)

• In 1605, Prince Salim succeeded with the title Jahangir (Conqueror of World) after the death of Akbar.
• He defeated and imprisoned Son Khusrau.
•  He also beheaded Guru Arjun, the 5^th Sikh Guru and one of the supporters of Khusrau.
• One of his supporters, Guru Arjun, the fifth Sikh Guru, was beheaded.

Nur Jahan

• In 1611, Jahangir married Mehrunnisa who was known as Nur Jahan (Light of World).
• Asaf Khan elder brother of Nur Jahan was appointed as Khan-i-Saman, a post reserved for the nobles.
• In 1612, Asaf Khan’s daughter, Arjumand Banu Begum (later known as Mumtaj), married Jahangir’s third son, prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan).

Shah Jahan (1627-1658)

• Shah Jahan launched a continued war in the northwest frontier to recover Kandahar and other ancestral lands.
• His Deccan policy was more successful.
• He defeated the forces of Ahmadnagar and seized it.
• Both Bijapur and Golkonda signed a treaty with the emperor.
• Shah Jahan engraved four Mughal provinces in the Deccan – Khandesh, Berar, Telungana and Daulatabad

War of Succession

• The last years of Shah Jahan’s reign were clouded by a bitter war of succession among his four sons
  1. Dara Shikoh (crown prince)
  2. Shuja (governor of Bengal)
  3. Aurangazeb (governor of Deccan)
  4. Murad Baksh (governor of Malwa and Gujarat)
• Aurangazeb emerged victorious in this struggle
• He entered the Agra Fort after defeating Dara
• He forced Shah Jahan to surrender
• Shah Jahan was confined to the female apartments in the Agra fort and strictly put under watch
• Shah Jahan lived for eight long years lovingly nursed by his daughter Jahanara.

 Aurangazeb (1658-1707)

• Aurangazeb was one of the ablest kings of the Mughal.
• He assumed the title Alamgir, World Conqueror.
• In his first ten years of reign, his military campaigns were a great success.
• But in the latter part of his reign, he faced serious difficulties.
• The Jats and Satnamis and also the Sikhs revolted against him due to his harsh religious policy.
• The Deccan policy of the Mughals started from the reign of Akbar.
• Aurangazeb, as governor of Deccan, followed a belligerent Deccan policy.
• He concentrated on the northwest frontier in his first 25 years as  the Mughal emperor
• In the same time, Sivaji, the Maratha Ruler carved an an independent Maratha kingdom in the territories of north and south Konkan.
• Aurangazeb decided to invade Bijapur and Golkonda to hold the spread of the Marathas.
• He defeated Sikandar Shah of Bijapur and seized his kingdom.
• He proceeded against Golkonda and eliminated the Kutb Shahi dynasty.
• The destruction of the Deccan kingdoms was a political blunder by Aurangazeb.
• The barrier between the Mughals and the Marathas was removed and there ensued a direct confrontation between them.

Religious Policy

• His ideal was to transform India into an Islamic state.
• He created a separate department to enforce moral codes under a high-powered officer called Muhtasib.
• Drinking was prohibited. Cultivation and use of bhang and other drugs were banned
• Aurangazeb forbade music in the Mughal court
• He discontinued the practice of Jarokhadarshan
• He also discontinued the celebration of Dasarah and royal astronomers and astrologers were also dismissed from service
• When he began a policy of destroying Hindu temples.
• The celebrated temples at Mathura and Benares were reduced to ruins.
• In 1679, he reimposed jiziya and pilgrim tax.
• The celebration of Muharram was stopped
• His invasions against the Deccan sultanates were partly due to his hatred of the Shia faith
• He was also against the Sikhs and he executed the ninth Sikh Guru Tej Bahadur.
• His religious policy was responsible for turning the Rajputs, the Marathas and Sikhs into the enemies of Mughal Empire
• It had also resulted in the rebellions of the Jats of Mathura and the Satnamis of Mewar.
• Therefore, Aurangazeb was held responsible for the decline of the Mughal Empire.

Personality and Character of Aurangazeb

• Aurangazeb was an orthodox Sunni Muslim.
• In his private life, Aurangazeb was diligent and disciplined
• He was very simple in food and dress.
• He earned money for his personal expenses by copying Quran and selling those copies.
• He did not consume wine.
• He was proficient in Arabic and Persian languages.
• He was devoted to his religion and conducted prayers five times a day.
• He strictly observed the Ramzan fasting.
• He misunderstood the true nature of the Maratha movement and provoked them.
• Also, he failed to solve the Maratha problem and left an open sore.
• His policy towards Shia Deccan Sultanates also proved to be wrong.
• His antagonistic policies towards non-Muslims did not help him to rally the Muslims to his side and strengthened political enemies of the Mughal Empire.

Causes for the Downfall of the Mughals

• The Mughal Empire declined rapidly after the death of Aurangazeb.
• Taking this advantage, in 1739, Nadir Shah imprisoned the Mughal Emperor and looted Delhi.
• The religious and Deccan policies of Aurangazeb contributed to its decline.
• The weak successors and demoralization of the Mughal army were also the reasons for the decline.
• The financial difficulties due to continuous wars led to the decline.
• The neglect of the sea power by the Mughals was felt when the Europeans began to settle in India.
• Further, the invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali weakened the Mughal state.