Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ruled most of northern India for more than 200 years, from the early 16th to the mid-18th century. The empire was notable for the ability of its rulers, who through seven generations maintained a record of unusual talent. The Mughal emperors reformed government, encouraged artistry, and tried to unite their subjects. The last Mughal rulers allowed the empire to break apart, however. As a result, the Mughal Empire came to an end, and India came under British control.

Read on to find out the answers to these questions and more!

• Who were the Mughals, and how did they first come to power in India?
• What were some of their major achievements?
• Why was the Taj Mahal built?
• What led to the decline of the Mughal Empire?
• When did the Mughal Empire finally come to an end?

The Mughals were a Muslim dynasty. They were descended from the Turkic conqueror Timur Lenk and the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan. The empire was founded when Babur, a ruler from Turkestan, raided India. He defeated the sultan of Delhi in the Battle of Panipat in 1526. Babur then set about expanding his holdings. At the time of his death in 1530 his empire included much of northern India.

Babur was succeeded by his son Humayun. Humayun lost control of the empire to Afghan rebels in 1540. He recovered the Mughal throne in 1555, when he retook Delhi and Agra. Humayun died the following year. His tomb in Delhi, commissioned in 1569, is the first of the great works of Mughal architecture.

The next notable Mughal ruler was Babur’s grandson Akbar, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar was the greatest of the Mughal emperors. He made the Mughal throne more secure and vastly expanded the empire.

India was difficult to rule for the Mughals because it was basically a Hindu culture governed by Muslims and because of the variety of languages and traditions of its people. Akbar reformed the government to make it fairer and allowed Muslims, Hindus, and Christians alike to practice their beliefs. He promoted art and learning. To this day certain works dating from the empire are known as Mughal painting, glass, and carpets. During Akbar’s reign India entered into relations with Great Britain. Some present-day provincial governments in India and Pakistan are based in part on reforms made more than 400 years ago by Akbar.

Akbar’s son Jahangir ruled after him, from 1605 to 1627. Jahangir continued many of his father’s traditions, including tolerance toward other religions and cultures. He used diplomacy as well as war to strengthen Mughal rule. Jahangir also became a great patron of Mughal painting.

The Mughal Empire achieved its cultural height under the reign of Jahangir’s son Shah Jahan, who ruled from 1628 to 1658. Shah Jahan had a great passion for building. He is best remembered as the emperor who built the magnificent Taj Mahal. He also built a huge fortress-palace complex called the Red Fort in Delhi. Shah Jahan proved a relatively tolerant ruler toward his Hindu subjects. However, his costly military expeditions nearly bankrupted the empire.

A number of factors combined to bring about the Mughal Empire’s decline. Among the most important were:

• growing resistance to Mughal rule sparked by religious intolerance
• economic difficulties faced by the empire
• increasingly weak leadership
• territorial losses suffered by the Mughals as other powers in the region emerged

The Mughal emperors were known for reconciling with the peoples they conquered and including them in their government and military. However, in the latter decades of the empire, Mughal rulers shifted away from the earlier policies of religious tolerance and inclusion.

This shift began with Shah Jahan’s son Aurangzeb, who reigned from 1658 to 1707. Aurangzeb was the last great ruler of the Mughal Empire. His rule began well. He brought the Muslim kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda in the Deccan region (peninsular India) under Mughal control. He thereby extended the empire to its greatest size. Aurangzeb was intolerant of other religions, however. He excluded Hindus from public office and destroyed their schools and temples. His persecution of the Sikhs in the Punjab region of northwestern India turned that group against Muslim rule. His actions led to rebellions among the Sikhs and other groups such as the Marathas, Rajputs, and Jats. By the time Aurangzeb died in 1707, his authority was disputed in many areas.

The economy of the Mughal Empire worsened over time. The cost of suppressing the various rebellions during Aurangzeb’s reign emptied the imperial treasury. Aurangzeb placed high taxes on farmers to pay for wars and government costs. This made many people poorer and less able to support the empire. At the same time there was a steady decay in the overall quality of Mughal government. The financial pressure on the empire strained the whole administrative framework.

Aurangzeb’s successors were unable to cope with the problems he had created. Corruption and poor management made it harder to collect taxes and to run the government efficiently. In addition, as the empire grew weaker, trade slowed down. Other powers, including the British, started taking control of trade routes and resources.

During the reign of Muhammad Shah, who ruled from 1719 to 1748, the empire began to shrink. The process was hastened by dynastic warfare, political rivalries, and the Iranian conqueror Nadir Shah’s brief but disruptive invasion of northern India in 1739. After the death of Muhammad Shah in 1748, the Marathas overran almost all of northern India. Within a few years the Mughals ruled only Delhi and a small area around it. By 1803 the British had taken control. The last Mughal ruler was Bahadur Shah II, whose reign began in 1837. For most of his reign he was dependent on the British and without real authority. He was expelled from India for taking part in a mutiny against the British in 1857 known as the Sepoy Revolt.