Chapter 13: Creation of an Empire: The Mughals
🎯 Focus: A detailed look at the rise and consolidation of the Mughal Empire.
🗺️ Theme: Understanding how a small Central Asian dynasty transformed into the mightiest empire of its time in India, through military innovation, administrative genius, and strategic statecraft, and why this magnificent edifice eventually crumbled.
✨ Introduction: The Lords of the Peacock Throne
Imagine an empire so wealthy that its emperors sat on a throne encrusted with jewels, including the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond. An empire whose architectural marvels, from the Taj Mahal to the Red Fort, continue to define India's image in the world. An empire that ruled a staggering 100 to 150 million subjects—nearly one-quarter of the world's population at its peak—with a GDP that dwarfed contemporary European nations. This was the Mughal Empire (1526–1857), the greatest, richest, and longest-lasting Islamic dynasty in Indian history .
For a PSTET teacher, the Mughal period is arguably the most important in the medieval history syllabus. It represents the culmination of the Indo-Islamic synthesis, the pinnacle of medieval Indian art and architecture, and the forging of administrative systems that would influence the subsequent British colonial state. This chapter will trace the empire's dramatic journey from its founder Babur's desperate gamble at Panipat to its glorious zenith under Akbar and Shah Jahan, and finally, its tortuous decline under the orthodox but determined Aurangzeb.
⚔️ Section 1: The Foundation - Babur and the Battle of Panipat (1526)
The story of the Mughal Empire begins with Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur (1483–1530), a prince of the Timurid dynasty from Central Asia. On his father's side, he was descended from Timur (Tamerlane), and on his mother's side, from Genghis Khan. This lineage gave him a powerful legacy but also made him a target for his powerful neighbors .
1.1. Babur's Early Struggles
Babur inherited the small kingdom of Ferghana (in modern Uzbekistan) at the age of 12, but he was soon driven out by the Uzbeks. After years of hardship and wandering, he captured Kabul in 1504, which became his base for future operations. The wealth of India, which he had long coveted, began to beckon .
⚔️ 1.2. The First Battle of Panipat (21 April 1526)
At this time, North India was ruled by Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty, whose unpopular rule had alienated his Afghan nobles. Invitations for Babur to invade came from disaffected Lodi courtiers, including the governor of Lahore, Daulat Khan Lodi, and Ibrahim's own uncle, Alam Khan .
Babur marched into Punjab with a small but highly disciplined army of around 12,000–15,000 men. He faced the massive army of Ibrahim Lodi, estimated at 100,000 soldiers and 1,000 war elephants .
Babur's victory was a masterclass in military strategy and technology. He employed tactics that were revolutionary in the Indian subcontinent:
The Ottoman Device (Rumi Trench): He lashed 700 carts together with ropes to create a defensive wall. Between the carts, he placed breastworks (tura) for his matchlock men to stand and fire from .
Flanking (Tulghuma): He left gaps in this defensive line to allow his cavalry to charge out and attack the enemy from the sides .
Artillery Decisiveness: Babur's cannons, led by his master gunners Ustad Ali and Mustafa, were the game-changer. The loud blasts terrified Ibrahim's war elephants, causing them to trample their own men .
The battle was a decisive victory. Ibrahim Lodi was killed on the field, his body later found and beheaded. With this win, the Delhi Sultanate ended, and the Mughal Empire began .
1.3. Babur's Legacy
Babur did not live long to enjoy his conquest. He died in 1530, just four years after Panipat. He was buried in Kabul, as per his wishes, but his body was later moved to a garden in that city. He left behind a fledgling empire and a remarkable autobiography, the Baburnama, which provides a vivid account of his life and times.
👑 Section 2: Consolidation and Expansion
The empire Babur founded was fragile and required strong hands to consolidate it. This task fell to his grandson, Akbar, but not before a period of turmoil and a remarkable Afghan interlude.
2.1. Humayun (r. 1530–1540; 1555–1556): The See-Saw King
Babur's son and successor, Humayun, inherited a kingdom beset with challenges. He faced threats from his own brothers, who coveted the throne, from the Afghans who were regrouping under the brilliant leadership of Sher Khan, and from the ruler of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah.
Initial Successes and Failures: Humayun initially secured his position by capturing the forts of Kalinar and Gwalior. However, he made strategic blunders, wasting time and resources against Gujarat while the real threat, Sher Khan, consolidated his power in Bihar and Bengal .
Defeat and Exile: In 1539, Humayun was decisively defeated by Sher Khan at the Battle of Chausa. According to legend, Humayun's army was caught off guard, and he escaped by swimming across the Ganges on a water-filled skin. The following year, at the Battle of Kannauj (1540) , Sher Khan won again, forcing Humayun to flee India. He spent 15 years in exile, first in Sindh, then in Persia .
🏹 2.2. Sher Shah Suri (r. 1540–1545): The Afghan Master Builder
Sher Shah Suri's brief five-year rule was one of the most consequential in Indian history. He not only drove out the Mughals but also established an administrative system so efficient that it became the blueprint for Akbar's own reforms .
| Area of Reform | Key Features & Achievements |
|---|---|
| 💰 Revenue System | The cornerstone of his administration. He introduced a systematic land revenue system based on the measurement of land (using a bamboo measure called Sikandari gaz). Land was categorized into three types—good, middling, and bad—and the state's share was fixed at one-third or one-fourth of the produce. This system was fair, efficient, and free from intermediaries . |
| 🛣️ Infrastructure & Trade | He is most famous for building the Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) , which ran from Sonargaon (Bengal) to Peshawar in the northwest, facilitating trade and communication across his vast empire. He also built sarais (rest houses) for travelers and traders, which doubled as post offices. He planted trees along roads for shade . |
| 🪙 Currency | He established a standardized currency system across his empire. He introduced the silver Rupiya (Rupaya) , which weighed 178 grains. This coin remained the standard currency in India for centuries, and its name lives on in the modern Indian Rupee. He also issued copper coins called Dam and gold coins called Mohur . |
| ⚖️ Justice | Sher Shah was known for his strict and impartial justice. He made himself accessible to his subjects and held courts where even the poorest could bring their grievances. He held his nobles and officials accountable for their actions . |
| 🪦 Architecture | He was a great builder. His most famous architectural legacy is the Rohtas Fort in present-day Pakistan (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and his magnificent octagonal tomb at Sasaram (Bihar), which stands in the middle of a lake and is a masterpiece of Indo-Islamic architecture . |
Sher Shah's accidental death in 1545 from a gunpowder explosion during a siege left his dynasty weakened, paving the way for Humayun's return.
2.3. Humayun's Return and Legacy
Taking advantage of the infighting among Sher Shah's successors, Humayun, with the help of the Safavid Shah of Persia, recaptured Delhi in 1555. He died just six months later, falling down the stairs of his library in the Din Panah citadel in Delhi. His son, the 13-year-old Akbar, was left to inherit a precarious empire .
👑 2.4. Akbar (r. 1556–1605): The Greatest Mughal
Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar is universally regarded as the greatest of the Mughal emperors and one of the greatest rulers in world history. His reign represents the political, cultural, and spiritual zenith of the empire.
Early Years (1556–1560): Akbar ascended the throne at the age of 13 under the regency of Bairam Khan. In 1556, the Hindu general Hemu had captured Delhi and declared himself king. At the crucial Second Battle of Panipat (5 November 1556), the Mughal army, led by Bairam Khan, defeated Hemu. Hemu was captured and executed, and Akbar's position was secured .
Akbar's Rajput Policy: A Strategy of Conciliation
Akbar realized that to build a stable empire in India, he needed the support of the most powerful indigenous warrior class—the Rajputs. He forged a policy of conciliation, alliance, and integration. Historian Satish Chandra notes that this alliance was a "key factor in the expansion and consolidation of the Mughal empire under Akbar and his successors" .Matrimonial Alliances: He married Rajput princesses, most notably Harkha Bai (also known as Jodha Bai) of Amber, and incorporated their families into the highest echelons of the Mughal nobility. This was not just a symbolic gesture; Rajput rulers like Raja Man Singh and Raja Bhagwan Das became trusted generals and administrators .
Respect and Autonomy: He did not annex their kingdoms outright but treated them as subordinate allies. They were allowed to maintain their internal autonomy and were not forced to convert to Islam .
Temple Patronage: He patronized Hindu temples and learning. He participated in and tolerated Hindu festivals. The Rajputs, in turn, became the most loyal pillars of the Mughal state.
Akbar's Administrative Reforms: The Mansabdari System
Akbar created a unique military-civil administration known as the Mansabdari system . It was an elaborate hierarchy that ranked every imperial officer (Mansabdar) from the lowest (10) to the highest (10,000) .
| Rank | Meaning | Obligation |
|---|---|---|
| Zat | Personal Rank. This determined the Mansabdar's status, pay, and position in the imperial hierarchy. | The higher the Zat, the more prestigious the officer. |
| Sawar | Cavalry Rank. This indicated the number of cavalrymen the Mansabdar was required to maintain for the imperial army. | The Mansabdar had to recruit, equip, and pay these soldiers. His horses were branded (dagh) and periodically inspected to prevent fraud. |
The Mansabdars were paid through Jagirs (revenue assignments of land), not in cash. This system, as described in the Encyclopædia Britannica, created "a sort of feudal organization, by which every tributary raja took his place by the side of his own Mughal nobles" . It was a rational, centralized system that brought all nobility, whether Turkic, Persian, Indian Muslim, or Rajput, under a single, imperial hierarchy.
Akbar's Religious Policy: From Tolerance to a New Faith
Akbar's religious journey was one of the most fascinating experiments in statecraft.Early Phase: He started as a conventional Muslim ruler but soon showed his independent mind. In 1563, he abolished the pilgrimage tax on Hindus visiting their holy places. In 1564, he took the monumental step of abolishing the Jizya (the tax on non-Muslims), a move that won him immense goodwill .
The Ibadat Khana (House of Worship) (1575): He built this at Fatehpur Sikri to hold religious discussions among theologians. Initially, it was for Muslim scholars, but soon, he invited Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians (Parsis), and even Jesuit priests from Goa .
The Mahzar (1579): Frustrated with the quarrels among the ulema, he issued a decree (Mahzar) that declared him the supreme arbiter in matters of Islamic law, effectively asserting his authority over the clergy.
The Din-i-Ilahi (1582): The ultimate product of Akbar's quest was the Din-i-Ilahi ("Divine Faith") . It was not a new religion but an eclectic cult centered on Akbar himself, emphasizing virtues like piety, loyalty, and devotion to the emperor. It borrowed elements from various faiths: the initiation ritual (sharing water) from Hinduism, sun worship from Zoroastrianism, and reverence for fire from the Parsis. It had very few followers (mainly his closest nobles like Abul Fazl and Birbal) and died with him. It was not a state religion but a reflection of his personal syncretic vision . Scholar Satish Chandra notes that Akbar's liberalism "was based on his belief that all religions were different roads to the same Truth" .
👑 Section 3: The Later Mughals
After Akbar's death in 1605, the empire continued to flourish for another century, reaching its architectural zenith under Shah Jahan before beginning its long decline under Aurangzeb.
3.1. Jahangir (r. 1605–1627): The Aesthetic Emperor
Jahangir ("World Seizer"), whose birth name was Salim, was more interested in art, nature, and justice than in conquest. His reign is notable for:
The Influence of Nur Jahan: He married the brilliant and ambitious Mehr-un-Nisa, whom he titled Nur Jahan ("Light of the World"). She became the de facto ruler of the empire for a period, with her name even appearing on coins .
Art and Culture: Jahangir had a fine aesthetic sense. Mughal painting reached its peak under him, with a focus on naturalism, portraits, and court scenes. He also had a passion for collecting rare flora and fauna.
Religious Policy: He was less tolerant than Akbar. In 1606, he ordered the execution of the Sikh Guru Guru Arjan Dev for supporting his rebellious son, Khusrau . However, he also met and admired the Hindu ascetic Jadrup and continued many of his father's tolerant traditions .
Foreign Relations: In 1615, he received the first English ambassador to the Mughal court, Sir Thomas Roe, from King James I of England. This marked the beginning of formal English presence in India.
3.2. Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658): The Master Builder
Shah Jahan's reign is synonymous with the architectural zenith of the Mughal Empire. He was a great patron of building, and his passion for marble, symmetry, and precious stones created some of the world's most iconic monuments.
The Taj Mahal (1632–1653): Built in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal is the undisputed masterpiece of Mughal architecture. It is a perfect fusion of Persian, Islamic, and Indian architectural styles. Twenty thousand workmen labored for 22 years to create this "teardrop on the cheek of time" .
Architectural Innovations: He built the majestic Red Fort in Delhi, with its lavish public and private audience halls (the Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas). Within the Agra Fort, he built the beautiful Pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid) and the Jahangiri Mahal. He also constructed the massive Jama Masjid in Delhi.
The Peacock Throne: He commissioned the famous Peacock Throne, studded with emeralds, rubies, diamonds, and pearls, including the famous Koh-i-Noor. It was a symbol of the empire's immense wealth.
Religious Policy: Shah Jahan was more orthodox than his predecessors. He ordered the destruction of some newly built Hindu temples, though he did not revert to persecutory policies. The famous historian Satish Chandra notes that "two strong currents of 'orthodoxy' and 'liberalism' were running during his reign" .
3.3. Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707): The Orthodox Puritan
Aurangzeb Alamgir was the last of the "Great Mughals." His long 49-year reign was a paradox: he expanded the empire to its greatest territorial extent, covering almost the entire Indian subcontinent, but his policies sowed the seeds of its destruction.
Path to the Throne: He came to power after a brutal war of succession against his brothers, imprisoning his own father, Shah Jahan, in the Agra Fort for the last eight years of his life .
Religious Orthodoxy and its Consequences:
Re-imposition of Jizya (1679): In a direct reversal of Akbar's policy, Aurangzeb re-imposed the Jizya tax on non-Muslims . This was deeply unpopular and was seen as a symbol of his anti-Hindu stance. He believed in an Islamic state based on Sharia and alienated his Hindu subjects .
Temple Destruction: He ordered the destruction of many Hindu temples, including the famous Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi and the Keshava Deva Temple in Mathura, which were built on the sites of mosques he had constructed .
Alienation of the Rajputs: His orthodox policies alienated the Rajputs, who had been the bedrock of the Mughal military since Akbar. The Rathor Rajputs of Marwar (Jodhpur) and the Sisodiyas of Mewar (Udaipur) rose in prolonged and costly revolts that drained the empire's resources .
Wars of Expansion: The Deccan Quagmire
Aurangzeb spent the last 25 years of his life in the Deccan, trying to subdue the Maratha rebellion and conquer the Shia Muslim kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda (which he finally did in the 1680s) .The Marathas under Shivaji: The Maratha leader Shivaji Maharaj (1630–1680) carved out an independent kingdom and defied Mughal authority. He was a brilliant guerrilla warrior who used the hilly terrain to his advantage. Aurangzeb's relentless but unsuccessful campaign against the Marathas turned into a war of attrition, draining the Mughal treasury and manpower. As one account notes, the Mughals controlled the cities and plains, but "the Deccan was practically under the control of those highland robbers" .
Military and Administrative Strain:
The endless wars in the Deccan and Rajasthan put immense strain on the Mughal military and administrative machinery. The Mansabdari system began to break down as there were not enough Jagirs to pay the ever-growing number of nobles. Corruption became rampant, and the morale of the army declined.
📉 Section 4: Causes of the Decline of the Mughal Empire
Aurangzeb died in 1707 at the age of 88. His death marked the beginning of the empire's rapid, irreversible decline. Within 50 years, the Mughal emperor was reduced to a mere pensioner of foreign powers. The decline was caused by a combination of factors, not a single event.
| Cause | Description |
|---|---|
| 👑 Weak Successors | After Aurangzeb, a series of weak, incompetent, and pleasure-seeking emperors (like Bahadur Shah I, Jahandar Shah, and Muhammad Shah) ascended the throne. They were puppets in the hands of warring nobles and lacked the vision or strength to hold the empire together . |
| ⚔️ War of Succession | The absence of a clear law of succession (like primogeniture) meant that every succession was followed by a bloody civil war among brothers, which drained the treasury and weakened the state. |
| 💔 Religious Intolerance | Aurangzeb's reversal of Akbar's policy of Sulh-i-Kul (universal peace) alienated the Rajputs, Marathas, Sikhs, and other Hindu communities. These groups rose in rebellion, and the empire could no longer crush them . |
| 🏛️ Breakdown of the Mansabdari System | The system that had been the empire's strength became its weakness. There was a shortage of Jagirs to assign to newly recruited nobles. The Jagirs themselves became unprofitable due to corrupt management, and the nobles, in turn, squeezed the peasants dry, leading to agrarian distress and revolts like the Jat and Satnami uprisings . |
| 💰 Empty Treasury | The constant wars of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, combined with a lavish court and declining revenue collection, emptied the imperial treasury. The invasions of Nadir Shah of Persia in 1739, who sacked Delhi and carried away the Peacock Throne and the Koh-i-Noor, dealt a death blow to the empire's remaining prestige and wealth . |
| 🗡️ Rise of Regional Powers | As the center weakened, powerful regional governors and nobles began to assert their independence. The Nizam of Hyderabad, the Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh, and the Marathas carved out virtually independent kingdoms, acknowledging only nominal Mughal authority . |
| 🌍 Foreign Invasions | In addition to Nadir Shah, the repeated invasions by Ahmed Shah Abdali (of Afghanistan) in the mid-18th century further devastated the already weakened empire. The Third Battle of Panipat (1761) , while a defeat for the Marathas, also destroyed the last chance of a pan-Indian power emerging from the Mughal ashes . |
🌟 Chapter Summary: Key Takeaways for PSTET
Foundation (1526): Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat using superior tactics and gunpowder weapons .
The Sur Interlude (1540–1555): Sher Shah Suri drove out Humayun and introduced lasting administrative reforms: Grand Trunk Road, Rupiya currency, and a systematic land revenue system .
The Zenith (1556–1707):
Akbar (1556–1605): Consolidated the empire through his Rajput policy, created the Mansabdari system, abolished Jizya, and experimented with religious synthesis at the Ibadat Khana .
Jahangir (1605–1627): Known for the influence of Nur Jahan and the peak of Mughal painting .
Shah Jahan (1628–1658): The architectural zenith—Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Jama Masjid .
Aurangzeb (1658–1707): Expanded the empire to its greatest extent but re-imposed Jizya, alienated the Rajputs, and became mired in a costly war with the Marathas in the Deccan .
Decline: Caused by a combination of weak successors, religious intolerance, the breakdown of the Mansabdari system, empty treasury, and the rise of independent regional powers like the Marathas and the Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh .
🌟 Key Takeaway for PSTET: The Mughal Empire represents the classic example of a centralized, pre-modern state in India. Its success lay in its ability to integrate diverse ethnic and religious groups (Afghans, Persians, Rajputs) into a single ruling class. Its decline began when this integrative policy was abandoned for narrow orthodoxy, and its administrative machinery could not keep pace with its military over-expansion. The legacy of its art, architecture, and administrative systems, however, continues to shape India.
