The Mughal (or Mogul) Empire ruled most of India and Pakistan in the
16th and 17th centuries.
It consolidated Islam in South Asia, and spread Muslim (and
particularly Persian) arts and culture as well as the faith.
The Mughals were Muslims who ruled a country with a large Hindu
majority. However for much of their empire they allowed Hindus to
reach senior government or military positions.
The Mughals brought many changes to India:
*. Centralised government that brought together many smaller kingdoms
*. Delegated government with respect for human rights
*. Persian art and culture
*. Persian language mixed with Arabic and Hindi to create Urdu
*. Periods of great religious tolerance
*. A style of architecture (e.g. the Taj Mahal)
*. A system of education that took account of pupils' needs and culture
Muslims in India
There had been Muslims in India long before the Mughals. The first
Muslimsarrived in the 8th century.
Ahmedabads Jama Masjid (Grand Mosque) was built in the 15th century in Gujarat ©
In the first half of the 10th century a Muslim ruler of Afghanistan
invaded the Punjab 11 times, without much political success, but
taking away a great deal of loot.
A more successful invasion came at the end of the 12th century. This
eventually led to the formation of the Delhi Sultanate.
A later Muslim invasion in 1398 devastated the city of Delhi.
The Mughal Empire grew out of descendants of the Mongol Empire who
were living in Turkestan in the 15th century. They had become Muslims
and assimilated the culture of the Middle East, while keeping elements
of their Far Eastern roots.
They also retained the great military skill and cunning of their
Mongol ancestors, and were among the first Western military leaders to
use guns.
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Babur
Babur
Jewelled archway in Humayun's tumb in Delhi ©
Babur the first Mughal Emperor, was a descendent of Genghis Khan and Tamerlaine.
Babur succeeded his father as ruler of the stateof Farghana in
Turkestan when he was only 12, although he was swiftly deposed by
older relatives.
Babur moved into Afghanistan in 1504, and then moved on to India,
apparently at the invitation of some Indian princes who wanted to
dispose of their ruler. Babur disposed of the ruler, and decided to
take over himself.
He captured the Turkic Ghur'iat Sultanate of Delhiin 1526, imposing
his ruleon most of Northern India.
The Empire he founded was a sophisticated civilisation based on
religious toleration. It wasa mixture of Persian, Mongol and Indian
culture.
Under Babur Hinduism was tolerated and new Hindu temples were built
with his permission.
Trade with the rest of the Islamic world, especially Persia and
through Persia to Europe, was encouraged.
The importance of slavery in the Empire diminished and peace was made
withthe Hindu kingdoms of Southern India.
Babur brought a broad-minded, confident Islam from central Asia. His
first act after conquering Delhi was to forbid the killing of cows
because that was offensive to Hindus.
Babur may have been descended from brutal conquerors, but he was not a
barbarian bent on loot and plunder. Instead he had great ideas about
civilisation, architecture and administration.
He even wrote an autobiography, The Babur - Namah . The autobiography
is candid, honest and at times even poetic.
Babur was followed by hisson Humayun who was a bad emperor, a better
poet, and a drug addict. He rapidly lost the empire.He did eventually
recover the throne but died soon afterwards after breaking his neck
falling downstairs.
While Humayan was certainly disastrous as a ruler, his love of poetry
and culture heavily influenced his son Akbar, and helped to make the
Mughal Empire an artistic power as well as a military one.
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Abu Akbar
Abu Akbar
Itimad-ud-Daulah's tomb in Agrais considered a landmark in Mughal architecture ©
The third Emperor, Abu Akbar, is regarded as one of the great rulers
of all time, regardless of country.
Akbar succeeded to the throne at 13, and started to recapture the
remaining territory lost from Babur's empire. By the time of his death
in 1605 he ruled over most of north, central, and western India.
Akbar worked hard to winover the hearts and mindsof the Hindu leaders.
While this may well have been for political reasons - he married a
Hindu princess (and is said to have married several thousand wives for
political and diplomatic purposes) - it was also a part of his
philosophy.
Akbar believed that all religions should be tolerated, and that a
ruler's duty was to treat all believers equally, whatever their
belief.
He established a form of delegated government in which the provincial
governors were personally responsible to him for the quality of
government in their territory.
Akbar's government machine included many Hindus in positions of
responsibility - the governed were allowed to take a major part in
thegoverning.
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