143-620: Babur ( Persian: [βɑː.βuɾ] ; 14 February 1483 – 26 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad ) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent . He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also given the posthumous name of Firdaws Makani ('Dwelling in Paradise'). Born in Andijan in
286-558: A jauhar , during which women and children within the fortress immolated themselves . A small number of soldiers also collected in Medini Rao's house and killed each other in collective suicide. This sacrifice does not seem to have impressed Babur, who did not express a word of admiration for the enemy in his autobiography. Babur defeated and killed Ibrahim Lodi , the last Sultan of the Lodi dynasty , in 1526. Babur ruled for 4 years and
429-604: A sarkar could turn into a subah , and Parganas were often transferred between sarkars . The hierarchy of division was ambiguous sometimes, as a territory could fall under multiple overlapping jurisdictions. Administrative divisions were also vague in their geography – the Mughal state did not have enough resources or authority to undertake detailed land surveys, and hence the geographical limits of these divisions were not formalised and maps were not created. The Mughals instead recorded detailed statistics about each division, to assess
572-413: A born naturalist and describes with the eye of a painter...He separates and describes, for example, five types of parrots; he explains how plantain produces banana; and with astonishing scientific observation he announces that the rhinoceros 'resembles the horse more than any other animal' (according to modern zoologists, the order Perissodactyla has only two surviving sub-orders; one includes the rhinoceros,
715-668: A boy named ' Baburi ' as a teenager, with whom he was fascinated and infatuated. This subtle feeling is expressed on pages 120 and 121 of "Baburnama", where he writes: (A personal episode and some verses by Babur.) 'Äyisha-sultan Begum whom my father and hers, i.e. my uncle, Sl. Aḥmad Mirzā had betrothed to me, came (this year) to Khujand¹ and I took her in the month of Sha'ban. Though I was not ill-disposed towards her, yet, this being my first marriage, out of modesty and bashfulness, I used to see her once in 10, 15, or 20 days. Later on, when even my first inclination did not last, my bashfulness increased. Then my mother Khänīm used to send me, once
858-518: A central place in his life, Babur also approvingly quoted a line of poetry by one of his contemporaries: "I am drunk, officer. Punish me when I am sober". He quit drinking for health reasons before the Battle of Khanwa, just two years before his death, and demanded that his court do the same. But he did not stop chewing narcotic preparations, and did not lose his sense of irony. He wrote, "Everyone regrets drinking and swears an oath (of abstinence ); I swore
1001-705: A central reference for the Mughal state that dealt with the specifics of the South Asian context. The Mughal Empire also drew on Persian notions of kingship. Particularly, this meant that the Mughal emperor was considered the supreme authority on legal affairs. Various kinds of courts existed in the Mughal Empire. One such court was that of the qadi . The Mughal qadi was responsible for dispensing justice; this included settling disputes, judging people for crimes, and dealing with inheritances and orphans. The qadi also had additional importance in documents, as
1144-402: A century of growth and prosperity. A succession of short-lived incompetent and weak rulers, and civil wars over the succession, created political instability at the centre. The Mughals appeared virtually unassailable during the 17th century but, once gone, their imperial overstretch became clear, and the situation could not be recovered. The seemingly innocuous European trading companies, such as
1287-477: A certain attraction to theology, poetry, geography , history, and biology —disciplines he promoted at his court—earning him a frequent association with representatives of the Timurid Renaissance . His religious and philosophical stances are characterized as humanistic . Babur married several times. Notable among his children are Humayun , Kamran Mirza , Hindal Mirza , Masuma Sultan Begum , and
1430-581: A defensive position at Khanwa (currently in the Indian state of Rajasthan ), from where he hoped to launch a counterattack later. According to K.V. Krishna Rao, Babur won the battle because of his "superior generalship" and modern tactics; the battle was one of the first in India that featured cannons and muskets. Rao also notes that Rana Sanga faced "treachery" when the Hindu chief Silhadi joined Babur's army with
1573-430: A discerning judge of persons, and a devoted lover of nature; one, moreover, who was well able to express his thoughts and observations in clear and vigorous language. The shrewd comments and lively impressions which break in upon the narrative give Babur's reminiscences a unique and penetrating flavour. The man's own character is so fresh and buoyant, so free from convention and cant, so rich in hope, courage, resolve, and at
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#17327753613031716-512: A garrison of 6,000 soldiers. Babur recognised Sanga's skill in leadership, calling him one of the two greatest non-Muslim Indian kings of the time, the other being Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara . The Battle of Chanderi took place the year after the Battle of Khanwa. On receiving news that Rana Sanga had made preparations to renew the conflict with him, Babur decided to isolate the Rana by defeating one of his staunchest allies, Medini Rai , who
1859-466: A grand a scale. Babur is at the centre of most scenes shown. As far as is known, no contemporary images of him survive, but from whatever sources they had Akbar's artists devised a fairly consistent representation of him, "with a roundish face and droopy moustache", wearing a Central Asian style of turban and a short-sleeved coat over a robe with long sleeves. Coming from a period after Akbar's workshop had developed their new style of Mughal painting ,
2002-454: A great ambition to capture the city. In 1497, he besieged Samarkand for seven months before eventually gaining control over it. He was fifteen years old and for him the campaign was a huge achievement. Babur was able to hold the city despite desertions in his army, but he later fell seriously ill. Meanwhile, a rebellion back home, approximately 350 kilometres (220 mi) away, amongst nobles who favoured his brother, robbed him of Fergana. As he
2145-472: A highly centralised, bureaucratic government, most of which was instituted during the rule of the third Mughal emperor Akbar. The central government was headed by the Mughal emperor; immediately beneath him were four ministries. The finance/revenue ministry, headed by an official called a diwan , was responsible for controlling revenues from the empire's territories, calculating tax revenues, and using this information to distribute assignments. The ministry of
2288-426: A kind of mobile, "de facto" administrative capital. From the time of Akbar, Mughal camps were huge in scale, accompanied by numerous personages associated with the royal court, as well as soldiers and labourers. All administration and governance were carried out within them. The Mughal Emperors spent a significant portion of their ruling period within these camps. After Aurangzeb, the Mughal capital definitively became
2431-469: A month or every 40 days, with driving and driving, dunnings and worry. In those leisurely days, I discovered in myself a strange inclination, nay! as the verse says, 'I maddened and afflicted myself' for a boy in the camp-bazar, his very name, Bāburī, fitting in. Up till then, I had had no inclination for anyone, indeed of love and desire, either by hear-say or experience, I had not heard, I had not talked. At that time I composed Persian couplets, one or two at
2574-509: A new religion, Din-i-Ilahi , with strong characteristics of a ruler cult. He left his son an internally stable state, which was in the midst of its golden age, but before long signs of political weakness would emerge. Jahangir (born Salim, reigned 1605–1627) was born to Akbar and his wife Mariam-uz-Zamani , an Indian Rajput princess. Salim was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti . He "was addicted to opium, neglected
2717-535: A person must follow. Whenever one leaves a good custom, it should be followed. If ancestors leave a bad custom, however it is necessary to substitute a good one." Making clear that to him, the categorical text (i.e. the Quran ) had displaced Genghis Khan's Yassa in moral and legal matters. Babur was an acclaimed writer, who had a profound love for literature. His library was one of his most beloved possessions that he always carried around with him, and books were one of
2860-586: A reference to their descent from the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur , who took the title Gūrkān 'son-in-law' after his marriage to a Chinggisid princess. The word Mughal (also spelled Mogul or Moghul in English) is the Indo-Persian form of Mongol . The Mughal dynasty's early followers were Chagatai Turks and not Mongols. The term Mughal was applied to them in India by association with
3003-535: A river, and when his army has formed its boats into a circle a fish jumps into a boat to escape from a crocodile. The original Chagatai language text does not seem to have existed in many copies, and those that survive are mostly partial. The copy seen in the Mughal Library in the 1620s, from which the Persian translation was presumably made, seems to have been lost. In this autobiography, Babur mentions
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#17327753613033146-712: A severe decline in governance, while stability and economic output in the Mughal Deccan plummeted. Aurangzeb is considered the most controversial Mughal emperor, with some historians arguing his religious conservatism and intolerance undermined the stability of Mughal society, while other historians question this, noting that he built Hindu temples , employed significantly more Hindus in his imperial bureaucracy than his predecessors did, opposed bigotry against Hindus and Shia Muslims . Despite these allegations, it has been acknowledged that Emperor Aurangzeb enacted repressive policies towards non-Muslims. A major rebellion by
3289-525: A special calligraphy , known as khatt-i Baburi . Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia . At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of present-day Assam and Bangladesh in the east, and the uplands of
3432-458: A syncretistic Hindu-Muslim culture, emulating his great-grandfather Akbar. With the support of the Islamic orthodoxy, however, a younger son of Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb ( r. 1658–1707 ), seized the throne. Aurangzeb defeated Dara in 1659 and had him executed. Although Shah Jahan fully recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb kept Shah Jahan imprisoned until he died in 1666. Aurangzeb brought
3575-473: A system where wealth was hoarded by elites, wages were depressed for manual labour . While slavery also existed, it was limited largely to household servants. Indian agricultural production increased under the Mughal Empire. A variety of crops were grown, including food crops such as wheat, rice, and barley , and non-food cash crops such as cotton, indigo and opium . By the mid-17th century, Indian cultivators began to extensively grow two new crops from
3718-478: A time; this is one of them: May none be as I, humbled and wretched and love-sick: No beloved as thou art to me, cruel and careless. From time to time Bāburi used to come to my presence but out of modesty and bashfulness, I could never look straight at him; how then could I make conversation (ikhtilät) and recital (hikayat)? In my joy and agitation I could not thank him (for coming); how was it possible for me to reproach him with going away? What power had I to command
3861-536: A wider space between us and the strong foeman." After his third loss of Samarkand, Babur gave full attention to the conquest of North India, launching a campaign; he reached the Chenab River , now in Pakistan , in 1519. Until 1524, his aim was to only expand his rule to Punjab , mainly to fulfill the legacy of his ancestor Timur, since it used to be part of his empire. At the time parts of North India were part of
4004-418: A year in 1500. Three years later, after Babur's first defeat at Fergana, Aisha left him and returned to her father's household. In 1504, Babur married Zaynab Sultan Begum, who died childless within two years. In the period 1506–08, Babur married four women, Maham Begum (in 1506), Masuma Sultan Begum , Gulrukh Begum and Dildar Begum. Babur had four children by Maham Begum, of whom only one survived infancy. This
4147-518: Is described as "the jewel of Muslim art in India, and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage." The closest to an official name for the empire was Hindustan , which was documented in the Ain-i-Akbari . Mughal administrative records also refer to the empire as "dominion of Hindustan" ( Wilāyat-i-Hindustān ), "country of Hind" ( Bilād-i-Hind ), "Sultanate of Al-Hind" ( Salṭanat(i) al-Hindīyyah ) as observed in
4290-488: Is fit to rank with the confessions of St. Augustine and Rousseau , and the memoirs of Gibbon and Newton . In Asia it stands almost alone. Lane-Poole goes on to write: His Memoirs are no rough soldier's chronicle of marches and countermarches... they contain the personal impressions and acute reflections of a cultivated man of the world, well read in Eastern literature, a close and curious observer, quick in perception,
4433-692: Is generally taken in reference to the Persian word babur ( ببر ), meaning "tiger" or "panther". The word repeatedly appears in Ferdowsi 's Shahnameh and was borrowed into the Turkic languages of Central Asia. Babur's memoirs form the main source for details of his life. They are known as the Baburnama and were written in Chagatai , his first language , though, according to Dale, "his Turkic prose
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4576-489: Is highly Persianized in its sentence structure, morphology or word formation and vocabulary." Baburnama was translated into Persian during the rule of Babur's grandson Akbar. Babur was born on 14 February 1483 in the city of Andijan , Fergana Valley , contemporary Uzbekistan. He was the eldest son of Umar Shaikh Mirza II , ruler of the Fergana Valley, the son of Abū Saʿīd Mirza (and grandson of Miran Shah , who
4719-553: Is sometimes dated to 1600, to the rule of Babur's grandson, Akbar . This imperial structure lasted until 1720, shortly after the death of the last major emperor, Aurangzeb , during whose reign the empire also achieved its maximum geographical extent. Reduced subsequently to the region in and around Old Delhi by 1760, the empire was formally dissolved by the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 . Although
4862-492: Is the case with Babur's memoirs. No reader of this prince of autobiographers can doubt his honesty or his competence as witness and chronicler. Writing about the time Babur came to India, the historian Bamber Gascoigne comments: He was occupied at this time in linking in narrative form the jottings which he had made throughout his life as a rough diary, but he also found time for a magnificent and very detailed forty page account of his new acquisition—Hindustan. In it he explains
5005-523: The kotwal (local police), the faujdar (an officer controlling multiple districts and troops of soldiers), and the most powerful, the subahdar (provincial governor). In some cases, the emperor dispensed justice directly. Jahangir was known to have installed a "chain of justice" in the Agra Fort that any aggrieved subject could shake to get the attention of the emperor and bypass the inefficacy of officials. Self-regulating tribunals operating at
5148-479: The British East Indies Company , played no real part in the initial decline; they were still racing to get permission from the Mughal rulers to establish trades and factories in India. In fiscal terms, the throne lost the revenues needed to pay its chief officers, the emirs (nobles) and their entourages. The emperor lost authority, as the widely scattered imperial officers lost confidence in
5291-770: The British Library (143 out of an original 183 miniatures, probably early 1590s) with a miniature over two pages in the British Museum , and a copy, mostly lacking the text, with the largest portions in the State Museum of Oriental Art , Moscow (57 folios) and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (30 miniatures). Various other collections have isolated miniatures from these versions. Later illustrated manuscripts were also made, though not on as
5434-564: The Bāburnāma covers the years 1525 to 1529 and the establishment of the Mughal Empire over what was by his death still a relatively small part of north-western India, which Babur's descendants would expand and rule for three centuries. The account of the decisive First Battle of Panipat in 1526 is followed by long descriptions of India, its people, fauna and flora. Various exciting incidents are recounted and illustrated. For example, Babur jumps off his horse just in time to avoid following it into
5577-643: The Deccan Plateau in South India . The Mughal Empire is conventionally said to have been founded in 1526 by Babur , a Timurid chieftain from Transoxiana , who employed aid from the neighbouring Safavid and Ottoman Empires to defeat the Sultan of Delhi , Ibrahim Lodi , in the First Battle of Panipat , and to sweep down the plains of North India . The Mughal imperial structure, however,
5720-618: The Fergana Valley (now in Uzbekistan ), Babur was the eldest son of Umar Shaikh Mirza II (1456–1494, governor of Fergana from 1469 to 1494) and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur (1336–1405). Babur ascended the throne of Fergana in its capital Akhsikath in 1494 at the age of twelve and faced rebellion. He conquered Samarkand two years later, only to lose Fergana soon after. In his attempt to reconquer Fergana, he lost control of Samarkand. In 1501, his attempt to recapture both
5863-649: The First Battle of Panipat in 1526. Through his use of firearms and cannons, he was able to shatter Ibrahim's armies despite being at a numerical disadvantage, expanding his dominion up to the mid Indo-Gangetic Plain . After the battle, the centre of Mughal power shifted to Agra . In the decisive Battle of Khanwa , fought near Agra a year later, the Timurid forces of Babur defeated the combined Rajput armies of Rana Sanga of Mewar , with his native cavalry employing traditional flanking tactics. The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow
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6006-504: The Godavari River . He created a new ruling elite loyal to him, implemented a modern administration, and encouraged cultural developments. He increased trade with European trading companies. India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and economic development. Akbar allowed freedom of religion at his court and attempted to resolve socio-political and cultural differences in his empire by establishing
6149-481: The Industrial Revolution . Modern historians and researchers generally agree that the character of the Mughal Empire's economic policy resembles the laissez-faire system in dealing with trade and billions to achieve the economic ends. The Mughals were responsible for building an extensive road system and creating a uniform currency. The empire had an extensive road network, which was vital to
6292-519: The Marathas took place following this change, precipitated by the unmitigated state-building of its leader Shivaji in the Deccan. Aurangzeb's son, Bahadur Shah I , repealed the religious policies of his father and attempted to reform the administration. "However, after he died in 1712, the Mughal dynasty began to sink into chaos and violent feuds. In 1719 alone, four emperors successively ascended
6435-465: The Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur . It is written in the Chagatai language , known to Babur as Türki "Turkic", the spoken language of the Timurids . During the reign of his grandson, the emperor Akbar , the work was translated into Classical Persian , the literary language of the Mughal court, by a courtier, Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan , in 1589–90 CE ( AH 998). Babur
6578-686: The Second Anglo-Maratha War . Thereafter, the British East India Company became the protectors of the Mughal dynasty in Delhi. The British East India Company took control of the former Mughal province of Bengal-Bihar in 1793 after it abolished local rule (Nizamat) that lasted until 1858, marking the beginning of the British colonial era over the Indian subcontinent. By 1857 a considerable part of former Mughal India
6721-563: The Shaybanids . After losing Samarkand for the third time, Babur turned his attention to India and employed aid from the neighbouring Safavid and Ottoman empires. He defeated Ibrahim Lodi , the Sultan of Delhi , at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 and founded the Mughal Empire. Before the defeat of Lodi at Delhi, the Sultanate of Delhi had been a spent force, long in a state of decline. The rival adjacent Kingdom of Mewar under
6864-593: The Sikh guru Arjan , whose execution was the first of many conflicts between the Mughal Empire and the Sikh community. Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658) was born to Jahangir and his wife Jagat Gosain , a Rajput princess. His reign ushered in the golden age of Mughal architecture . During the reign of Shah Jahan, the splendour of the Mughal court reached its peak, as exemplified by the Taj Mahal . The cost of maintaining
7007-775: The Third Battle of Panipat was fought between the Maratha Empire and the Afghans (led by Ahmad Shah Durrani ) in 1761, in which the Afghans were victorious, the emperor had ignominiously taken temporary refuge with the British to the east. In 1771, the Marathas recaptured Delhi from the Rohillas , and in 1784 the Marathas officially became the protectors of the emperor in Delhi, a state of affairs that continued until
7150-763: The Timurid Empire ) on his father's side, and from Genghis Khan on his mother's side. Paternally, Babur belonged to the Turkicized Barlas tribe of Mongol origin. Ousted from his ancestral domains in Central Asia, Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions. He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass . Babur's forces defeated Ibrahim Lodi , Sultan of Delhi , in
7293-515: The best known of which was also produced in an illustrated copy in the 1590s by Akbar's workshop. A work purporting to be Timur's autobiography, which turned up in Jahangir 's library in the 1620s, is now regarded as a fake of that period. Babur's autobiography has received widespread acclaim from modern scholars. Quoting Henry Beveridge , Stanley Lane-Poole writes: His autobiography is one of those priceless records which are for all time, and
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#17327753613037436-449: The mir saman . Of these ministers, the diwan held the most importance, and typically acted as the wazir (prime minister) of the empire. The empire was divided into Subah (provinces), each of which was headed by a provincial governor called a subadar . The structure of the central government was mirrored at the provincial level; each suba had its own bakhshi , sadr as-sudr , and finance minister that reported directly to
7579-404: The ravine below the palace". During this time, two of his uncles from the neighbouring kingdoms, who were hostile to his father, and a group of nobles who wanted his younger brother Jahangir to be the ruler, threatened his succession to the throne. His uncles were relentless in their attempts to dislodge him from this position as well as from many of his other territorial possessions to come. Babur
7722-513: The zabt system, the Mughals also conducted extensive cadastral surveying to assess the area of land under plough cultivation, with the Mughal state encouraging greater land cultivation by offering tax-free periods to those who brought new land under cultivation. The expansion of agriculture and cultivation continued under later Mughal emperors including Aurangzeb. Mughal agriculture was in some ways advanced compared to European agriculture at
7865-419: The 1720s. Despite India having its stocks of gold and silver, the Mughals produced minimal gold of their own but mostly minted coins from imported bullion , as a result of the empire's strong export-driven economy, with global demand for Indian agricultural and industrial products drawing a steady stream of precious metals into India. The historian Shireen Moosvi estimates that in terms of contributions to
8008-508: The Americas, maize and tobacco. The Mughal administration emphasised the agrarian reform that began under the non-Mughal emperor Sher Shah Suri, which Akbar adopted and furthered with more reforms. The civil administration was organised hierarchically based on merit, with promotions based on performance. The Mughal government funded the building of irrigation systems across the empire, which produced much higher crop yields and increased
8151-658: The Delhi Sultanate, ruled by Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty, but the sultanate was crumbling and there were many defectors. Babur received invitations from Daulat Khan Lodi, Governor of Punjab and Ala-ud-Din, uncle of Ibrahim. He sent an ambassador to Ibrahim, claiming himself the rightful heir to the throne, but the ambassador was detained at Lahore , Punjab, and released months later. Babur started for Lahore in 1524 but found that Daulat Khan Lodi had been driven out by forces sent by Ibrahim Lodi. When Babur arrived at Lahore,
8294-516: The Lodi army marched out and his army was routed. In response, Babur burned Lahore for two days, then marched to Dibalpur, placing Alam Khan, another rebel uncle of Lodi, as governor. Alam Khan was quickly overthrown and fled to Kabul. In response, Babur supplied Alam Khan with troops who later joined up with Daulat Khan Lodi, and together with about 30,000 troops, they besieged Ibrahim Lodi at Delhi. The sultan easily defeated and drove off Alam's army, and Babur realised that he would not allow him to occupy
8437-592: The Mongols and to distinguish them from the Afghan elite which ruled the Delhi Sultanate. The term remains disputed by Indologists . In Marshall Hodgson's view, the dynasty should be called Timurid / Timuri or Indo-Timurid . The Mughal Empire was founded by Babur (reigned 1526–1530), a Central Asian ruler who was descended from the Persianized Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur (the founder of
8580-471: The Mughal Empire was created and sustained by military warfare, it did not vigorously suppress the cultures and peoples it came to rule; rather it equalized and placated them through new administrative practices, and diverse ruling elites, leading to more efficient, centralised, and standardized rule. The base of the empire's collective wealth was agricultural taxes, instituted by the third Mughal emperor, Akbar. These taxes, which amounted to well over half
8723-441: The Mughal Empire. However, the dispensation of justice also depended on other factors, such as administrative rules, local customs, and political convenience. This was due to Persianate influences on Mughal ideology, and that the Mughal Empire governed a non-Muslim majority. Scholar Mouez Khalfaoui notes that legal institutions in the Mughal Empire systemically suffered from the corruption of local judges. The Mughal Empire followed
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#17327753613038866-559: The Mughal court. There was more conspicuous consumption among the Mughal elite, resulting in greater patronage of painting , literary forms, textiles, and architecture , especially during the reign of Shah Jahan . Among the Mughal UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Asia are: Agra Fort , Fatehpur Sikri , Red Fort , Humayun's Tomb , Lahore Fort , Shalamar Gardens , and the Taj Mahal , which
9009-427: The Mughal economy, in the late 16th century, the primary sector contributed 52%, the secondary sector 18% and the tertiary sector 29%; the secondary sector contributed a higher percentage than in early 20th-century British India , where the secondary sector only contributed 11% to the economy. In terms of the urban-rural divide, 18% of Mughal India's labour force were urban and 82% were rural, contributing 52% and 48% to
9152-683: The Punjab. In November 1525 Babur got news at Peshawar that Daulat Khan Lodi had switched sides, and Babur drove out Ala-ud-Din. Babur then marched onto Lahore to confront Daulat Khan Lodi, only to see Daulat's army melt away at their approach. Daulat surrendered and was pardoned. Thus within three weeks of crossing the Indus River Babur had become the master of Punjab. Babur marched on to Delhi via Sirhind . He reached Panipat on 20 April 1526 and there met Ibrahim Lodi's numerically superior army of about 100,000 soldiers and 100 elephants. In
9295-713: The Safavids to act as a suzerain over him and his followers. Thus, in 1513, after leaving his brother Nasir Mirza to rule Kabul, he managed to take Samarkand for the third time; he also took Bokhara but lost both again to the Uzbeks. Shah Ismail reunited Babur with his sister Khānzāda , who had been imprisoned by and forced to marry the recently deceased Shaybani. Babur returned to Kabul after three years in 1514. The following 11 years of his rule mainly involved dealing with relatively insignificant rebellions from Afghan tribes, his nobles and relatives, in addition to conducting raids across
9438-607: The Shah of Persia. They became "recognized ladies of the royal household." During his rule in Kabul, when there was a time of relative peace, Babur pursued his interests in literature, art, music and gardening. Previously, he never drank alcohol and avoided it when he was in Herat. In Kabul, he first tasted it at the age of thirty. He then began to drink regularly, host wine parties and consume preparations made from opium . Though religion had
9581-670: The Sunni Hanafi system of jurisprudence. In its early years, the empire relied on Hanafi legal references inherited from its predecessor, the Delhi Sultanate. These included the al-Hidayah (the best guidance) and the Fatawa al-Tatarkhaniyya (religious decisions of the Emire Tatarkhan). During the Mughal Empire's peak, the Fatawa 'Alamgiri was commissioned by Emperor Aurangzeb. This compendium of Hanafi law sought to serve as
9724-489: The affairs of the state, and came under the influence of rival court cliques". Jahangir distinguished himself from Akbar by making substantial efforts to gain the support of the Islamic religious establishment. One way he did this was by bestowing many more madad-i-ma'ash (tax-free personal land revenue grants given to religiously learned or spiritually worthy individuals) than Akbar had. In contrast to Akbar, Jahangir came into conflict with non-Muslim religious leaders, notably
9867-593: The author Gulbadan Begum . Babur died in 1530 in Agra and Humayun succeeded him. Babur was first buried in Agra but, as per his wishes, his remains were moved to Kabul and reburied. He ranks as a national hero in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan . Many of his poems have become popular folk songs. He wrote the Baburnama in Chaghatai Turkic ; it was translated into Persian during the reign (1556–1605) of his grandson,
10010-416: The battle that began on the following day, Babur used the tactic of Tulugma , encircling Ibrahim Lodi's army and forcing it to face artillery fire directly, as well as frightening its war elephants. Ibrahim Lodi died during the battle, thus ending the Lodi dynasty. Babur wrote in his memoirs about his victory: By the grace of the Almighty God, this difficult task was made easy to me and that mighty army, in
10153-508: The battle there also and, escaping with a small band of followers, he wandered the mountains of central Asia and took refuge with hill tribes. By 1502, he had resigned all hopes of recovering Fergana; he was left with nothing and was forced to try his luck elsewhere. He finally went to Tashkent , which was ruled by his maternal uncle, but he found himself less than welcome there. Babur wrote, "During my stay in Tashkent, I endured much poverty and humiliation. No country, or hope of one!" Thus, during
10296-417: The central authorities, and made their deals with local men of influence. The imperial army bogged down in long, futile wars against the more aggressive Marathas , and lost its fighting spirit. Finally came a series of violent political feuds over control of the throne. After the execution of Emperor Farrukhsiyar in 1719, local Mughal successor states took power in region after region. The Mughal Empire had
10439-533: The central government rather than the subahdar . Subas were subdivided into administrative units known as sarkars , which were further divided into groups of villages known as parganas . Mughal government in the pargana consisted of a Muslim judge and local tax collector. Parganas were the basic administrative unit of the Mughal Empire. Mughal administrative divisions were not static. Territories were often rearranged and reconstituted for better administrative control, and to extend cultivation. For example,
10582-501: The ceremonies of fealty?" However, Babur acquired several more wives and concubines over the years, and as required for a prince, he was able to ensure the continuity of his line. Babur's first wife, Aisha Sultan Begum, was his paternal cousin, the daughter of Sultan Ahmad Mirza, his father's brother. She was an infant when betrothed to Babur, who was himself five years old. They married eleven years later, c. 1498–99 . The couple had one daughter, Fakhr-un-Nissa , who died within
10725-435: The city briefly, but he was in turn besieged by his most formidable rival, Muhammad Shaybani , Khan of the Uzbeks. The situation became such that Babar was compelled to give his sister, Khanzada, to Shaybani in marriage as part of the peace settlement. Only after this were Babur and his troops allowed to depart the city in safety. Samarkand, his lifelong obsession, was thus lost again. He then tried to reclaim Fergana, but lost
10868-447: The city, capturing Kabul again and regaining the allegiance of the rebels. Meanwhile, Shaybani was defeated and killed by Ismail I , Shah of Shia Safavid Persia, in 1510. Babur and the remaining Timurids used this opportunity to reconquer their ancestral territories. Over the following few years, Babur and Shah Ismail formed a partnership in an attempt to take over parts of Central Asia. In return for Ismail's assistance, Babur permitted
11011-436: The community or village level were common, but sparse documentation of them exists. For example, it is unclear how panchayats (village councils) operated in the Mughal era. The Mughal economy was large and prosperous. India was producing 24.5% of the world's manufacturing output up until 1750. Mughal India's economy has been described as a form of proto-industrialization , like that of 18th-century Western Europe before
11154-474: The cost of establishing a new capital was marginal. Situations where two simultaneous capitals happened multiple times in Mughal history. Certain cities also served as short-term, provincial capitals, as was the case with Aurangzeb's shift to Aurangabad in the Deccan . Kabul was the summer capital of Mughals from 1526 to 1681. The imperial camp, used for military expeditions and royal tours, also served as
11297-541: The court, however, began to exceed the revenue coming in. His reign was called as "The Golden Age of Mughal Architecture". Shah Jahan extended the Mughal Empire to the Deccan by ending the Ahmadnagar Sultanate and forcing the Adil Shahis and Qutb Shahis to pay tribute. Shah Jahan's eldest son, the liberal Dara Shikoh , became regent in 1658, as a result of his father's illness. Dara championed
11440-539: The duty of service to myself? One day, during that time of desire and passion when I was going with companions along a lane and suddenly met him face to face, I got into such a state of confusion that I almost went right off. To look straight at him torments and shames, I went on. A (Persian) couplet of Muhammad Salih's came into my mind. — Baburi Andijani, in Jahiruddin Muhammad Babur, Baburnama, Page 120 FARGHANA (q. Babur's first marriage.) It
11583-454: The early Mughal period of religious violence contributed to introspection and then the transformation in Sikhism from pacifism to militancy for self-defense. According to Babur's autobiography, Baburnama , his campaign in northwest India targeted Hindus and Sikhs as well as apostates (non-Sunni sects of Islam), and an immense number were killed, with Muslim camps building "towers of skulls of
11726-482: The eastern mountains. Babur began to modernise and train his army despite it being, for him, relatively peaceful times. Determined to conquer the Uzbeks and recapture his ancestral homeland, Babur was wary of their allies the Ottomans , and made no attempt to establish formal diplomatic relations with them. He did, however, employ the matchlock commander Mustafa Rumi and several other Ottomans. From them, he adopted
11869-432: The economic infrastructure, built by a public works department set up by the Mughals which designed, constructed and maintained roads linking towns and cities across the empire, making trade easier to conduct. The main base of the empire's collective wealth was agricultural taxes, instituted by the third Mughal emperor, Akbar. These taxes, which amounted to well over half the output of a peasant cultivator, were paid in
12012-479: The economy, respectively. According to Moosvi, Mughal India had a per-capita income, in terms of wheat, 1.24% higher in the late 16th century than British India did in the early 20th century. This income, however, would have to be revised downwards if manufactured goods, like clothing, would be considered. Compared to food per capita, expenditure on clothing was much smaller though, so relative income between 1595 and 1596 should be comparable to 1901–1910. However, in
12155-624: The emperor Akbar . Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn is Arabic for "Defender of the Faith" (of Islam ), and Muhammad honours the Islamic prophet . The name was chosen for Babur by the Sufi saint Khwaja Ahrar , who was the spiritual master of his father. The difficulty of pronouncing the name for his Central Asian Turco-Mongol army may have been responsible for the greater popularity of his nickname Babur, also variously spelled Baber , Babar , and Bābor . The name
12298-432: The emperor or the sadr-us-sudr (chief of charities). The jurisdiction of the qadi was availed by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The jagirdar (local tax collector) was another kind of official approach, especially for high-stakes cases. Subjects of the Mughal Empire also took their grievances to the courts of superior officials who held more authority and punitive power than the local qadi . Such officials included
12441-528: The empire to its greatest territorial extent, and oversaw an increase in the Islamicization of the Mughal state. He encouraged conversion to Islam, reinstated the jizya on non-Muslims, and compiled the Fatawa 'Alamgiri , a collection of Islamic law. Aurangzeb also ordered the execution of the Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur , leading to the militarization of the Sikh community. From the imperial perspective, conversion to Islam integrated local elites into
12584-477: The epithet of Emperor Aurangzeb or endonymous identification from emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as "Land of Hind" ( Hindostān ) in Hindustani . Contemporary Chinese chronicles referred to the empire as Hindustan ( Héndūsītǎn ). In the west, the term " Mughal " was used for the emperor, and by extension, the empire as a whole. The Mughal designation for their dynasty was Gurkani ( Gūrkāniyān ),
12727-579: The huge armies with which they had formerly enforced their rule. Many of the empire's elites now sought to control their affairs and broke away to form independent kingdoms. But lip service continued to be paid to the Mughal Emperor as the highest manifestation of sovereignty. Not only the Muslim gentry, but the Maratha, Hindu, and Sikh leaders took part in ceremonial acknowledgements of the emperor as
12870-530: The illustrated Baburnama s show developments such as landscape views with a recession, influenced by Western art seen at court. Generally the scenes are less crowded than in earlier miniatures of "historical" scenes. Most images trimmed of borders According to historian Stephen Frederic Dale, Babur's Chagatai prose is highly Persianized in its sentence structure, morphology, and vocabulary, and also contains many phrases and smaller poems in Persian . The Bāburnāma begins abruptly with these plain words: In
13013-565: The independence of Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I in the Deccan, he encouraged the Marathas to invade central and northern India. The Indian campaign of Nader Shah , who had previously reestablished Iranian suzerainty over most of West Asia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, culminated with the Sack of Delhi shattering the remnants of Mughal power and prestige, and taking off all the accumulated Mughal treasury. The Mughals could no longer finance
13156-816: The infidels" on hillocks. There are no descriptions about Babur's physical appearance, except from the paintings in the translation of the Baburnama prepared during the reign of Akbar . In his autobiography, Babur claimed to be strong and physically fit, and that he had swum across every major river he encountered, including twice across the Ganges River in North India . Babur did not initially know Old Hindi ; however, his Turkic poetry indicates that he picked up some of its vocabulary later in life. Unlike his father, he had ascetic tendencies and did not have any great interest in women. In his first marriage, he
13299-425: The king's vision of network of shared identity that would join disparate groups throughout the empire in obedience to the Mughal emperor. He led campaigns from 1682 in the Deccan, annexing its remaining Muslim powers of Bijapur and Golconda, though engaged in a prolonged conflict in the region which had a ruinous effect on the empire. The campaigns took a toll on the Mughal treasury, and Aurangzeb's absence led to
13442-482: The language, which he is credited with founding, may have influenced Babur in his decision to use it for his memoirs. He spent two months there before being forced to leave because of diminishing resources; it later was overrun by Shaybani and the Mirzas fled. Babur became the only reigning ruler of the Timurid dynasty after the loss of Herat, and many princes sought refuge with him at Kabul because of Shaybani's invasion in
13585-418: The local Turkic and Iranian people of Central Asia, and his army was diverse in its ethnic makeup. It included Sarts , Tajiks , ethnic Afghans , Arabs , as well as Barlas and Chaghatayid Turko-Mongols from Central Asia. In 1494, eleven-year-old Babur became the ruler of Fergana, in present-day Uzbekistan, after Umar Sheikh Mirza died "while tending pigeons in an ill-constructed dovecote that toppled into
13728-459: The middle, and perhaps an account of Babur's earlier childhood, a preface and perhaps an epilogue, were written, but the manuscript of those parts was lost by the time of Akbar. There are various points in his highly active career, and that of his son Humayun , where parts of the original manuscript might plausibly have been lost. By 1519 Babur took control of Kabul and from there launched an invasion into north-western India . The final section of
13871-414: The military (army/intelligence) was headed by an official titled mir bakhshi , who was in charge of military organisation, messenger service, and the mansabdari system. The ministry in charge of law/religious patronage was the responsibility of the sadr as-sudr, who appointed judges and managed charities and stipends. Another ministry was dedicated to the imperial household and public works, headed by
14014-465: The month of Ramadan of the year 899 [1494] and in the twelfth year of my age, I became ruler in the country of Farghana . Babur describes his fluctuating fortunes as a minor ruler in Central Asia—he took and lost Samarkand twice—and his move to Kabul in 1504. There is a break in all known manuscripts between 1508 and 1519. Annette Beveridge and other scholars believe that the missing part in
14157-536: The net revenue base, leading to increased agricultural production. A major Mughal reform introduced by Akbar was a new land revenue system called zabt . He replaced the tribute system, previously common in India and used by Tokugawa Japan at the time, with a monetary tax system based on a uniform currency. The revenue system was biased in favour of higher value cash crops such as cotton, indigo, sugar cane , tree crops, and opium, providing state incentives to grow cash crops, in addition to rising market demand. Under
14300-655: The new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India. The instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun (reigned 1530–1556), who was forced into exile in Persia by the rebellious Sher Shah Suri (reigned 1540–1545). Humayun's exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal courts and led to increasing Persian cultural influence in the later restored Mughal Empire. Humayun's triumphant return from Persia in 1555 restored Mughal rule in some parts of India, but he died in an accident
14443-549: The next year. Akbar (reigned 1556–1605) was born Jalal-ud-din Muhammad in the Rajput Umarkot Fort , to Humayun and his wife Hamida Banu Begum , a Persian princess. Akbar succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan , who helped consolidate the Mughal Empire in India. Through warfare, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of
14586-535: The oath and regret that." Babur was opposed to the blind obedience towards the Chinggisid laws and customs that were influential in Turco-Mongol society: "Previously our ancestors had shown unusual respect for the Chingizid code ( törah ). They did not violate this code sitting and rising at councils and court, at feasts and dinners. [However] Chingez Khan's code is not a nass qati (categorical text) that
14729-470: The output of a peasant cultivator, were paid in the well-regulated silver currency, and caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets. The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion. The burgeoning European presence in the Indian Ocean and an increasing demand for Indian raw and finished products generated much wealth for
14872-533: The production of piece goods , calicos , and muslins . The cotton textile industry was responsible for a large part of the empire's international trade. India had a 25% share of the global textile trade in the early 18th century, and it represented the most important manufactured goods in world trade in the 18th century. The most important centre of cotton production was the Bengal province, particularly around its capital city of Dhaka . The production of cotton
15015-527: The regions failed when the Uzbek prince Muhammad Shaybani defeated him and founded the Khanate of Bukhara . In 1504, he conquered Kabul , which was under the putative rule of Abdur Razaq Mirza, the infant heir of Ulugh Beg II . Babur formed a partnership with the Safavid emperor Ismail I and reconquered parts of Turkestan , including Samarkand, only to again lose it and the other newly conquered lands to
15158-565: The rule of Rana Sanga had become the most powerful native power in North India . Sanga unified several Rajput clans for the first time after Prithviraj Chauhan and advanced on Babur with a grand coalition of 80,000-100,000 Rajputs, engaging Babur in the Battle of Khanwa . Babur arrived at Khanwa with 40,000-50,000 soldiers. Nonetheless, Sanga suffered a major defeat due to Babur's skillful troop positioning and use of gunpowder , specifically matchlocks and small cannons . The Battle of Khanwa
15301-512: The same time so warm and friendly, so very human, that it conquers one's admiring sympathy.The utter frankness of self-revelation, the unconscious portraiture of all his virtues and follies, his obvious truthfulness and a fine sense of honour, give the Memoirs an authority which is equal to their charm. If ever there were a case when the testimony of a single historical document, unsupported by other evidence, should be accepted as sufficient proof, it
15444-417: The seal of the qadi was required to validate deeds and tax records. Qadis did not constitute a single position, but made up a hierarchy. For example, the most basic kind was the pargana (district) qadi . More prestigious positions were those of the qadi al-quddat (judge of judges) who accompanied the mobile imperial camp, and the qadi-yi lashkar (judge of the army). Qadis were usually appointed by
15587-423: The snowy Hindu Kush mountains and capture Kabul from the remaining Arghunids, who were forced to retreat to Kandahar . With this move, he gained a new kingdom, re-established his fortunes and would remain its ruler until 1526. In 1505, because of the low revenue generated by his new mountain kingdom, Babur began his first expedition to India; in his memoirs, he wrote, "My desire for Hindustan had been constant. It
15730-409: The social structure and the caste system, the geographical outlines and the recent history; he marvels at such details as the Indian method of counting and time-keeping, the inadequacy of the lighting arrangements, the profusion of Indian craftsmen, or the want of good manners, decent trousers and cool streams; but his main emphasis is on the flora and fauna of the country, which he notes with the care of
15873-472: The sovereign of India. Meanwhile, some regional polities within the increasingly fragmented Mughal Empire involved themselves and the state in global conflicts, leading only to defeat and loss of territory during conflicts such as the Carnatic wars and Bengal War . The Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II (1759–1806) made futile attempts to reverse the Mughal decline. Delhi was sacked by the Afghans, and when
16016-446: The space of a half a day was laid in dust. After the battle, Babur occupied Delhi and Agra, took the throne of Lodi, and laid the foundation for the eventual rise of Mughal rule in India. However, before he became North India's ruler, he had to fend off challengers, such as Rana Sanga. Many of Babur's men allegedly wanted to leave India due to its warm climate, but Babur motivated them to stay and expand his empire. The Battle of Khanwa
16159-430: The tactic of using matchlocks and cannons in the field (rather than only in sieges ), which gave him an important advantage in India. Babur still wanted to escape from the Uzbeks, and he chose India as a refuge instead of Badakhshan , which was to the north of Kabul. He wrote, "In the presence of such power and potency, we had to think of some place for ourselves and, at this crisis and in the crack of time there was, put
16302-461: The ten years since becoming the ruler of Fergana, Babur suffered many short-lived victories and was without shelter and in exile, aided by friends and peasants. Kabul was ruled by Babur's paternal uncle Ulugh Beg II , who died leaving only an infant as heir. The city was then claimed by Mukin Begh, who was considered to be a usurper and was opposed by the local populace. In 1504, Babur was able to cross
16445-479: The territory's capacity for revenue, based on simpler land surveys. The Mughals had multiple imperial capitals, established throughout their rule. These were the cities of Agra , Delhi , Lahore , and Fatehpur Sikri . Power often shifted back and forth between these capitals. Sometimes this was necessitated by political and military demands, but shifts also occurred for ideological reasons (for example, Akbar's establishment of Fatehpur Sikri), or even simply because
16588-607: The throne", as figureheads under the rule of a brotherhood of nobles belonging to the Indian Muslim caste known as the Sadaat-e-Bara , whose leaders, the Sayyid Brothers , became the de facto sovereigns of the empire. During the reign of Muhammad Shah (reigned 1719–1748), the empire began to break up, and vast tracts of central India passed from Mughal to Maratha hands. As the Mughals tried to suppress
16731-625: The time, exemplified by the common use of the seed drill among Indian peasants before its adoption in Europe. Geared sugar rolling mills first appeared in Mughal India, using the principle of rollers as well as worm gearing , by the 17th century. South Asia during the Mughal's rule was a very fertile ground for manufacturing technologies coveted by the Europeans before the Industrial Revolution . Up until 1750, India produced about 25% of
16874-448: The treasures he searched for in new conquered lands. In his memoirs, when he listed sovereigns and nobles of a conquered land, he also mentioned poets, musicians and other educated people. During his 47-year life, Babur left a rich literary and scientific heritage. He authored his famous memoir the Bāburnāma , as well as beautiful lyrical works or ghazals , treatises on Muslim jurisprudence (Mubayyin), poetics (Aruz risolasi), music, and
17017-481: The two Mirza brothers. It was then the cultural capital of the eastern Muslim world. Though he was disgusted by the vices and luxuries of the city, he marvelled at the intellectual abundance there, which he stated was "filled with learned and matched men". He became acquainted with the work of the Chagatai poet Mir Ali Shir Nava'i , who encouraged the use of Chagatai as a literary language . Nava'i's proficiency with
17160-417: The walled city of Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi). The Mughal Empire's legal system was context-specific and evolved throughout the empire's rule. Being a Muslim state, the empire employed fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and therefore the fundamental institutions of Islamic law such as those of the qadi (judge), mufti (jurisconsult), and muhtasib (censor and market supervisor) were well-established in
17303-491: The well-regulated silver currency, and caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets. In circa 1595, Modern historians estimated the state's annual revenues of the Mughal Empire were around 99,000,000 rupees. The Mughals adopted and standardised the rupee ( rupiya , or silver) and dam (copper) currencies introduced by Sur Emperor Sher Shah Suri during his brief rule. The Mughals minted coins with high purity, never dropping below 96%, and without debasement until
17446-486: The west. He thus assumed the title of Padshah (emperor) among the Timurids—though this title was insignificant since most of his ancestral lands were taken, Kabul itself was in danger and Shaybani continued to be a threat. Babur prevailed during a potential rebellion in Kabul, but two years later a revolt among some of his leading generals drove him out of Kabul. Escaping with very few companions, Babur soon returned to
17589-482: The world's industrial output. Manufactured goods and cash crops from the Mughal Empire were sold throughout the world. The growth of manufacturing industries in the Indian subcontinent during the Mughal era in the 17th–18th centuries has been referred to as a form of proto-industrialization , similar to 18th-century Western Europe before the Industrial Revolution. In early modern Europe , there
17732-556: The world. In South Asia these go back to the Ashokavadana and Harshacharita from ancient India , the medieval Prithviraj Raso , and were continued by the Mughals with the Akbarnama (biography), Tuzk-e-Jahangiri or Jahangir-nameh (memoirs), and Shahjahannama (genre of flattering biographies). Akbar's ancestor Timur had been celebrated in a number of works, mostly called Zafarnama ("Book of Victories"),
17875-487: Was "bashful" towards Aisha Sultan Begum , later losing his affection for her. Babur showed similar shyness in his interactions with Baburi , a boy in his camp with whom he had an infatuation around this time, recounting that: "Occasionally Baburi came to me, but I was so bashful that I could not look him in the face, much less converse freely with him. In my excitement and agitation I could not thank him for coming, much less complain of his leaving. Who could bear to demand
18018-412: Was a leading producer of grains, salt, fruits, liquors and wines, precious metals and ornaments. Baburnama The Bāburnāma ( Chagatay : وياقع , romanized: Vayaqıʿ , lit. 'The Events'; Persian : بابرنامه , romanized : Bāburnāma , lit. 'History of Babur') is the memoirs of Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad Bābur (1483–1530), founder of
18161-435: Was able to secure his throne mainly because of help from his maternal grandmother, Aisan Daulat Begum , although there was also some luck involved. Most territories around his kingdom were ruled by his relatives, who were descendants of either Timur or Genghis Khan, and were constantly in conflict. At that time, rival princes were fighting over the city of Samarkand to the west, which was ruled by his paternal cousin. Babur had
18304-403: Was advanced by the diffusion of the spinning wheel across India shortly before the Mughal era, lowering the costs of yarn and helping to increase demand for cotton. The diffusion of the spinning wheel and the incorporation of the worm gear and crank handle into the roller cotton gin led to greatly expanded Indian cotton textile production during the Mughal era. The Bengal Subah province
18447-749: Was an educated Timurid prince, and his observations and comments in his memoirs reflect an interest in nature, society, politics and economics. His vivid account of events covers not just his own life, but the history and geography of the areas he lived in as well as the people with whom he came into contact. The book covers topics as diverse as astronomy, geography, statecraft, military matters, weapons and battles, plants and animals, biographies and family chronicles, courtiers and artists, poetry, music and paintings, wine parties, historical monument tours, as well as contemplations on human nature. Though Babur himself does not seem to have commissioned any illustrated versions, his grandson ordered their production as soon as he
18590-494: Was equally fluent in Classical Persian , the lingua franca of the Timurid elite. Some of Babur's relatives, such as his uncles Mahmud Khan (Moghul Khan) and Ahmad Khan, continued to identify as Mongols, and allowed him to use their Mongol troops to help recover his fortunes in the turbulent years that followed. Hence, Babur, though nominally a Mongol (or Moghul in Persian language), drew much of his support from
18733-517: Was especially prosperous from the time of its takeover by the Mughals in 1590 until the British East India Company seized control in 1757. Historian C. A. Bayly wrote that it was probably the Mughal Empire's wealthiest province. Domestically, much of India depended on Bengali products such as rice, silks and cotton textiles. Overseas, Europeans depended on Bengali products such as cotton textiles, silks, and opium. The province
18876-494: Was first translated into English by John Leyden and William Erskine as Memoirs of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Baber: Emperor of Hindustan , later by the British orientalist scholar Annette Beveridge , and most recently by Wheeler Thackston , who was a professor at Harvard University . The Baburnama fits into a tradition of imperial autobiographies or official court biographies, seen in various parts of
19019-542: Was fought between Babur and the Rajput ruler of Mewar , Rana Sanga on 16 March 1527. Rana Sanga wanted to overthrow Babur, whom he considered to be a foreigner ruling in India, and also to extend the Rajput territories by annexing Delhi and Agra . He was supported by Afghan chiefs who felt Babur had been deceptive by refusing to fulfil promises made to them. Upon receiving news of Rana Sangha's advance towards Agra, Babur took
19162-631: Was himself son of Timur ) and his wife Qutlugh Nigar Khanum , daughter of Yunus Khan , the ruler of Moghulistan (a descendant of Genghis Khan ). Babur hailed from the Barlas tribe, which was of Mongol origin and had embraced the Turco-Persian tradition They had also converted to Islam centuries earlier and resided in Turkestan and Khorasan . Aside from the Chaghatai language, Babur
19305-509: Was his eldest son and heir, Humayun . Masuma Sultan Begum died during childbirth; the year of her death is disputed (either 1508 or 1519). Gulrukh bore Babur two sons, Kamran and Askari , and Dildar Begum was the mother of Babur's youngest son, Hindal . Babur later married Mubaraka Yusufzai , a Pashtun woman of the Yusufzai tribe. Gulnar Aghacha and Nargul Aghacha were two Circassian slaves given to Babur as gifts by Tahmasp Shah Safavi,
19448-653: Was in the month of Shaban, the Sun being in Aquarius, that we rode out of Kabul for Hindustan". It was a brief raid across the Khyber Pass . In the same year, Babur united with Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqarah of Herat , a fellow Timurid and distant relative, against their common enemy, the Uzbek Shaybani. However, this venture did not take place because Husayn Mirza died in 1506 and his two sons were reluctant to go to war. Babur instead stayed at Herat after being invited by
19591-503: Was marching to recover it, he lost Samarkand to a rival prince, leaving him with neither. He had held Samarkand for 100 days, and he considered this defeat as his biggest loss, obsessing over it even later in his life after his conquests in India. For three years, Babur concentrated on building a strong army, recruiting widely amongst the Tajiks of Badakhshan in particular. In 1500–1501, he again laid siege to Samarkand , and indeed he took
19734-526: Was one of the most decisive battles in Indian history, more so than the First Battle of Panipat, as the defeat of Rana Sanga was a watershed event in the Mughal conquest of North India. Religiously, Babur started his life as a staunch Sunni Muslim , but he underwent significant evolution. Babur became more tolerant as he conquered new territories and grew older, allowing other religions to peacefully coexist in his empire and at his court. He also displayed
19877-660: Was presented with the finished Persian translation in November 1589. The first of four illustrated copies made under Akbar over the following decade or so was broken up for sale in 1913. Some 70 miniatures are dispersed among various collections, with 20 in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The three other versions, partly copied from the first, are in the National Museum, New Delhi (almost complete, dated 1597–98),
20020-432: Was significant demand for products from Mughal India, particularly cotton textiles, as well as goods such as spices, peppers, indigo , silks, and saltpetre (for use in munitions ). European fashion , for example, became increasingly dependent on Mughal Indian textiles and silks. The largest manufacturing industry in the Mughal Empire was textile manufacturing , particularly cotton textile manufacturing, which included
20163-462: Was succeeded by his son Humayun whose reign was temporarily usurped by the Suri dynasty . During their 30-year rule, religious violence continued in India. Records of the violence and trauma, from Sikh-Muslim perspective, include those recorded in Sikh literature of the 16th century. The violence of Babur in the 1520s was witnessed by Guru Nanak , who commented upon it in four hymns. Historians suggest
20306-447: Was the ruler of Malwa. Upon reaching Chanderi, on 20 January 1528, Babur offered Shamsabad to Medini Rao in exchange for Chanderi as a peace overture, but the offer was rejected. The outer fortress of Chanderi was taken by Babur's army at night, and the next morning the upper fort was captured. Babur himself expressed surprise that the upper fort had fallen within an hour of the final assault. Seeing no hope of victory, Medini Rai organized
20449-476: Was under the East India Company's control. After a crushing defeat in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 which he nominally led, the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar , was deposed by the British East India Company and exiled in 1858 to Rangoon , Burma. Historians have offered numerous accounts of the several factors involved in the rapid collapse of the Mughal Empire between 1707 and 1720, after
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