The Mughal Empire in India: From Delhi To Agra

Most of us know India was ruled by the British for a long time, and we know about great leaders like Gandhi and his independence movement in  PAN India meaning across India and we know how far India has come since then. But what do we know about its past? Who were the great leaders and great powers before the British came along? Those were the Mughals. Today we will look at the Mughal Empire and some of its greatest rulers.

Between 1526 and 1707 the Mughal empire marked the interaction between Muslim and Indian civilization. Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, ended the Delhi Sultanate and established the Mughal dynasty.

But it was Akbar, his grandson, who accelerated the grip of the empire on India and sought a meeting point between the Hindu and Islamic religions. In the same spirit, he imagined an Indo Muslim architecture of which his ephemeral capital, Fatehpur Sikri, is a magnificent example. His grandson, Shah Jahan further enhanced the splendor of this Mughal art with the construction of the red fort and the great mosque of Delhi and especially the Taj Mahal of Agra.

Babur and the beginning of the Empire

At the head of a warrior tribe of Central Asia surging from Afghanistan after the capture of Kabul, Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan from his mother’s side and of Tamerlane from his father’s side, defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the sultan who reigned over Delhi. He seized Delhi and Agra then the Ganges plain, and founded the Mughal dynasty in 1526, but his reign only lasted 4 years. Faced with the threat, the Rajput leaders united behind the ruler of the Mewar, Sangha Singh but were defeated. From then on, the Mughals dominated all of northern India and increased their empire in size and power.

Humayun

Babur's son, Humayun, reigned for 10 years and was dethroned in 1540 by the Afghan Sher Shah (who was to organizer of the empire). Humayun would have to wait until 1555 and the death of Sher Shah to return to power, but he died the following year and left as heir his 13-year-old son Akbar, who at 18 removed the regent and took power.

Akbar the greatest of Mughal Emperors

Son of Humayun and grandson of Babur, Akbar (from 1556 to 1605), is the most prestigious of the great Mughals. He set out to reconquer his grandfather's empire, which he extended beyond present-day India and annexed Afghanistan, Kashmir, Bengal and defeated the Rajput kings. After having militarily consolidated the Mughal empire, he reorganized the political, economic and artistic foundations of the empire.

He was clever and a tolerant leader. He established a dominant class of nobles (Persians, Hindus, Muslims and Rajputs), and knew how to surround himself with sages and Hindu advisers and established an alliance with the Rajput princes.

Refusing to blindly follow the Quranic teachings he was interested in Hinduism and Christianity and envisaged a syncretism, that is to say a synthesis of these religions. It is also his cultural and religious liberalism that will made him a remarkable overlord, hence his name Akbar the Great. Finally, his reign was marked by the ambitious project of Fatehpur Sikri, the ephemeral capital of his empire.

Jahangir

Son of Akbar and a Rajput princess of Kachwahas clan, Jahangir (from 1605 to 1627) continued the work, but was weak enough, that he found it difficult to keep the vast empire intact that was bequeathed to him by his father.

Shah Jahan the great builder

Jahangir's son, Shah Jahan (from 1628 to 1658) succeeded him by eliminating all his rivals. Passionate about architecture, he is the great builder who will made the Mughal splendor leap. We owe him the Red Fort and the great Jamia Masjid mosque in Delhi and especially the Taj Mahal in Agra, a mausoleum he had built for his wife (Mumtaz Mahal) and the most famous monument in India.

The beginning of the end with Aurangzeb

The reign of Aurangzeb (from 1658 to 1707), "berserk" and third son of Shah Jahan, marked the return to fanaticism and religious intolerance. He revolted against his father, whom he locked up in the Red Fort in Agra (until his death in 1666), then ascended the throne in Delhi and had his three brothers murdered.

Fanatic Islamist, devout to the point of intolerance, he banned music, luxury, religious discussions, he re-established taxes on non-Muslim infidels (Sikhs, Hindus, etc.) and had a prominent Sikh guru beheaded. An intractable Muslim, in the name of Islam, he had Hindu temples destroyed and replaced by mosques, including in sacred cities like Pushkar, ruining the inter-religious cohesion established by Akbar.

His fanaticism and tyranny stirred up revolts across all of northern India and provoked the Hindus (Sikhs, Marathas and Rajput princes) to rise up against him. The three most powerful rulers of Rajasthan, including Maharaja Jai ​​Singh II (of the Kachwaha dynasty of Amber) allied against Mughal power and regained their independence.

After the death of Aurangzeb, from 1707 to 1857, his 9 successors were not able to stop the decadence of the Mughal empire which was eventually replaced by the British Empire of the Indies in 1858. The last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah was exiled to Burma by the English and his sons executed, thus ending the reign of once great Mughal Empire.

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Created on Aug 17th 2021 00:20. Viewed 217 times.

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