In the fifteenth century the political condition of India had deteriorated and there was no powerful kingdom in northern India. The last ruling dynasty was that of the Lodis with a considerably weakened position. Such a situation invited invasions from the northwestern borders of India. Babur's invasion and subsequent conquests were indeed its results.
Babur and Humayun
|
|
Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur founded the Mughal Empire in India. Babur was a descendant of the Timur dynasty. He inherited the small state of Farghana in A.D. 1494. In order to expand his empire and to strengthen his position in central Asia, he invaded India five times. In the fifth expedition he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, at Panipat in A.D. 1526. At this the Afghans and the Rajputs shared the political power of north India. Babur's conquest of northern India was incomplete till he defeated Rana Sanga, the king of Mewar and the greatest Rajput king of the period. Consequently a decisive battle took place on 16, March 1527 and Rana Sanga was defeated. But he was not destined to enjoy the fruits of his victory as he died in Agra in A.D. 1530. Babur's eldest son Humayun succeeded him as the king.
Babur was a complicated, enlightened ruler from Kabul who loved poetry, gardening, and books. He even wrote cultural treatises on the Hindus he conquered, and took notes on local flora and fauna. A detailed record of Babur's career is found in his autobiography Tuzuk-i-Baburi or Baburnamah, which he wrote in his mother tongue, Turkish.
|
|
Sher Shah Suri
The strongest challenge to Humayun came from the Afghan leader, Sher Shah Suri, who defeated Humayun in the battles of Chausa and Kanauj in A.D. 1540. Humayun was forced to spend nearly fifteen years in exile in Persia. During these years Sher Shah Suri's family, known as the Sur dynasty, ruled over North India. Sher Shah ruled for a short period but he is remembered in Indian history as one of the ablest rulers of Medieval India.
Akbar followed Sher Shah's system of administration. Sher Shah divided his empire into sarkars that were again subdivided into Parganas. Officers in charge of sarkars and Parganas were periodically transferred. He enforced equal laws for justice and introduced a reformed system of currency - the silver coins known as rupee - which lasted throughout the Mughal period and was maintained by the East India Company down to A.D. 1835. Sher Shah followed the examples of earlier benevolent kings in planting trees for travelers. He also restored the Grand Trunk Road (Modern G.T. Road), which was built during the Mauryan period, running from Calcutta to Peshawar.
He constructed a grand mausoleum for himself at Sasaram in Bihar. He built a new city at Delhi known as Shergarh and another at Rohtas in Punjab.
Akbar
|
|
In A.D. 1554 Humayun was able to invade India with the help of Bairam Khan. He conquered most of the Punjab and defeated the Afghans in a battle near Sirhind and captured Delhi without any opposition. After his death the fourteen-year-old Akbar, under the care of bairam khan, was crowned in the small provincial town of Kalanaur where he was encamping. During this time his position in India was not strong. The Afghan army under Hemu Vikramaditya defeated the Mughal army and captured Agra and Delhi. In the second battle of Panipat, fought between Hemu Vikramaditya and Bairam Khan in A.D. 1556, Hemu was defeated. It gave Delhi and Agra back to Akbar. Agra became the capital of the Mughal Empire. During the next four years, Bairam Khan enjoyed supreme position in the state as the emperor's guardian and Prime Minister. In A.D. 1560 Akbar took over the reigns from Bairam Khan who was killed on the way in Gujarat.
Akbar launched a policy of conquest and consolidation of the empire for the next forty years of his reign. He annexed various states like Jaunpur Gwalior, Ajmer and Malwa. To strengthen his position Akbar adopted the policy of matrimonial alliance with the Rajputs.
|
|
Akbar first married the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber (Jaipur). After this, other Rajput families followed the path of matrimonial alliances with the Mughals. Mewar was the only state that never accepted the sovereignty of the Mughals. As a result, the famous battle of Haldighati was fought in A.D. 1576 between the famous Rajput king Maharana Pratap and the Mughal army headed by Raja Man Singh of Amber. The Mughals won the battle, but Mewar could not be completely subjugated till Maharana Pratap's death. Besides Malwa and Mewar, Akbar also conquered Gujarat, as it was an important state for overseas trade and commerce. To commemorate his victory over Gujarat he built the Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri.
By A.D. 1595, Akbar consolidated his position in north India by conquering Kashmir, Sind, Orissa and Bengal. Then he moved towards the south to attain supremacy over the whole of India. After a long siege, which Akbar himself supervised, a part of Ahmadnagar fell to the Mughal army. At that time the famous queen Chand Bibi ruled Ahmadnagar. Thus Khandesh, Berar and the annexed portion of Ahmadnagar came under Mughal rule in south India.
Jahangir
Akbar died in A.D. 1605 and was succeeded by his son Jahangir. Jahangir sent an expedition against Rana Amar Singh, son of Maharana Pratap of Mewar. Finally, Jahangir offered most liberal terms to Mewar and ended the long struggle between Mewar and the Mughals. This liberality was shown in part owing to the fact that Jahangir had taken refuge in Mewar at the time of his revolt against Akbar.
Jahangir also faced the revolt of his son Khusrau. The Sikh Guru Arjundev, out of compassion for Khusrau, who was in dire distress, had given him money. Jahangir came to know of this and summoned the Guru. Jahangir imposed a fine of rupees two lakh for this offence, which Guru Arjundev refused to pay. In June A.D. 1606, for five days he was physically tortured and finally put to death.
Another important event of Jahangir's reign was his marriage to Nur Jahan on whom he conferred the title of 'Nur Mahal' (light of the palace). She was very influential and helped him rule the Kingdom.
Shah Jahan
Jahangir, passed the expanding empire to his son Shah Jahan in 1627. Though he spent much of his time subduing Hindu kingdoms to the south, Shah Jahan left behind the colossal monuments of the Mughal Empire, including the Taj Majal (his favorite wife's tomb), the Pearl Mosque, the Royal Mosque, and the Red Fort. Shah Jahan's campaigns in the south and his flare for extravagant architecture necessitated increased taxes and distressed his subjects, and under this scenario his son Aurungzeb imprisoned him and took over in 1658.
Aurungzeb
Unlike his predecessors, Aurungzeb wished to eradicate indigenous traditions, and his intolerance prompted fierce local resistance. Though he expanded the empire to include nearly the entire subcontinent, he could never totally subdue the Mahrathas of the Deccan, who resisted him until his death in 1707. Out of the Mahrathas' doggedness arose the legendary figure of Shivaji, a symbol Hindu resistance and nationalism. Aurungzeb's three sons disputed over succession, and the Mughal empire crumbled, just as the Europeans were beginning to flex their own imperialistic muscles.
