373-Our Past the Mughal empire

​• Akbar (who reigned 1556-1605), it described a peaceful and harmonious relationship among different religions.

• Akbar proposed unity and peace among all human beings – sulh-i kul.

​• The first battle of Panipat marks the beginning of the Mughal Empire. • The forces of Babur, a Central Asian ruler who was descended from the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan, defeat the Lodi Empire of Northern India.

​• Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Shah Jahan.

• Babur (1526-1530)

• Humayun (1530-1540)(1556-1556)

• Akbar (1556-1605)

• Shahjahan (1628-1658)

​• As the empire expanded to encompass different regions the Mughal recruited diverse bodies of people. • From a small nucleus of Turkish nobles they expanded to include Iranians, Indian

​Muslims, and Afghans, Rajput, Marathas and other groups. • The term mansabdars refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a position or rank. • It was a grading system used by the Mughal to fix (1) rank,(2) salary and (3) military responsibilities.

​• Zat was a numerical value according to which the rank and salary of a noble were fixed. A higher zat meant higher court position and more salary. • Sawar referred to the number of cavalrymen that a mansabdar had. After getting sawar reviewed and horses branded, he got the money to be paid to the sawar.

​The mughal empire was ruled by Shahjahan from 1628 to 1658 AD

​• Zabt was a revenue system which was introduced during the Mughal period. • For a proper flow of collection of taxes, Mughals appointed zamindars for tax collections or revenue on land.

​• Akbar’s revenue minister, Todar Mal, carried out a careful survey of crop yields, prices and areas cultivated for a 10-year period, 1570- 1580. • On the basis of this data, tax was fixed on each crop in cash. • Each province was divided into revenue circles with its own schedule of revenue rates for individual crops.

​• Akbar ordered one of his close friends and courtiers, Abul Fazl, to write a history of his reign. • Abul Fazl wrote a three-volume history of Akbar’s reign, titled Akbar Nama. • The first volume dealt with Akbar’s ancestors and the second volume recorded the events of Akbar’s reign. • The third volume deals with Akbar’s administration, household, army, the revenues and the geography of his empire.

​• While Akbar was at Fatehpur Sikri during the 1570s he started discussions on religion with the ulama, Brahmans, Jesuit priests who were Roman Catholics, and Zoroastrians. These discussions took place in the Ibadat Khana

​• Abul Fazl explained that the empire was divided into provinces called subas, governed by a subadar who carried out both political and military functions. • Each province also had a financial officer or diwan. For the maintenance of peace and order in his province, the subadar was supported by other officers

​• Bhakshi: military paymaster • Sadr: the minister in charge of religious patronage • Faujdars: military commanders • Kotwal: the town police commander

​·    The Ibadat Khana (House of Worship) was a meeting house built in 1575 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri.

·    The purpose of the Ibadat Khana was to gather spiritual leaders of different religions to conduct discussions with Akbar on the teachings of the respective religions.

​·    Mongol leader Genghis Khan (1162-1227) rose from humble beginnings to establish the largest land empire in history.

·    After uniting the nomadic tribes of the Mongolian plateau, he conquered huge chunks of central Asia and China

​·    The Red Fort Complex was built as the palace fort of Shahjahanabad – the new capital of the fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan.

·    Red Fort, also called Lal Qila, Mughal fort in Old Delhi, India

·    The fort, which is spread over 255 acres, features a mix of architectural styles such as Islamic, Hindi, Timurid, and Persian.

·     Its massive, 2.5-km-long enclosing walls are made of red sandstone and that's where the monument got its name from.

​·    Akbar commissioned the translation of many Sanskrit works into Persian.

·     A Maktab Khana or translation bureau was also established at Fatehpur Sikri for this purpose.

·    The Mahabharata, Ramayana, Lilavati and Yogavashisht were some of the notable Sanskrit works that were taken up for translation.

​·    Akbar's contemporaries – the ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603); the Safavid ruler of Iran, Shah Abbas (1588-1629); and the more controversial Russian ruler, Czar Ivan IV Vasilyevich, also called “Ivan the Terrible” (1530-1584)

​·    The role of the zamindars in Mughal administration was to collect the revenues and taxes from the peasants that were a source of income for the Mughal.

·    They acted as an intermediate between the Mughal and the peasants and in some areas the zamindars exercised a great deal of power.

​Policies during Akbar reign

·    1526- Defeated his Afghan supporters and Ibrahim Lodi in the first battle of  Panipat

·    1527 -Defeated Rajput rulers, allies, and Rana Sanga in the Battle of Khanwa

·    1528 -Defeated the Rajput at Chanderi

​·    The Battle of Chausa was a notable military engagement between the Mughal emperor, Humayun, and the Afghan, Sher Shah Suri.

·    It was fought on 26 June 1539 at Chausa, modern-day Bihar, India.

·    Sher Shah was victorious and crowned himself Farid al-Din Sher Shah.

​·    Cannons were used in sixteenth-century warfare. Babur used them effectively in the first battle of Panipat

​·    The Razmnama, Persian translation of the Mahabharata contains lavish illustrations of the events of Mahabharata.

·     It was completed by the Maktab Khana, a translation bureau set up by Akbar to translate important Sanskrit texts into Persian

·    Babur, the first Mughal emperor (1526-1530), succeeded to the throne of Ferghana in 1494 when he was only 12 years old.

·    He was forced to leave his ancestral throne due to the invasion of another Mongol group, the Uzbegs.

·    After years of wandering he seized Kabul in 1504. In 1526 he defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, at Panipat and captured Delhi and Agra​

​·    Sulh-i kul meant 'universal peace'.

·     Its objective was not to discriminate between people of different religions in Akbar's kingdom.

·     Instead it focused on a system of ethics - honesty, justice and peace - which was universally applicable.

·    Babur was the first to use gun powder in India

·    Gun powder technology was brought to India for warfare in the 14^th century.

·    Fire arms were used for the first time in regions such as Gujarat, Malwa and Deccan, and was used by Babur in early 16^th century

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·    Akbar was only 13 years old when he became emperor, and so his general ruled on his behalf till he came of age. From their mother's side, they were the descendants of Genghis Khan.  From their father's side, they were the successors of Timur.

·    The Mughals did not like to be called Mongol because Mongol's especially Genghis Khan's memory was associated with the massacre of innumerable people.​

·    Raja Todar Mal, as finance minister of Akbar, introduced a new system of revenue known as zabt and a system of taxation called dahshala.​

·    Jahangir became the emperor in 1605. He continued the military campaigns started by Akbar

·    The main source of income available to Mughal rule was tax on the produce of the peasan try.​

·    Mansabdars, recruited by the Mughals to discharge Mughal services, received their salaries as revenue assignments known as jagirs.​

·    The Mughal rulers campaigned constantly against rulers who refused to accept their authority

·    Mughal gave mansab and jagirs which helped them to expand their territories.​

​·    The Mughals did not believe in the rule of primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited his father’s estate.

·    They followed the custom of coparcenary inheritance or a division of the inheritance amongst all the sons.

​·    The third volume is the Ain-I Akbari. It deals with Akbar’s administration, household, army, the revenues and the geography of his empire.

·     It also provides rich details about the traditions and culture of the people living in India.

·    The most interesting aspect about the Ain-i Akbari is its rich statistical details about things as diverse as crops, yields, prices, wages and revenues

·    The First Battle of Panipat was fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi Empire, which took place on 21 April 1526 in North India.

·    It marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire.

·    This was one of the earliest battles involving gunpowder firearms and field artillery.​

​·    Humayun was the son and successor of Babur, who had founded the Mughal dynasty, Humayun ruled from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 to 1556.02

·    In December 1530, Humayun succeeded his father to the throne of Delhi as ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinent.

·    The Red Fort was the residence of the Mughal emperor of India for nearly 200 years, until 1857.

·     It is located in the centre of Delhi and houses a number of museums.​