
Mughal Empire
Babur (1526 – 1530)
Mughal Empire was founded by Babar
1st battle of Panipat (21st April
B/w Babur & Ibrahim Lodi
Lodi was Killed
Babur occupied Delhi
Babar sent his son Humayu to seize Agra; & Claimed himself “ Emperor of Hindustan”
Battle of Khanua (Near Agra → 1527)
Babur V/S Rana Sanga of Mewar
Babur won the battle & assumed the title of Ghazi
Babur wrote his memoirs in “Tuzuk – i – Baburi in Turki language & died in 1530
Humayu (1530 – 1540)
Eldest son of Babur; means fortunate but was most unfortunate ruler of Mughal empire
Gave Kabul & Kandhar to Kamran; Sambhal to Aksari & Alwar to Hindal
(All 3 his brothers)
Humayun → Busy fighting with Afgans (Sher khan / Sher shah) in east, got the news that Bahadur shah of Gujrat was advancing towards Delhi → Hence made treaty with Sher shah
Humayu captured Gujrat from Bahadur shah & made Aksari its governor, but soon Bahadur shah recovered it from Aksari who fled from their
Battle of Chausa (1539)
- Between Humayu & Sher Shah
- Sher Shah destroyed Mughal army
- Humayu fled from there
Battle of Kannauj or Bilgram (1540)
- Between Humayu & Sher Shah
- Brothers’ dint supported Humayu, hence he fought alone
- Humayu was thoroughly defeated by Sher shah
- Result → Humayu became exile for next 15 years
Sur interregnum (1540 – 1555)
- Founded by Sher Shah; became ruler of Delhi in 1540
- Formed 4 ministries for central administration viz.
- Diwan – i – Wazirat → Headed by Wazir (Incharge of finance & revenue)
- Diwan – i – Ariz → Headed by Military Incharge
- Diwan – i – Rasalat → Headed by Foreign minister
- Diwan – i – Insha → Headed by Communication minister
Administration
Sher Shah empire was divided in 47 Sarkars with
Chief Shiqdar to maintain law & order in each sarkar
Chief Munsif as Judge in each Sarkar
Each Sarkar was divided into Parganas with each pargana consisted of:
- Shiqdars → Military officer
- Amin → Land revenue officer
- Fotedar → Treasurer
- Karkuns → Accountant
Architecture
- Introduced new silver coins called ‘Dam’ which were in circulation till 1835
- Laid foundation of 4 important highways & constituted rest houses alongside highways viz.
Sonargaon to Sind
Agra to Burhampur
Jodhpur to Chittor
Lahore to Multan
- Built a new city on banks of river Yamuna near Delhi (Purana quila & its mosque are remains of the same)
- Built Mausoleum at Sasaram → Considered one of the masterpiece of Indian Architecture
- Patronized Malik Muhammad Jayasi who wrote famous Hindi work Padmavat during his reign
Humayun (1555 – 1556)
- Humayun defeated Afgans in 1555
- Died in 1556 after falling from the staircase of his library
Akbar (1556 – 1605)
- Akbar married Rajput princess Jodha, daghter of Raja Bhairomal of Amber
- This marriage became a turning point in the history of Mughals, as Rajputs supported them now
- Many Rajputs like Raja Man singh & Raja Bhagwan Das were given senior position in Akbar’s court
- Battle of Haldighati, 1576
- Between Akbar and Maharana Pratap of Mewar
- Mughals under the leadership of Raja Man singh defeated Rana Pratap of Mewar
- Akbar was very tolerant towards religious policies → abolished pilgrim tax & later Jiziya
- He formed a strong alliance b/w Mughals & Rajputs which ensured peace in Rajasthan & Northern India

Akbars’ Religious Touch
- Early contact with Sufi saints
- Teachings from his teacher Abdul Latif
- His marriage with Rajput princess
- His association with intellectual giant like Shaikh Mubarak & his 2 sons – Abul Faizi & Abul Fazal
- After marrying Jodha Bai, he abolished pilgrimage tax & Jiziga
- Allowed his Hindu wife to worship her own God
- He was a pious Muslim in his early life but later became a skeptic one
- Constructed Ibadat khana (house of worship where scholars from all religion meet to discuss religious policies) at his new capital Fatehpur sikri
- Invited learned scholars from all religions to discuss religious policies
- Disliked the interference of Muslim Ulemas in political matters
- In 1579, He issued infallibility decree & asserted his religious powers
- In 1582, he promulgated a new religion “Din – i – Ilahi” or divine faith in one god
- Din – i – Ilahi contained good points of all the religions & uphold no dogma
- Din – i – Ilahi mainly aimed to bridge gap b/w all religions (Only 15 followers joined including Birbal)
Akbars’ Land Revenue system
- Land revenue system of Akbar was known as Zabti / Bandobast system
- Further modified by Raja Todarmal, now known as Dahsala system which included
- Measurement of land
- Revenue fixed on average yield of last 10 years
- Land divided into four categories viz.
Polaj | Cultivated every year |
Parauti | Cultivated every 2 years |
Chachar | Cultivated every 3 – 4 years |
Banjar | Cultivated every 5 years |
Mansabdari system of Akbar
- Under this system, every officer was assigned a Rank (Mansab)
- Lowest officer got 10 coins & highest officers (Nobles) got 5000 coins for their services
- Includes all public services except Judiciary
- Ranks were divided into 2 categories, namely
- Zat → Described the personal status of a person
- Sawar → Number of cavalry man a person is required to maintain
Jahangir (1605 – 1627)
- Prince Salim succeeded the throne with the title Jahangir (Conqueror of the world)
- Witness rebellions from his son Khusaro, but was defeated & imprisoned
- Beheaded 5th Sikh Guru Arjun dev
- In 1611, Married Mehrunnisa (Nurjaha → Light of the world)
- Wrote his Autobiography → Tuzuk – i – Jahagiri
Shahjaha (1627 – 1658)
- Married Mumtaj (Banu Begum)
- Conquered Deccan (Bijapur & Golkunda and put it under the leadership of his son Aurangzeb)
- Later, Aurangzeb killed his 3 brothers & confined Shahjaha to female apartments in Agra fort
- Though Aurangzeb never ill-treated Shahjaha
Aurangzeb (1658 – 1707)
- Assumed the title Alamgir (or World Conqueror)
- To contain Marathas (Shivaji), he attacked Golkunda & Bijapur (Deccan Shias)
- Though Aurangzeb defeated them but it removed the only boundary b/w Marathas & Mughals
- According to JN Sarkar, Deccan ulcer ruined Aurangzeb

Religious Policies of Aurangzeb
- Very orthodox & staunch Muslim; tried to change India into an Islamic state
- Created separate departments to enforce moral codes called ‘Muhtasib’
- Prohibited drinking, cultivation & use of Bhang & drugs
- Forbid music in Mughal court, Dismissed royal astrologers & astronomers
- Discontinued practice of Jharoka darshan
- Discontinued celebration of Dussehra
- Destroyed Hindu temples & banned construction of them
- Reimposed Jiziya & pilgrimage tax (in 1679)
- Stopped celebration of Muharram (Not tolerant towards other Muslim sects)
- Was against Sikhs & executed 9th Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur, which resulted transformation of sikhs into warring community
His religious policies turned Rajputs, Sikhs, Marathas, Jats & Satnamis against him & hence became the sole reason for decline of Mughal Empire
Personality & Character of Aurangzeb
- Very simple in dressing & food; Very disciplined & industrious
- Earned money for personal expenses by copying Quran & selling those copies
- Did not consume wine, learned & proficient in Arabic & Persian language
- Lover of books, strict follower of Islam
- Daily Namaz for 5 times & strictly observed Ramzan
- Overall an orthodox Muslim intolerant to other religions
Very useful note. It covered all important points in a summarised way. 👌
Thank you Sir.
Thankyou Nishat