Mughal Empire

History of Mughal Empire in India

Rule of Mughal Dynasty (1526-1858)

Babur: (1526–1530)	1. Babur was the founder of Mughal dynasty in India. 2. He laid the foundation of Mughal dynasty by defeating Ibrahim Lodhi in the first battle of Panipat in 1526. 2. Babur defeated Rana Sanga of Mewar in the Battle of Khanwa in 1527. 3. He was a direct descendant of Taimur, from the Barlas clan, through his father, and a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. 4. His real name was Ẓahir-ud-Din Muḥammad. 5. Babur wrote his memoirs Baburnama (Tuzuk-i-Baburi) in Turkish language. 6. He introduced gun powder in India.
Humayun: (1530–1556)	1. Humayun was the eldest son of the Emperor Babur. 2. He became the second ruler of the Mughal empire after succeeding his father in 1530. 3. He ruled the country for 10 years but later in 1540 he was defeated by Sher Shah Suri in the battle of Kannauj and was forced to leave India. 4. 12 years later in 1555 Humayun regain the throne by defeating Sikander Suri, the successor of Sher Shah Suri. 5. His half-sister Gulbadan Begum wrote his biography Humayun-nama. 6. Humayun was killed in an accidental fall from his library staircase in 1556. 7. Humayun's tomb was built in Delhi by Humayun's first wife Bega Begum in 1569. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
Akbar: (1556–1605)	1. He was the third and greatest ruler of the Mughal Dynasty in India. 2. He was coronoted when he was just 14 years old. 3. His able minister Bairam Khan helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal empire in India. 4. Bairam Khan represented Akbar in the second battle of Panipat in 1556 and defeated Hemu Vikramiditya. 5. Akbar built Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri to to commemorate his victory of Gujarat. 6. Akbar's forces headed by Raja Man Singh and Asaf Khan defeated Rana Pratap in the battle of Haldighati in 1576. 7. He built Ibadat Khana (House of Worship) at Fatehpur Sikri. 8. In 1581 Akbar promulgated the Din-i-Ilahi or Tauhid-i-Ilahi to establish national religion which would be acceptable to the Hindus and Muslims alike. 9. Raja Todarmal was the minister for revenue in the court of Akbar. Land revenue system prevalent during this period was known as Todar Mal Bandobast or Zabti System. 10. He introduced the Mansabdari System for organizing the army and the nobles. 11. Akbar ruled the country for nearly 50 years and died in 1605 and was buried outside of Agra at Sikandra. 12. Abul Fazal wrote Akbar Nama, a biographical account of Akbar.
Jahangir: (1605–1627)	1. His real name was Nur-ud-din Mohammad Salim. 2. He was the fourth Emperor of Mughal dynasty who ruled from 1605 until his death in 1627. 3. He was the eldest surviving son of Mughal Emperor Akbar. 4. The art of Mughal painting reached great heights under Jahangir's reign 5. In 1611, Jahangir married Mehr-un-Nisaa, the young widow of a Mughal officer, Sher Afgan. A beautiful, witty and strong woman, she soon became Jahangir's favorite queen and assumed the title of Nur Jahan, 'Light of the World'. 6. His greatest failure was the loss of Kandahar to Persia in 1622. 7. He executed the fifth of the ten Sikh gurus, Arjun Dev, for giving aid and comfort to Khusrau, Jahangir's rebellious son. 8. Captain Hawkins and Sir Thomas Roe visited his court.
Shahjahan: (1628–1658)	1. He was the fifth Emperor of Mughal dynasty. 2. He was the son of Emperor Jahangir and his Hindu Rajput wife, Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani. 3. His rule is considered the Golden Age of the Mughal Empire. 4. He built Tajmahal and Moti Masjid at Agra, and Jama Masjid and Red Fort at Delhi. 5. Other important buildings of Shah Jahan's rule were the Diwan-i-Aam and Diwan-i-Khas in the Red Fort Complex in Delhi 6. As he apparently lay dying in 1658 there was a brutal war of succession among his four sons (Dara, Aurangzeb, Shuja and Murad) but Aurangzeb came out victorious. 7. Aurangzeb put him under house arrest in Agra Fort for 8 years where he died at the age of 74.
Aurangzeb: (1658–1707)	1. His full name was Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb. 2. He was the sixth Emperor of Mughal dynasty. 3. He was the third son and sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. 4. He was strictly adhered to Islam and made sure that his empire followed the same. He destroyed many Hindu temples and forced many non-Muslims to convert into Islam. 5. He spread the extent of Mughal Empire to the entire Indian sub continent barring the southernmost tip of India. 6. In 1675, he ordered the execution of ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur because of his objection to Aurangzeb's forced conversions. 7. He died in Ahmednagar in 1707 at the age of 88. 8. He was also known as Alamgir (Conquerer of the World).

Delhi Sultanate

Delhi Sultanate

The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived dynasties. The Delhi sultanates ruled from 1206 AD to 1526 AD, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty. The five dynasties which are together termed as the Delhi Sultanate are listed below:

1. Mamluk or Slave Dynasty (1206 AD to 1290 AD)
2. Khilji Dynasty (1290 AD to 1320 AD)
3. Tughlaq Dynasty (1320 AD to 1414 AD)
4. Sayyid Dynasty (1414 to 1451 AD)
5. Lodhi Dynasty (1451 AD to 1526 AD)

Rulers of Delhi Sultanate

Mamluk or Slave Dynasty
Qutubuddin Aibak (1206 - 1210)- 1. The defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan in the second battle of Tarain in 1192 by Muhammad Ghori laid the foundation of Muslim rule in India. After the death of Muhammed Ghori, his slave Qutubuddin Aibak took the charge and became the first sultan of Delhi. 2. For his generosity, he earned the sobriquet Lakh-Bakhsh (giver of Lakhs.). 3. He built two mosques-Quwat-ul-Islam at Delhi and Adhai din ka Jhonpra at Ajmer. 4. He started the construction of Qutub Minar which was dedicated to famous Sufi Saint Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhityar Kaki. 5. He died while playing Polo in the year 1210. Iltutmish (1210 - 1236)- 1. He was a slave of Qutubuddin Aibak. 2. He divided his empire into Iqtas, known as Iqtadari system under which land were assigned to nobles and officers in lieu of salary. 3. He introduced the silver tanka and the copper jital - the two basic coins of the Sultanate period. 4. He built the Hauz-i-Shamsi reservoir in Mehrauli in 1230. 5. He completed the Qutub Minar. 6. He formed Turkan-i-Chahalgani or Chalisa (a group of 40 powerful Turkish nobles). 7. He saved Delhi Sultanate from the wrath of Chengiz Khan, the Mongol leader. Razia Sultan (1236 - 1240)- 1. She succeeded her father Iltutmish in 1236. 2. She was the first lady to sit on the throne of Delhi. 3. She was the the first and the last Muslim lady who ever ruled India'. 4. Her promotion of Jalaluddin Yakut, an Abyssinian, to the important offices provoked the Turkish officers. 5. She was killed along with her husband Altunia by Bahram Shah, a son of Iltutmish. Balban (1266 - 1286)- 1. Balban ascended the throne in 1266. 2. His real name was Baharuddin. 3. He crushed the power of Turkan-i-Chahalgani or Chalisa which stabilized the Sultanate rule. 4. He established the military department Diwani-i-Arz. 5. For defeating the Mongols he got the sobriquet Ulagh Khan.
Khilji Dynasty
Jalaluddin Khilji (1290 - 1296) - 1. He founded the Khilji Dynasty. 2. He was a weak ruler and adopted a lenient policy towards the Mongols. 3. He was succeeded by his nephew Ali Gurshap, who took the title of Ala-ud-din. Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316)- 1. Alauddin Khilji killed Jalaluddin Khilji and and succeeded the throne in 1296. 2. He was the most powerful ruler of this dynasty. 3. He built Hauz Khas and Jamait Khana Mosque. 4. He separated religion from politics. He proclaimed - Kingship knows no Kinship. 5. He seized the famous Kohinoor diamond from the ruler of Malwa. 6. He created new department viz Diwan-i-Mustakhraj to enquire into the revenue arears and to collect them. 7. He established an effective spy system. 8. He introduced the first permanent standing army of India. 9. He introduced a free market policy with effective price control system.
Tughlaq Dynasty
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320-1325)- 1. Ghazni Malik the last king of the Khilji dynasty, Khusrau Khan and assumed the title Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq. 2. He founded the city Tughlaqabad. Mohammad-bin Tughlaq (1325-1351)- 1. His real name was Jauna Khan. 2. He was a very knowledgeable person with deep knowledge in philosophy, logic, mathematics and medicine. 3. He introduced token currency using brass and copper coins but failed due to absence of central mint and forgery of coins. 4. He shifted his capital from Delhi to Devgiri which he renamed Daulatabad, to control the Deccan region but failed in his attempts and shifted back to Delhi. 5. The famous Moroccon traveller Ibn Batuta visited India during his reign. Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388)- 1. He was the son of a Hindu princess of Dipalpur. 2. He established many cities such as Firuzabad, Fatebabad, Jaunpur and Hissar. 3. He made Iqtadari system hereditary. 4. He rebuilt two storeys of Qutub Minar which were damaged by lightening in 1368 AD. 5. He established Diwan-i-Khairat (department for poor and needy people) and Diwan-l-Bundagan (department of slaves).
Sayyid Dynasty
Khizr Khan (1414-1421)- 1. He was a lieutenant of Timur. 2. He was a Sayyid and so his dynasty is called Sayyid Dynasty. Other rulers of Sayyid Dynasty Mubarak Shah (1421-1434) Muhammad Shah (1434-1443) Alam Shah (1443-1451)
Lodhi Dynasty
Bahlol Lodhi (1451-1488)- 1. He founded the Lodhi dynasty by usurping the throne from the last of the Sayyid rulers. 2. Bahlol belonged to the Shahu Khel clan of the Lodhi Pashtun tribe. Sikandar Lodhi (1489-1517)- 1. He was the son of Bahlol Lodhi. 2. In 1504, he founded the city of Agra and made it his capital. 3. He introduced the Gaz-i-Sikandari (Sikandar's yard) of 32 digits for measuring cultivated fields. Ibrahim Lodhi (1517-1526 AD)- 1. He was the last king of Lodhi dynasty and the last Sultan of Delhi. 2. He was the son of Sikandar Lodhi. 3. He was defeated and killed by Babur in the first battle of panipat in 1526 AD.