MUGHAL:Islamic

Empire in

India

Delhi Sultanate Mughal Dynasty

3. MughalEmpire

• Persian term meaning “Mongol”

• Conquered almost allof the Indian subcontinent.

• NOT GHAZI!– Babur related to Timur

and Genghis Khan

• Ruled almost 300years.

“Akbar” r. 1556-1605

• CONQUEST – spent ½ his reign at war solidifying his kingdom

• Jalaluddin Muhammad– (Grandson of Babur; Grandfather of Shah Jahan )– Persian mother and Turkic father– 1st Mughal ruler born IN Hindustan; came to

throne as teenager

“Architect” of the Mughal Empire

Centralized RuleHis Personal control, not

mil.

Professional Bureaucracy Overhauled tax & land system to

protect peasants

Strong Military Commander Redesigned military system of ranks, chain

of command

GUNPOWDER!

Charismatic Ruler

Economy: Largest GDP* in World!• Improved Agricultural techniques:

– More land into agricultural use.

• SPECIALIZATION of Manufacturing and Agriculture by location.

• EMPORIUM to the World! Central to world trade!!– Rice, cloth, jewels, indigo, pepper,

incense, textiles, saffron, quicksilver, cardamom, jasmine oil, sugar cane…

*Gross Domestic Product

Policy of Universal ToleranceWith regional Hindu rajas & multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-religious population:

Encouraged intermarriage

Abolished jizya & pilgrimage tax

Promoted Hindus to high ranking bureaucratic jobs

Allowed Hindu temples to be built

“Divine Faith”

Syncretic religion

Emperor as ruler

for all religions,

ethnic groups,

castes…

Story of India: http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/gallery/photos/15.html

Akbar: Patron of the Arts

Blended Persian & Hindu ornamental traditions with Islamic domes, arches and minarets….

Akbar’s first Capitol

Fatehpur Sikri• Imperial gardens, • Rest-houses, • Residences for the

nobility, • Experimental school

to study language acquisition in childhood.

Fatehpur Sikri

Girls’ School & Life-size Parcheesi Court

Fatehpur Sikri, & Tomb of Akbar

Akbar’s Audience Room

“Akbarnama”

Illuminated “History of

Akbar” – Commissioned by Akbar

– Ruler as military, strategic, & spiritual leader

– Illustrated by miniaturists from the Royal Workshop in Indian style.

– “Some men do not like illustration. I do not like such men.”

Akbar never learned to read, and may have been dyslexic… but he assembled an imperial library of 24,000 volumes, commissioning many translations including of important Hindu works such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Sikhism Monotheistic religion founded in 15th c. in Punjab -

1469 (before Akbar)

Teachings of Guru Nanak Dev & 10

successive Gurus.

5th largest organized religion in the world – 26

million

“Sikh” means “disciple" or "learner.”

The principal belief of Sikhism is faith in waheguru –

the Universal God.

Advocates pursuit of salvation through disciplined,

personal meditation on the name and message of a

Nonanthropomorphic God, to the

extent that one can consider God to be the Universe itself.

“Golden Temple” at Amritsar

After Akbar…

• Jizya reinstated

Building under Jahangir and Shah Jehan

Conquest under Jahangir, Shah Jehan, Aurangzeb

Hindu temples & shrines destroyed under Aurangzeb ()

Taj Mahal

Decline of Mughal

Internal:

• Religious rebellion • Bankrupt! Money & time spent on

conquest & building

• Overexpansion – could not administer multi-cultural, ethnic, etc.

• Political Unrest - Rajas re-asserted their power regionally

External:

• Here come the foreigners!

Arrival of EuropeansPortuguese - Goa –

• Missions & fortified trade forts

British East India Company– Bombay, Calcutta

– Trading posts… militarized… colonies…

• Mughal Emperors saw Europeans as harmless. . .

Effect of Columbian Exchange on Islamic Empires:

• New agricultural products: – Maize, potatoes, tomatoes

from Americas

– Coffee & tobacco – popular, but frowned upon

• Population surged:– Mughal India – 105M 190M (incl.

conquest)

– Ottoman – 9M 28M (partly due to conquest)

– Safavid – 5M 8M

Changes in the world economy European hegemony: New Products, Atlantic

Centered Trade passed them by.

Weakened domestic economy: High inflation, high taxation.

Weakening leadership Succession – legal for new Ottoman sultan to kill

off his brothers (Turko-Mongol custom: silk bow string strangulation – no blood)

Bureaucratic corruption Janissaries & nepotism – No bureaucracy of

merit!

Islamic Empires Weakened Over Time

Generalizations about Islamic Empires:

Islam; some Ghazis

Military conquest - Gunpowder

Absolute Rulers

Arts, architecture & literature flourished

Tolerance for “protected people” - allowed to practice own beliefs,

but often paid Jizya

More generalizations…

Women - often played strong roles behind the scenes.

Urbanization Strong trading cities: Istanbul, Isfahan… Population Increases.

Cultural Insularity Except for GUNPOWDER WEAPONS

No other European Ideas or technologies… compared to the West…

h-oh.