Art in History Basic Lesson Plan
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Art In History Basic Lesson Plan EDU009 Mughal Empire India Khurja Box AIH1494 - 1707 © 2001, 2013 Art In History, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced, displayed, modified or distributed without the express prior written permission of Art In History, Inc. For permission, contact [email protected] India and the Mughal Empire 1494–1707 Geography The Mughal Empire existed in what is modern-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Mughal is also spelled Moghul. The region is part of the Indian Subcontinent in southern Asia. To the north are the Himalayan Mountains. South of the Himalayan Range is flat land, or plains. South of the plains is the Deccan Plateau. The Bay of Bengal is to the east and the Arabian Sea is to the west. The Indian Ocean is to the south. There are several major rivers, including the Indus and the Ganges. The climate of India varies from tropical in the south to temperate in the north. Winter monsoons bring dry winds from the northeast, while summer monsoons bring wet winds from the southwest. While the monsoons help with crops, they can also cause severe flooding. Babur Founds the Mughal Empire The period between the 13th century and the 16th century was a period of turmoil. This period is known as the Delhi Sultanate. Thirty-three different sultans ruled the region of modern-day India during this time period. No single leader was strong enough to fully unite the region. During the late 1400s and early 1500s, Mongolian descendants called the Mughals were forced out of their homeland by hostile tribes such as the Uzbeks. In 1494, just two years after Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World, the territory of modern-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan gained a new ruler. Babur was only 11 years old when he became the ruler of this territory. The Mughals were eventually organized by Babur. In time, he unified an army of Mongols, Turks, Persians, and Afghans. He led his nomadic nation into the Hindu Kush Mountains of modern day Afghanistan. The Mughals conquered the city of Kabul in 1504. Babur was successful in establishing a strong society in the surrounding areas of Kabul and the Kyber Pass. The Mughals began to explore and acquire lands not only in the Hindu Kush regions, but also into modern-day India, including the city of Lahore. This city was a vital region due to the fact that it was the northern most outpost of Islamic India. The area was occupied by tribes that were constantly at war with each other, most often involving the religious beliefs of Muslims and Hindus. In 1526, Babur led the Mughals to victory over many northern Indian tribes. He led an army of 12,000 soldiers against the sultan of Delhi. The sultan’s army consisted of 100,000 soldiers, but Babur was victorious. His army conquered the city of Panipat at the Battle of Panipat. In 1527, ©Art In History, Inc., EDU009, V3, Mughal Empire — Khurja Box Babur defeated a rajput army at the Battle of Khanwa. In 1529, he was victorious at the Battle of Gogra. He soon replaced the traditional sultanates of these cities with himself as the head-of-state. In 1530, however, Babur died. He never completed his goal of unifying the territories he conquered. Hamayun Babur died in 1530, but his vision of united empire lived on. Babur’s son, Humayun, inherited the young Mughal Empire. Hamayun ruled from 1530–1540 and from 1555–1556, however he spent ten of those years in exile Persia. Humayun conquered more lands such as the Gujarat region of eastern India in 1535. By 1539, the Mughals conquered the majority of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and North India. Despite these successes, rebellions in the eastern region of Bihar nearly destroyed the Mughal Empire in the 1540’s. The rebellions, which began in 1539, spread throughout the country. The Surs, loyalists to the former Bihar Dynasty, began to overcome Mughal strongholds such as Delhi. Humayun was forced to flee for safety in neighboring Persia, but these retreats would not last much longer. A counterattack was launched and the Mughals were determined to re-gain their lands. While in Persia, Humayun gathered an army. In 1555, he led his troops to battle recapturing the city of Delhi. He continued to recover lost territories. These advances ensured Mughal control over the Indian subcontinent for many years to come. The same year that brought such wonderful victories also brought the untimely death of Humayun in 1556. Eight years after his death, a tomb was built in his honor by his widow, Haji Begum. The tomb, which is located in Delhi, represents the magnificent architectural style that was developing during the Mughal Empire. The Golden Age of Akbar After Humayun’s death, his son, Akbar, took control of the Mughal Empire. He was only 14 years old when he became ruler. Akbar ruled the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1605. As the grandson of the legendary Babur, Akbar faced great expectations. His name means the “Greatest One” and he eventually lived up to that expectation. By the end of his reign, he rivaled and even surpassed the successes of his predecessors. In 1556, the regent — a person who governs when a ruler is not capable of governing — began a campaign of adding territory to the Mughal Empire. Mughal India once again was the undisputed power in south central Asia. Akbar and the regent had a great victory at the Second ©Art In History, Inc., EDU009, V3, Mughal Empire — Khurja Box Battle of Panipat in 1556. Akbar’s forces nearly were victorious against the Suri army. Eventually, as he grew older, Akbar was able to take control of the government away from the regent and govern himself. Akbar’s political wisdom created a long-lasting government. He supported the blending of cultures from all the regions he conquered. Religious freedom was allowed and encouraged throughout the Mughal Empire. He even allowed one of his wives, a Hindu, to practice her religion. Furthermore, he abolished the very unpopular tax known as jizya. This was a tax on non-Muslims. To truly show his belief in religious freedom, he had a Spanish Jesuit tutor his son. From 1568–1569, Akbar focused on seizing forts throughout India. These moves were important in later attempts to conquer the Indian peninsula. During his reign, he brought under control the lands bordering Kabul in the northwest, Kashmir in the northeast, Bengal in the east, and portions of the Deccan Plateau in central India. Akbar’s sea forces gained control of ports in the Gujarat region along the Arabian Sea in 1572. By the late 1570’s, Akbar had total reign over the Bengal region in what is now modern day Bangladesh. These lands were extremely important because of their ability to produce large amounts of rice and other crops. In 1598, the Mughal capital was established at Agra in north central India. The Mughal Empire continued to expand during the early 1600s. The Empire now extended from the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan to the central plateaus of the Indian subcontinent. Akbar died in 1605, but he was undoubtedly one of the greatest emperors in Mughal history. Jahangir and Shah Jahan After Akbar’s death, his son Jahangir took control of the Empire. Jahangir means “seizer of the world.” Although emperor from 1605–1627, Jahangir preferred to let his wife, Nur Jahan, rule. She was a strong ruler, and a great politician. During the early 1630s, the Mughals continued their expansion throughout the Deccan region of central India. Shah Jahan was another Mughal ruler who added large amounts of territory to the Mughal Empire. Shah Jahan became emperor in 1628 after the death of his father, Jahangir. By 1646, he had expanded the Mughal Empire to include the Deccan Plateau and the territory beyond the Khyber Pass. More than anything, Shah Jahan is remembered for the monument he built to his wife after she died. The Taj Mahal remains one of the world’s finest examples of architectural achievement. ©Art In History, Inc., EDU009, V3, Mughal Empire — Khurja Box Unfortunately, while Shah Jahan was spending vast amounts of money to build the Taj Mahal, the people of the Empire were suffering economically. The Taj Mahal took 22 years to construct. More than 20,000 people worked to build the monument. Aurangzeb and the Decline of the Mughal Empire In 1658, Shah Jahan became ill. His four sons fought for control of the Empire. His third son, Aurangzeb, had his eldest brother executed and gained control of the Empire. Aurangzeb also had his father imprisoned. Shah Jahan died several years later. In time, Aurangzeb became the last great Mughal emperor. Aurangzeb reigned for fifty years (1658–1707) and expanded the Empire to its largest size. Aurangzeb was a Muslim, and he enforced Islamic law harshly. He banned drinking and gambling, forbid the construction of Hindu temples, destroyed existing Hindu temples, and brought back the unpopular tax on non-Muslims. He even had police officers make sure people prayed at the correct times each day and monitor people’s behavior. Aurangzeb also outlawed suttee, the practice of cremating a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre. His policies angered many people, and the Empire slowly began to weaken. As the number of his enemies increased, so did the rebellions. Aurangzeb tried to put down rebellion after rebellion, but each uprising would drain the treasury. By the end of his reign, more than 2 million people had died in a famine while he was using the Empire’s money to wage war.