Mughal Empire From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Mughals" redirects here. For other uses, see Mughal (disambiguation). "Moghul" redirects here. For the village in Iran, see Moghul, Iran. (Persian) ان Ìگورکان Mughal Empire Gūrkāniyān (Urdu) ہ سلطنت Ìمغل Mug1h1liyah Salmanat Flag The Mughal Empire during the reign of Aurangzeb 1700CapitalAgra (1526–1571) Fatehpur Sikri (1571–1585) Lahore (1585–1598) Agra (1598–1648) Shahjahanabad/Delhi (1648–1857)LanguagesPersian (official and court language)[1] Chagatai Turkic (only initially) Urdu (later period)ReligionIslam (1526–1582) Din-e Ilahi (1582–1605) Islam (1605–1857)GovernmentAbsolute monarchy, unitary state with federal structure Emperor[2] - 1526–1530Babur (first) - 1837–1857Bahadur Shah II (last)Historical eraEarly modern - Battle of Panipat21 April 1526 - Siege of Delhi21 September 1857Area - 1700[a]3,200,000 km² (1,235,527 sq mi)Population - 1700[a] est.150,000,000 Density46.9 /km² (121.4 /sq mi)CurrencyRupee Timurid dynasty Delhi Sultanate Suri dynasty Adil Shahi dynasty Sultanate of Bengal Deccan Sultanates Maratha Empire Durrani Empire Indian Empire Hyderabad State Nawab of Carnatic Nawab of Bengal Nawab of Awadh Kingdom of Mysore Bharatpur State Sikh Confederacy 1 Today part of Afghanistan Bangladesh India Pakistan ,ہ سلطنت Ìمغل :NepalArea source:[3] Population source:[4] The Mughal Empire (Urdu [Gūrkāniyān),[6 ,ان Ìگورکان :Mug1h1liyah Salmanat),[5] self-designated as Gurkani (Persian was a Persianate[7][8] empire extending over large parts of the Indian subcontinent and ruled by a dynasty of Chagatai-Turkic origin.[9][10][11] In the early 16th century, northern India, being then under mainly Muslim rulers,[12] fell to the superior mobility and firepower of the Mughals.[13] The resulting Mughal Empire did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule, but rather balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices[14] [15] and diverse and inclusive ruling elites,[16] leading to more systematic, centralized, and uniform rule.[17] Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar, the Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near- divine status.[16] The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture[18] and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency,[19] caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.[17] The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion,[17] resulting in greater patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture.[20] Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the Marathas, the Rajputs, and the Sikhs, gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience.[21] Expanding commerce during Mughal rule gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern and eastern India.[21] As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to control their own affairs.[22] The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the founder Babur's victory over Ibrahim Lodi in the first Battle of Panipat (1526). It reached its peak extent under Aurangzeb, and declined rapidly after his death (in 1707) under a series of ineffective rulers. The empire's collapse followed heavy losses inflicted by the smaller army of the Maratha Empire in the Deccan Wars (1680–1707),[23] which encouraged the Nawabs of Bengal, Bhopal, Oudh, Carnatic, Rampur, and the Nizam of Hyderabad to declare their independence from the Mughals.[24] Following the Third Anglo-Maratha war in 1818, the Mughal emperor became a pensioner of the Raj, and the empire, its power now limited to Delhi, lingered on until 1857, when it was effectively dissolved after the fall of Delhi during the Indian Rebellion that same year.[25] The Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turko-Mongols from modern-day Uzbekistan, who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan (through his son Chagatai Khan) and Timur. At the height of their power in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they controlled much of the Indian subcontinent, extending from Bengal in the east to Kabul & Sindh in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri basin in the south.[26] Its population at that time has been estimated as between 110 and 150 million (quarter of the world's population), over a territory of more than 3.2 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles).[4] The "classic period" of the empire started in 1556 with the ascension of Akbar the Great to the throne. Under the rule of Akbar and his son Jahangir, India enjoyed economic progress as well as religious harmony, and the monarchs were interested in local religious and cultural traditions. Akbar was a successful warrior. He also forged alliances with several Hindu Rajput kingdoms. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to Mughal dominance of northwestern India, but they were subdued by Akbar. Most Mughal emperors were Muslims. However Akbar in the latter part of his life, and Jahangir, were followers of a new religion called Deen-i-Ilahi, as recorded in historical books like Ain-e-Akbari & Dabestan-e Mazaheb.[27] The reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor, was the golden age of Mughal architecture. He erected several large monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, as well as the Moti Masjid, Agra, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, Delhi, and the Lahore Fort. The Mughal Empire reached the zenith of its territorial expanse during the reign of Aurangzeb and also started its terminal decline in his reign due to Maratha military resurgence under Shivaji Bhosale. During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to more than 1.25 million square miles, ruling over more than 150 million subjects, nearly 1/4th of the world's population, with a combined GDP of over $90 billion.[4][28] By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Moghul armies, and won over several Mughal provinces from the Deccan to Bengal, and internal dissatisfaction arose due to the weakness of the Mughal Empire's administrative and economic systems, leading to the declaration of independence by the Nawabs of Bengal, Bhopal, Oudh, Carnatic, Rampur, the Nizam of Hyderabad and Shah of Afghanistan. In 1739, the Mughals were crushingly defeated in the Battle of Karnal by the forces of Nader Shah, and their capital sacked and looted, drastically accelerating their decline. During the following century Mughal power had become severely limited and the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, had authority over only the city of Shahjahanabad. He issued a firman supporting the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and was therefore tried by the British for treason, imprisoned, exiled to Rangoon and the last remnants of the empire were taken over by the British Raj. Contents • 1 Etymology • 2 History • 3 List of Mughal emperors • 4 Influence on the Indian subcontinent • 4.1 Mughal influence on South Asian art and culture • 4.2 Urdu language • 4.3 Mughal society • 5 Science and technology • 5.1 Astronomy • 5.2 Alchemy • 5.3 Technology • 6 Gallery • 7 See also • 8 References • 9 Further reading • 9.1 Culture • 9.2 Society and economy • 9.3 Primary sources • 9.4 Older histories • 10 External links Etymology Contemporaries referred to the empire founded by Babur as the Timurid empire,[29] which reflected the heritage of his dynasty, and was the term preferred by the Mughals themselves.[30] Another name was Hindustan, which was documented in the Ain-i-Akbari, and which has been described as the closest to an official name for the empire.[31] In the west, the term "Mughal" was used for the emperor, and by extension, the empire as a whole.[32] The use of Mughal, deriving from the Arabic and Persian corruption of Mongol, and emphasising the Mongol origins of the Timurid dynasty,[33] gained currency during the nineteenth century, but remains disputed by Indologists.[34] Babur's ancestors were sharply distinguished from the classical Mongols insofar as they were oriented towards Persian rather than Turko-Mongol culture.[35] History The Mughal Empire at its zenith spanned from Afghanistan to Cape Comorin c. 1700. The Mughal Empire was founded by Babur, a Central Asian ruler who was descended from the Turko- Mongol conqueror Timur on his father's side and from Chagatai, the second son of the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan, on his mother's side.[36] Ousted from his ancestral domains in Central Asia, Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions. He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass.[36] Babur's forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526.[36] The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India.[36] The instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun, who was driven out of India and into Persia by rebels.[36] Humayun's exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing Persian cultural influence in the Mughal Empire. The restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayun's triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from a fatal accident shortly afterwards.[36] Humayun's son, Akbar, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped consolidate the Mughal Empire in India.[36] Through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari river.