This is the world-famous Taj Mahal, a wonder in marble, a great gift of the Mughals. The Mughal empire was a big power for two centuries and gave much to art and literature.

• The founder of the Mughal dynasty. He first ruled Kabul, a small region in Afghanistan, and wanted to attack rich India.
• He belonged to the Mongol race; the word ‘Mughal’ comes from ‘Mongol’. Babur brought the rose to India.
• He ended the Delhi Sultanate in 1526. The Rajputs and Afghans resisted strongly, but with powerful weapons he won Delhi, Agra and nearby areas in three wars. He died soon after.

Babur’s son Humayun was defeated by the Afghan chieftain Sher Shah Suri. He fled to Persia for 15 years. When Afghan rule weakened, he came back and won Delhi, but died soon.

• Humayun’s son Akbar wanted a vast empire. Some Rajput kings joined him, but Rana Pratap Simha of Mewad did not. They fought at Haldighat (Rajasthan). Rana Pratap lost but fought bravely till the end. A bronze statue of him on his horse Chetak stands at Haldighat.
• Akbar conquered Gujarat, Bengal, Kashmir, Kabul and more.
• Administration: an able, broad-minded ruler, not a despot. He won the trust of Hindus, gave them high posts, removed the jiziya and the pilgrim tax, banned cow slaughter and sati and opposed child marriage. His revenue minister Raja Todarmal made a good land revenue system.
• Religion: he built the Ibadat Khana (prayer hall) at his new capital Fatehpur Sikri and discussed with Hindu, Jaina, Buddhist, Parsi, Christian and Muslim leaders. He started a new sect, Din-e-Ilahi, with the best ideas of all religions, but few followed it.
• Arts: poets Faizi, Abul Fazl and Birbal and the singer Tansen were in his court.

Jahangir and Shah Jahan continued Akbar’s policies. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal (Agra), the Red Fort (Delhi) and beautiful palaces.

• Shah Jahan’s son, the last great Mughal emperor, ruled for 50 years. The empire grew, then declined fast.
• Religious policy: an orthodox Muslim, he stayed away from wine, gambling and music. He gave up Akbar’s liberal policy, reimposed the jiziya, banned Hindu fairs, teaching and celebrations, and ordered many temples destroyed. This caused conflicts.
• Sikh rebellion: Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed in Delhi. His son Guru Govindasimha made the Sikhs a fighting community; members are called Singh (lion) and keep the five K’s.
• Rebellions: Sikhs and Rajputs in the north and Shivaji in the Deccan fought him for a long time. He lost wealth, army and prestige; many provinces became free. Tired by the Deccan wars, he died in the Deccan.

• The emperor had all civil and military power; his judgement was final. The empire had subas (provinces), sarkars (districts) and paraganas (taluks). The kotwal kept law and order in cities. Todarmal fixed land revenue by soil fertility.
• Literature: Persian was specially supported. Historians Abul Fazl (wrote Akbar-nama), Nizamuddin and Badauni were in Akbar’s court. Prince Darashukoh translated the Bhagavadgita. Hindi grew through Bhakti saints; Tulsidas wrote Ramacharitamanas.
• Architecture: Humayun’s tomb (Delhi), the new capital Fatehpur Sikri with the Buland Darwaza (40 m, the tallest gateway in India), Moti Mahal in Agra fort, the Taj Mahal (for Mumtaz Mahal) and the Red Fort.
• Painting: a new school of fine (Chikani) painting; more than 100 painters in Akbar’s court; it peaked under Jahangir. Aurangzeb did not support it.
• Music: Akbar’s musicians were in seven groups, one performing each day; Tansen was the greatest. Aurangzeb banned music, but people kept it alive.

• The chieftains became corrupt.
• Princes fought fiercely for the throne.
• Provincial governors declared independence.
• Aurangzeb’s wish to make India an Islamic state was opposed everywhere.
• Long wars with the Sikhs, Rajputs and Marathas emptied the resources.
• The Persian invader Nadir Shah looted Delhi and took the Kohinoor diamond and Shah Jahan’s Peacock Throne. The treasury became empty.

• The Marathas rose in the Deccan against the Mughals. Shivaji founded the Maratha kingdom.
• Childhood: born in Shivner fort near Pune. His father Shahaji Bhosle served the Sultan of Vijayapura, so his mother Jijabai shaped his future with stories of heroes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and kavyas, filling him with love for Dharma and the motherland. Dadaji Kondadev and Tanaji Malasure taught him weapons. His first army had young Marathas and the strong Mahali tribesmen of the Western Ghats.
• Early adventures: at 19 he captured Torana fort of the Adil Shahis, then Raigad, Simhagad, Pratapgad and others. The angry Vijayapura Sultan sent Afzal Khan, who invited Shivaji for talks and planned to kill him. When they embraced, Afzal tried to stab him, but Shivaji killed him with tiger claws (Vyaghranakha).
• Shayista Khan: Aurangzeb sent his Deccan officer Shayista Khan, who camped in Pune for two years. Shivaji entered his house in disguise at night; Khan escaped but lost his thumb and fled.
• Raja Jai Singh: after Shivaji raided rich Surat, Aurangzeb sent Raja Jayasimha. Shivaji lost and gave up forts, went to Delhi for a treaty and was imprisoned at Agra, but he cleverly escaped. He won back his forts and raided Surat again.
• Coronation: he crowned himself at Raigad with the title Chhatrapati and called his kingdom Hindavi Swaraj. He later won Jinji, Vellore and parts of the Mysuru kingdom.

• A council of eight ministers, the Ashtapradhans; the prime minister was the Peshwa.
• Revenue: loans to farmers for seeds and cattle, irrigation, and one-third of the produce as land revenue.
• Army: infantry, cavalry, navy and artillery; very disciplined. Soldiers could not loot citizens or animals; captured women were returned to their families; mosques were not attacked; a copy of the Holy Quran found was returned with respect.
• Forts: he used guerrilla warfare (small groups making surprise attacks). Of his 240 forts, he built 111.

Personality: high morals, religious tolerance worth copying, a born leader who “fought force with force and deceit with deceit”, and a master of guerrilla warfare: an ideal ruler.