1. MUGHAL:
Islamic
Empire in
India
Delhi Sultanate  Mughal Dynasty

2. 3. Mughal
Empire
• Persian term meaning
“Mongol”
• Conquered almost all
of the Indian
subcontinent.
• NOT GHAZI!
– Babur related to Timur
and Genghis Khan
• Ruled almost 300
years.

3. “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

4. “Architect” of the Mughal Empire
Centralized Rule
His 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

5. 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

6. Policy of Universal Tolerance
With 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

7. “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

8. Akbar: Patron of the Arts
Blended Persian & Hindu ornamental traditions with
Islamic domes, arches and minarets….

9. Akbar’s first Capitol

10. Fatehpur Sikri • Imperial gardens,
• Rest-houses,
• Residences for the
nobility,
• Experimental school
to study language
acquisition in
childhood.

11. Fatehpur Sikri

12. Girls’ School & Life-size Parcheesi Court

13. Fatehpur Sikri, & Tomb of Akbar

14. Akbar’s Audience Room

17. “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.

18. 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

19. After Akbar…
• Jizya reinstated
Building under Jahangir
and Shah Jehan
Conquest under Jahangir,
Shah Jehan, Aurangzeb
Hindu temples & shrines
destroyed under Aurangzeb
()

20. Taj Mahal

21. 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!

22. Arrival of Europeans
Portuguese - Goa –
• Missions & fortified trade forts
British East India Company
– Bombay, Calcutta
– Trading posts… militarized…
colonies…
• Mughal Emperors saw
Europeans as harmless. . .

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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.