Chapter - Review:
- Babur, the first Mughal emperor, captured Delhi in 1526 by defeating Ibrahim Lodi in the Battle of Panipat.
- Humayun captured Delhi back in 1555.
- Akbar captured Chittor (1568), Ranthambor (1569), Gujarat, Bihar, Bengal, Kashmir, Berar Khandesh, etc. (1585-1605).
- Jahangir took campaign against Sikhs and Ahoms.
- Shah Jahan captured Ahmadnagar and Bijapur.
- Aurangzeb waged a long battle in the Deccan.
- The Mughals did not believe in the rule of primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited his father’s estate.
- They followed the custom of coparcenary inheritance or a division of the inheritance amongst all the sons.
- The Mughal rulers campaigned constantly against rulers who refused to accept their authority.
- But as the Mughals became powerful many other rulers also joined them voluntarily. The Rajputs served the Mughals voluntarily.
- Mughals gave mansab and jagirs which helped them to expand their territories.
- The main source of income available to Mughal rulers was tax on the produce of the peasantry.
- Akbar’s works are found in the book Akbarnama written by Abul Fazal.
- Akbar divided his kingdom into provinces called subas governed by a Subedar.
- Akbar’s nobles commanded large armies and had access to large amounts of revenue.
- While Akbar was at Fatehpur Sikri, he started a discussion on religion with the ulemas, Brahmanas, Jesuit priests who were Roman Catholics and Zoroastrians.
- The discussions took place in the ibadat khana.
- It led Akbar to the idea of Sulh-i-kul or universal peace.
- Shah Jahan and Jahangir also followed this principle.
- Akbar realized those religious scholars emphasized rituals and dogmas were often bigots.
- Abul Fazl, one of the Akbar’s friends and courtiers wrote a three-volume history of Akbar’s reign, titled Akbar-nama.
- The administrative and military efficiency of the Mughal Empire led to great economic and commercial prosperity.
- The Mughal emperors and their mansabdars spent a great deal of their income on salaries and goods.
- Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs.
- The main source of income to Mughal rule was the tax received on the produce of the peasantry.
- The wealthier peasantry and artisanal groups, the merchants and bankers profited in this economic world.
- Primary producers, however, lived in poverty.
- By the end of the 17th century, the authority of the Mughal Empire declined which gave rise to many independent provinces like Hyderabad and Awadh.