The Great Mughal Emperors of India

8/7/2019 The Great Mughal Emperors of India

1/23

The Great Mughal

Emperors of India

1526 - 1707Link to the Taj Mahal Page

Babur

1483 -1526 -1530(47)

Humayun

1508 -1530 -1540 -1556(48)

Akbar

1542 -1556 -1605(63)

Jahangir

1569 -1605 -1627

(58)

Shah Jahan

1592 -1627 -1658 -1666


2/23


3/23

Background - The Delhi Sultanate -

1211 - 1526During the last quarter of the 1100s, Muhammad of Ghor invaded the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Qutb ud-Din, one of his generals, proclaimed himself Sultan ofDelhi and established the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, the MamlukDynasty (mamluk means "slave") in 1211. Various Moslem dynastiessucceeded the Mamluks over the years 1211 to 1526. They presided over aflowering of Moslem / Hindu arts, and were powerful enough to insulate Indiafrom the rampaging Mongol hordes in the north in the 1200s, thoughTamerlane did get through to sack Delhi in 1398. The Sultanate period cameto an end with the arival of Babur in 1526 .....

The Mughals were a Moslemdynasty which originated in central

Asia. One of the secrets of thesuccess of the greatest of the

Mughal Emperors like Akbar wastheir religious tolerance, and indeedtheir enthusiasm for embracing all

the religious groups within theirdomains.

Babur 1483 - 1526 -1530 (47)The first of the Great Mughals wasBabur ("The Tiger"), who invadedand conquered India in 1526. He

was also a diarist, an enthusiastichunter and lover of gardens.

He died in the Ram Bagh gardens inAgra, and his tomb lies in gardens

bearing his name in Kabul,Afghanistan.

Babur was the great great greatgrandson of the Mongol Warlord

Tamerlane.


4/23

Humayun 1508 - 1530 - 1540 - 1556 (48)

Born in Kabul, Humayun was theeldest of Babur's sons, and had

helped his father with the conquestof India. He ascended the throne at

Agra on December 30 1530 at theage of 23, but did not have the skills

to manage the immature empire,Afghan warlords, Hindu Rajput

princes and his own brothers. Hewould have liked nothing better than

to pursue his passions of

mathematics and astronomy, but hehad not been dealt that hand!

In 1540 he lost his empire to Afghanleader Sher Shah, but he hung in

and managed to get it back 16 yearslater in 1556. However, only six

months later he died as a result offalling down the steps of his library.Had he known all of this at the time,he might not have chosen a name

which meant "the fortunate".Humayun did, however, do one

memorable thing for posterity, andthat was to introduce Persian artists

who blended with the locals toproduce what we now know as theclassic mughal artistic tradition.

Humayun's tomb in Delhi was builtby his widow Baga Begam in 1565 -

1569. It is the earliest example inIndia of large scale Mughal

architecture - not just the buildingitself, but the large formal gardenswith water channels and fountains,

which led to the perfection of the TajMahal 70 years later.

It was here in Humayun's Tomb thatthe last Mughal Emperor, BahadurShah ZafarII(1775 - 1862 (87)), was

hunted down and taken prisoner by acertain Lieutenant Hodson followingthe Indian Mutiny in 1857, a prelude todirect rule ofIndia by the British from

1858.

Hodson was the son of an Archdeaconin the Diocese of Lichfield in Central

England. After public school,Cambridge University and the

Grenadier Guards he was tasked with

raising and operating an irregularcavalry unit which became known asHodson's Horse. He was killed and

buried at Lucknow in 1858, just a yearafter capturing Zafar. Monuments todad Hodson and Hodson of Hodson'sHorse were later put up in the south

choir aisle of Lichfield Cathedral.


5/23

Akbar 1542 - 1556 - 1605 (63)


6/23

The greatest of the Mughal Emperors,

Akbar, was born in exile andascended the throne at the age of 13after his father's short restoration.

In many ways Akbar was the Indianequivalent of Suleiman the Magnificent

(1494 - 1520 - 1566). He conqueredmassive new territories includingmuch of Rajasthan, created a long

lasting civil and military administrativesystem (called Mansabdari),

introduced standard weights andmeasures, tax structures and a

workable police force.

Akbar was married to at least sevenwives, one of them a Rajput Hindu

princess from Jaipur. He wasenormously liberal for his time,

promoting religious tolerance (andeven his own hybrid Islamic / Hindu /Christian / Zoroastrian religion calledDin - i llahi), abolishing slavery and

forbidding forced sati.Akbar collected Persian poets,painters and musicians (including

Tanzen) at his court like they weregoing out of fashion.

Finally he gave full vent to theemerging Mughal architectural style in

a new purpose built 7.5 sq kmadministrative capital at Fatehpur Sikrinear Agra (1570 - 1582). This was theleast practical of his ventures becausea lack of water forced its abandonment16 years after its completion. However

the state buildings have been welllooked after over the intervening 400+

years and can be visited today asperhaps the finest example of Mughal

architecture (after the Taj Mahal).


7/23

Akbar died in Agra in 1605 and isburied in Sikandra.


8/23

Above and below right: Fatehpur Sikri (built 1570 - 1582)


9/23


10/23

1600

The British East IndiaCompany is Born

On 31 December 1600,England's Queen Elizabeth I

(1533 - 1558 - 1603 (70)) signedthe Royal Charter which created

the British East India Company.Originally a monopoly jointstock trading company, it grew

to being the administrator of thewhole of India until, in the wake

of the rebellion of 1857, Indiawas made a Crown Colony andthe assets of the Company were

taken over by the BritishGovernment.

Jahangir 1569 - 1605 - 1627 (58)Named (again inappropriately)

"Conqueror of the World", Jahangirsmoked opium and was into the

grog, but was surprisingly effectiveat keeping things under control, and

he found time to lay out a fewgardens, including the one where he

is buried at Shahdra in Lahore.

He let the newly arrived English inon a lot of good deals (for them), buthe also had the good sense to havea woman of staggering beauty andintellect as his favourite wife (Nur

Jahan - Light of the World), and toleave a lot of the empire running toher. His tomb, in a 4 acre garden in

Lahore, contains some beautifuldecorative tiles and paintings.


11/23

Shah Jahan 1592 - 1627 - 1658 - 1666


12/23

The entry gates to the Red Fort inAgra, and an inlaid marble capital

inside


13/23

Shah Jahan ("Ruler of the World") inherited a near bankrupt empire from his

father Jahangir. He turned this around, in the process becoming the bestremembered of the Mughal builders, largely because of the Taj Mahal.

Shah Jahan initially chose to rule, like his predecessors, from the Red Fort atAgra, and it was a few miles away from here that he built the Taj Mahal as amonument to his wife, known as Mumtaz Mahal ("Ornament of the Palace" or

"Exalted of the Palace" depending on the translator), who died in 1631 after thebirth of their 14th child. The construction of the Taj Mahal was begun in 1632

and it took 20,000 labourers 17 years to complete the job. Several of thestonemasons involved had earlier been part of the construction team for the

Blue Mosque in Instanbul, designed and built by the Ottoman ImperialArchitect Mehmet Aga in 1609 -16. The Taj Mahal , a much much more

ambitious work, was built on two platforms - sandstone then marble - andconstructed in white marble with inlaid semi precious stones (see them

glinting in the early morning sun!). Believe it or not, the original idea was tohave a similar structure in black marble as Shah Jahan's tomb on the otherside of the river.

In 1638 Shah Jahan moved his capital to the Red Fort at Delhi, though it took afurther 9 years for the palace complex there to be completed. He ruled from

here until he became very sick in 1658, precipitating a succession battleamongst his sons which was won by Aurangzeb his third son (who became

first by killing his brothers).

Poor old Shah Jahan recovered, but too late to keep his throne, and he spent

the last eight years of his life locked up in the Red Fort at Agra, only being ableto glimpse the Taj Mahal in the distance through the river mists. His tomb isthere, however, unsymmetrically placed next to that of the his wife - the great

love of his life - because his own black marble Taj was never built!


14/23


15/23


16/23

Above and below: The (originally Peacock before it got swiped - see below)Throne and Audience Hall in the Red Fort in Delhi


17/23


18/23

Aurangzeb 1618 - 1658 -

1707


19/23

Aurangzeb was an intolerant religious(Muslim) zealot and kill-joy. He

forbade music, put a stop to Mughalpainting and left behind none of the

architectural wonders that earliermembers of his dynasty had

produced.

The Hindus and Sikhs fared evenworse, with suppression, destruction

of temples, the reintroduction of a polltax and public executions.

Just a generally unpleasant little manas far as most of the population were

concerned, and it is not surprising thathis 50 year reign was the beginning of

the end for the Mughal dynasty.


20/23


21/23

This photo of the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore was taken by GrandmotherParadox in 1922. The mosque, also known as The Emperor's Mosque, wasbuilt by Aurangzeb and completed in 1673. Grandmother had been told that itwas Jahangir's Tomb, which it is how it is titled in her little photo album andhow we originally described it here - our thanks to an astute paradoxplacevisitor for picking this up and letting us know.


22/23

In 1739, India was invaded by the legendary Iranian soldier NadirShah. Despite having superior numbers, the Mughal forces weredefeated by the Persians. Later, after an attempt was made on Nadir

Shah's life, the Persian forces retaliated with a bloody vengeance andsacked Delhi in the style of the Venetian led 4th Crusade's sack ofConstantinople 500 years earlier in 1203. Amongst the loot they tookwas the famous Peacock Throne of Shah Jahan.In 1756 the Nawab of Bengal, aged 27 and wanting to register hisdislike of British administration, captured Calcutta from the BritishEast India Company. Amongst other things he thoughtlesslyimprisoned 146 Brits in a 20' square airless cellar, and by the nextmorning all but 23 were dead and the "Black Hole of Calcutta" hadsealed the fates of the Nawab and indeed India.Robert Clive's forces beat the Nawab decisively at the Battle ofPlassey the next year (June 23 1757), and Clive became the firstBritish Governor of Bengal. Actually the so called (and famous)"battle" lasted only a couple of hours, if that, as large numbers of theNawab's soldiers had previously been bribed to throw away theirweapons and surrender prematurely.

FAMILY CONNECTIONSDom Paradox has a close family connection with thesetimes. His grt grt grt grt grt grandfather Samuel Hamptonwas born in Calcutta on 5 October 1735, and wascommissioned into the Bengal Army on 2 October 1759. Hebecame a Colonel and was in command of Calcutta's FortWilliam when he died on 7 May 1786. Samuel's daughterMary Sarah married John Palmer - for a time "the RichestEast India Merchant".

Read more about Samuel and Mary Hampton's life andtimes (and wealth / will) and the early days of British India.

Jawaharlal Nehru, in "The Discovery of India" (1946), pointedlydescribes Clive as having won the battle "by promoting treason andforgery", and notes that British rule in India had "an unsavourybeginning and something of that bitter taste has clung to it eversince."


23/23

Another commentator states that "Clive thought of the battle as theclimax to his career, a striking testimony to the extraordinaryshallowness of his character ..... but in one fundamental respect, thebattle of Plassey signified the state of things to come: few British

victories were achieved without the use of bribes, and few promisesmade by the British were ever kept."Anyway, after this the already fracturing Mughal Empire started tocrumble, and before too long was reduced to a symbolic presence inNorthern India until, 100 years after Plassey and in the wake of theIndian Mutiny, the British took over everything and the last MughalEmperor (Bahadur Shah Zafar II (1775 - 1862 (87)) (below - portraitc1854 in Lahore Fort - taken from the excellent book "The LastMughal" by William Dalrymple), hiding in Humayun's tomb in Delhi,was run to earth by Lieutenant Hodson .

The Great Mughal Emperors of India

Documents

Transcript of The Great Mughal Emperors of India