Download - Mughal
3. MughalEmpire
• Persian term meaning “Mongol”
• Conquered almost allof the Indian subcontinent.
• NOT GHAZI!– Babur related to Timur
and Genghis Khan
• Ruled almost 300years.
“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
“Architect” of the Mughal Empire
Centralized RuleHis 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
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
Policy of Universal ToleranceWith 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
“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
Akbar: Patron of the Arts
Blended Persian & Hindu ornamental traditions with Islamic domes, arches and minarets….
Fatehpur Sikri• Imperial gardens, • Rest-houses, • Residences for the
nobility, • Experimental school
to study language acquisition in childhood.
Fatehpur Sikri, & Tomb of Akbar
“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.
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
After Akbar…
• Jizya reinstated
Building under Jahangir and Shah Jehan
Conquest under Jahangir, Shah Jehan, Aurangzeb
Hindu temples & shrines destroyed under Aurangzeb ()
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!
Arrival of EuropeansPortuguese - Goa –
• Missions & fortified trade forts
British East India Company– Bombay, Calcutta
– Trading posts… militarized… colonies…
• Mughal Emperors saw Europeans as harmless. . .
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
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
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