Pariksha SaathiLesson 10 of 10 · Ancient and Medieval Indian History
The Mughal Empire from Babur to Aurangzeb and the Rise of the Marathas
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Babur, Humayun and Sher Shah
Babur, a descendant of Timur and, through his mother, of Chengiz Khan, came from Ferghana. He defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the first battle of Panipat on 21 April 1526 using field artillery and the tulughma flanking tactic, beat Rana Sanga at Khanwa in 1527, after which he took the title Ghazi, and defeated the Afghans at the Ghaghra in 1529. He died in 1530, leaving his memoirs, the Baburnama, in Turki. Humayun lost to the Afghan Sher Shah at Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540) and regained Delhi in 1555. Sher Shah (1540-1545) issued the silver rupiya, measured land and fixed revenue at one-third of the produce, gave peasants patta and qabuliyat deeds, built sarais and rebuilt the great road from Bengal to the Indus.
Akbar
Akbar (1556-1605) came to the throne at 13 under the regent Bairam Khan, whose army defeated Hemu at the second battle of Panipat on 5 November 1556. He married a Kachhwaha princess of Amber in 1562, abolished the pilgrim tax (1563) and the jizya (1564), and took Chittor (1568), Ranthambore (1569) and Gujarat (1572-73), a victory celebrated by the Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri. At Haldighati in 1576 his general Man Singh fought Maharana Pratap. He built the Ibadat Khana (1575) for religious debates, issued the Mahzar (1579), which gave him the final word in religious disputes, and in 1582 began the Din-i-Ilahi, based on sulh-i-kul (peace with all). Abul Fazl wrote the Akbarnama and the Ain-i-Akbari.
Mansabdari and revenue
Under Akbar's mansabdari system every officer held a mansab, a rank from 10 to 10,000. The zat rank fixed personal status and pay, and the sawar rank the number of horsemen to be kept. Mansabdars were paid in cash or by jagirs, revenue assignments that were transferable and not hereditary; Jahangir added the du-aspa sih-aspa rank. Raja Todar Mal's zabt or dahsala system (1580) measured land and fixed the state's share, about one-third of the produce, in cash, using the average yield and prices of the previous ten years. The empire was divided into subas (12 in 1580, later 15), sarkars and parganas, with the subedar, diwan, faujdar and kotwal as key officials.
Jahangir and Shah Jahan
Jahangir (1605-1627) had Guru Arjan Dev executed in 1606 for helping his rebel son Khusrau, and gave great power to his wife Nur Jahan. William Hawkins (1608) and Sir Thomas Roe (1615-1619) came to his court. Mughal painting peaked under him with Ustad Mansur and Abul Hasan, and Nur Jahan built the marble tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah at Agra with pietra dura inlay. Shah Jahan (1628-1658) was the great builder: the Taj Mahal for Mumtaz Mahal, the Red Fort and Jama Masjid of Shahjahanabad in Delhi, and the Peacock Throne. In the war of succession among his sons, Aurangzeb won at Samugarh in 1658, imprisoned his father and executed Dara Shikoh, who had translated the Upanishads into Persian as Sirr-i-Akbar.
Aurangzeb and decline
Aurangzeb (1658-1707) ruled the largest Mughal empire but strained it. He reimposed the jizya in 1679, banned music at court and had Guru Tegh Bahadur executed in 1675. The Jats, the Satnamis, the Sikhs, the Rajputs of Marwar and the Marathas revolted. He spent his last 25 years in the Deccan, annexing Bijapur (1686) and Golconda (1687), and died at Ahmednagar in 1707. After him the empire declined through wars of succession, a shortage of jagirs for too many mansabdars, weak emperors, the rise of regional states and invasions: Nadir Shah carried off the Peacock Throne and the Kohinoor in 1739, and Ahmad Shah Abdali raided repeatedly.
Shivaji
Shivaji (1630-1680), son of Shahji Bhonsle and Jijabai, was born at Shivneri and began by seizing Bijapur forts such as Torna. He killed the Bijapur general Afzal Khan in 1659, raided the Mughal governor Shaista Khan at Pune in 1663 and plundered Surat in 1664. Pressed by Jai Singh, he signed the Treaty of Purandar in 1665, giving up 23 forts, and in 1666 escaped from house arrest at Aurangzeb's court in Agra. He was crowned Chhatrapati at Raigad in 1674. His council of eight ministers, the Ashtapradhan, had the Peshwa (prime minister), Amatya (finance), Mantri (records), Sachiv (correspondence), Sumant (foreign affairs), Senapati (army), Panditrao (religious affairs) and Nyayadhish (justice). He paid soldiers in cash and collected chauth, one-fourth of the revenue, and sardeshmukhi, a further one-tenth, from neighbouring lands.
The Peshwas
Sambhaji was executed by Aurangzeb in 1689, and Rajaram and then his widow Tarabai led the resistance. When Shahu, Sambhaji's son, was released in 1707, his Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath became the real power and in 1719 won from the Mughals the right to chauth and sardeshmukhi of the Deccan. Baji Rao I (1720-1740) defeated the Nizam at Palkhed in 1728 and raided Delhi in 1737. Under Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao (Nana Saheb) the Marathas reached Punjab but were crushed by Ahmad Shah Abdali at the third battle of Panipat on 14 January 1761. Maratha power then rested on a confederacy of the Peshwa at Pune, the Gaekwads of Baroda, the Holkars of Indore, the Scindias of Gwalior and the Bhonsles of Nagpur.
Key facts
- Babur's battles: Panipat I (21 April 1526, Ibrahim Lodi), Khanwa (1527, Rana Sanga), Chanderi (1528), Ghaghra (1529); he wrote the Baburnama in Turki.
- Sher Shah Suri: silver rupiya, land measured and revenue at one-third, patta and qabuliyat, sarais, the great road from Bengal to the Indus; tomb at Sasaram.
- Akbar's religious steps: pilgrim tax abolished 1563, jizya abolished 1564, Ibadat Khana 1575, Mahzar 1579, Din-i-Ilahi 1582 (sulh-i-kul).
- Panipat II (5 November 1556): Bairam Khan's army defeated Hemu; Haldighati (1576): Man Singh against Maharana Pratap.
- Mansabdari: ranks from 10 to 10,000; zat = personal rank and pay, sawar = horsemen to be kept; Jahangir added du-aspa sih-aspa.
- Dahsala or zabt (1580, Todar Mal): revenue in cash based on ten-year average yield and prices; state share about one-third.
- Englishmen at Jahangir's court: William Hawkins (1608) and Sir Thomas Roe (1615-1619); Guru Arjan Dev executed 1606.
- Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Jama Masjid (Delhi), Moti Masjid (Agra Fort) and the Peacock Throne; Dara Shikoh wrote Sirr-i-Akbar.
- Aurangzeb: jizya reimposed 1679, Guru Tegh Bahadur executed 1675, Bijapur annexed 1686, Golconda 1687, died 1707 at Ahmednagar.
- Shivaji: Afzal Khan killed 1659, Treaty of Purandar 1665 (23 forts), coronation at Raigad 1674; Ashtapradhan of eight ministers; chauth one-fourth, sardeshmukhi one-tenth.
Quick revision
Panipat I 1526, Khanwa 1527; Sher Shah rupiya, one-third revenue; Panipat II 1556; Akbar abolished jizya 1564, Ibadat Khana 1575, Din-i-Ilahi 1582; mansab 10 to 10,000, zat and sawar; dahsala 1580; Hawkins 1608, Roe 1615; Taj Mahal by Shah Jahan; Aurangzeb jizya 1679, Bijapur 1686, Golconda 1687, died 1707; Shivaji crowned 1674, Purandar 1665, Ashtapradhan, chauth and sardeshmukhi; Balaji Vishwanath 1719; Panipat III 14 January 1761.