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History of India From 1206 To 1707 AD
History of India From 1206 To 1707 AD
1206 TO 1707 AD
MA History
Paper - III
Bharathidasan University
Centre for Distance and Online Education
Chairman:
Dr. M. Selvam
Vice-Chancellor
Bharathidasan University
Tiruchirappalli-620 024
Tamil Nadu
Co-Chairman:
Dr. G. Gopinath
Registrar
Bharathidasan University
Tiruchirappalli-620 024
Tamil Nadu
Course Co-Ordinator:
Dr. A. Edward William Benjamin
Director-Centre for Distance and Online Education
Bharathidasan University
Tiruchirappalli-620 024
Tamil Nadu
The Syllabus is Revised from 2021-22 onwards
Reviewer
Prof. V. Panchapakesan, Asst. Professor Department of History, Periyar E.V.R College, Trichy - 620 023.
Authors
Dr Sumit Verma & Dr Shubhra Singh: Units (2, 4.2, 6.2, 7.2, 8.2-8.3, 9.0-9.1, 9.3-9.9, 10.3)
Paulomi M Jindal: Units (1.2, 1.2.3-1.2.4, 1.3.1-1.3.3)
Eesha Narang: Units (3.2-3.3, 5, 7.4, 9.2)
Vikas Publishing House: Units (1.0-1.1, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.3, 1.4-1.8, 3.0-3.1, 3.4-3.9, 4.0-4.1, 4.3-4.8, 6.0-6.1, 6.3-6.9, 7.0-7.1, 7.3, 7.5-
7.9, 8.0-8.1, 8.4-8.9, 10.0-10.2, 10.4-10.9)
Vikas Publishing House, (Units: 1.6.1, 2.6, 4.3, 7.5, 7.8, 8.6, 8.9-8.13, 9.5, 10.4.4-10.4.5)
Information contained in this book has been published by VIKAS® Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. and has
been obtained by its Authors from sources believed to be reliable and are correct to the best of their
knowledge. However, the Publisher, its Authors shall in no event be liable for any errors, omissions
or damages arising out of use of this information and specifically disclaim any implied warranties or
merchantability or fitness for any particular use.
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Introduction Unit 3: Traces the rise and fall of two significant Mughal rulers—Babur and Humayun.
Unit 4: Begins with the greatest emperor of India, Humayun’s son, Akbar and discusses
in detail the Second Battle of Panipat, Akbar’s policies; it also covers in brief the reigns
of Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.
NOTES
Unit 5: Introduces you to the Vijaynagar Empire and the rise and fall of the Bahamani
kingdom.
Unit 6: Explores the historical background of the Marathas and the causes and
consequences of the Third Battle of Panipat.
Unit 7: Familiarizes you with the economic aspects of the Mughal period, with focus
on agriculture, industry and trade.
Unit 8: Discusses the spread of Sufism in India, the development of the Bhakti
movement and the Sikh movement, including the role of Guru Nanak.
Unit 9: Describes the classification of society in Mughal times, and traces the
development of literature, art and architecture in the Mughal era.
Unit 10: Covers the administrative reforms and systems of Sher Shah Suri, the Mughal
kings and Shivaji, the Maratha ruler.
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Sources
UNIT 1 SOURCES
Structure
NOTES
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Unit Objectives
1.2 Archeological Sources
1.2.1 Epigraphy
1.2.2 Numismatic Sources
1.2.3 Monuments
1.2.4 Chronicles
1.3 Literary Sources
1.3.1 Sanskrit, Secular and Regional Language Writings
1.3.2 Archived Materials
1.3.3 Foreign Travelers’ Accounts
1.4 Summary
1.5 Key Terms
1.6 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’
1.7 Questions and Exercises
1.8 Further Reading
1.9 Learning Outcomes
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The study of history is important because our past determines the way we deal with
the present, and therefore, it dictates what answers we offer to existing problems.
The past must not be forgotten and it is essential to understand what history means,
its scope in understanding our present, and its effect on the future. Spanish philosopher
and novelist George Santayana once said, ‘Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it’.
The discipline of history can be defined as ‘the discovery, collection,
organization, and presentation of information about past events’. Historians believe
that discussions on the problems and issues of the past may lead to answers for the
problems being faced in the present.
As a field of study, history encompasses many sub-fields, such as cliometrics,
historiography and chronology amongst others. However, the most basic and essential
one of these is historiography which is the history of historical study, its methodology
and practices.
In this unit, you will study the various sources that help us trace the history of
a particular period, such as, coins, monuments, chronicles, writings, archived materials
and foreign travellers’ accounts.
1.2.1 Epigraphy
Archaeologists and historians study the remains of past civilizations. Archaeology is
the study of the remains of our past like monuments, tools, pottery, coins, weapons,
paintings and the other artefacts. Thus, archaeology provides us direct evidence from
the past, which serves as clues to reconstruct the bygone time.
Most of our information about pre-historic man, the Indus Valley people and
the other ancient civilizations is based upon the archaeological findings. Archaeology
has contributed a lot to the history of ancient India and its importance cannot be over
emphasized. Indian archaeology is a science of recent growth but it has made wonderful
progress during that brief period. The pioneer work was done by the Europeans but
the same is being carried out now by the Indians. The study of the Indian antiquities
was initiated by scholars like Sir William Jones who founded the Asiatic society of
Bengal in 1774.
A large number of researches were hampered by the ignorance of the script but
that difficulty was solved by Jones Prinsep in 1838 by his discovery of the Brahmi
script. After that discovery, the task of deciphering the inscriptions became an easy
one and a lot of work was done by historians like Fergusson, Cunningham, Dr. Rajendra
Lal Mitra, and Dr. Bhau Daji. The greatest contribution was made by General
Cunningham who was appointed in 1862 as the Archaeological Surveyor to the
Government. He devoted about half a century to the study of ancient Indian history.
By his personal investigations, he gathered a lot of information regarding the geography
of ancient India. He also collected a large number of Indian coins. Digging was also
started at places like Bodh-Gaya, Bharhut, Sanchi, Sarnath and Taxila.
Lord Curzon set up a separate Department of Archaeology and appointed Dr.
Marshall as the Director-General of Archaeology. With him were associated scholars
like Dr. Vogel, Dr. Stein, Dr. Bloch and Dr. Spooner. Under the direction and
supervision of Dr. Marshall, the ancient sites of Taxila covering an area of about 25
sq. miles were excavated and a lot of useful information was collected. The ancient
city of Pataliputra, too, was excavated by Dr. Spooner but much information could
not be extracted on account of waterlogging.
Check Your Progress
Dr. Spooner also promoted the mine laying of the Buddhist sites of Nalanda
1. Name one hybrid university and a lot of material was secured within the next two decades. In 1922,
source of historical
research. R.D. Banerjee started the same work at Mohenjo-daro in Sind and the same procedure
2. How did Europeans was followed at Harappa. The information collected from Harappa and Mohenjodaro
classify history? was fused together and Sir John Marshall wrote his monumental work on the Indus
Valley Civilization. A lot of work was done by the Hungarian scholar Aurel Stein in
Baluchistan, Kashmir and Turkestan. N. G. Mazumdar and Dr. Mackay also made
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their contribution to the already existing works on the Indus-Valley Civilization. A lot Sources
of archaeological work is being carried out at present in various parts of India.
In ancient times, the rulers engraved important messages for people on rocks,
pillars, stone walls, clay tablets and copper plates. These writings were known as
inscriptions. The study of the inscriptions is called epigraphy. A study of these NOTES
inscriptions throws light upon the language of the people, names of the rulers, the
years they ruled, their military achievements, the religious and social conditions of
the people and many other details. For example, the edicts of Asoka are a collection
of 33 inscriptions on the pillars of the Emperor Asoka of the Mauryan dynasty (269
BC to 231 BC). An edict was a formal announcement of the ruler to inform the
public. The Asokan edicts on pillars gave us information about the extent of his empire.
Regarding the inscriptions, they are of a very great value as they are engraved
upon stones and metals and they cannot be tampered with without detection.
Consequently, we can be sure while using the material from the inscriptions that they
contain what was originally written. While in the case of books, there is the possibility
of interpolations by the known and unknown authors, however, that is not the case
with these inscriptions. Their genuineness cannot be doubted. The inscriptions also
give us a correct idea of the method of writing followed at the time when they were
actually inscribed. The character of the script inscribed also enables us to fix their
approximate age. Location can also throw some valuable light. The difficulty in
deciphering the instructions has been overcome in most of the cases although the
script of the Indus Valley still remains a mystery.
If we analyse the contents of the inscriptions, they can be grouped under the
following heads—commercial, magical, religious, didactic, administrative, eulogistic,
votive or dedicative, donative, commemorative and literary. In the case of commercial
inscriptions, their specimens are found on the seals of the Indus Valley. Some of these
seals must have been used for the stamping of bales of merchandise and commodities
like potter etc. It is possible that the shorter inscriptions (on the seals) are simply the
owner’s name and longer ones include titles that the owner of the seal happens to
possess. These seals may have been used by the seafaring traders engaged in foreign
trade. It seems that Nigamas and Srenis (which were commercial organizations) had
the power of minting their coins and they must have possessed seals to be used for
such commercial purposes. Their record on the perishable materials must have
disappeared. However, there are references to the use of seals for commercial purposes
in other inscriptions, e.g. the Mandasore stone inscription of time of the Kumaragupta
and Bandhuvarman (Malwa Era 529).
Some specimens of magical inscriptions are found in the Harappan seals which
were used as amulets and contained a magical formula on them. The seals have not
been deciphered as yet and it is difficult to know their contents. However, they are
very likely to contain the names of the deities which are represented by the animals.
The animals represented on the amulets are the antelope, buffalo, Brahmi bull, elephant,
goat, hare, human figure, monkey, rhinoceros, short-horned bull and tiger. Some of
the deities represented by them are Moon, Yama, Siva, Indra, Brahma and Durga. It
is to be observed that magical formulae continued to be written on metals as well as
on birch-bark (Bhojapatra) and other materials.
Religious and didactic inscriptions deal with religious and moral matters.
Possibly, some of the seals and tablets of the Indus Valley were the objects of worship
and their use as amulets was forbidden. The inscriptions of Asoka are the best specimen
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Sources of the religious and didactic types. The edicts of Asoka are appropriately called
Dhamma-Lipi.
Asoka’s edicts are also a specimen of the administrative inscriptions. An extract
from one of his inscriptions reads thus: ‘Everywhere in my dominions, the Yuktas, the
NOTES Rajukas and the Pradesikas shall proceed on circuit every five years as well for this
purpose (for the instruction of Dhamma) as for other business.’ The Sohagaura copper
plate inscription of the third century BC is an example of pure administrative inscription.
The Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman I also contains some administrative
material. A large number of copper plate inscriptions have been found both in the
north and south and they contain many useful administrative details. Reference may
be made in this connection to the Banskhera copper plate inscription of Harsha.
The eulogistic inscriptions (Prasastis) are very important from the political point
of view. Generally, they contain an elaboration concerning the King, his military,
political and administrative system and achievements, the existence of the contemporary
states coming into conflict with him and the inter-state relations, the personal
accomplishments of the Kings, his patronage and charity and mythological or Puranic
allusions by way of comparison and similes. One great difficulty in these inscriptions
is that there is a tendency on the part of the authors to exaggerate the achievements of
their patrons.
Eulogistic inscriptions can be further subdivided into two parts viz. pure eulogy
and eulogy mixed with other types. The edicts of Asoka form a category by themselves.
The Hathigumpha inscription of Kalinga belongs to the category of pure eulogy. It
describes in detail the achievements of Kharavela in a chronological order. To the
same category belongs the Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta. The number
of inscriptions which contain eulogy mixed with other matter is very large. Practically,
in every document of a permanent nature, reference is made to the glories of the
ruling sovereign and his ancestors. Important specimens of the mixed type are to be
found in the Nasik Cave inscription of Usavadata, the Junagadh rock inscription of
Rudradaman I, the Nasik cave inscription of Gautami Balasri, the Mehrauli iron pillar
inscription of Chandra, Junagadh rock inscription of Skandagupta, the Bhitari stone
pillar inscription of Skandagupta, the Mandasor stone pillar inscription of Yasodharman,
the stone inscription of Isanvarman, the Aihole stone inscription of the time of Pulakesin
II, the Talagunda stone pillar inscription of the time of Santivarman, the Nagarjunakonda
inscriptions of Vira purusdatta, Mandasor stone inscription of the time of Kumaragupta
II and Bandhuvarman etc.
We have a large number of votive or dedicative inscriptions. It is possible that
some of the tablets found in the Indus Valley contain votive inscriptions. The Piprahwa
vase inscription records the dedication of the relic casket of Lord Buddha. The Besnagar
Garuda pillar inscription of Heliodors also belongs to this category. Many of the
dedicative inscriptions deal with the installation of images and the construction of
temples. Reference may be made in this connection to the Mandasor inscription of the
time of Kumaragupta Nand Bandhuvarman and the Bhitari pillar inscription of
Skandagupta and the Aihole Inscription of the time of Pulakesin II.
The number of donative inscriptions is quite large as many occasions offered
themselves for this purpose to the rulers and the subjects. Some of the inscriptions
refer to the donations of caves or other buildings for the residence of monks and
ascetics. Some refer to the donation of money in the form of a permanent endowment.
Out of these funds, the Brahmins and the needy were fed and lamps were lighted in
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the temples. In some inscriptions, there is a reference to the donation of lands and Sources
villages to the monasteries, educational institutions and the Brahmins.
Commemorative inscriptions record births, deaths or other important events.
The Rummindei Inscription of Asoka reads ‘King Priyadarsin, beloved of the gods,
when he had been consecrated many years, came in person and did worship. Because NOTES
here the Shakya sage, Buddha, was born, he caused a huge stone wall to be made and
a stone pillar to be erected.’ A large number of commemorative inscriptions refer to
the Silaharas of Kohlapur, the Chalukyas of Kalyani, the Rashtrakutas, the Yadavas,
etc.
Some inscriptions contain poetic compositions and dramatic works and their
purpose is primarily literary. From the Mahanirvana Stupa at Kusinagara in Uttar
Pradesh was discovered a copper plate containing 13 lines the Udana-Sutra of Buddha.
Inscriptions have been found on stone and copper plates and other materials.
The details of Asoka’s reign tell us that he got his edicts engraved on stone so that
they may last for a long time. Writings on stone were done on rocks, pillars, slabs,
pedestal or the back of images, rims and lids of vases, caskets, prisms of crystal,
walls of temples, pavements of pillars of colonnades, and caves etc.
Copper was the material which was commonly used for the writing of
inscriptions. A copper-plated inscription was called Tamrapatra, Tamrasasana,
Sasanapattra or Danapattra according to its contents. It is remarkable to note that the
land-grants were invariably inscribed on the copper plates and were handed over to
the concerned so that they may serve as title deeds.
Fa-Hien tells us that in many Buddhist monasteries he found those copper
plates which referred to the grant of land. Some of them were as old as the time of
Buddha. The discovery of Sohgaura copper plates of the Mauryan period confirms
this statement of Fa-hien. Hieun Tsang tells us that emperor Kanishka used to summon
a Buddhist council which prepared these commentaries. These were later engraved
on copper plates and kept in stone caskets which were placed in the Stupas built over
them. It is also stated that the commentaries of Sayana on the Vedas were engraved
on copper. Some specimens of the books inscribed on copper plates are to be found in
the British Museum. The use of copper for writing purposes was not very common
up to the sixth century AD but it remained quite popular for the next six centuries.
Copper plates were of different sizes and thickness. Some of them were so thin that
they could be bent easily and there were others which were very thick and heavy. The
size of a copper plate depended upon two factors, the contents of the document and
the size of the commonly used writing material in the district where the copper plate
was issued. Sometimes, a document was inscribed not on one copper plate but on
many and in that case the copper plates were fastened together by means of copper
rings. In this way, the copper plates looked like a book which would be opened easily.
Sufficient margin was left on the copper plates.
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Sources coins of these dynasties throw light on the improvement in the coin artistry of India.
Portraits and figures, Hellenistic art and dates on the coins of the western satraps of
Saurashtra are remarkable sources for reconstructing the history of this period.
The history of the Satavahanas is ascertained from the Jogalthambi hoard of
NOTES coins. The circulation of coins in gold and silver during the Gupta Empire provides a
fair idea of the economic condition during the rule of the Guptas. The principal source
of information of the Bactarian; Indo-Greeks and Indo-Parthian dynasty is numismatics
(Figure 1.1).
A study of ancient Indian coins enlightens us a great deal regarding the history of
ancient India. The Numismatic Society of India is doing a lot of useful work in this
connection. We have, at present, a large number of coins excavated from various
parts of India dealing with the different aspects of ancient Indian history. Coins are of
various metals viz. gold, silver and copper.
Coins help to build up the history of the country in many ways. They give us the
names of the kings who ruled at various times in different parts of the country. In
many cases, the coins are the only sources of information we have regarding the
existence of certain kings.
Without these coins, the very existence of those kings would have remained
unknown. Many times, the information from the coins can be used to corroborate the
evidence extracted from other sources such as the Puranas and other religious literature.
The coins also help us to fix up the chronology as they mention the year in which they
were issued. The existence of a large number of coins issued during the different
years of the reign of a king helps us to fix the exact dates for the accession and the
death of the king. Coins have helped us to fix the dates of Samudragupta. The location
of coins helps us to determine the extent of the territory of a king.
The discovery of a large number of Roman coins in India confirms the fact that
there was a brisk trade between India and the Roman Empire. That also refers to the
economic prosperity of India and the coastal activities of its people. The figures of the
various kings appear on the coins from where we can get an idea of the head-dresses
and attire of those kings. Sometimes, the hobbies or the amusements of the rulers can
also be known from studying their coins.
Coins give an indication of the prosperity (or otherwise) of a country. If people
have gold or silver coins, they are likely to be prosperous. The case is opposite if they
have copper coins alone or more of them than those of gold or silver. Sometimes, the
depreciation of coinage gives an indication that the country was passing through
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abnormal times. During the Huna invasion of India, the Gupta currency depreciated. Sources
The symbols on the Gupta coinage refer to their zeal for Hinduism. The coins give us
genuine information regarding the history of ancient India as there is no possibility of
their being tampered with. Coins were issued by the rulers and other authorities like
Srenis etc. and there is no possibility of their being issued merely to deceive people. NOTES
The earliest coins of India have only figures, devices or symbols and no legends.
Sometimes, the coins were cast in a dye but very often symbols were punched metal
pieces. These symbols varied from time to time and were punched with a view to
guarantee their genuineness and value. On account of the absence of legends on them,
much information is not available.
After the Greek invasion of India, the practice of writing the names of the kings
on the coins was started. A large number of coins were issued by the Indo-Bactrian
rulers who had under their control Punjab and the North-Western Frontier. These
coins possessed a high degree artistic excellence and ultimately had a tremendous
influence on the Indian coinage. The inscription on the Indian coin usually was the
name and the portrait of the ruler. The Greek coins refer to about 30 Greek kings and
queens who ruled in India. The classical writers refer to only four or five of them and
had these coins remained undiscovered, the names of other rulers would have remained
absolutely unknown. The coins of the Scythians and Pratiharas are of an inferior
quality but they also give us a lot of historical information. Their coins have enabled
us to have an outline of the history of their rulers and without them even the outlines
would have been missing. A branch of the Scythians settled in Gujarat and Kathiawar
issued coins in which the names of the ruling kings and their fathers were mentioned
in the Saka era. These have helped us to reconstruct the history of the Western Satraps
for more than three centuries. The Kushans also issued a large number of coins. The
existence of the Malawas, Yaudheyas and the Mitra rulers of Panchala is known only
from the coins. The coins of the Satavahanas supplement, correct and corroborate the
accounts of the Puranas. The Gupta coins also give us a lot of useful information. The
coins of Samudragupta are particularly remarkable.
The Indian coins after the Gupta period do not give us much historical
information. According to historians V.A. Smith and Rapson, the punch-marked coins
represent a private coinage. The view of Smith is that they were issued by guilds and
goldsmiths with the permission of the ruling power. The numerous obverse punches
were made by different money lenders through whose hands those coins passed. The
reverse marks were the signs of approval by the controlling authority. According to
Rapson, the obverse marks were the private marks of the money-changers and the
reverse marks denoted the locality in which the coins were issued. However, recent
researches have proved that the punch-marked coins were issued by a regular public
authority. A few of them found at Pataliputra have been ascribed by Dr. K.P. Jayaswal
to the age of Chandragupta Maurya. A large number of coins are to be found in the
government museums and municipal museums and the private collectors. A critical
study of all of them is bound to give a lot of additional evidence. Check Your Progress
5. The history of the
Satavahanas is
ascertained from
which group of
coins?
6. What do the
symbols on the
Gupta coinage
signify?
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Sources 1.2.3 Monuments
The archeological sources such as buildings and monuments also act as a source of
information. Excavations have been done at various parts of the country and these
NOTES excavations have become a rich source of material.
The Indus region was home to the largest urban civilization named as the Indus
Valley Civilization. A great part of its ruins including major cities have not been
excavated as yet. Many mysteries remain, including the origins of the people and the
script, which has not been deciphered yet.
The society was very complex and well developed. Harappa flourished between
the years 2,600–1,700 BCE. The Harappans used similar size of bricks and
standardized system of weights that were used in the cities of Mohenjo-Daro (Figure
1.2) and Dholavira.
These cities were planned meticulously and had wide streets, drainage systems, wells,
bathing platforms and reservoirs as can be seen in Figure 1.3.
There were other well developed cultures in neighboring regions of Baluchistan and
Central Asia. Material culture and skeletons found in Harappa cemetery along with
the other sites confirm the continual mélange of communities from the east as well as
the west. Harappa was settled much before what is known as the ancient Indus
civilization. Another important excavation reveals the details of the Kushanas. This is
at Taxila (Figure 1.4). This was an important city because it lay at the cross roads of
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many trade routes such as Grand Trunk Road and the Karakoram highway. Sources
NOTES
1.2.4 Chronicles
Manuscripts and court records are rich sources of written evidence. The ancient Indian
texts provide an abundant source of Indian life and heritage and also about scientific
and technical achievements. The four Vedas, the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur
Veda and the Atharva veda are amongst the original ancient texts. The other texts are
as follows:
Brahmanas
Aryankas
Upanishads
Puranas
Brahmashastras
A manuscript is a recording of information, which has been created manually (by
hand) by someone. The term is also used for information that is hand-recorded in
other ways than writing, which includes inscriptions that are chiseled upon any hard
material or carved with knife or with a stylus on a waxed tablet, which is the way
Romans used to make notes.
Manuscripts cannot be defined through their contents, since it may be an
amalgamation of writing with maps, mathematical calculations, explanatory figures
and/or illustrations. Manuscripts might be in form of scrolls or book form and can
now also be found often in codex format.
Before the woodblocks were invented, printing all the written documents in
any printing press needed to be done by hand. Historically, manuscripts were formed Check Your Progress
in the form of scrolls or books (codex, plural codices), although methods also varied
7. In which period of
from country to country. history did the
India: In India the palm-leaf manuscripts, which had a typical long and Harappa
civilization
rectangular shape were used. They were used from the ancient times till the flourish?
19th century (Figure 1.5). 8. What were the
Russia: In Russia, birch bark documents were used. characteristics of
Mohenjo-Daro
Egypt: In Egypt, papyrus was widely used for the manuscripts. cities?
Paper came to the Islamic countries through China and further spread to European
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Sources countries by 14th century, and by the middle of the 15th century, it had replaced
parchment for numerous purposes.
Some of the oldest manuscripts ever written have been preserved by the perfect
dryness methods, which were used in their Middle Eastern countries. A perfect example
NOTES of this could be the Egyptian tombs. Interestingly, some were used in mummy-
wrappings as well.
In India, manuscripts are classified under two types. They are as follows:
1. Palm-leaf manuscripts: Palm leaves were usually the most prevalent form of
writing material during the ancient Indian times. They were called by many
names such as tadapatra or panna. The leaves were collected from the palm
tree, which were widely available all over the country. Then they were dried
and cut into the required lengths. Two holes were usually made so that a string
could be passed to tie the leaves together.
2. Paper manuscripts: Paper usage came to India much later. There are no exact
dates as to when it started. Paper was made by hand using cellulose vegetable
material; the ink used for the purpose of writing was called masi or mela. This
ink was available in many colours such as red, black, silver and gold. Black
was the most used colour and the permanent black ink got prepared by mixing
the lamp soot of sesame oil with the gum of acacia.
Rainwater was also used. The pens got made from either wood or bamboo. The
papers got dipped in turmeric water. This was done to protect them from being damaged
by insects.
Brahmi script
Asoka’s rock-cut edicts are considered to be the best available inscriptions in Brahmi.
They date back to the 3rd century BC. For a long period of time, these were discoveries
taken to be the earliest Brahmi writing examples. The recent archaeological findings
in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka give evidence of the earliest use of the Brahmi script in
about 6th century BC. This dating has been affixed with the help of thermo-
luminescence dating and the radiocarbon dating methods.
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Sources
ACTIVITY
The Brahmi script is the script of origin for many Manchurian, Mongolian, Tibetian,
South-east Asian and South Asian scripts. It is thought that it is also the language of
origin for Korean Hangul. The Brahmi numeral system is ancestor to the Hindu-
Arabic numerals that are in use across the world.
The origin of Brahmi is itself clouded in mystery. To many scholars, the origin
of Brahmi lies in the old Aramaic script. For some, the origins lie in the Kharosthi
script, which was introduced by the expansion of the Achaemenid Empire in north-
western India. Rhys Davids believes that Brahmi was introduced to India by traders
from the Middle-East, who in turn, had got it from Mesopotamia.
For some scholars, it had its origin in Sri Lanka where some of the earliest
samples have been found in the trading town of Anuradhapura. Needless to say, the
evolution of the language till the time of Asoka’s rule was sufficiently advanced for
the issuing of rock edicts. Figure 1.7 shows Brahmi script on a segment of Asokan
pillar.
Pieces of pottery found in Tamil Nadu in Adichanallur give a yet earlier evidence
of Brahmi script. Radio-carbon testing on the pottery fixes its time to 6th century BC.
English scholars F. Raymond Allchin and G.R. Hunter and a few others opine that
Brahmi was of completely indigenous development, and its predecessor could have
been the Indus script.
Kharosthi script
This script is also known as Gandhari. The ancient North-West India’s Gandhara
culture used it to write Sanskrit and Gandhari languages. It was employed for writing
from 4th century BC till about 3rd century AD when it went out of use. However,
along the Silk Route, there is evidence of its use and of its being employed in the
remote stations of Niya and Khotan right up to the 7th century AD.
The origin of the Kharosthi script is also not clear with scholars divided in their
opinion. Some are of the opinion that it evolved gradually, while others think that it
was the result of a specific effort by a group of people to develop a new script. There
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Sources seems to be its specific dependency on Aramaic with changes to suit and support
sounds from the sub-continent. The importance of Kharosthi is with particular reference
to the historical importance.
Manuscripts on birch wood bark have been discovered with Buddhist texts
NOTES from the Gandharv Period. These are the oldest Buddhist mansucripts available. They
are currently in the British Library. The strip belonging to the 2-5th centuries is
preserved in Xinjiang Museum in China.
Gupta script
The Gupta script also sometimes referred to as Gupta Brahmi Script or Late Brahmi
Script was employed for sanskrit writing. It is associated with the Gupta rules which
witnessed immense prosperity and development both in science and religion. The
Gupta script itself came out of Brahmi and was further used to create the Siddham,
Sharada and Nagari scripts. These scripts in turn gave rise to many important scripts
of India, including Devanagari script (the most common script used for writing Sanskrit
since the 19th century), the Gurmukhi script for Punjabi language and the Tibetan
script.
Siddham script
Siddham script has descended from Brahmi and was in use in the Gupta period. This
script is different because each character in it represents a syllable. From this script,
it is assumed, arose Devanagari and Tibetan. While this script is no longer in use in
any significant place, it still finds usage by practitioners of Shingon Buddhists in
Japan. This script is thought to have reached Japan through a Buddhist scholar Kukai,
who had studied it in China with some Nalanda-educated scholars.
It is clear that while the practice of writing has been in existence in India for at
least five thousand years, the existence of historical records of Indian origin has been
only since the Arab invasions in 11th century. Thus, the best source of historical
records is from foreign travellers. These include Megasthenes, the Greek historian
who was the ambassador from Greece to the court of Chandragupta Maurya. His
historical work is known as Indica. Another Greek, Ptolemy, has extensively mentioned
India in his Geographia. The works of Fa-hien and Huen Tsang are well known.
Thus, from ancient India we have more historical content which was originally
passed on from generation to generation in the form of oral records till the first books,
the Vedas, were written which give some account of the social structure and practices
of those times.
Secular Literature
As the term suggests, the writings included in this section are not restricted to a
particular religious sect or social class. Rather, it focuses upon sorting out those major
texts which were composed by neutral and intellectual personalities so as to compile
an exact and a precisely transparent record of Indian culture and heritage. Therefore,
it includes writings by foreigners, biographical works of great historical persons,
historical texts and literary compositions.
The Greek, Roman, Chinese and Muslim writers and travellers have left fairly
interesting sources of information in their accounts. Amongst the Greek and Roman
writers, Strabo, Skylex, Justin, Herodotus, Curtius, Diodorus, Arrian, Plutarch,
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Ptolemy and the anonymous author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea have left Sources
interesting accounts of India. But the most popular amongst them is Indica written by
Megasthenes who lived for some time in the court of Chandragupta Maurya as an
ambassador of Seleucus. Amongst the Muslims, Sulaiman and Al Masudi left brief
records of India while Alberuni who came to India with Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni NOTES
wrote the best ever foreign account of India that this age has produced. The Chinese
travellers Fa-hien, Hiuen Tsang and I-tsing recorded their experiences in bulky volumes
which provide us with useful and relevant information. Besides these important writers
and travellers there are many other Greek, Muslim and Chinese authors whose works
play a crucial role in educating us regarding the contemporary Indian cultural beliefs.
Accounts apart, the contemporary biographical works also prove to be a source
of authentic and filtered information. The most important of these works are
Harshachairta of Banabhatta, Gaudavaho and Vikramankadeva-charita of Vakapati
and Bilhana describing the exploits of Yasovarman and Vikramaditya of the later
Chalukya dynasty, Kumarapala-charita of Jayasimha, Kumarapala-Charita of
Hemachandra, Hammir-Kavya of Nayachandra, Bhoj Prabandha by Ballal, and
Prithviraja-Vijaya by an anonymous writer. Amongst the historical writings, the most
famous is the Rajataragini, the history of Kashmir written by Kalhana. After him,
writers like Jonaraja, Srivara, Prajya Bhatta and Shuka carried on this work and
scribbled down the history of Kashmir till a few years after its conquest by the Mughal
emperor Akbar. The Gujarat chronicles like Ras-Mala, Kirti Kaumudi Hammira
Mada-Mardana, Vasanta-Vilasa, the Persian translation of Chachanama which gives
a detailed account of the Arab conquest of Sind, the Vansavalis of Nepal and Tamil
literature, particularly of the Sangam age, also throw a valuable light on the
contemporary history and culture of their respective places.
Pure literary works such as drama and poems and prose works on polity,
economy and grammar carried out by scholars in the other branches of knowledge
are also of valuable help. Among them, the most notable are Arthashastra of Kautilya,
Mohabhashya of Patanjali, Astadhyayi of Panini, Mudra-Rakshasa of Vishakhadatta,
and the Katha Sarita Sagar of Somdeva dealing with the period of the Maurays. The
Nitisara written by Kamandaka provides an insight into the polity of the Gupta rulers,
the Mahabhashya of Patanjali and the Malvikaganimitram written by Kalidas help
Check Your Progress
us in finding out the material concerning the history of the Sungas and the
Mricchakatika of Sudraka and the Das Kumara-Charita written by Dandin throw 11. Which is the first
literary source of
useful light on the contemporary socio-political and economic life. the Hindus?
Judging by the same standards, the Sangam literature written in Tamil language 12. What do the
becomes a sort of mirror reflecting the social and political realities of the Chera, the Shastras explain?
Chola and the Pandya dynasties of the far South up to 3rd century AD. 13. Which families of
language do the
However, the list is not complete. Different scholars wrote religious and secular modern Indian
languages belong
texts in Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Tamil and other languages at different points of time.
to?
Among them, many are well known and many more might have been missed. Besides, 14. What is the origin
a student of history should be cautious while going through this literature, whether of the name
religious or secular, in an effort to dig out ancient Indian history, as religious history is ‘prakrit’?
no historical chronicle and the object of biographical works, in most cases, remains 15. Which are the best
available
the glorification of the kings while the writings of the foreigners are mostly based inscriptions in
upon second-hand information. Yet, though suffering from these handicaps, the literary Brahmi?
sources certainly provide valuable help to the students of Indian history.
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Sources
1.3.2 Archived Materials
Medieval India saw probably the first recorded historical events in India. However,
as has been discussed earlier, the recording of events was not from Indian historians
NOTES but from a foreign scholar, Alberuni, who accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni in his
invasions of India. This was the period when the recording of history actually began
in a systematic manner due to active encouragement of the Muslim rulers. Babar has
left behind a very detailed memoir, Baburnama.
Another source of historical information on Northern India is ‘Prithviraj Raso’,
a ballad written by the court poet, Chand Bardai on the ruler Prithviraj Chauhan, the
last Hindu ruler before the ascension of the slave dynasty.
Prithviraj Raso cannot be considered strictly historical for a number of reasons. The
main reason is that it is a poem based on some incidents of the life of Prithviraj
Chauhan and not a historical recording. Another reason is that it has been embellished
and expanded over time to such an extent that the original text probably comprises a
small portion of the complete ballad as it exists today. Thirdly, today’s available text
is based mainly on the compilation of the seventeenth century Amar Singh, a good
many centuries after the actual occurrence. In the words of Lord Acton, it is rightly
said: ‘History to be above evasion or dispute, must stand on documents, not opinions.’
With the advent of Arab invaders, there was an infusion of historical texts and memoirs,
a majority of which had a religious bias. This is evident in the following types of text:
Sirahor (biographies)
Ansab (genealogies)
Tabaqator (sketches)
Malfuzator (memoirs)
Maghazior (war narratives)
Religious influence in such texts is mainly evident as the new religion (Islam) needed
to be explained in the context of military conquest. There were some writers like Ibn
Khaldun who were secular in their outlook, while others like Barani considered the
conquests in terms of divine planning.
Some of the more famous writings of the medieval period included the following:
Works of Ziyauddin Barani and Abdul Qadir Badaoni
Gulbadan Begum, the daughter of Babur wrote an autobiographical sketch
called the Humayunnama
Jahangir memoirs ‘Tuzuk – I – Jahangiri’.
Shah Nawaz Khan Sahamsuddaula was born at Lahore in 1669, and was originally
called AbdurRazzak al Husain. He composed the Ma-’asiru-l Umra, a biographical
dictionary of the illustrious men who flourished in Hindustan and the Deccan from
the time of Akbar. Azad Bilgrami was another historian. His actual name was Mir
Ghulam Ali Husaini Wasiti and he was born in Central India in a place called Bilgram
from where he got his name. Though he was well versed in religious works, he has
produced some important works, such as:
Yad-i-Baiza, which is a biography of many poets.
Ma asirul-KiramTarikh-i-Bilgram, which was a composition of some important
personalities in his hometown.
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Ghizlanul Hind, which was a book on Indian womanhood Sources
NOTES
Another important visitor who came to India was Abu al-Rayan Muammad ibn Amad
al-Biruni; who was born in the year 973 AD. He was a famous Persian scholar. Al-
Biruni had great interest in numerous practical and scholarly fields. These fields
comprise the modern day study in physics, geography, chemistry, history, anthropology,
astrology, medicine, theology, philosophy, sociology and mathematics.
He is arguably the first among the Muslim scholars who studied the Brahminic
traditions of India. Al-Biruni is best known for his seminal work Al-Hind, which
provides fascinating glimpses of India.
Another famous monk who visited India was Xuanzang, also called Huen-
Tsang. His period of travel was between 602 and 664 CE. He was a scholar and a
translator of various languages. He had entered Buddhist monkhood when he was
merely thirteen. Megasthenes was a Greek ethnographer who was the author of Indica.
He was born in Asia Minor, which is situated in modern day Turkey. He was an
ambassador from Seleucus I of Syria to the court of Chandragupta Maurya in
Pataliputra. He came to India before 288 BCE.
Megasthenes entered India through Pentapotamia, which is situated in present
day Punjab. He has written about the rivers of Punjab in his autobiography in great
detail. He then went on to Pataliputra. There are accounts of Megasthenes visiting
Madurai. Madurai in those times was an active city and was the capital of the Pandya
kingdom. At the beginning of his book he referred to the older Indians who know
about the prehistoric arrival of Dionysus and Hercules in India. Particularly, he
described in detail about the religions of the Indians. He mentions the devotees of
Hercules (Shiva) and Dionysus (Krishna), although there are no accounts by him on
Buddhist religion or Buddhist writings.
1.4 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have learnt that:
The study of history is important because our past determines the way we deal Check Your Progress
with the present, and therefore, it dictates what answers we offer to existing 18. Who wrote Al-Hind
problems. and what is it
about?
Historiography deals with how history itself is documented or passed down
19. From where did
through the ages. It examines various means, by which the historical source is Megasthenes enter
formed, especially the credibility of the sources that are used, the intention of India?
the historian composing the history, and the authenticity of the sources.
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Sources The historical method comprises how historians use sources to research and
write history. A sound historical method uses a number of guidelines to construct
an authentic historical account.
Sources for historical research are distinguished under three main categories:
NOTES Primary, secondary and hybrid sources.
A study of inscriptions throws light upon the language of the people, names of
the rulers, the years they ruled, their military achievements, the religious and
social conditions of the people and many other details.
Eulogistic inscriptions can be further subdivided into two parts viz. pure eulogy
and eulogy mixed with other types.
Coins in the ancient times were made of metals like gold, silver and copper and
were therefore not easily destroyed. They had the names and images of rulers
stamped upon them. They gave information such as the date of accession and
death of the ruler.
The archeological sources such as buildings and monuments also act as a source
of information. Excavations have been done at various parts of the country and
these excavations have become a rich source of material.
Manuscripts and court records are rich sources of written evidence. The ancient
Indian texts provide an abundant source of Indian life and heritage and also
about scientific, technical achievements.
It took humans a long time to develop the art of writing. Before paper was
invented, people wrote on palm leaves and on the bark of birch trees. These
written records which include both religious and secular literature are called
manuscripts.
The Vedas, the oldest recorded text of the Aryans, and the Buddhist texts are
written sources, which tell us about the past. But since these scripts are
associated with rituals or religious practices of the past, these are called religious
sources. Other examples are the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Gita and the
Puranas.
Medieval India saw probably the first recorded historical events in India.
However, as has been discussed earlier, the recording of events was not from
Indian historians but from a foreign scholar, Alberuni, who accompanied
Mahmud of Ghazni in his invasions of India. This was the period when the
recording of history actually began in a systematic manner due to active
encouragement of the Muslim rulers.
Land records and details of tax collection are another source of information
and historical data in India. The land revenue system which was used by Emperor
Akbar was inspired by the system of Sher Shah Suri. Although an enemy,
Akbar had great respect for the systems that were adopted by Sher Shah and
the kind of impact that he had left in his short reign.
Over the centuries many visitors have come to India from foreign lands and
have provided a rich source of material for understanding the culture, socio-
economic and political status of India.
Short-Answer Questions
1. What is the study of coins called? How is it useful?
2. How are Vedas divided?
3. Name the European who declared that there is a definite relation between
Sanskrit, the literary language of the Indo-Aryans and some European languages.
4. How are land records a great source of information on history of India?
5. Write short notes on primary and secondary sources of history.
6. Elaborate upon the initiatives taken by the British officials in exploring Indian
literature and history. Name a few prominent officials and their literary
contributions. What do you think was their motive behind undertaking such an
extensive task?
Long-Answer Questions
1. Describe the use of monuments as a source for studying ancient Indian history.
2. Discuss the features of Palm-leaf manuscripts and paper manuscripts.
3. Evaluate the role of chronicles in understanding the history of Ancient India.
4. Write a detailed account of various ancient religious scriptures and the
information contained in them. Compare and contrast their content with that of
the travelogues and biographical memoirs.
THE SULTANATE
NOTES
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Unit Objectives
2.2 The Khiljis
2.3 The Tughlaqs
2.4 Sayyids and Lodhis
2.5 Summary
2.6 Key Terms
2.7 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’
2.8 Questions and Exercises
2.9 Further Reading
2.10 Learning Outcomes
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Muslim rule in India saw the emergence of a number of different ruling dynasties
who ruled over the subcontinent at successive intervals. The Slave Dynasty in India
lasted from AD 1206–1290, lasting eighty-four years. This was the first Muslim
dynasty to rule India. Qutb-ud-din, Iltutmish and Balban were the three great Sultans
of the era.
There were many causes for the Muslim conquest of India but the major reason
was the spread of Islam. Muslims dominated Kabul, the Punjab, and Sind, before
intruding into India. One of the major factors that attracted the Muslim rulers was the
wealth of India. The inter-rivalry between the kingdoms in India paved the way for
their entry into India.
After the decline of the Slave dynasty, the Sultanate became even more fragile
and unstable due to the numerous revolts and internal aggression. The Khilji dynasty,
also known as the Khalji dynasty, started with the crowning of Jalaluddin Khilji by
the nobles. This was around the year AD 1290. However, within a few years he was
killed by his nephew Alauddin Khilji. The history of the dynasty is marked by brutal
wars and internal conflicts among the rulers.
The Khilji Dynasty was followed by the Tughlaq dynasty and then the Sayyeds
and the Lodhis. The commonality between all the dynasties was that they all saw a lot
of bloodshed and merciless killing of innocent people, and frequent lootings of villages
and temples.
Jalaluddin Khilji
NOTES
The first Indian ruler of the Khilji Dynasty was Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji, who ruled
from AD 1290–1294. He invaded India and built his capital in Delhi, though he never
really ruled from there. He constructed another capital at Kilughari, and ruled from
there for about six years. During the time the Mongols attacked the country, Jalaluddin
Khilji put up a brave front and through smart negotiations made the Mongols depart.
There is hardly any authentic account on the early life of Jalaluddin Khilji.
During the time of Balban, he was with the army responsible for the defense of the
frontiers. During the time of Sultan Kaikubad, he was the head of his bodyguards.
Following the win against the Mongols, Kaikubad elevated Jalaluddin to the
post of army minister. Jalaluddin soon became the leader of the Khiljis. A paralytic
attack confined Sultan Kaikubad to bed. This initiated the struggle between the Turkish
nobles and Jalaluddin for acquiring the throne. In an attempt to keep the throne to
themselves, the Turkish nobles installed Kaikubad’s infant son on the throne. Jalaluddin
Firoz, who was the commander at this time won over many of the military officials to
his side and imprisoned Kaikubad’s son.
The Turkish nobles were dead against the Khilji chiefs. Even though they tried
to free Kaikubad’s son from Jalaluddin’s hold, they did not succeed. The Turkish
chiefs then made a plan to destroy the power of the non-Turkish chiefs and murder
Jalaluddin. He, however, proved himself cleverer than all of them. He himself sat on
the throne of Delhi by murdering the minor son of Kaikubad.
Jalaluddin ascended the throne of Delhi on 13 June, AD 1290 and assumed the title of
Jalaluddin Firoz Shah. He made Kilughari his capital as he had not yet entered Delhi.
He was seventy years old at the time of his accession and had many opponents. He
had the enthusiasm of a young Sultan and hated bloodshed and wanted to rule with
love and goodwill. He did not bring about many changes in the administration. Even
so, the people of Delhi and the amirs were not happy with him. His unpopularity was
due to the following reasons:
(i) People considered him a usurper. They were not ready to condone the
ungratefulness of Jalaluddin in bringing to an end the dynasty of Balban.
(ii) The officials who were the colleagues of Jalaluddin before accession were not
prepared to consider him as their superior or as the Sultan.
(iii) Many considered him to be an Afghan and not a Turk. Both the people and the
Turkish amirs of Delhi considered royalty to be the monopoly of the Turks
only.
(iv) Jalaluddin Khilji belonged to a family about which nothing noteworthy was
known. Hence, it was difficult for the people to consider him worthy of royalty.
Initial Period of Jalaluddin’s Reign
Jalaluddin made Kilughari his capital instead of Delhi, as he did not find favour among
the people in Delhi; besides, the Turkish amirs also wanted to remove him from
power. The Sultan understood well that it will take him some time to win over the
confidence of the Turks or he might probably never attain their confidence at all. So,
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he assigned higher posts in the administration to the Khiljis only. Jalaluddin Khilji Political Developments:
The Sultanate
tried to dilute the severity of Balban’s administration. Early in his reign he understood
that since the majority of the population is Hindus, it will be ideal to adopt liberal
policies towards them. In this way, he construed that he could win over the support of
the Hindus. His liberal policies of administration led to relaxation in several rules, the NOTES
result of which was an overall disorder throughout his kingdom. Frequent revolts and
other non-civic activities were common throughout his period.
Revolts and Conquests during Jalaluddin’s reign
1. Revolt of Malik Chhajju: Malik Chhajju, the governor of Allahabad revolted.
He was the nephew of Balban. Jalaluddin’s son, Arakali Khan defeated him
near Badayun and brought him before his father. Instead of punishing him, the
Sultan pardoned him. He was awarded a generous welcome. Many of his
courtiers did not like this generosity of Jalaluddin and one of them, Ahmad
Chap, advised the Sultan to adopt a strict attitude towards him but Jalaluddin
gave no attention to his advice.
2. Generosity towards thugs and dacoits: Because of the liberal policy of
Jalaluddin Khilji, the dacoits started plundering all over Delhi. The government
officials, acting with a great severity, imprisoned many dacoits and presented
them before the Sultan. The generous Sultan let them go free after admonishing
them. Besides this, those dacoits were taken in boats to Bengal. This policy of
the Sultan greatly annoyed the amirs.
3. Siddi Maula hanged: Jalaluddin came to know that some rebellious chiefs
visited a fakir, Siddi Maula, to seek his blessings. He also learnt that they
wanted to declare Siddi Maula as the Caliph. Though Siddi Maula was innocent,
yet on the basis of his suspicion, the Sultan got him trampled under the feet of
an elephant. Other conspirators were either exiled, or transferred or their property
was confiscated.
4. Attack on Ranthambhor: In AD1290 Jalaluddin attacked Ranthambhor. The
brave Rajputs defended their fort bravely. The Turkish army too acknowledged
their bravery. Seeing no prospects of victory, Jalaluddin backed out of the battle
saying that hundreds of such forts could not be worthy of the life of a true
Muslim. Therefore, he ordered his army to retreat. Everybody opposed this
escapist attitude.
5. Attack on Malwa and Bhilsa: In AD1292, Alauddin attacked Malwa and
conquered its fort but it was probably left in the hands of the local ruler only.
He got enormous booty in plunder there. It was here that Alauddin heard stories
about the vast wealth of the powerful southern Kingdom of Devgiri which
kindled his ambition to conquer the Deccan.
6. Invasion of Mongols and their settlement in the vicinity of Delhi: The
Delhi Sultanate had to face the invasion of the Mongols also during the reign of
Jalaluddin Firoz. In AD 1292, the Mongols invaded Punjab under the leadership
of Halaku’s grandson Abdullah and the huge army advanced as far as Sunam.
The Sultan defeated them in the encounter and in the end a treaty was concluded.
The grandson of Ghenghiz Khan accepted Islam along with 4000 other Mongols.
The Sultan married one of his daughters to him. Thus, the Sultan pardoned
even the Mongols who were famous for their cruelty and disaster. This event
can be described as an example of the Sultan’s excessive generosity.
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Political Developments: 7. Conquest of Devgiri and murder of Jalaluddin: In AD 1294, Alauddin
The Sultanate
sought the Sultan’s permission and advanced towards Chanderi at the head of
about 4000 soldiers. Later on, hearing about the vast wealth and prosperity of
Devgiri he attacked Devgiri. Luckily for him, the position of the ruler of Devgiri,
NOTES Ramachandra was very weak because his son Shanker had led a big army to
the South. Ramachandra being helpless, promised to give Alauddin an enormous
amount of wealth, but meanwhile, Shankar came back from the South and
refused to agree to the terms of the treaty. So, there was fierce fighting between
the two sides in which ultimately Alauddin came out victorious.
According to Farishta, Alauddin claimed about 600 mounds of gold, thousands of
pearls, two mounds of diamonds and 1000 mounds of silver. With this enormous
booty, Alauddin came back to Kara. Feeling proud of this bravery by his nephew,
Jalaluddin went to Kara to greet him but Alauddin fraudulently got him murdered and
declared himself the Sultan. Lanepoole has described this hateful act of Alauddin as
the one of the meanest acts in history.
Alauddin Khilji
Alauddin, also known as Ali or Garshasp, was the son of a brother of Jalaluddin
named Shihabuddin Khilji. It seems that Shihabuddin had died much before the
accession of Jalaluddin because there is no mention of him during the reign of
Jalaluddin. So, his eldest son Ali had been brought up under the loving care of his
uncle Jalaluddin. Alauddin had given a good account of his personality at the time of
the forcible seizure of power by the Khiljis. At the time of the accession of Jalaluddin,
his nephew Alauddin who was also his son-in-law was appointed the head of the
ceremony or Amir-i-Tuzuk. His uncle also made him the jagirdar of Kara. Thus, the
seeds of ambition were sown in Alauddin’s mind early in life.
Barani writes that the treacherous advice of the rebels of Kara impressed him
and from the very first year of his control over the area, he started working with the
purpose of amassing wealth at a distant place. In AD 1292, he attacked Malwa and
conquered the fort of Bhilsa. In AD 1294 he suddenly attacked Devgiri. The ruler of
Devgiri, Ramchandradev was not prepared for a war; so he agreed for peace but at
that very time Ramchandra’s son Shankardev came back with his army. He attacked
Alauddin’s forces but was defeated. Now the king had to conclude peace on even
harder terms. As a result, Alauddin was able to amass wealth which made him more
ambitious of becoming the Sultan and he became anxious to ascend the throne of
Delhi. He hatched a plot to assassinate his uncle, Jalaluddin.
Accession to the Throne
Jalaluddin was very happy at the great conquest of Devgiri by his nephew and son-in-
law, Alauddin. He proceeded towards Kara to greet him and claimed a share in the
loot and did not listen to the advice of one of his courtiers, Ahmad Chap. Alauddin got
the Sultan murdered and proclaimed himself as the Sultan of Delhi. This hateful act
was performed on the 26 July AD 1296. Barani writes that the severed head of the
late Sultan was still bleeding when the canopy was raised over the head of Alauddin
and he was proclaimed as the Sultan of Delhi. In order to absolve himself of the
charge of murdering the Sultan and to consolidate his own position as the Sultan, he
generously distributed gold and silver among the soldiers and won them over to his
side.
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Problems faced by him Political Developments:
The Sultanate
In spite of Alauddin’s efforts to win over the people to his side, for some time initially
he had to face the problem of discontented chiefs and revolts by his own relatives.
There was an atmosphere of happiness in the city and the court, but anxiety prevailed NOTES
among the people. Some conditions that contributed to the general anxiety among the
people were as follows:
(i) In the North-West the Mongols were creating anxiety by sending almost annual
military expeditions.
(ii) A second element of anxiety was the presence of Gokkhars in the Punjab.
Alauddin had got his loving uncle killed, so many Jalali nobles hated Alauddin
and were annoyed with him.
(iii) Jalaluddin’s son, Arakali Khan was the Governor of Punjab, Multan and Sind.
His younger brother Ruknuddin Ibrahim and many of the Jalali nobles were with him
and could create a danger for Alauddin. Moreover, he had to deal with amirs who
were habituated to conspiring against the throne. A characteristic of the Sultanate
period was the repetition of the process of conquest with the rise of a new dynasty.
This time, Gujarat, Chittor, Ranthambhor, Deccan and Bengal had to be re-conquered.
In fact, bringing the Rajputana under one’s occupation was the criteria by which
every ruler of Delhi was assessed. None of the Muslim rulers could completely
subjugate the Rajput rulers. In Central India, the vast area of Malwa, Dhar, Ujjain
and Bundelkhand was still completely independent. The whole area of modern Bihar,
Bengal and Orissa was either under the Hindu kings or under the Muslims. Briefly,
the conquest of the whole of India was the biggest problem before the Sultan. Over
and above everything was the problem of establishing the administration on an efficient
and stable basis and big landholders were faced with peril.
Despotism of Alauddin towards the Solution of Initial Problems
To solve the problems facing him, Alauddin took some measures firmly and
despotically, some of which were as follows.
(i) Alauddin behaved very severely to put an end to his opponents. The majority
of such men who had come over to his side for gold or money were either
killed or deposed or their property was confiscated.
(ii) He put Malika Jahan, the wife of Jalaluddin, in prison and blinded two of her
sons. After this he reduced the Jalali nobles to powerlessness, confiscated their
jagirs and put the majority in prison.
(iii) He treated his rebellious relatives also very severely.
(iv) About 2000 Mongols had settled down in the vicinity of Delhi during the time
of Jalaluddin, accepting Islam. Alauddin killed them mercilessly because they
had revolted against Alauddin and were asking a big share of the plunder from
Gujarat. Alauddin punished even the wives and children of these rebels severely.
(v) He raised the position of the Sultan to the highest dignity after achieving success
over his initial problems. In doing so, he followed the theory of the famous
Sultan of the Slave dynasty, i.e., Balban. That is why his reign is usually referred
to as the Khilji military rule.
(vi) He placed restrictions on the mutual meetings and gesture ties of the amirs.
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Political Developments: (vii) To suppress the rich, he gave priority to the confiscation of property.
The Sultanate
(viii) Alauddin set up a well-organized espionage system. Because of the terror of
the spies, the nobles trembled in their houses and even in the court they talked
very slowly or through signs.
NOTES
(ix) He increased the revenue by 50 per cent by making the Khalsa land cultivable
and lessened the wealth of the people by introducing many financial reforms.
He also levied grazing tax, Zakat, customs duties, etc.
(x) Alauddin prohibited consumption of alcohol in Delhi. He gave up drinking
himself and gave severe punishments to the amirs caught consuming alcoholic
beverages. This made the life of the nobles very dry.
(xi) He enforced the military reforms very rigidly and cruelly, suppressed the officials
indulging in flouting his instructions regarding the branding of horses and writing
the descriptive roll of the soldiers and corrupt officials.
(xii) He placed many restrictions on the traders, e.g., using the prescribed measures,
charging only fixed prices from the people, etc. If any trader weighed less,
such amount was cut off from his flesh.
(xiii) Not only North India, Alauddin trampled even the Deccan with his armies. He
conquered Multan, Gujarat, Bengal, Jaisalmer, Ranthambhor, Chittor, Malwa,
Sewana, Jalor, etc.
(xiv) He accorded capital and death punishment even for trivial offences. The suits
against rebels were avenged by inflicting punishments upon their wives and
children. Though Alauddin is called a despotic king because of the severe policy
adopted by him, still it was essential under the circumstances in which he adopted
them and so most of the modern historians absolve him of the charge of excessive
severity.
Northern Conquests of Alauddin Khilji
When Alauddin ascended the throne, many problems confronted him. The most
important of them was the establishment of control over the independent kingdoms.
In fact, if Delhi Sultanate was viewed in the context of contemporary India, its future
seemed bleak. The Turkish control had been established in North India for about 90
years; still, the powers of the Sultans of Delhi had not been completely organized.
Most of northern India and the whole of the South was still outside the limit of the
Delhi Sultanate. Many destructive elements were challenging the Sultanate on all
sides. The River Ravi was the limit of the Delhi Sultanate in the West. The son of
Jalaluddin Khilji, Arakali Khan was ruling independently in Multan and Uchh.
In Gujarat, the Baghela Rajputs were exercising their way. Rajput states were
still boasting of their independence. The existence of such powerful states like Chittor
and Ranthambhor was an open challenge to the existence of the Sultanate. In Central
India, the regions of Malwa, Dhar, Ujjain, and the vast area of Bundelkhand were
free from the Muslim yoke and were enjoying complete freedom. The whole of the
area of modern Bihar, Bengal and Orissa was either under the Hindu rulers or under
Muslim rulers. A very fertile part of the country extending from Meerut to Pillibhit
and the hilly region of Kumaun was under Hindu or Muslim feudatories.
The suzerainty of Delhi had not been yet established in the regions of Oudh,
Varanasi and Meerut. Like the eastern part, the area south of the Vindhyas was engaged
in constant fighting. Though Alauddin had gained victory over Devgiri in the time of
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Jalaluddin Khilji, still the Yadavas of Devgiri had again declared themselves Political Developments:
The Sultanate
independent. The Kaktiyas of Warrangal, Hoysalas of Dawarsmundra, Cholas of Chola
Kingdom and Cheras of Kerala and Pandavas of far south had independent existence.
All these prompted Alauddin to undertake the following conquests:
1. Multan: After establishing himself firmly at Delhi, Alauddin engaged himself NOTES
in putting to end the lives of all the sons of Jalaluddin. Ruknuddin Ibrahim,
after leaving Delhi had gone to his brother Arakali Khan in Multan. Alauddin
sent two of his able commanders – Ulugu Khan and Zafar Khan for the conquest
of Multan. Both the sons of Jalaluddin (Arakali and Ruknuddin Firoz) were
blinded and Malika Jahan was imprisoned. After that Alauddin punished the
other supporters of Jalaluddin and confiscated their jagirs.
Their wives were imprisoned and the property was confiscated. The sons of
Jalaluddin were imprisoned in Hansi and the sons of Arakali Khan were killed.
2. Gujarat: The control of the Gujarat campaign was given to two trusted
commanders of Alauddin – Ulugh Khan and Nasrat Khan. Nasrat Khan
proceeded from Delhi on 24 February, AD 1299. Ulugh Khan was ordered to
proceed with his army via Sind and meet Nasrat’s army at Gujarat. On reaching
Gujarat, Ulugh Khan started the plundering campaign as usual. The beautiful
and flourishing city of Anhilwara was plundered completely. The king Karan
Baghela had to suffer defeat because he was not prepared for the fight. After
amassing a whole bounty of wealth other cities of Gujarat were also plundered
and the invaders acquired an enormous booty. The temple of Somnath, repaired
by Kumarpala was destroyed. Amir Khusuru has thus described the atrocity of
the campaign that the conquerors bent the temple of Somnath towards Qaba
Shariff.
The property of this famous temple was confiscated and the statue was
destroyed. Then the Khilji army looted the beautiful and prosperous port town
of Cambay (Khambhat) to its fill. After completely plundering and destroying
Gujarat, the army left and the rest of the victorious army came back to Delhi.
Their booty included the beautiful queen of Karan Rai named Kamlavati, many
women and men prisoners, Kafur Hazardinari, a vast amount of gold, diamonds
and valuable things. The reason for the quick victory of the Khilji army in
Gujarat is attributed by Prof. Habib and Nizami to two factors:
(a) The ruler of Gujarat, Karan Rai, was very unpopular in Gujarat.
(b) His military and civil organization was completely ineffective.
On the basis of the account of the historian Nizami, it can be said that Karan
Rai fled to the South, towards Devgiri on the advice of his ministers because
he was not prepared for the fight and probably that is why Alauddin’s army
was victorious.
3. Conquest of Ranthambhore: Ranthambhore was the bastion of the Chauhan
Rajputs. Sultan Jalaluddin had amassed much strength. The conquest of
Rajasthan was incomplete without the conquest of Ranthambhor.
In AD 1299 Alauddin sent two of his generals – Ulugh Khan and Nasrat Khan
for the battle. Then Sultan Alauddin himself proceeded towards Ranthambhor.
On his way he plundered many areas and then besieged the fort of Ranthambhor.
The siege continued for a very long time. Taking advantage of the long absence
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Political Developments: of Sultan Alauddin, his nephew Umar Khan (the Governor of Badayun) and
The Sultanate
Mangu Khan (the Governor of Oudh) revolted, but the revolt was soon
suppressed. The rebels were imprisoned and sent to Ranthambhor where they
were blinded in front of Sultan Alauddin. After continuous siege of about three
NOTES months, the Rajput women committed Jauhar. Success in Ranthambhor gave
an encouragement for engaging in the other campaigns in Rajasthan. Alauddin
himself started for the conquest of the most famous fort of Rajasthan – Chittor.
4. Chittor: For the expedition of Chittor we are dependent on the accounts of
Amir Khusru, who himself was present there. At the time of Alauddin’s
accession this was the most powerful Rajput state and presented a challenge to
Alauddin. It is said that Alauddin proceeded against Chittor due to many causes
which are as follows:
(i) The fort of Chittor was the second powerful fort after that of Ranthambhor.
The conquest of Rajasthan was incomplete without subjugating it and
probably Alauddin considered its subjugation essential for the expansion
and security of his empire.
(ii) Besides the ruler of Chittor, Ratan Singh had not permitted Alauddin to
go through his territory when the latter was proceeding towards Gujarat.
This act annoyed Alauddin.
Malik Muhammad Jayasi, a poet of the 16th century has written in his
work Padmavat (which was composed around AD 1540) that Alauddin
attacked Chittor because he wanted to take captive the beautiful queen of
Ratan Singh named Padmini. Though historians of the period, Farishta
and Haji Uddvir, mention that this was the real motive behind Alauddin’s
attack of Chittor Fort, the modern historians ignore it as a flight of fancy
of the poet. Whatever be the reason, Alauddin proceeded against Chittor
on the 28 January, AD 1303. The royal army camped in the Doab region
of the rivers Gambheri and Bairach and encircled the fort.
The Sultan himself decided to issue instructions from his camp. Amir
Khusru tells us that even after continuous fighting of two months the
royal army was unsuccessful in climbing the hillock on which the fort
was situated. Probably, direct attacking on the fort proved unsuccessful.
Eventually, because of some epidemic or famine the army guarding the
fort was rendered ineffective and Rana Ratan Singh surrendered. Some
historians agree with the account given by Jaiyasi that because of his
failure, Alauddin sent a message to Ratan Singh that if he would let
Alauddin have a glimpse of his queen, Alauddin would go back. In public
interest, Ratan Singh agreed to it and he showed Alauddin a glimpse of
Padmini in the mirror. When Ratan Singh as a sign of courtesy came to
leave Alauddin till the gate of the fort, Alauddin’s soldiers, hidden there
pounced upon him and imprisoned him. To free him, Padmini along with
700 soldiers, disguised as her friends, fought with the Khilji army but
victory accrued to Alauddin only. But now historians do not consider it as
true.
Rana Ratan Singh’s family was perhaps given shelter in safety but his
soldiers were not spared. According to Amir Khusru, about 3000
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inhabitants of Chittor were done to death. Chittor was renamed Khijrabad Political Developments:
The Sultanate
and eight year old prince Khizra Khan was appointed as its governor. His
protector was Malik Shahin ‘Naib Barbak’, who was a slave of Alauddin.
Soon after, Alauddin came back to Delhi because he had got news of a
Mongol invasion, in Chittor itself. Khizra Khan, who was a minor, could NOTES
not long retain Chittor in the face of strong resistance by the Rajputs. The
Rajputs kept on pestering the royal army. As a result, the Sultan ordered
Khizra Khan to evacuate Chittor. It was handed over to Maldev, the brother
of Jalore chief Kanhaddev Chauhan. Maldev remained loyal to the Sultan
all his life. He sent tributes regularly and joined the royal army in the
battle fields with 5000 horses and 10,000 foot soldiers.
5. Malwa: Amir Khusru says that after the conquest of the powerful states like
Ranthambhor and Chittorgarh, the Rajput kings were an evidence of the
invincibility of Turkish armies and many of them surrendered before Alauddin
without any resistance. But the Rai of Malwa, Mahalakdev abandoned this
path of obedience and got prepared to defend his kingdom against Alauddin.
By this time Alauddin had organized his revenue and financial affairs and had
reorganized his army also. Amir Khusru said that the kingdom of Malwa was
so vast that an intelligent person also could not limit its frontiers. Its Prime
Minister, Kaka Pradhan was even more powerful than the king. He had about
30,000 – 40,000 cavalry men and innumerable infantrymen under him. Still an
army of the Delhi Sultanate only about 10,000 strong succeeded in defeating
him. His horse got caught in the mud. He suffered unbearable arrow shots and
died, his head being sent to the royal court. After the fall of Mandu, Alauddin’s
army occupied Ujjain, Dhara and Chanderi as well. Ain-ul-Malik was appointed
the governor of Malwa by Alauddin.
6. Sewana: After the conquest of Malwa, Alauddin dispatched his capable general
Malik Naib Kafur towards the South and himself proceeded against Sewana.
It was at that time ruled by a Paramara Rajput chief, Sitaldev. The royal army
started on 3 July, AD 1309 from Delhi. With great difficulty, it succeeded in
crossing the walls of the fort. Sitaldev tried to run away to Jalore but he was
caught by a section of the army and was killed on 10 November, AD 1305. The
administration of Sewana was entrusted to Kamaluddin Gurg and Alauddin
returned to Delhi.
7. Jalore: It is certain that Alauddin’s army conquered Jalore also though no
contemporary mention of it is available. According to Khusru, Alauddin had
ordered Kamaluddin to suppress the disobedient rulers. Probably this account
of Tarikh-I-Mubarak-Shahi that Kamaluddin conquered Jalore is correct and
its king was also killed the same year as that of Sewana, Sitaldev. Kanhardev
was victorious at first but when the army was sent the second time under
Kamaluddin, Jalore came under its occupation.
With the surrender of Jalore, all the states of Rajputana were taken under control one
by one. Jaisalmer, Ranthambhore, Chittor, Sewana and Jalore, and the adjoining
principalities of Bundi, Mandor and Tonk all had been conquered. It seems that even
Jodhpur (Marwar) was under the Sultanate, though there is not much evidence of it
being subjugated.
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Political Developments:
The Sultanate
ACTIVITY
NOTES Find out where in India, Kilughari — the capital of the Khilji dynasty — is
today and list the existing monuments from that dynasty.
Self-Instructional
40 Material
the Khiljis, the next dynasty to ascend the throne of Delhi was that of the Tughlaqs, or Political Developments:
The Sultanate
the Qaraunah Turks, who must have been the most assiduous builders of all time,
since at least three different kings of the dynasty built a city each in Delhi – Tughlaqabad,
Jahanpanah and Ferozabad.
NOTES
Early Reign of Ghazi Malik
Ghazi Malik stripped his court of all frippery and frivolity and made it more austere
than it had ever been except perhaps at the time of Balban. He restored all land that
had been taken away by Alauddin Khilji but only after he had made secret inquiries
into the claims and all unlawful grants had been filtered out. He tried to recover the
treasure squandered by Khusro Shah and succeeded in some measure. Barani tells us
that the king believed that people should ‘be taxed so that they are not blinded with
wealth and so become discontented and rebellious; nor, on the other hand, be so
reduced to poverty and destitution as to be unable to pursue their daily bread.’
Under Ghazi, the judicial, police and postal arrangements improved and became
very efficient. Despite the fact that he was forever busy with war campaigns, he
actually found time to think about social welfare schemes.
Ghazi’s Defeat
Yet Ghazi Malik’s biggest defeat was to come not at the hands of some great conqueror,
but at those of a mystic—the great and popular Sufi dervish Shaikh Nizam-ud-din
Auliya. Throughout his reign Ghazi Malik remained at loggerheads with the Shaikh
and although he repeatedly tried to curb the saint’s power and hold over people,
nothing came of it. In fact, many believed at that time that it only helped bring about
Ghazi’s untimely demise.
There are lots of stories about Auliya and Ghazi’s war of words. One of their
earliest skirmishes occurred when Ghazi —better known as Ghiyas-uddin Tughlaq—
was building the capital city of Tuqhlaqabad. As it happened, the Auliya was building
his baoli (step well) at the same time. The workers of the Sultan offered to help the
saint. When Ghazi came to know of this, he put a stop to it instantly and told the
workers to stick to what they were being paid for.
Miffed at this, the dervish predicted that the Sultan’s fort would be either
populated by nomads or abandoned. Curiously, this actually came to pass. Ghiyas-
ud-din was killed by his own son Muhammad Tughlaq (which incidentally had also
been predicted by Auliya, who was rather fond of Muhammad) after only five years
of occupying the fort. Muhammad abandoned Tughlaqabad, preferring the old city of
Delhi to it. For a long time thereafter, Ghazi’s city remained the hangout for nomads
and it now stands in ruins.
Administration under Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq
After the chaos that ensued following the death of Alauddin, Ghiyas-ud-din emerged
as the choice amongst the nobles for the role of Sultan. Ghiyas-ud-din took charge of
the Sultanate during a time when it once again was faced with crisis, its authority in
the outlying provinces had been extinguished and the administrative system had
disintegrated. Although he was fairly old, he had a strong character and was an able
Sultan.
After becoming Sultan, Ghiyas-ud-din set about the important task of putting
the administration back on track. The post-Alauddin Sultans had drained the state’s
Self-Instructional
Material 41
Political Developments: finances and the state treasury was near empty. Ghiyas-ud-din implemented a series
The Sultanate
of measures to control expenditure; for instance, he made his court one of the most
austere of the Sultanate period. He appointed new governors for the province, and cut
taxes to only one-tenth of the gross produce.
NOTES He encouraged the development of agriculture and provided many facilities
such as canals for irrigation and forts to protect the peasants from invaders. Ghiyas-
ud-din ensured that there was an effective taxation system, one that would ensure the
survival of his government. People were taxed in such a way that they would not be
so rich that they might become ambitious nor so poor that they would be discontented
and revolt. Ghiyas-ud-din was a firm king, and continued the concept of military
strength as a source of power. He was thus able to re-assert the Sultanate’s authority.
Ghiyas-ud-din eventually died in AD1325, when a pavilion built by his son collapsed.
There are conflicting accounts on whether this was an accident or a conspiracy by his
son to usurp power, so it remains a bit of a mystery. After his death his son Muhammed
bin Tughlaq proclaimed himself the Sultan.
Reforms of Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Muhammad bin Tughlaq tried to bring about many reforms but most of his plans
failed because he was not practical in his thinking. Some of his plans or experiments
that failed are the following:
Taxation in Doab (AD 1326)
Doab is the fertile land between the rivers Ganga and Yamuna. Ghiyas-ud-din had
reduced the land revenue to one-tenth, but Muhammed tried to raise the revenue once
again.
Unfortunately, that very year the rains failed and the region came under the
grip of a famine. The farmers therefore could not pay the taxes. Many of the farmers
were caught and punished while others left their lands and ran off to the jungles to
escape the tyranny of the Sultan’s officers. When Muhammed realized this, he ordered
his officers to spare the farmers and sanctioned financial help to them. But it was too
late as the families of many farmers had already died of starvation and lands had also
become barren.
Transfer of Capital (AD 1326–1327)
In AD 1326, the Sultan decided to shift his capital to Devagiri (renamed Daulatabad),
because he felt that Daulatabad was more centrally located than Delhi. Since the
Empire included many portions of the Deccan, he thought it would be easier to control
the southern territories. The plan as such was not faulty because Daulatabad was
equidistant from the other parts of the country.
But his folly lay in the manner he set about to execute his plan. Instead of
shifting only his government, he ordered the entire population of Delhi to move to
Daulatabad. Roads were built and food and shelter provided to all. But the people of
Delhi were not happy and they looked upon this as an exile. Many people died on the
way. Once the Sultan settled in Daulatabad, the Mongols began to renew their raids.
The Sultan now realized his folly and ordered the capital to be shifted back to Delhi.
Token Currency (AD 1330)
The failure of the earlier plans of Muhammad bin Tughluq caused a great loss to the
treasury. Being badly in need of money, he tried another novel experiment. This was
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the introduction of token (copper) currency. He ordered that copper coins should be Political Developments:
The Sultanate
considered equal in value to gold and silver coins. This experiment also failed because
every goldsmith started minting fake coins at home. People started paying their taxes
in these coins. Foreign traders refused to accept these fake coins and as a result, there
was a huge loss of revenue. NOTES
He then announced that all the copper coins could be exchanged with the gold
and silver coins. People came out with their copper coins and took away the gold and
silver ones. This resulted in a great loss to the government.
Reign of Mohammad Bin Tughlaq
Three days after the death of Gayasuddin Tughlaq, Prince Juna Khan (Ulugh Khan)
declared himself the Sultan of Delhi under the title Muhammad Bin Tughlaq (Figure
2.1). After a period of 40 days, one morning he decided to celebrate his coronation in
Delhi. According to medieval writer Imami, he assured the people that he would
follow the footsteps of his father. He distributed gold and silver coins in the public
and many titles among the Amirs. Muhammad Tughlaq’s reign started and ended
with many changes and revolts.
Self-Instructional
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Political Developments: 2. Use of token currency
The Sultanate
After the transfer of the capital, the second scheme of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq was
the introduction of token currency.
NOTES Causes
(i) According to Barani, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq was a spendthrift. When he
wanted to conquer many regions, he was forced to issue copper currency.
Though this statement of Barani cannot be accepted in its entirety, it would
have to be conceded that the Sultan planned to conquer Khurasan and he had
collected a vast army and had given it advance salary for one year. This statement
of Barani is devoid of any truth that the royal treasury had become absolutely
empty because when the people cheated the government by manufacturing
fake coins, the Sultan had given them gold and silver coins from the royal
treasury only in return for those fake coins.
(ii) According to Nissen, the Sultan planned to issue a token currency because of a
scarcity of silver throughout the world, including India. So, silver could neither
be procured from the foreign countries, nor from the mines of Bengal. That is
why the Sultan issued copper coins.
(iii) According to some scholars, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq issued copper coins
because the Mongol Emperors of China had issued paper currency in China in
the 13th century and the Persian Emperor Gaikhadu had made a similar
experiment in AD 1294. Muhammad Tughlaq also wanted to demonstrate his
originality by issuing such currency.
Under this scheme, Muhammad Tughlaq introduced certain reforms in the already
prevalent currency and also issued some new coins (metallic and of certain value).
Between AD 1329 and 1330, Muhammad Tughlaq issued copper coins. He also
issued a gold coin weighing 201.6 grains, which Ibn Battuta called the Dinar. To
make daily transaction easier, the Sultan also issued the Dokani or the Sultan’s coin
(Figure 2.2). The Sultan declared that the value of the bronze-copper mixed coin was
equivalent to that of the silver coins and expected that people would accept them as
such.
Consequences
(i) According to Barani, this scheme of Muhammad Tughlaq also proved very
disadvantageous to the empire. Because of the prevalence of the token currency,
the house of the Hindus virtually became a minting agency. The inhabitants
minted in a very large number of those copper coins. They paid the revenue
with these very coins and also bought things like elaborate clothes, arms and
Self-Instructional
other beautiful things. If the statement of Barani is correct, it would just be
48 Material
proper to look into the cause of it. According to Edward Thomas, ‘It was due to Political Developments:
The Sultanate
the fact that the officials in the royal mint used those very instruments which
were used by the ordinary craftsmen and used a metal which could easily be
available everywhere.’
(ii) According to Prof. Habib, ‘The experiment of the Sultan in issuing token NOTES
currency failed because the people did not co-operate with him.’ They not only
minted fake coins, but also hoarded the silver coins and tried to give token
currency for buying any item with the result that the silver coins went out of
circulation.
(iii) According to Prof. Habib, ‘The token currency had an adverse effect even on
the foreign trade and the foreign merchants stopped bringing their merchandise
to India.’
(iv) This plan also adversely affected the royal treasury. The Sultan had to exchange
these fake coins with real silver and gold coins because of which the royal
treasury reached a deplorable state.
3. Expedition to Khurasan
According to Barani, ‘Sultan Muhammad amassed a huge army of about 3,70,000
horsemen so as to dispatch it for the conquest of Khurashan. In the army, there were
also some Rajput soldiers of Doab and some Mongols. The soldiers were given advance
cash salary for one year and some of them were accorded Iqtas (land grants) as well.
The officials were given huge sums to buy arms etc.’
Historians suggest that the Sultan decided on the Khurasan expedition after his
friendship with Tarmashirin, the ruler of Transoxiana. It is said that the triple entente
lead an expedition against Abu Saiyyad of Khurasan but the expedition could not be
dispatched due to a valid reason. There was a revolt against Tarmashirin and he was
deposed. Neither Ibn Battuta nor any other historian mentions the Khurasan expedition.
Consequences
The army prepared for the Khurashan expedition posed this problem before the Sultan
as to what should be done about them. If he disbanded it all at once, it could have led
to problems of law and order. So, the Sultan sent an expedition to Karacheel and a
part of the army was sent there. According to modern historians like Gardner Brown,
Habib and Nizami, the area of Kulu in Central Himalayan Region in the Kangra
district of Kumayun Garwal was called Karacheel. But this expedition of the Sultan
was also a failure. An army trained for fighting in the plains could not face the problems
of warfare in the hilly areas, including climbing, etc. The rainy season brought with it
diseases. Local people attacked the army of Sultan. The rest of the army was disbanded.
This led to spread of unemployment amongst the soldiers and the groups discontented
with the Sultan. Like the Ulemas, Tughlaq cannot be held fully responsible for the
failure of these expeditions but it will have to be considered that he had to face very
grave consequences. The government not only suffered financial loss, and also lost its
popularity among the people.
4. Increase of land revenue in the Doab
The major plans of Sultans mentioned by Barani include the increasing land revenue
of the Doab. The Sultan increased the land revenue in the Doab to earn 50 per cent of
the produce. Though increasing the revenue cannot be said to be a unique measure,
the method used by the Sultan to affect them made the whole scheme ridiculous.
Self-Instructional
Material 49
Political Developments: Causes
The Sultanate
According to Ishwari Prasad, Muhammad Tughlaq increased the revenue due to two
reasons.
NOTES (i) The Sultan needed money to implement his fantastic schemes. The land of the
Doab was fertile and the tenants could afford to pay increased revenue.
(ii) The people of the Doab were rebellious and so the Sultan wanted to punish
them.
Nature
Historians are not unanimous about the increase in the land revenue. According to
Barani, the revenue was increased about 10 to 20 per cent in the Doab whereas Elliot
while translating the book, Tarikh-I-Firoz Shahi, of Barani has shown this increase to
be 5 to 10 per cent. Dr. Ishwari Prashad is of the opinion that the taxes were increased
by more than all these proportions in Doab. The book Tarikh-I-Mubarakshai mentions
the increases as 20 fold and it included Garhi (house tax) and Charhi (Pasture tax).
Consequences
On the instructions of the Sultan, the land revenue officials collected the land revenue
very rigidly. The poor peasants got frightened and the rich landlords refused to pay
the revenue. At many places, the store houses were put on rent. Zia-ud-din rightly
mentions that the imposition ruined the peasants. Those who were rich became
rebellious; land was laid to waste and the progress of agriculture was arrested. Grain
became expensive, rain scarce and so famine became widespread. This continued for
years and thousands of people died. The taxes were collected so rigidly that people
became poor and had to beg for food. This undoubtedly contributed to the unpopularity
of the Sultan and discontentment against him increased.
Firoz Shah Tughlaq
Firoz Shah Tughlaq was a cousin of Muhammad Tughlaq. He was born in AD 1300.
His father was Sipahsalar Naib and mother was Bibi Naila (or Nayala). Firoz Shah
Tughlaq was a polite natured, liberal and religious-minded person. He behaved very
politely with his ministers, Ulemas, Amirs, etc. and honoured them greatly. He started
many programmes and opened many departments for the poor people, old persons,
slaves and orphans. Hearing the cries of weeping women and children, he became
ready for talks with the rebels of Bengal. In fact, it was difficult for him to behave
harshly with anyone. But he could resort to very harsh measures as well for the
propagation of Islam. Having no issue of his own, Muhammad Tughlaq loved Firoz
dearly and that is why, after Muhammad’s death at Thatta (Sind), the Amirs declared
Firoz Tughlaq to be the Sultan of Delhi. He ascended the throne two days after
Muhammad’s death. At the time of his accession, circumstances were not favourable
for him. Because of the strange plans of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, many regions had
become independent e.g., whole of Deccan, Sind, Gujarat and Bengal and the
administration of the rest of the country was in disorder.
Because of many terrible famines in many areas, they had been desolate and
misery and discontent was rife among the people. The Ulemas and Amirs were also
discontent because of the hostile policies of Muhammad Tughlaq. To deal with these
problems, it was imperative for Firoz Tughlaq that he should please the Ulemas and
Amirs and try to win over those areas which, after being conquered, could easily be
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maintained as a part of the empire. So, he started his administrative campaigns in the Political Developments:
The Sultanate
two spheres of the internal reforms and the battlefield.
As a conqueror
Firoz was not a very able ruler or commander. He led two expeditions against Bengal NOTES
but was unsuccessful both times. Thus, Bengal became free of the hold of the Sultanate.
Firoz led campaigns against the rulers of Jaznagar (Orissa) and Nagarkot (Kangra).
He did not try to establish his control over these areas, though he destroyed the temples
of these places and amassed enough wealth through loot and plunder. His longest
expeditions were led in regard to the suppression of a rebellion in Sind. After two and
a half years of labour, Sultan’s army proved successful but the governor or Jam of
Sind took advantage of the religious weakness of the Sultan and appealed for arbitration
to the Su of Uchh-Sayyid Hussain. The clauses of agreement went in favour of the
Jam to some extent. The administration of lower Sind was given to the son and brother
of the Jam and in return they gave 4 lakh Tankas to him and promised to give more
such gift even in future but the control of Tughlaq administration over Sind slowly
disappeared.
As a religious man
Firoz was a rigid Sunni Muslim and follower of Shariat, the book of Muslim Law. He
tried to win the support of the religious leaders by trying to proclaim himself as a true
Muslim ruler and his empire as a truly Islamic empire. He was very kind towards the
Muslims and did not want to shed their blood in vain. He offered namaz regularly five
times a day and kept Rozas in the month of Ramzan. But his attitude was of a strict
hostility towards the Hindus and Shia Muslims. He desecrated the temples and statues.
His religious fanaticism proved very harmful for the Tughlaq dynasty and the Delhi
Sultanate.
As a ruler
Firoz was a good but not a great ruler. He was good because he abolished all the
unnecessary and unjust taxes, gave encouragement to agriculture, increased agricultural
facilities, helped the unhappy, exempted the government loans from payment, tried to
bring an end to unemployment, gave financial help to Muslim girls, windows and
orphans, carried out many revisions in justice and penal code, extended patronage to
literature and art. Through his currency reforms, he made transactions easy and also
gave shelter to 1,80,000 slaves. His reign had peace and development. But he was
not a great ruler; since, he followed a policy of intolerance towards the Hindus and
the Shias. He did not try to bring about a political unity in the country by conquering
the states of Deccan. He organized the army on the basis of feudalism, which was not
good for the Sultanate.
He appointed the army and other officials on the basis of their family background
and heredity instead of merit and physical ability, which soon had a bad effect on the
administrative system. He renewed the Jagir system. This resulted in financial loss to
the state and increased oppression on the peasants. To fulfill his fancy of keeping a
large number of slaves, he placed a big burden on the royal treasury. Later on these
very slaves started interfering in politics and became a factor in the downfall of the
Tughlaq dynasty. His policies led to corruption in the country, insubordination by the
Amirs and laxness in the army. He did not solve the problem of succession and that is
why when he died in AD 1380, grave political and administrative problems arose.
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Political Developments: In essence, then, Firoz Shah Tughlaq was an able ruler but not a great leader.
The Sultanate
He tried to care for the welfare of the people as far as he could not follow such policy
amongst all classes so that they remain satisfied and grateful to the state. He tried to
make the Ulemas, Amirs, traders, soldiers, peasants, etc. happy. Because of his
NOTES constructive activities, there were no famines in the country; however, he cannot be
called a great ruler due to his policy of religious fanaticism.
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After the second campaign against Bengal, Firoz Shah, instead of returning to Political Developments:
The Sultanate
Delhi, proceeded against Jajnagar via Bihar and to please the Ulemas, inflicted a
heavy loss on the temple of Jagannath. According to some scholars, the royal army
put to death a large number of people who had sought refuge in the island. The
number described at above one lakh might have been exaggerated, but it was true NOTES
that he carried on a massacre there and also forced petty Hindu Rajas to acknowledge
his sovereignty.
2. Invasions of Nagarkot or Kangra (1361)
Muhammad Tughlaq had conquered Kangra in AD 1331, but the new Rai of the
Kingdom had stopped paying tribute to Firoz Tughlaq. Perhaps, Firoz invaded
Nagarkot primarily to teach a lesson of loyalty to the new Rai. But according to Dr.
Ishwari Prasad, he wanted to conquer the Jawalamukhi temple and that was the purpose
behind his invasion of Nagarkot. It took him about six months to subjugate the fort
after which the Rai was forced to acknowledge the Sultan’s suzerainty and promised
to pay an annual tribute to the Sultan. Probably, Firoz destroyed the Jawalamukhi
temple of the place. According to Farishta, he broke the idols of the temples, mixed
their pieces in the beef, put them in the bags and hung it along the necks of the
Brahmins. The main idol was sent to Medina as a mark of victory. This campaign led
to one good result from the cultural viewpoint. Firoz Tughlaq came back to Delhi
with about 300 old Sanskrit documents, which might have been translated into Persian
leading to a useful cultural exchange.
3. Invasion of Thatta or Sind (AD 1362)
Sultan Firoz Tughlaq decided to go for a campaign against Thatta in AD 1362 due to
many causes. Firstly, Muhammad Tughlaq had breathed his last trying to suppress a
revolt at Thatta. After his death, the Sindhi Amirs had plundered the total camp. Firoz
had been a witness to all this and he desired to take revenge from the Amirs of Sind.
Secondly, the representatives of the Sultan in Sind, Aini-Mulk Maharu complained
that the Jam of Sind was aiding the Mongols. Firoz Tughlaq decided to launch an
attack on Sind. According to historians, this was the most ill-planned campaign in the
entire history of Sultanate. The Jam of Sind inflicted heavy losses on the royal army.
The Sultan had to retreat to Gujarat because of the effective defensive measures
taken by the Sindhis and the spread of an epidemic in the royal army, which forced
about 75 per cent cavalry to seek refuge in Gujarat. Unfortunately, his army lost the
way and got caught in the Rann of Kutch from where it could emerge after many
months. Another army was dispatched from Delhi against Sind and this time the Jam
acknowledged the sovereignty of the Sultan and undertook to send an annual tribute.
Firoz and his army returned to Delhi after a long absence of about two and a half
years. The loyalty of his Wazir Khan-i-Jahan is commendable because he held out
false promises to the Amirs that the Sultan was gaining one victory after another in
Sind. According to Dr. Ishwari Prasad, ‘The expedition against Sind is a very interesting
event of the reign of Firoz Tughlaq – an example of folly and diplomatic ignorance of
the Sultan.’
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Political Developments: Bahlol Lodhi undertook many military expeditions. Some of the states against which
The Sultanate
he launched the expeditions were as follows:
Mewar
NOTES Sambhal
Rapri
Bhogaon
Gwalior
He forced the chiefs of these states to offer submission and pay annual tributes to
him. A remarkable success of Bahlol Lodhi was his conquest of the city of Jaunpur.
Mahmud Shah tried to attack Delhi in the very first year of the reign of Bahlol Lodhi
but he was ultimately defeated. He annexed the kingdom of Jaunpur from Bahlol
Lodhi and appointed, Barbak Shah, as its ruler. The conquest of Jaunpur proved his
military competency and added to his resources and raised his prestige among the
rulers. It enabled him to compel the chiefs of Kalpi, Dholpur and Alipur to acknowledge
his suzerainty.
Bahlol Lodhi proved himself to be a capable ruler. When he had ascended the
throne, the territory of the Sultanate extended only up to Palam. But, by the time he
reached the ripe age of 80 years, his empire extended from the frontiers of Bihar and
included important cities like Baran, Sambhal, Rapri, etc.
A part of Rajasthan was also under him and the rulers of Gwalior, Dholpur and
Bari paid tribute to him. Prior to his accession to the throne his weak predecessors
had succeeded only in destroying the power and prestige of the Delhi Sultanate. Bahlol
Lodhi on the other hand proved to be a capable commander. He was a courageous
soldier and a successful general. He was a realist but cunning as well.
He believed in the saying that the end justified the means and therefore did not
hesitate to recourse to treachery or fraud when necessary to achieve his objective.
Bahlol Lodhi was diplomatic. He possessed common sense and was well aware of
his limitations and circumstances. He was a hard working, courageous, honest, kind-
hearted and a religious minded person. It is said that never a beggar or a poor was
turned away from his gate empty-handed. He was friendly with everybody and always
respected scholars and religious persons. He was intelligent and witty. Bahlol Lodhi
practiced the principles of Islam in his personal life but pursued a tolerant policy
towards his Hindu subjects as well.
Bahlol Lodhi achieved much for his dynasty and prepared the way further for his son
and successor, Sikandar Lodhi. Some important points that should be remembered
about the Lodhi dynasty are as follows:
Bahlol Lodhi, the first ruler of the Lodhi dynasty, was one of the Afghans who
established himself in Punjab after the invasion of Timur.
He founded the Lodhi dynasty in 1451.
Bahlol Lodhi was a strong and brave ruler. He tried to restore the glory of
Delhi by conquering territories around Delhi and after continuous war for 26
years; he succeeded in extending his authority over Jaunpur, Rewail, Itawah,
Mewar, Sambhal, Gwalior etc.
He was a kind and generous ruler who was always prepared to help his subjects.
Though he was himself illiterate, he extended his patronage to art and learning.
Self-Instructional He died in 1488.
62 Material
Sikandar Lodhi was the son of Bahlol Lodhi who conquered Bihar and Western Political Developments:
The Sultanate
Bengal. He shifted his capital from Delhi to Agra.
Sikandar was a fanatical Muslim and he broke the sacred images of the
Jwalamukhi Temple at Nagarkot and ordered the temples of Mathura to be
destroyed. NOTES
He took keen interest in the development of agriculture. He introduced the
Gaz-i-Sikandari of 32 digits for measuring cultivated fields.
He was a staunch Sunni and a Muslim fanatic. He lacked religious tolerance.
In the name of religion, he perpetuated untold cruelties on the Hindus.
Ibrahim Lodhi was the last king of the Lodhi dynasty and the last Sultan of
Delhi. He was the son of Sikandar Lodhi.
Ibrahim Lodhi asserted the absolute power of the Sultan.
No Sultan of India except Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi was killed on the battlefield.
End of the Lodhi Dynasty
The legacy of the Sultanate, the medieval economy and new connections with Europe,
helped to create an imperial state in North India. The Mughal empire was the end
product of a millennium of Muslim conquests, colonization and state building in the
Indian subcontinent. The dynasty and the empire which the first two dynasties founded
became indisputably Indian. In the beginning, the principal adversaries of the Mughals
were Afghans who had supplanted Turks and Persians to become the most powerful
group in North India. In addition, the Hindu rulers in every region of the subcontinent
were already a spent force. They recognized the legitimacy of the Islamic political
power and adapted a new order due to the exigencies of the circumstances.
With a tiny but loyal army of 12,000 men, Babur came to the historic city of
Panipat, about fifty miles from Delhi in early April 1526. On the opposite side stood
Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi with an immense host numbering about 1,00,000 men. But the
Afghan Sultan, a young inexperienced man, careless in his movements, was no match
for Babur, a born general who had the strength of loyalty in a compact group, a well-
trained cavalry and powerful artillery. The battle of Panipat, which took place on 21
April 1526, was over within a day.
Babur was not only a soldier-statesman but a poet and a man of letters as well.
His memoirs, originally written in Turkish, were translated into Persian during Akbar’s
reign. The English versions appeared in 1826. He had a zest for life and missed for
his native country as India had few pleasures to recommend according to him.
The First Battle of Panipat
The first battle of Panipat had an everlasting impact. It altered the history of India.
Some important highlights of this battle are as follows:
End of the rule of the Lodhi dynasty: The battle of Panipat is regarded as
one of the decisive battles of Indian history. It broke the back of Lodhi power,
and brought under Babur’s control the entire area up to Delhi and Agra.
Foundation of the Mughal Empire: Babur’s victory at Panipat led the
foundation of the Mughal Empire in India. Soon after the victory, Babur occupied
Delhi and Agra, seated himself on the throne of the Lodhis and laid the foundation
of Mughal rule in India. This empire continued for more than two centuries.
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Political Developments: End of Babur’s bad days: The treasures stored by Ibrahim Lodhi in Agra
The Sultanate
relieved Babur from his financial difficulties.
Re-establishment of the prestige of Crown: After the battle of Panipat, Babur
laid the foundation of a new dynasty and called himself the Monarch. Unlike
NOTES the Sultans of Delhi, he never called himself the deputy of the Caliph but called
himself the Emperor. Thus, he revived the sovereignty of the monarch as it
used to be in ancient times in India and re-established the prestige of the Crown.
Use of artillery in India: The battle of Panipat led to the initiation of artillery
in India. Until now, India was not familiar with the gun powder. For the first
time, it was used in a battle on the Indian plains and, since then, the artillery has
been used in many important battles.
Tulugama became popular in India: One of the important causes of Babur’s
victory in first battle of Panipat was the adoption of a scientific war strategy
called Tulugama. Gradually, Indian rulers also adopted this system.
A shift in the political interest: After this battle, the centre of Babur’s political
activities and ambitions was shifted from Kabul and the Central Asia to Agra
and India. No doubt the difficulties of Babur after his victory at Panipat were
manifold as people of India displayed remarkable hostility towards the Mughal
armies.
2.5 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have learnt that:
The first Indian ruler of the Khilji Dynasty was Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji, who
ruled from AD 1290–1294. He invaded India and built his capital in Delhi,
though he never really ruled from there. He constructed another capital at
Kilughari, and ruled from there for about six years.
Alauddin, also known as Ali or Garshasp, was the son of a brother of Jalaluddin
named Shihabuddin Khilji. At the time of the accession of Jalaluddin, his nephew
Alauddin who was also his son-in-law was appointed the head of the ceremony
or Amir-i-Tuzuk. His uncle also made him the jagirdar of Kara. Thus, the
seeds of ambition were sown in Alauddin’s mind early in life.
Following the death of Alauddin in AD 1316, the Delhi Sultanate was plunged
into confusion. Malik Kafur sat on the throne for a few days, only to be deposed
by Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah. During this period, rebellions broke out in Deogir
Check Your Progress but were harshly suppressed. Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah was soon murdered
and Khusrau ascended the throne. However, he too did not last long.
7. Who was the
founder of the The founder of the Tughlaq dynasty was Ghazi Malik who ascended the throne
Sayyid dynasty? as Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq in AD 1320 who ruled till AD 1412. Ghiyas-uddin
8. Who succeeded rose to an important position in the reign of Alauddin Khilji. After a brief rule
Khizr Khan?
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq died in AD 1325 and his son Muhammad Tughlaq
9. What was unique
about the Lodhi
ascended the throne.
dynasty? The Tughlaq dynasty came to an end in1414 when Khizr Khan founded the
10. How did the Lodhi Sayyid dynasty in Delhi. Khizr Khan assisted Timur during his invasion of
dynasty come to an
India. Timur made Khizr Khan the governor of Lahore, Multan and Dipalpur
end?
as a reward. After the death of the last Tughluq, Mahmud Shah, in 412, Daulat
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Khan Lodhi accompanied Khizr Khan in order to occupy the throne of Delhi. Political Developments:
The Sultanate
In 1414, Khizr Khan won the battle and established his rule.
In India, the Lodhi dynasty ruled from 1451 to 1526. It was the first and last
Afghan dynasty to rule in South Asia. The founder of the Lodhi dynasty, Bahlol
Lodhi, was originally the governor of Punjab. Later on, he ascended on the NOTES
throne of Delhi Sultanate and took the title of Sultan Abul Muzzaffar Bahlol
Shah Ghazi.
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Political Developments: 8. Khizr Khan was succeeded by Mubarak Shah in 1421.
The Sultanate
9. It was the first and last Afghan dynasty to rule in South Asia.
10. The Mughal ruler Babur attacked India in 1526 and Ibrahim Lodhi was defeated
NOTES in the first battle of Panipat near Delhi. This battle resulted in end of Lodhi
Dynasty.
Short-Answer Questions
1. Analyse the initial period of reign of Jalaluddin Khilji.
2. Trace the events that led to the accession of Alauddin to the throne.
3. Describe briefly the three phases of the reign of Alauddin Khilji.
4. What were the results of the new coinage (token currency) started by
Muhammad Bin Tughlaq?
5. What were the causes of the decline of the Tughlaq Empire?
6. Discuss the causes and consequences of the scheme of the transfer of capital to
Devgiri.
7. Write a short note on Khizr Khan and his policies.
8. How did the Tughlaq dynasty come to an end?
9. Who established the Sayyid dynasty and how?
Long-Answer Questions
1. Discuss the various conquests and revolts during Jalaluddin.
2. Explain the events that led to the establishment of the Khilji Dynasty.
3. Analyse the various conquests embarked upon by Alauddin Khilji.
4. Make a list of the conquests of Firoz Shah Tughlaq. Discuss his foreign policy.
5. Evaluate the administrative reforms brought about by Firoz Shah Tughlaq.
6. Discuss the political activities of Mubarak Shah, the second ruler of the Sayyid
dynasty.
7. Who was Muhammad Shah? Was he a successful ruler? Why or why not?
MUGHAL EMPIRE- I
NOTES
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Unit Objectives
3.2 Ascension and Fall of Babur
3.3 Ascension and Fall of Humayun
3.4 The Suris
3.5 Summary
3.6 Key Terms
3.7 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’
3.8 Questions and Exercises
3.9 Further Reading
3.10 Learning Outcomes
3.0 INTRODUCTION
In 1526, Babur, a Timurid descendant of Timur, swept across the Khyber Pass and
established the Mughal empire, which lasted for over 200 years. The Mughal Dynasty
ruled most of the Indian subcontinent by AD 1600. It went into a slow decline after
AD 1707 and was finally defeated during the Indian rebellion of 1857. This period
marked a vast social change in the subcontinent as the Hindu majority was ruled over
by the Mughal emperors, some of whom showed religious tolerance, while the others
liberally patronized Hindu culture, and some destroyed the historical temples and
imposed taxes on the non-Muslims. During the decline of the Mughal empire, which
at its peak occupied an area slightly larger than the ancient Mauryan empire, several
smaller empires rose to fill the power vacuum which themselves were contributing
factors to the decline.
The early Mughal rulers, Babur and Humayun had not tried to change the
prevailing style of administration and government. It was only Akbar who established
an efficient and strong administration. His administration was better than his
predecessors. He not only adopted some of the rules of Sher Shah Suri’s administration
but also reformed the prevalent system and also introduced some new rules and
practices. His successors adopted his basic administration and policies and ruled
successfully. In the early time of their rule, Mughal rulers ruled according the Islamic
Law like the Delhi Sultans. They ruled according to the wishes of the Muslims and
guidelines of the Ulemas. But Akbar abolished this practice. In case of differences
between the Ulemas and the Emperor, Akbar’s decision was considered to be effective.
Thus, the Muslim religious lobby was barred from interfering in the administration
and the Mughal Emperor became the supreme power in India.
In this unit, you will learn about the condition of India during Babur’s invasion,
the victory and reign of Babur as the first Mughal ruler, the reign of Humayun and his
own shortcomings and the reign of Sher Shah, one of the greatest emperors apart
from Akbar and his unique and powerful administrative system.
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Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-I 3.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
NOTES Describe the ascension and fall of Babur
Discuss the ascension and fall of Humayun
Explain the ascension and rule of the Suris
Ambition of Babur
Like other contemporary brave rulers, Babur was very ambitious. He stated ‘I had
never ceased to think of the conquest of Hindustan. But he had never found a suitable
opportunity for undertaking it. Hindered as I was sometimes by the apprehensions of
my Begs, and sometimes by the disagreement between my brothers and myself.’ He
was involved incessantly in the struggle for the conquest of Samarkand (which Babur
loved dearly). When he was finally unsuccessful there, he tried to fulfill his ambition
by conquering India.
Miserable Political Conditions of India
The political situation in North-West India was suitable for Babur’s entry into India.
Sikandar Lodhi had died in AD 1517, and Ibrahim Lodhi had succeeded him. His
efforts to create a large centralized empire had alarmed the Afghan chiefs as well as
the Rajputs. Amongst the most powerful of the Afghan chiefs was Daulat Khan Lodhi,
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Foundation of the the governor of Punjab, who was almost an independent ruler. Daulat Khan attempted
Mughal Empire-I
to conciliate Ibrahim Lodhi by sending his son to his court in order to pay homage. At
the same time, he was trying to capture neighbouring states. He wanted to strengthen
his position by annexing the frontier tracts of Bihar, etc., which Babur had captured in
NOTES AD 1518–1519 but all hopes of Daulat Khan Lodhi were shattered. Babur put a
demand through his ambassador that Daulat Khan Lodhi and Ibrahim Lodhi should
surrender all those places to Babur which were at one time under the Turks. Daulat
Khan Lodhi very cleverly made the ambassador of Babur stay at Lahore so that he
couldn’t meet Ibrahim Lodhi.
When Babur returned from Bhira, Daulat Khan Lodhi took away Bhira from
the representative of Babur. Next year, Babur again attacked Bhira and captured it
alongwith Sialkot. This victory opened a gateway to India for Babur. One thing was
made clear by these preliminary invasions of Babur that India lacked the feeling of
political unity. Babur knew that India is divided into several petty principalities and
the rulers of these states could never unite together. It was within his knowledge that
they often used to quarrel amongst themselves. Babur considered this anarchical
situation as the appropriate opportunity to invade India.
Immense Riches of India and Legal Right to Occupy
Like countless earlier invaders from the Central Asia, Babur was drawn to India by
the lure of its fabulous wealth. India was famous as the land of gold and riches.
Babur’s ancestor Taimur had not only carried away a vast treasure and many skilful
artisans who helped him to consolidate his Asian empire and beautify his capital but
had also annexed some areas in the Punjab. These areas remained in the possession
of Taimur’s successors for many years. When Babur conquered Kabul, he felt that he
had a legitimate right to these areas.
Geographical Reasons
Moreover, India was very near to Kabul where Babur was ruling. It was natural for
an ambitious ruler to invade India.
Meager income from Kabul
Another reason for Babur’s invasion of India was the meager income of Kabul. The
historian Abul Fazal remarks, ‘He (Babur) ruled over Badakhshan, Kandhar and
Kabul which did not yield sufficient income for the requirement of the army, in fact,
in some of the border territories the expense on controlling the armies and administration
was greater than the income.’ In this way, the meager income of Kabul also promoted
Babur to invade India. Babur knew very well that after capturing the fertile province
of Punjab, he would have no financial problems and he could strengthen his position
very easily.
Fear of the Uzbeks
Babur was also apprehensive of an Uzbek attack on Kabul and considered India to be
a good place of refuge, and a suitable base for operations against the Uzbeks.
Invitations extended by Daulat Khan Lodhi, Alam Khan and Rana
Sanga
Some of the historians hold the opinion that Babur had been invited to attack the
Delhi Sultanate by Daulat Khan Lodhi and Rana Sanga. According to them, in AD
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1524, Babur had received an embassy from Daulat Khan Lodhi, led by his son Dilawar Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-I
Khan. They invited Babur to invade India and suggested that he should displace Ibrahim
Lodhi since he was a tyrant and enjoyed no support from his courtiers and nobles.
According to some of the historians, it is probable that a messenger from Rana Sangram
Singh (the ruler of Mewar and popularly known as Rana Sanga) arrived at the same NOTES
time, inviting Babur to invade India.
These embassies convinced Babur that the time was ripe for his conquest of
the whole of the Punjab, if not of India itself. In brief, we can say that many factors
inspired Babur to invade India. His ambitions, immense wealth of India, weak political
conditions and invitations extended by the enemies of Ibrahim Lodhi were some of
them.
Political Conditions of India on the Eve of Babur’s Invasion
On the basis of Tuzuk-i-Baburi and other historical sources, the political conditions of
India on the eve of Babur’s invasion can be described as follows:
(i) There were innumerable small and independent kingdoms which often fought
with each other.
(ii) There was no powerful central authority to unite all the small states against a
foreign invasion. In the words of Dr Ishwari Prasad, ‘In the beginning of the
16th century, India was a confederacy of small independent states which could
easily fall prey to any strong and determined invader.’
(iii) Babur writes in his memoirs that when he invaded India there were seven
important states – five Muslim and two Hindu. Besides these states mentioned
by Babur there were several other states which were also playing a considerable
role in the politics of India. In Northern India, the main states were Delhi,
Punjab, Bengal, Jaunpur, Gujarat, Mewar, Malwa, Orissa, Sindh, Kashmir
and Khandesh.
(iv) The political conditions of Southern India were also deteriorating. The Bahamani
kingdom had broken up into five small principalities. These were Bijapur,
Golkunda, Beedar, Barar and Ahmednagar. Although all these states were ruled
by the Shia rulers, still they used to fight against each other. The Hindu kingdom
of Vijaynagar in South was under Krishnadev Rai. He was very powerful but
he did not have good relations with the Bahamani kingdom and was only
interested in the politics of the Deccan.
(v) The people of India were lacking the feeling of modern nationalism. They were
more loyal to their local rulers than the symbolic central power of Delhi. In
order to form an idea of the political condition of the Northern India on the eve
of Babur’s invasion, a brief survey of these states would be very helpful.
(a) Delhi: In Northern India, the small remnant of the Delhi Sultanate was
ruled over by an incapable ruler Ibrahim Lodhi against whom rebellions
were a frequent occurrence.
(b) Bengal: During the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, Bengal became an
independent kingdom. Nusrat Shah ruled over the territory during the
invasion of Babur, and extended the borders of the kingdom up to Hajipur
and Mongher and annexed Tirhut.
(c) Punjab: In the Punjab, Daulat Khan Lodhi had revolted against the
authority of Ibrahim and had become an independent ruler of Punjab. He
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Foundation of the could not tolerate the insult of his son at the hands of the Sultan. He
Mughal Empire-I
turned against the Sultan and joined hands with Alam Khan, an uncle of
Ibrahim, and invited Babur to invade India. Besides that, the rulers of
Sind and Multan were also hostile to the Sultan of Delhi.
NOTES (d) The Eastern districts: The eastern districts of Oudh, Jaunpur and Bihar
rose in arms and chose Darya Khan Lohani as their chief.
(e) Jaunpur: It was absolutely independent of the central control.
(f) Bihar: It was facing open rebellion.
(g) Gujarat: The kingdom of Gujarat was ruled by the Muslim Sultans
independent of Delhi.
(h) Malwa: The ruler of Malwa was Mahmud II of the Khilji dynasty. The
ruler of Chanderi, Medini Rai wanted to establish his control over Malwa
with the help of Rana Sanga of Mewar. Malwa was beset with internal
quarrels and rebellions.
(i) Mewar: Mewar was the most powerful Rajput kingdom under the able
and wise leadership of the brave Rana Sanga who had united all the Rajputs
under a single flag in a federation. Rana Sanga was a past master in the
art of fighting and had defeated the rulers of Delhi, Malwa and Gujrat.
(j) Khandesh: Khandesh, once the province of the Delhi Kingdom had
become independent at the close of the 14th century. Adil Khan Faruqi,
who ruled over it from AD 1457-1503 did a lot to increase the material
prosperity of the Kingdom. Under him, Burhanpur, the capital of the
Kingdom, became one of the most attractive cities of India. On the eve of
Babur’s invasion, Miran Mohammad was the ruler.
(k) Vijaynagar: Vijaynagar was founded in AD 1336 by Harishar and his
brother Bukka. Krishna Dev was a very powerful ruler of this dynasty.
The rulers of Vijaynagar were in a constant war with the neighbouring
kingdom of Bahamani.
(l) Bahmani State: It was founded in AD 1347 by Hassan, an Afghan noble.
It produced a number of warriors and ambitious kings. Unfortunately, it
was always on warring terms with her neighbour, Vijaynagar. Afterwards,
this state was split up in five small states – Barar, Ahmednagar, Badar,
Bijapur and Golkunda.
It is clear from the above account that the North and the South India was divided into
small principalities where different Hindu and Muslim rulers were ruling. Under
these circumstances, it was not a difficult task for anyone to conquer India.
Social Conditions during Babur’s Time
At that time, Indian society was divided mainly into two groups – Hindus and Muslims.
After living together for centuries they were quite friendly with each other.
Therefore, both considered Babur as an enemy of India. Several ills had crept into the
Hindu and the Muslim religions.
Causes of Failure of Ibrahim Lodhi
Babur was victorious at the battle of Panipat because of a number of factors. The
main factors are as follows:
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(i) Scientific combination of cavalry and artillery: Firstly, the victory of Babur Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-I
was due to the scientific combination of cavalry and artillery. The effective use
of mobile cavalry and the skill with which Ustad Ali and Mustafa, two great
Turkish gunners, fought in the field of Panipat were also important factors
which contributed towards Babur’s victory. Rush Brooke Williams writes, ‘If NOTES
it could be possible to emphasize any one of the factors as being the most
important cause of his (Babur’s) victory, one would surely have to assign the
first place to his artillery.’
(ii) Disunity: The Indian rulers did not visualize eventuality beyond the borders of
their kingdoms and could not stand united to face a threat on India from the
outside. Babur defeated them one by one, captured their kingdoms.
(iii) Babur’s personality: One of the biggest causes of Babur’s victory was also
his impressive personality. He did not lose heart even at the most critical times.
He had the capacity to infuse spirit in dead bodies with his lively speech. He
was a born general and was fully conversant with all the tactics of war.
(iv) Ill-treatment of Ibrahim Lodhi towards his Amirs: Sultan Ibrahim’s
treatment towards his Amirs was most discourteous and insulting. The proud
Afghan nobles, who used to share the carpet with Ibrahim’s father and grand-
father, were made to lose land in his Durbar in a humble posture and with their
arms folded. Hence, the Amirs went against him.
(v) Disciplined army: Babur’s army was more disciplined than the Indian army.
His soldiers knew how to stand in the battle array and when to charge. On the
other hand, the Indian soldiers moved more or less like a crowd and a little
charge from the enemy side was enough to cause confusion among them. Their
vast numbers were more a source of weakness than a source of strength. They
were ill organized, ill-trained and ill-disciplined.
(vi) Inefficiency of Ibrahim as a General: Fortunately for Babur, the rival, he
had to contend with an inefficient military general who lacked the qualities of
generalship. Neither could he properly organize his forces nor could he plan
the battle well. Babur himself remarks that, ‘Ibrahim was an inexperienced,
young man, careless in his movements who marched without order, halted or
retired without plan and engaged in the battle without foresight.’ It was not
difficult for a brilliant general like Babur to defeat such an inefficient rival.
(vii) Use of elephants by the Lodhis: Ibrahim Lodhi made a big use of elephants
in his army. As compared to this, the horses of the Mughal cavalry were more
active. Very often elephants wounded in battle used to round back trampling
their own army men under their feet.
(viii) Babur’s formations or Tulugama: Babur took strategic positions as soon as
he reached Panipat. He strengthened his position by resting one wing of his
army in the city of Panipat which had a large number of horses, and protected
the others by means of a ditch filled with branches of trees. On the front, he
lashed together a large number of carts, to act as a defending wall. Between
those two carts, breastworks were erected on which soldiers could rest their
guns and fire. Historians praise Babur for his formation which was offensive
as well as defensive. In brief, we can say that one of the causes of Babur’s
victory at Panipat was the Tulugama strategy of war.
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Foundation of the The First Battle of Panipat
Mughal Empire-I
In November, AD 1525, Babur attacked India with 12000 soldiers. When he reached
Peshawar, he got the news that Daulat Khan Lodhi had changed sides. He had collected
NOTES a huge army and ousted the Amirs of Babur from Sialkot and reached up to Lahore.
Therefore, first of all Babut paid his heed towards Daulat Khan Lodhi. At Babur’s
approach, the army of Daulat Khan melted away. Daulat Khan submitted and was
pardoned. Thus, within three weeks of crossing the Indus, Babur became the master
of the Punjab.
On 20 April, AD 1526, Babur reached the famous historical field of Panipat
along with his army with a view to conquer India. Ibrahim Lodhi met Babur at Panipat
with a force estimated at 100000 men and 10000 elephants. Since the Indian armies
generally contained large hordes of servants, the fighting men on Ibrahim Lodhi’s
side must have been far less than this figure. Babur had crossed the Indus with a force
of 12,0000, but he had been swelled by his army in India and the large number of the
Hindustani nobles and soldiers who joined him in the Punjab. Even then Babur’s
army was numerically inferior. On the morning of 21 April 1526, they fought a pitched
battle. Babur, with the tactical use of Tulugama, encircled Ibrahim Lodhi’s army, and
his artillery rained a hail of fire and shots on it. The Lodhi army was totally destroyed.
Babur himself wrote, ‘By the grace and mercy of Almighty (God), the mighty army
of Delhi was laid in the dust in the course of half a day.’ After half a day of battle,
Babur came out victorious. Ibrahim Lodhi lost his life along with his 15000 soldiers
in the Battle of Panipat.
Effects of the First Battle of Panipat
(i) End of the rule of Lodhi dynasty: The battle of Panipat is regarded as one of
the decisive battles of Indian history. It broke the back of Lodhi power, and
brought under Babur’s control the entire area up to Delhi and Agra. As Babur’s
predecessor Taimur had brought to an end the rule of the Tughlaq’s, similarly
Babur’s success led to an end of the Lodhi rule.
(ii) Foundation of the Mughal empires: Babur’s victory at Panipat led to the
foundation of the Mughal Empire in India. Soon after the victory, Babur occupied
Delhi and Agra, seated himself on the throne of the Lodhis and laid the foundation
of the Mughal rule in India. Of course, the empire founded by Babur was soon
lost by his son, Humayun and it was Akbar who actually re-created the Mughal
Empire. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the actual foundation of the
empire was laid with the victory in the battle of Panipat. This empire continued
for more than two centuries.
(iii) End of Babur’s bad days: The reassures stored up by Ibrahim Lodhi in Agra
relieved Babur from his financial difficulties. The rich territory up to Jaunpur
also lay open to Babur. Rush Brooke Williams writes, ‘After being successful
in this battle, the bad days of Babur came to an end. Now he need not bother
about his personal safety or his throne.’
(iv) Re-establishment of the prestige of Crown: After the battle of Panipat, Babur
laid the foundation of a new dynasty and called himself the monarch. Unlike
the Sultans of Delhi Sultanate period, he never used to call himself the deputy
of the Caliph but used to call himself Emperor. Thus, he revived the sovereignty
of the monarch as it used to be in ancient times in India and thus established the
prestige of the Crown.
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(v) Use of artillery in India: The battle of Panipat led to the initiation of artillery Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-I
in India. Up till now, India were not familiar with the gun powder. For the first
time, it was used in a battle on the Indian plains and, since then, the artillery has
been used in many important battles.
(vi) Birth of new struggles: However, Babur had to wage three hard fought battles, NOTES
one against Rana Sanga of Mewar, another against Medini Rao at Chanderi
and the third against the eastern Afghans, before he could consolidate his hold
on this area (Delhi, Agra etc.) Viewed from his angle, the battle of Panipat was
not as decisive in political field as has been made out. According to R. B.
Williams, ‘The victory at Panipat was excellent, which was actually a part of
the beginning.’ Some views have been expressed by renowned historian Dr
Satish Chandra, when he talks about the battle in the following words. ‘Its real
importance lies in the fact that it opened a new face in the struggle for domination
in North India.’
(vii) Tulugama became popular in India: One of the important causes of Babur’s
victory in first battle of Panipat was the adoption of a scientific war strategy
called Tulugama (an Ottoman or Rumi device) by him. Gradually, India rulers
also adopted this very system. Almost all the Indian rulers adopted this very
system and started adopting the policy of keeping a reserve army. The Indian
rulers were greatly impressed by the swiftness and movability of horses and
gradually the place of elephants was taken by horses in the army.
(viii) A shift in the political interest: After this battle, the centre of Babur’s political
activities and ambitions was shifted from Kabul and the Central Asia to Agra
and India. No doubt the difficulties of Babur after his victory at Panipat were
manifold. Many of his Begs were not prepared for a long campaign in India.
With the onset of the hot weather, their misgivings had increased. They were
far away from home in a strange and hostile land.
Babur recounts that the people of India displayed remarkable hostility by abandoning
their villages at the approach of the Mughal armies. Obviously, the memoirs of Taimur’s
sacking and plundering of the towns and villages were still fresh in their minds. Babur
knew that the resources in India alone would enable him to found a strong empire and
satisfy his Begs. He, thus, took a firm stand, proclaiming his intention to stay on in
India, and granting leave to a number of his Begs, who wanted to go back to Kabul.
This immediately cleared the air. But it also invited the hostility of Rana Sanga who
began his preparations for a showdown with Babur.
Battle of Khanwa
The Battle of Khanwa was fought between Rana Sangram Singh of Mewar (popularly
known as Rana Sanga) and the founder of Mughal dynasty, Babur, in AD 1527 at a
place Khanwa, about 40 kilometers away from Agra.
Causes
(i) Ambitions of Rana Sanga: Rana Sanga was an ambitious ruler. He had been
in conflict with Ibrahim Lodhi for the domination of eastern Rajasthan and
Malwa. After defeating Mahmood Khilji of Malwa, the influence of Rana had
gradually extended up to Piliya Khar, a small river in the neighbourhood of
Agra. The establishment of an empire in the Indo-Gangetic Valley by Babur
was a threat to Rana Sanga. Sanga set preparations to expel out Babur at any
rate and to confine him to the Punjab. Self-Instructional
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Foundation of the (ii) Rana being accused of treachery by Babur: Babur accused Rana Sanga of
Mughal Empire-I
breach of agreement. He said that Sanga had invited him to India and had
promised to join him against Ibrahim Lodhi, but made no move while he (Babur)
conquered Delhi and Agra. We do not know the exact terms and conditions of
NOTES the agreement between Babur and Rana Sanga but it is certain that after the
first battle of Panipat, Babur had captured only Delhi and Agra. He had not
become the emperor of India. He was also brave and ambitious like Rana
Sanga. It was not possible for him to become the emperor of India without
breaking the power of Rajputs.
(iii) Charges of Rana Sanga against Babur: Rana Sanga, on the other hand, had
claim on Kalpi, Dhaulpur and Agra and he blamed Babur for not fulfilling his
promise. We cannot say definitely whether the charges of Rana Sanga against
Babur were correct or not but it is definite that he might have hoped that like
Taimur, Babur would withdraw after sacking Delhi and weakening the Lodhis.
Babur’s decision to stay on in India completely changed the situation. This
made war between Babur and Rana Sanga inevitable.
(iv) Inciting of Rana Sanga by the Afghans: Many Afghans including Mahmud
Lodhi, a younger brother of Ibrahim Lodhi, rallied for Rana Sanga in the hope
of regaining the throne of Delhi in case Sanga won. Hassan Khan Mewati, the
ruler of Mewar, also joined hands with Sanga.
Events
The armies of Babur and Sanga met at Khanwa on March 10, AD 1527. Babur
arranged his army almost in the same fashion as he had done in Panipat. This time
again, he had to face an army which was numerous and according to Lanepoole,
‘whatever the exact number might have been, a more gallant army could not have
been brought into the field.’A bloody war followed which lasted for about 12 hours.
Dr R. P. Tripathi writes, ‘The ruthless slaughter closed the bloody episode.’ ‘Sanga’s
forces were thus hemmed in and were defeated after a great slaughter. Rana Sanga
escaped and wanted to renew the conflict with Babur. But he was poisoned by his
own nobles who considered such a course dangerous and suicidal.
Consequences
(i) This battle was more decisive than that of the first battle of Panipat. After that
Babur definitely became the ruler of India. The battle of Khanwa secured
Babur’s position in the Delhi-Agra region. Babur strengthened his position
further by conquering a chain of forts in Gwalior, Dholpur, in the east of Agra.
He also annexed large parts of Alwar from Hasan Khan Mewati. He then led a
campaign against Medina Rai of Chanderi in Malwa. Chanderi was captured
after the Rajput defenders had died fighting to the last man and their women
performed Jauhar. In brief, we can say that the battle of Khanwa consolidated
the foundation of Mughal Empire by bringing the Rajput power to an end. The
centre of activity of Babur had shifted from Kabul to Hindustan and, thus, the
work of defeating the rest of the unimportant local chiefs and the Afghans
became easier.
(ii) With Sanga’s death, the dream of a united Rajasthan extending up to Agra
received a serious setback. The strength of the Rajput was broken and the
kingdoms of Hindustan passed from the hands of Rajputs to the Mughals. The
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foundation of the Mughal empire in India was not laid more deeper than ever. Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-I
For the Rajputs, the result of this battle brought a sad day because there was
hardly any Rajput that had not lost the flower of his princely blood. The famous
historian S.R. Sharma writes, ‘Defeat of the Rajputs at Khanwa ended the
superiority of the Rajputs which they had established successfully in the last NOTES
ten years and which was an eyesore for the Muslims ended forever’. According
to Dr Lunia, ‘After the defeat and death of Rana Sanga, Mewar lost its prestige.
Mewar began losing its power and in place of it, Marwar under Maldev got the
leadership of Rajputs.’
Causes of the Defeat of Rajputs or the Victory of Babur
(i) Treachery of Siladi of Rasin: He was the Rajput ally of Rana Sanga and he
had promised to fight for the common Rajput cause. In the thick of the light he
deserted Rana Sanga and went over to Babur for the latter is said to have
influenced him. This treacherous behaviour on the part of Siladi of Raisin broke
the heart of the Rajputs and adversely affected their lot in the battle.
(ii) Use of cannons by Babur: Babur used cannons in the battle of Khanwa. On
the other hand, Rajputs were fully unaware of this device. Horses of Rajputs
could not face the cannons and so the army of Rana Sanga was shattered.
(iii) Babur as a commander: Babur was a very capable commander. His techniques
of warfare brought him success once more. In the face of stringent contingencies,
he exhibited patience and courage which made him an outstanding leader of
his time. He promised that after this victory he would allow leave to everyone
who wanted to go home.
(iv) Declaration of the holy war (Jihad): Babur had declared a holy war against
the Rana and reminded his men that he was fighting for the glorification of his
religion. The response was instantaneous and enthusiastic. Besides giving
divorce to his wife, everyone swore of the holy Quran that he would fight to the
end and stand by Babur. The spirit of his troops was thus completely restored,
and he won the battle against the Rajputs.
(v) Disunity of Rajputs: The Rajputs were not united. There were great dissensions
between them, and due to the victory of Babur in this battle, whatever unity
was left in them also ended.
(vi) Role of Ustad Ali: Ustad Ali, the captain of Babur’s artillery must also share
the credit of this victory.
(vii) Responsibility of Rana Sanga: Some historians are of the opinion that though
Rana was a brave soldier, he was not a statesman of high order. According to
Dr Sharma, ‘In his relation with Babur he showed vacillation and want of
decisions and firmness. He failed to proceed and capture Agra which he ought
to have done immediately after Babur had moved south of the Punjab to fight
against Ibrahim Lodhi. Had he done so, he would not have acquired the immense
treasures and resources that lay stored in the town but also the support of the
entire race of the Indian Afghans. Moreover, luck did not favour Rana Sanga.
He was wounded during the course of the battle and failed to provide leadership
to his soldiers at a critical moment. It also demoralized his soldiers. However,
these can be counted only as the subsidiary causes of the defeat of the Rajputs’.
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Foundation of the (viii) Disciplined Army: Babur’s army was small, disciplined and experienced but
Mughal Empire-I
the Rajput army was a large crowd of undisciplined, inexperienced mercenaries.
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Administration under Islam Shah Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-I
Islam Shah was a worthy son of his father. He not only maintained the administrative
setup of his father, but also strengthened it further. Sher Shah had constructed Sarais
at the end of every fourth mile. Islam Shah constructed Sarais on every second mile
NOTES
and arranged for free distribution of food in each of them.
Islam Shah could not abolish the Jagirdari system but he took away the land
from old Jagirdars and redistributed it among his loyal support. This measure created
a class of people loyal to him and indirectly weakened the hereditary Jagirdari system.
He assigned the respectability of maintaining law and order in villages to his officials.
Islam Shah brought out changes in the army administration as well. He divided his
cavalry into units of 50, 200, 250 and his infantry into 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000
soldiers.
In the north-west, he constructed a chain of forts, viz., Shergarh, Islamgarh,
Rashidgarh, and Ferozgarh. Together, these were called the forts of Mankot. Islam
Shah kept his nobles under strict discipline. Each of them respected or rather feared
him very much. The nobles were terrorized by Islam Shah and remained under his
strict control during his lifetime.
3.5 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have learnt that:
The legacy of the Sultanate, the medieval economy, and new connections with
Europe, helped to create an imperial state in North India. The Mughal Empire
was the end product of a millennium of Muslim conquest, colonization and
state building in the Indian subcontinent.
Babur swept down to the plains of India in AD 1517 and AD 1519 and came to
the Punjab in AD 1523 at the invitation of Daulat Khan Lodi, the governor of
the province and Alam Khan, an uncle of Sultan Ibrahim. But Uzbeg’s pressure
compelled Babur to retire and the final invasion of India was undertaken in
November 1525 and completed in 1526 at Panipat.
Like countless earlier invaders from the Central Asia, Babur was drawn to
India by the lure of its fabulous wealth. India was famous as the land of gold
and riches. Babur’s ancestor Taimur had not only carried away a vast treasure
and many skilful artisans who helped him to consolidate his Asian empire and Check Your Progress
beautify his capital but had also annexed some areas in the Punjab. 6. How was Sher
Shah Suri as a
Humayun was born at Kabul on 6 March, AD 1508. He was the eldest son of commander?
Babur. His mother was Mahim Begum and Kamran, Askari and Hindal were 7. Who fought the
his brothers. Proper arrangements were made for his education. He had a good battle of Chausa?
knowledge of Arabic, Persian and Turkish. He had keen interest in philosophy,
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Foundation of the astrology and mathematics. To give him administrative training, Babur appointed
Mughal Empire-I
him the Governor of Badakshan.
No doubt there were many difficulties before Humayun, but according to many
historians Humayun was his own worst enemy. He increased his own problems
NOTES due to his own weaknesses and blunders. He was not able persevering and
scholarly like his father, Babur. He demonstrated his lack of wisdom by dividing
his empire.
It is clear that the major cause of Humayun’s failure against Sher Khan was his
inability to understand the nature of the Afghan power. Due to the existence of
a large numbers of the Afghan tribes scattered over North India, the Afghans
could always reunite under a capable leader and pose a challenge.
Sher Shah Suri was a daring soldier, a successful conqueror and an able
administrator. He was a lover of knowledge, patron of scholars and a very
good ruler. He was the forerunner of Akbar in many fields, though he was not
equal to Akbar in greatness.
Sher Shah had many achievements as an administrator. He re-established law
and order throughout his empire. He dealt very strictly with those Zamindars,
thieves and dacoits who broke the social order or refused to pay the land revenue.
As an administrator, Sher Shah Suri had a great impact on his Zamindars,
officials and chiefs.
Despite being a strict Sunni Muslim, Sher Shah was not a fanatic. Though he
did not end Jaziya, he gave high offices to the Hindus in large numbers. He
considered religion to be a personal affair and never let politics and religion to
get mixed up.
Islam Shah, the younger son of Sher Shah Suri succeeded to the throne after
the death of his father. Though Sher Shah’s eldest son, Adil Khan was nominated
by him as his successor but the nobles preferred Jalal Khan, Sher Shah’s younger
son who was regarded more capable and industrious by them. Jalal Khan was
called by them to come to Kalinjar, and after his arrival, he was declared Sultan
on 27 May 1545. He assumed the title of Islam Shah.
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3. The Battle of Khanwa was fought between Rana Sangram Singh of Mewar Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-I
(popularly known as Rana Sanga) and the founder of Mughal dynasty, Babur,
in AD 1527 at Khanwa, about 40 kilometers away from Agra.
4. One early difficulty was that Humayun ascended a throne which was then
unstable and unsecured. Babur had bequeathed an empty treasury and an ill- NOTES
organized kingdom to him.
5. Hindu Beg, whom Humayun had sent to Bihar to report about the actual position
of Sher Shah and his plans, took bribe from Sher Shah and sent a false report to
Humayun.
6. Sher Shah was an able commander, a great soldier and conqueror. He is said to
have lived like a common soldier on the battlefield.
7. Humayun and Sherkhan taught the battle of Chausa. Humayun was advancing
towards Agra when Sher Khan suddenly attacked him at Chausa in AD 1539.
About 8000 Mughal soldiers were killed in this battle. Sher Khan’s spirits
were raised high as a result of this victory. He assumed the title of Sher Shah
Sultan-i-Adil.
Short-Answer Questions
1. Discuss any four causes of failure of Ibrahim Lodhi.
2. Discuss the causes of the Battle of Khanwa.
3. Write briefly about Sher Shah Suri as a commander, soldier and conqueror.
4. Discuss Humayun’s main flaw in detail and its impact on his rule.
5. Who succeeded Sher Shah Suri? Briefly describe his administration.
Long-Answer Questions
1. Describe the causes that inspired Babur to invade India.
2. Describe the causes of defeat of Humayun.
3. Explain the characteristics of Sher Shah Suri’s administration.
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Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
4.0 INTRODUCTION
In the last unit, you learnt about some of the Mughal rulers, including Babur, Humayun
and Sher Shah Suri. You learnt about their conquests, administration, and ascension
and finally their falls from the throne.
Mughal history is characterized by extreme greed for power and naturally, the
throne. Brothers fought brothers, rulers were ousted by their own courtiers and many
times, a young child had to be designated king after the death of his father. This is
exactly what happened with Akbar as well.
This unit begins with the greatest emperor of India, Humayun’s son, Akbar. It
discusses in detail the Second Battle of Panipat, Akbar’s imperialist policy and his
religious policy, among other factors. It will also cover in brief the reigns of Jahangir,
Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, with whose fall the Mughal empire also came to an end.
Akbar
On 19 February 1556, Akbar was declared the Emperor at Kalanaur when he had
just turned 13. At that time, he was virtually a ruler without a kingdom. Vincent
Smith wrote aptly that before Akbar could claim to be an emperor in reality rather
than just in name, he had to prove himself more capable than his other rivals for the
throne, and at least had to recapture the lost kingdom of his father.
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Foundation of the Initial difficulties
Mughal Empire-II
At the time of his accession, Akbar was confronted with the following difficulties:
A small kingdom: In fact, Akbar was in possession of only a small part of the
NOTES Punjab. Though in theory Kabul, Kandhar and Badakshan were also the parts
of the Mughal Empire, he had no hope of any help from there because Kabul
was under his stepbrother, Mirza Hakim. He immediately declared himself
independent. The Governor was in Bairam Khan’s jagir but was in danger of
the Iranian invasion. The Governor of Badakshan, Mirza Suleman had become
independent and he wanted to establish his control over Akbar as well as the
ruler of Kabul, Mirza Hakim.
Akbar a minor: Akbar was very young and he had to follow the instructions
and work under the guidance of Bairam Khan till he attained maturity.
Sikandar Suri: Though the ruler of Punjab had been defeated, his power had
not as yet been crushed completely and he could become a danger for Akbar at
any time. Adil Shah was in control of the region from Bihar to Chunar and his
able minister Hemu was making preparations for war against the Mughals.
Ibrahim Suri: Ibrahim Suri was occupying the Doab and Sambhal and he
considered himself to be a claimant for the throne of Delhi.
Other Afghan chiefs: Malwa, Gujarat, etc., were still in the hands of Afghan
chiefs. They could at any time become a problem for Akbar.
Rajputs: The Rajput chiefs of Marwar, Mewar, Jaisalmer, Ranthambhore,
and Ajmer were continuously organizing their strength.
Abdul Muwali: The famous Mughal Amir, Abdul Muwali had revolted and
he did not attend the coronation ceremony of Akbar. Though Bairam Khan had
captured and imprisoned him in the fort of Lahore, he posed a threat for the
Mughals at any time.
Tardi Beg: He tried to fix the land revenue in accordance with Tardi Beg, the
governor of Delhi who had also turned a rebel and Hemu, the minister of Adil.
The kingdoms of Kashmir, Sind, Multan and Himalayan region: All these
kingdoms were independent and Akbar planned to bring them under the Mughal
Empire.
Poor financial condition: The Mughal treasury was empty. A terrible famine
was raging in Delhi and Agra. To arrange financial resources was a problem
confronting Akbar. In the Deccan there were, besides the Vijayanagar Empire,
five Shia states viz. Khandesh, Bidar, Berar, Ahmednagar and Golkunda. The
country could be united politically only after bringing them under the Mughal
fold.
Anarchy and confusion: Everywhere in the country there was indiscipline,
disorder and anarchy. One of the problems before Akbar was to end them and
give to the people a capable administration, peace and order.
Solving the Problems
Akbar gradually overcame all these difficulties in this conquest, where on the one
hand, he was aided by his own good fortune and on the other hand, credit should go to
the loyalty and ability of Bairam Khan. He called a conference of the Mughals in
Sirhind and gave the death penalty to the governor of Delhi, Tardi Beg who had not
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been able to defend Delhi against Hemu. Bairam Khan defeated Hemu in the Second Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
Battle of Panipat and seated Akbar on the throne.
But four years of power turned Bairam Khan into a vain person. In AD 1560,
Akbar very deftly defeated him after he indulged in rebellion but pardoned him keeping
in view his past services. At a place called Patan, Bairam Khan was murdered by NOTES
some rebel Afghans. Because of the treacherous activities of Akbar’s foster mother
and Adham Khan, Akbar was forced to give death punishment to Adham Khan in AD
1561 and his mother Maham Anga died of the shock and grief. In AD 1565, the
rebellious Uzbek chiefs Sardar Khan, Abdulla Khan and Zaman Khan were also
punished. In fact, Zaman Khan died fighting and his brother Bahadur was accorded
death punishment. Abdulla Khan died (after some time Akbar got all the supporters
of his step brother, Hakim Mirza of Kabul, murdered and forced him to flee from
Kabul). With the help of Bairam Khan, Akbar conquered (besides Agra and Delhi),
the regions of Jaunpur, Ranthambhore and Malwa. After the acceptance of the
sovereignty of the Mughals by Bihari Mal, the ruler of Ajmer and marrying his daughter,
Akbar extended the sphere of his power till Ajmer. After that, he had to wage wars
against Garkatanga (Gondwana), Gujarat, Bengal, Chittor, Kalinjar, etc.
After Bengal, Kabul and Kandhar were brought under occupation. Khandesh
accepted his suzerainty. After a prolonged struggle, Ahmednagar was conquered in
AD 1600 and after the revolt of the new governor of Khandesh, Miran Bahadur Shah
of Asirgarh was conquered militarily on 6 January, 1601. Briefly then, it can be said
that Akbar had to struggle to overcome the various problems which confronted him.
Character and Personality of Akbar
Akbar was the greatest among the Mughal emperors who ascended the throne at a
very early age, after the death of his father Humayun. During his reign, the Mughal
Empire was at its peak. Akbar, who took charge of an empire that was besieged with Check Your Progress
many problems, both internal as well as external at a young age, made the Mughal 1. Fill in the blanks
Empire not only the strongest state in India, but also one of the best administered state with appropriate
of his times. He also implemented innovative policies which proved liberal, farsighted words.
and successful which added a new chapter in Indian medieval history and established (a) At the time of
Akbar’s
the Mughal Empire firmly in India. Therefore, he has been justly described as ‘the accession to the
Great’ among the Mughal emperors of India. throne,
was the ruler of
Akbar’s Imperialist Policy Chunar.
(b) At the time of
Akbar had inherited a very small kingdom at the time of his accession. He was king Akbar’s
only in name, being just 13 years of age. He was surrounded by enemies on all sides. ascension to the
Loyal Bairam Khan was his guardian. Akbar began his policy of conquest with the throne, the
Mughal reign
help of Bairam Khan. was confined to
Kabul,
Conquest of Northern India Kandahar, and
parts of
Conquest of Delhi and Agra: Akbar conquered Delhi and Agra by defeating and .
Hemu in the Second Battle of Panipat with the help of Bairam Khan. (c) won
Conquest of Gwalior, Ajmer and Jaunpur: After the conquest of Delhi, he the Second
Battle of
conquered Gwalior in AD 1558 again with Bairam Khan’s help. By AD 1560, Panipat and
he established his control over Ajmer and Jaunpur as well. seated Akbar on
the throne.
Conquest of Malwa: In AD 1560, after establishing his freedom from the
control of Bairam Khan, Akbar, with the help of Adham Khan attacked Baz
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Foundation of the Bahadur of Malwa. The latter was defeated in a battle near Sarangpur. Adham
Mughal Empire-II
Khan brought all his wealth as well as the ladies of his harem under his control.
Baz Bahadur’s wife, Queen Rupmati defended her chastity by swallowing
poison. Adham Khan did not send the entire loot to Akbar. On this, Akbar
NOTES became annoyed with Pir Mohammad who was the Governor of Malwa and
whose weakness led Baz Bahadur to again conquer Malwa. Akbar again sent
Abdulla Khan who established the Mughal control over Malwa.
Conquest of Chunar: In AD 1561, Asaf Khan was sent to effect the conquest
of Chunar and he occupied it without any difficulty.
Conquest of Gondwana (1564): The independent kingdom of Gondwana
was an eyesore to Akbar. Its ruler, Vir Narayan was a minor. His brave mother
Durgawati was his guardian. Akbar sent Asaf Khan to conquer Gondwana,
Durgawati fought against the Mughals near Narhi. She was badly wounded.
To defend her honour she committed suicide by stabbing herself. Other Rajput
ladies also performed Jauhar. Vir Narayan also died in the battle and thus,
Gondwana came under the Mughal control.
Conquest of Gujarat: Akbar launched an attack against Muzzafar Khan of
Gujarat at the head of a large army in AD 1572. He was defeated and imprisoned
and Gujarat came under the Mughals.
Conquest of Bengal and Bihar: The governor of Bihar, Suleman had
conquered Bengal in AD 1574 and he was ruling over Bengal and Bihar. The
Afghans killed him and made his son Daud Khan the ruler of that place. Akbar
sent Munim Khan against Daud Khan. In AD 1575, Daud Khan was badly
defeated and accepted the sovereignty of Akbar. After some time, when he
raised his head again, Akbar, himself proceeded towards Bengal. A fierce battle
was fought between the two armies. Daud was defeated and killed. Thus, Bengal
and Bihar came under the Mughal control.
Conquest of Kabul: In AD 1585, Kabul was under Akbar’s stepbrother, Mirza
Hakim. In AD 1580, he attached Punjab. Akbar defeated him. Mirza Hakim
accepted his sovereignty. Akbar returned Kabul to him. In AD 1585, after his
death, Kabul was annexed to the Mughal Empire.
Conquest of Kashmir (1588): The ruler of Kashmir was Yusuf Shah. In AD
1588, Raja Bhagwan Das and Qasim Khan were sent to conquer Kashmir.
They succeeded in their mission.
Conquest of Sind (1590): In AD 1590, Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana defeated
the ruler of Sind, Mirza Jani Beg and occupied Thatta, the capital of Sind.
Conquest of Orissa (1593): In AD 1593, Raja Man Singh defeated the ruler
of Orissa and made it a part of the Mughal Empire.
Conquest of Baluchistan and Makaran (1595): In AD 1595, the Mughal
Chief Quetta defeated the Panni Afghans and annexed the regions of Baluchistan
and Makaran to the Mughal Empire.
Conquest of Kandhar (1595): The Persian Governor of Kandhar, Muzaffar
Hussain Khan, did not have very cordial relations with the Shah of Iran. On 5
April, AD 1595, he surrendered the fort of Kandhar to the Mughals.
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North-Western frontier regions: Many tribes were independent in the North- Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
Western hilly region and they affected plunder in the Indian territory. Akbar
suppressed these tribes. The Mughals were victorious with continuous efforts
of a few years and almost all the tribals were defeated. Gazni was snatched
from them. Being impressed by these campaigns, the Uzbek leader Abdulla NOTES
Khan abandoned the policy of warfare against the Mughals.
Conquests of the Deccan
Ahmadnagar: Akbar devoted his attention towards the Deccan after completing
his victory campaigns in Northern India. First of all, he dispatched Prince Murad
and Abdur Rahim Khan-I-Khana in AD 1595 for the conquest of Ahmadnagar.
At that time, Chand Bibi was ruling there as guardian of her minor nephew.
She fought against the Mughals very bravely but was defeated because of the
treachery and non-cooperation of her own amirs and by the terms of a treaty,
she had to cede the region of Barar to the Mughals. Chand Bibi conquered
Barar once again with the help of other Southern powers. Akbar dispatched his
armies again but this time they were unsuccessful. Akbar then proceeded against
Ahmadnagar in AD 1600, conquered it and imprisoned the minor ruler, Bahadur
Nizam Shah. Chand Bibi had been assassinated by her own rebel chiefs before
this event.
Asirgarh: The ruler of Khandesh, Ali Khan, had already accepted Akbar’s
sovereignty, but his son Miran Bahadur Shah declared himself as independent.
After a prolonged struggle, Asirgarh came under the Mughals in AD 1601 and
Miran Bahadur was sent to Gwalior as a prisoner.
Struggle between Akbar and Mewar
During Akbar’s time, Udai Singh ruled over Mewar. He was considered the most
powerful ruler of Rajasthan. His influence extended to areas like Bundi, Sirohi, Juda,
Ogana, Pankha and Merte. On the other hand, Akbar’s influence extended to Ajmer,
Nagore and Mewat. He had also conquered Gwalior in Central India and forced its
ruler Ram Shah to seek refuge with Raja Udai Singh of Mewar. In AD 1559, the
struggle started between the Mughals and Mewar. It is attributed to various factors:
According to Abul Fazal, Akbar wanted to conquer various forts under Mewar.
According to Nizamuddin and Badayuni, the real cause of the attack was the
giving of shelter to Baz Bahadur of Malwa by Rana in AD 1502.
Smith attributes it to the desire of Akbar to conquer the whole of India which in
turn was inspired by a political propriety and an economic necessity.
According to Gopinath Sharma, Akbar decided to conquer Chittor first as against
any other state because he thought that if he defeated the Rana of Mewar or
made him his friend, the other rulers of Rajasthan would accept his suzerainty
automatically and he would not have to wage war against all of them and Akbar
was right in his thinking. This policy of his was based on a study of Rajput
psychology and it turned out to be successful. Within two to three years of the
fall of Chittor, Ranthambhore (AD 1569), Jodhpur (AD 1570), Bikaner (AD
1570), and Jaisalmer (AD 1570) accepted the suzerainty of Delhi and entered
into matrimonial relations with Akbar.
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Foundation of the A.L. Srivastava in his book Akbar the Great has said that Mewar was on the way to
Mughal Empire-II
Gujarat and therefore without bringing Mewar under the Mughal control, it was useless
to try and conquer Gujarat. Conquest of Mewar was also essential if Akbar was to
claim the title of the sovereign ruler of India.
NOTES
Thus, all the factors led to Akbar’s decision to conquer Mewar.
Akbar and Udai Singh
Udai Singh’s son Shakti Singh (who had sought Mughal’s refuge sometime ago,
being annoyed with his father) gave him the information that Akbar was planning to
conquer Mewar. To fulfil his campaign of conquest, Akbar attacked Mewar in AD
1567, and established his control over its capital, Chittor. Rana Udai Singh did not
accept Akbar’s sovereignty and he entrenched himself in Udaipur. For the next seven
to eight years Akbar was busy in other serious problems of the Empire and he could
not devote attention towards Udai Singh, who died in AD 1572, being succeeded by
Rana Pratap.
Akbar and Rana Pratap
Akbar sent many emissaries to Rana Pratap to ask him to accept the Mughal sovereignty
and present himself at the Mughal court. Once, Rana Man Singh also went to Rana
Pratap as Akbar’s emissary. Rana Pratap welcomed him. But he refused to compromise
with his freedom. After this, two other emissaries were sent in October and December
1573 under the leadership of Raja Bhagwan Das and Todarmal respectively. Rana
Pratap treated both of them with courtesy, but hesitated to accept Akbar’s sovereignty.
Unlike other Rajputs, he did not agree to come himself to the Mughal Court but sent
his son Amar Singh instead.
But Akbar was not satisfied with it and he decided to launch an attack on the
Rana and entrusted its command on the best Mughal General, Raja Man Singh of
Ajmer. In the famous Battle of Haldighati (18 June, 1576) the Rana was defeated and
he retreated to Gogunda. But he continued his resistance to the Mughals by guerilla
warfare. He got the co-operation of Bhils.
When between AD 1579 – AD 1585, Akbar could not devote his attention
towards the Rana because of numerous revolts taking place against himself, the Rana
took advantage of the situation and re-conquered many forts around Kumbhalgarh
and Chittor, though he could not re-conquer Chittor itself. He established his new
capital at Chavand near modern Dungarpur. In AD 1597, he sustained an internal
injury in a hunting accident which led to his death. At that time the Rana was just 51.
With the death of Rana Pratap ended an era in the history of the Rajputana. The story
of his struggle is that of Rajput bravery and sacrifice for his principles.
Akbar and Amar Singh
Amar Singh ascended the throne in AD 1597 after his father’s death. He also continued
the policy of struggle followed by his father and did not accept Mughal sovereignty.
By the time of Jahangir, he entered into a treaty after a prolonged struggle as a result
of which the Mughal Emperor gave him the alternative of sending his son Karana
Singh to the Mughal Court instead of presenting himself personally. Chittor fort was
returned to him but he could not get it repaired.
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Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
NOTES
Akbar’s policy towards the non-Muslims was one of tolerance. He soon abandoned
the rigid, cruel and hostile policy followed by the Delhi Sultans and the early Mughal
Emperors towards the Hindus. He was the first national ruler who aspired to lay the
foundations of his empire on the goodwill of both the Hindu and the Muslim
communities. His religious policy heralded a new era of peace, prosperity and unity
in the country. He founded the so called order or religion Din-i-Ilahi to give a common
platform to the Hindus and the Muslims.
Factors that led to Akbar’s Adoption of Liberal Policy
Many factors inspired Akbar to follow a liberal policy towards the non-Muslims.
Chief amongst them were as follows:
Personal life and personality: Akbar was liberal and tolerant by nature. The
circumstances of his birth, his upbringing and the teaching of his preceptor
Sheikh Abdul Latif played an important role in making him tolerant. The
discussions in the Ibadat Khana had convinced him that in spite of having
different names, Ram or Rahim, God was one. He wanted to be a true national
monarch.
Political necessity: Akbar wanted to extend and consolidate his empire. He
knew that the Hindus were the majority in India. He also realized that without
the cooperation and sympathy of the Hindus, the defence extensions, peace
stability and order in Mughal Empire was impossible.
Liberal policy: He was impressed by the qualities of the Hindus, particularly
the Rajputs. There was scarcity of the Mughal soldiers for ruling over the
whole of India. Further, to end the feeling among the people that the Mughals
were foreign rulers, Akbar thought it essential to follow a liberal policy. Self-Instructional
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Foundation of the Influence of many factors and personalities: Before Akbar, many rulers in
Mughal Empire-II
various parts of the country in the 15th century had turned non-communal and
got the religious literature translated into Persian, had extended patronage to
regional languages, had followed a tolerant religious policy and had accorded
NOTES high posts to the Hindus in their army and thus had created an atmosphere of
mutual understanding between the two communities. This historical background
inspired Akbar to adopt a liberal and tolerant religious policy. The Bhakti
movement and the followers of Sikh saints also inspired Akbar to adopt a liberal
and tolerant policy. Akbar’s mother and his tutor, Bairam Khan belonged to the
Shia sect. His Rajput wives also helped in making him tolerant. Thus, the
atmosphere of the Royal harem and liberal personalities made him liberal
minded.
Characteristics of Akbar’s Religious Policy
In AD 1562, Akbar worked in this direction after his accession:
(i) He issued a farman prohibiting the war prisoners to be forcibly converted to
Islam.
(ii) In AD 1563, he brought to an end the pilgrimage tax of bathing in places of
pilgrimage like Prayag and Banaras.
(iii) In AD 1564, he abolished Jaziya. According to Islamic injunctions, non-Muslims
of the Islamic states had to pay this tax. Though it was not a very oppressive
tax financially, yet it was not liked.
(iv) Though he had opened the avenues for the appointment of non-Muslims in the
royal service in AD 1562, yet he appointed Todarmal only on a high post in the
revenue department in AD 1563. In AD 1574, he was made the Diwan (Wazir
or Finance Minister). Soon after, Rama Das was appointed as the Naib Diwan
of the State. The ruler of Amer Bharmal was given a high office, his son Bhagwan
Das got a mansab of 5000 and his son Man Singh got a mansab of 7000.
Another person worth mentioning is a Brahmin called Mahesh Das, who was
given the title of Raja Birbal. He placed Birbal amongst the nine jewels of his
court. Birbal always stayed with Akbar.
(v) Akbar entered into matrimonial relations with daughters of many Hindu Rajas
and high families, e.g., he married Mani Bai, the younger daughter of Bharmal.
The rulers of Jaisalmer and Bikaner also established matrimonial relations with
Akbar.
(vi) He treated his common Hindu subjects and Muslims equally. Hindus were
given full freedom for construction of new temples or repair of old temples.
They could celebrate their festivals freely.
(vii) He had given his Hindu wives full freedom to worship as they liked in his
harem.
(viii) He honoured the scholars of every religion equally. In AD 1575, he established
an Ibadatkhana in his new capital of Fatehpur Sikri. Here he invited religious
preachers and scholars of every religion. The discussion could continue till
only AD 1582.
(ix) To give a uniform religion to the Hindus and Muslims, he propagated a new
religion called Tauhi Illahi. Though this religion could not become very popular
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and came to an end with the death of Akbar, still the effort of Akbar is worthy Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
of praise.
(x) He also tried to remove the evils prevailing in the Hindu religion. He opposed
the customs of Sati and supported widow re-marriage.
NOTES
(xi) Along with the Hindus, he behaved equally and liberally with the Shias, Sufis,
Jains, Christians and others.
Development of Akbar’s Religious Views
Undoubtedly, in the beginning of his reign, Akbar was a traditional and a staunch
Muslim. Between AD 1562 and 1582, his religious ideas underwent a continuous
transformation. Various stages of his religious views can be studied as follows:
1. Orthodox Muslim: Initially Akbar was an orthodox Muslim. He respected
greatly the Chief Qazi of the State, Abdul Nabi Khan. He is said to have even
carried his shoes on one occasion. He is said to have remembered the name of
Allah the whole night and remained immersed in the thoughts of Allah. He
remained busy with a mystic view and thanked Allah for his successes. Very
often, he sat on a smooth stone of an old building in front of his palace and
remained immersed in religious and mystic views.
2. His initial activities connected with liberal religious policy: From AD 1562,
he started adopting a policy of religious tolerance. At that time, he was a young
man of 20 years. By a farman he prohibited making the women and children of
the defeated party slaves and also stopped forcing the prisoners to embrace
Islam. In AD 1563, the pilgrimage tax on the Hindus was ended and in AD
1564, the Jaziya was ended. In AD 1562, he opened the doors of state
appointments for the Hindus and the same year he married Mani Bai, the
daughter of Bharmal of Ajmer. He still continued to read Namaz regularly and
visited the tomb of saints like Salim Chisti.
3. Establishment of the Ibadatkhana: With the liberal development in his
religious view, Akbar, on one hand, collected the scholars of various schools of
liberal views and on the other hand in AD 1575, he got an Ibadatkhana
constructed in his new capital, Fatehpur Sikri. In this house of worship he
invited the religious preachers, mystics and famous scholars of his time and
carried on discussions with them in spiritual subjects. He had to bear many
attacks from staunch Mullahs and the Ulemas after the construction of
Ibadatkhana. He often used to attend the discussions going on here. Often, he
told the Mullahs that his sole aim in it was to realize the truth brought to light
by the real scholars. Initially, this Ibadatkhana was open only for the Muslims
and then when the Mullahs started quarrelling amongst themselves, he opened
the doors of Ibadatkhana for scholars and thinkers of non-Muslim religions
also. Now the followers of all religions, Hinduism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism,
Christianity and even atheists started participating in the discussions of the
Ibadatkhana. Gradually, the discussions in the Ibadatkhana widened so much
so that the subjects like Quran being the ultimate divine work and Muhammad
being the ultimate prophets were included in the discussions on which all the
Muslims were of one opinion. This led to many orthodox Mullahs spreading
the rumour that Akbar wants to forsake the Islamic religion. Actually, the
Ibadatkhana brought more ill fame to Akbar than credit. The Qazis issued
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Foundation of the many Fatwas against Akbar but he suppressed their revolt and accorded severe
Mughal Empire-II
punishments to rebel Qazis.
4. Reading of Fatwa personally and giving land grant: On 16 June, 1579,
Akbar removed the Imam of the Jama Masjid of Fatehpur Sikri and read the
NOTES Fatwa himself. It was composed by the famous Persian poet Faizi. He said
non-vegetarian food was unnatural. He started giving land grants to the Hindu,
Jain and Persian institutions. It was not a new thing for the rulers in countries
from outside India to read the Fatwa themselves. But the orthodox Muslims of
India considered it the beginning of a new custom and so activated rumours of
Akbar being non-Islamic.
5. Issuing of Mazhar: Akbar did not bow before the orthodox Mullahs. To deal
with them as well as to consolidate his position, he proclaimed the Mazhar in
August–September, AD 1579. This proclamation which was signed by the
principal Ulemas was interpreted wrongly by some historians as the Doctrine
of Infallibility. In reality, the proclamation said that in case of any dispute among
the scholars with regard to any interpretations of the Quran, Akbar would have
the right of choosing any interpretation he liked, which he thought to be in the
interest of a majority of his subjects, and the country at large. It was also enjoyed
therein keeping in mind the welfare of the country. If Akbar issued any new
proclamation in accordance with the Quran, it would have to be accepted.
Thus, Akbar did not assume the position of the maker of religious injunctions
but claimed for himself the right to the ultimate interpretation of the Quran.
6. Abandonment of the pilgrimage to tombs: After AD 1579, Akbar did not
visit any Mazar or tomb. He left it as being very much akin to a narrow outlook,
belief in polytheism and idol worship.
7. Stopping of the discussion of the Ibadatkhana and starting of personal
interviews: Seeing the bitterness of the religious discussion in the Ibadatkhana
and the efforts by the followers of one religion to degrade those of the other,
Akbar brought an end to the discussions in the Ibadatkhana in AD 1582. But
he continued his search for the truth. His critics and the staunch Muslim historian
Badayuni attacked him saying that certain people do not do anything except
searching for the truth day and night. Akbar had personal interviews with the
leaders of various religious saints and preachers. He invited Purushottam and
Devi to know about the principles and teachings of the Hindu religion. To
understand the Jain religion, he invited chief Jain saint Hari Vijay Suri from
Kathiavad and made him stay at his court for two years. With all honour, Meharji
Rana was invited to explain the principles of Zoroastrianism. Portuguese
scholars were invited from Goa to explain the principles of Christianity. Akabiba
and Manseriat spent three years in Akbar’s court for this purpose. He met Sufi
saints also from time to time. These meetings led him to believe that in spite of
the difference in the name of different religions and their duties, certain good
points existed in all. He realized that if common good points of all the religions
are emphasized, goodwill can be created among the people of different sects in
the country.
8. Founding the so-called new religion: After discussion with the religious
leaders of various sects, Akbar believed that in spite of the diversity in name,
God is one. Historian Badayuni said, ‘The Emperor believed firmly that good
people existed in all religions. If some true knowledge could be gained by this
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then why should the truth remain confined to just one religion.’ Akbar was Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
unhappy with the bitter religious discussions because it obstructed the creation
of an atmosphere congenial to the progress and goodwill in the nation. To him,
the solution to this problem appeared to be the founding of a new religion
comprising the good points of every religion but free of the defects of all. NOTES
Badayuni stressed the fact that Akbar gradually drifted away from Islam and
founded a new religion comprising the good points of various religions like
Hinduism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism. But modern scholars say that Akbar
did not start any new religion. They think that his orthodoxy had led Badayuni
to exaggerate the facts. They say that there is no proof of the fact that Akbar
either founded a new religion or ever thought of starting one. Abdul Fazal and
Badayuni used the word Tauhid-i-lahi to describe the so called new religion.
Whatever is the truth, Akbar wanted to bring about a harmony between the
people of various sects through the medium of this religion, but he did not take
very great interest in the propagation nor did he pressurize anyone to follow it.
Din-i-Ilahi
Contacts with the leaders of various religions, reading of their learned works, meeting
with the Sufi saints and yogis gradually convinced Akbar that while there were
differences of sect and creed, all religions had a number of good points which were
obscured in the heat of controversy. He felt that if the good points of various religions
were emphasized, an atmosphere of harmony and amenity would prevail which would
be for the good of country.
Further, he felt that behind all the multiplicity of names and forms, there was
but one God. As Badauni observed, as a result of all the influences which were brought
to bear on His Majesty, ‘there grew gradually as the outline of stone, the conviction in
his heart that there were some sensible men in all religions. If some true knowledge
was thus everywhere to be found, why should truth be confined to one religion.’
Hence, he brought a solution of the problem, i.e., of having a religion that has the
excellent points of the existing creeds and the defects of none. So, he consulted the
foremost leaders of the various religious communities and unfolded to them his scheme
of having a religion which should be the combination of the merits of all the faiths and
the defects of none. He said, ‘We ought, therefore to bring them all into one but in
such fashion that there should be both one, and all, with the great advantage of not
losing what is good in any one religion, while gaining whatever is better in another. In
that way honour would be rendered to God, peace would be given to the people and
security to the empire.’ So, having put together the general principles of all religions,
he established a synthesis of various creeds and called them Din-i-Ilahi.
Main Principles of Din-i-Ilahi
Mohsin Fani, the author of Debistani-i-Mazahib, described some of the leading
principles of Din-i-Ilahi:
(i) Liberality and beneficence
(ii) Abstinence from the worldly desires
(iii) Forgiveness to the evil doer
(iv) Soft voice and gentle words for everybody
(v) Good treatment to all those who come in contact
(vi) Dedication of the soul in the love of God Self-Instructional
Material 701
Foundation of the The whole philosophy of Akbar was ‘the pure weapon (shastra) and the pure sight
Mughal Empire-II
never err.’ He found that the narrow minded religiously zealous was a menace to the
society. Accordingly, he made an attempt to bring about a synthesis of all the important
religions and styled it Din-i-Ilahi or Tauhid-i-Ilahi (Divine Monotheism). It was a
NOTES socio-religious order—a brotherhood designed to cement diverse communities in the
land. The followers of this religion believed in the following principles:
(i) God is one and Akbar is his Caliph or representative. In this way its basis was
the Unity of God, the cornerstone of Islam.
(ii) The followers of this religion used to greet each other by one saying ‘Allah-u-
Akbar’ and the other replying ‘Jall-a-Jolalohu’ when they met.
(iii) As far as possible, the followers of his religion abstained from meat eating.
(iv) The followers used to worship Sun God and considered the fire sacred.
(v) The followers of this religion were opposed to child marriage and marriage of
old women.
(vi) The neophyte in the religion used to bow before the Emperor on Sunday and
the Emperor used to instruct him and the neophyte used to repeat the instruction
again and again.
(vii) Every member used to host a party on his birthday and used to give charity.
(viii) Apart from their own instructions the followers were not to honour any other
ritual, place of worship or sacred book.
(ix) Every follower vowed to keep his character high and do good to others.
(x) The followers of this religion used to respect all religions equally.
Propagation of Din-i-Ilahi
Although there were a number of adherents of the so-called Divine Faith, it did not
live for long after Akbar. Blochman has collected from Abul Fazal and Badayuni the
names of 18 prominent members, Raja Birbal being the only Hindu in the list. The
herd of the unnamed and the unrecorded followers probably never numbered. In order
to complete the subject, it may be noted that in September, 1595, Sadr Jahan, the
Mufti of the empire, with his two sons, took the Shasi joined the Faith, and was
rewarded with a command of 1,000.’At the same time sundry other persons conformed
and received commands’ ranging from 100 - 500. Father Pinheiro, writing from Lahore
on 3 September, AD 1595, mentions that in that city the royal sect had many adherents,
but all for the sake of the money paid to them. No later contemporary account of the
Din-i-Ilahi has been found.
Din-i-Ilahi perished with Akbar’s death though Jahangir continued to make
disciples after Akbar’s fashion. Both Smith and Woolsey Haig have condemned Akbar
for promulgating what they have termed a religion of his own. The Divine Faith’ says
Dr Smith, was a monument of Akbar’s folly and not of his wisdom. Elsewhere, he
calls it ‘a silly invention’.
Following Badayuni, a bigoted and over-strict Muslim, with whom the omission
of a single ceremony of Islam amounted to apostasy, and adopting the same line of
argument as he, they have inevitably come to the same conclusion.
As a profound student of India, as well as Islamic history, Akbar made a direct
appeal to the innermost sentiments of his subjects by giving his Sangha a religious
Self-Instructional
character. Neither the aim of the order nor the object of its author can be duly
108 Material
appreciated unless it is regarded as an instrument with which the mastermind Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
endeavored to consolidate the Mughal empire by eradicating from the minds of the
ruled their sense of subordination to the Muslim rulers. The chief motive underlying
the promulgation of the Divine Faith was the unification of India. Lanepoole justly
observes, ‘But broad minded sympathy which inspired such a vision of catholicity NOTES
left a lasting impression upon a land of warring creeds and tribes and for a brief while
created a nation where before there had been only factions.’
According to a renowned historian S.M. Zaffar, ‘The Divine Faith had far-
reaching consequences. It completely changed the character of the Muslim rule in
India. The Mughal Emperor was no longer regarded as a foreigner, trampling upon
the lives and liberties of the sons of the soil and depriving them of their birthrights.
The members of the different Faith had bound themselves by an oath to stand by the
emperor in weal and wore to sacrifice the religion, honour, wealth, life, liberty and all
for him’. Prof. R.S. Sharma also supports the same view. According to him, Akbar’s
aim in propagating this Doctrine was political not religious but Dr Satish Chandra
does not accept the view, he gives certain logic. First, the number of people embracing
this religion was very small and even amongst them many were Akbar’s personal
friends.
Second, when Akbar propagated this religion (AD 1582) then he had already
consolidated his empire. He started Tauhid-i-Ilahi only with the purpose to bring
about harmony and peace amongst the various sects. He was the most liberal exponent
of the principles of universal toleration.
To his open mind there was truth in all faiths, so he did not permit anybody to
be persecuted on the score of his religion. Solh-i-Kull (peace with all) was the principle Check Your Progress
he acted upon. The Hindus, the Christians, the Jains, and the followers of other religions 2. Fill in the blanks
enjoyed full liberty, both of conscience and public worship. Even when he promulgated with appropriate
the new religion of Din-i-Ilahi he never sought converts either by force or coercion. words.
By starting Din-i-Ilahi, he promoted the feeling of cultural unity and humanism to an (a) In 1562, Akbar
extent. issued a
prohibiting the
war prisoners to
ACTIVITY be forcibly
converted to
Islam.
Which international leader over the last century best typifies Akbar’s traits, (b) According to
in your opinion? Write a 500-word essay on the leader. Islamic
injunctions, non-
Muslims of the
Islamic states had
Jahangir to pay a tax
called _.
Salim became the Mughal emperor after his father, Akbar, passed away. Akbar had (c) Akbar placed
conferred the title of Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir on him and after he became Birbal amongst
king, he was known as Jahangir. Jahangir was born on 20 September 1569 and was the of
originally named Muhammed Sultan Salim. The coronation of Salim took place on 3 his court.
November 1605. Similar to Akbar, Jahangir was a kind and just king and was an able (d) The chief motive
underlying the
administrator besides being diplomatic in his speech. He was also a typical Muslim promulgation of
ruler, who was not very tolerant of Hindu customs and traditions. Jahangir was also a the Divine Faith
great patron of arts and received much support in his rule from his accomplished and was .
beautiful wife, Nur Jahan. The king and queen together passed many beneficial laws
that helped in the upliftment of their subjects. Self-Instructional
Material 109
Foundation of the As a person, Jahangir was a respectful son, loving father, helpful relative and
Mughal Empire-II
loyal friend. He was also a good husband to Nur Jahan and his other wives. While
there are records of Jahangir revolting against his father on some occasions, mostly
they stemmed from his desire to be independent rather than overtaking Akbar’s throne.
NOTES For all his merits, Jahangir also made mistakes because of his easy trust on many
shrewd, self-serving relatives and ‘friends’, who incited him regularly against his
father. By himself, he was not a ruthlessly ambitious person. It was this same weak,
trusting streak in him that led him to hand over a large part of the running of the
empire to the queen Nur Jahan.
Expansion of the Empire by Jahangir
One of the important points on his kingly agenda was to expand the boundaries of his
empire, just like Akbar before him. Akbar had already successfully captured almost
the entire north India and only some princely states and Mewar were left to conquer.
Jahangir made his aim to subjugate Mewar and sent his brother, Prince Parvez to
complete this task soon after he ascended the throne in AD 1605. After a series of
battles and negotiations, the Rana of Mewar accepted the suzerainty of Jahangir and
signed a peace treaty to this effect in AD 1615.
Jahangir’s next aim was to conquer the southern part of India and he managed to
subdue Khandesh and some part of Ahmednagar. However, the rest of Ahmednagar,
Bijapur and Golconda remained out of his reach despite many attempts. As a result, while
the Mughals could not expand much into southern India, the power of Mughal rulers
reached the ears of southern kings and created pressure of constant threat on them. However,
none of the rulers in the south were ready to yield to the Mughals and their rule.
Nur Jahan
Nur Jahan was a well-read, cultured, liberal, sharp woman who was fond of poetry,
music and art. She was also a capable and smart administrator who was not deterred
by criticism or grave problems. She acted as an advisor to her husband, Jahangir, and
was, in fact, have said to take most important decisions related to the rule of the
empire. She worked constantly on increasing her influence on the king and the court
and treated power as her right. Due to these reasons, she left a mark on the history
and all recounts of Jahangir’s rule. In AD1613, Jahangir formally elevated Nur Jahan
to the position of Badshah Begum or the first lady of the land. Nur Jahan’s increasing
influence led to a lot of discontent among nobles and other officials of the court, such
as Mahabat Khan and Jahangir’s son from another wife, Khurram, who felt that he
was the rightful heir to the throne. However, Nur Jahan always favoured Shariyar
instead, who was the son- in-law of Jahangir to ascend the throne after Jahangir. Nur
Jahan’s opposition to Khurram led him to revolt against the king, his father, in AD1622
.This revolt resulted in the loss of Kandahar, an important part of the Mughal Empire.
In all, Nur Jahan’s meddling in state affairs caused two major rebellions in the last
years of Jahangir’s reign which ultimately weakened the Empire and injured its image.
Development of Art and Culture
Jahangir was a knowledgeable and refined individual. He knew many languages well,
like Persian and Turkish and also had good command over Hindi and Arabic. He
worked independently on his autobiography, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri for 17 years and
subsequently got it formalized by official court writers. Historians find his descriptions
very well-written and evince that he was an intelligent man, had wide-ranging interests
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110 Material
and sophisticated tastes in art and architecture. He also promoted painting and brought Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
the art to new heights under his reign.
Development of Architecture
Jahangir also had a keen eye for architecture and he was responsible for getting NOTES
constructed many well-known monuments, such as the tomb of Akbar at Sikandrabad,
the mosque at Lahore, which is comparable to the great Jama Masjid, constructed
later by Shah Jahan at Delhi. The most well-known and unique monument constructed
during Jahangir’s time is the tomb of Itimad-ud-daula near Agra, commissioned and
envisioned actually by Nur Jahan. Jahangir also got constructed many vast, beautiful
gardens in Kashmir and Lahore.
Conquests of Jahangir
Even though Jahangir was highly trained in the use of multiple arms and also a proficient
horse rider, Jahangir not much interested in actually participating in battles and
preferred to send out his son or other military generals in his place. He did not take
part in any major battles even during his father’s reign. He was also not very enthusiastic
about improving the military system that his father had built up or to add more
sophisticated weaponry to his army. As far as religious beliefs are concerned, Jahangir
was neither an extremist nor an atheist, but stood somewhere midway. He did believe
in God and observed the basic traditions and customs of Islam.
Check Your Progress
Death of Jahangir 3. State whether the
following
Jahangir was very fond of his drink and ultimately died because of excessive statements are true
consumption of alcohol in AD 1627, on his way back from Kashmir, the region of or false.
Sarai Saadabad. His final resting place was Shahdara Bagh, in Lahore. His son, (a) Jahangir assumed
Khurram, later known as Shah Jahan, succeeded him on the throne. the title of Nur-
ud-din
Nur Jahan, Wife of Jahangir Muhammad
Jahangir after he
Nur Jahan was the daughter of Mirza Ghiyas Beg who belonged to a noble family of ascended the
Tehran and she was married to Mughal Emperor Jahangir. She was earlier known as throne.
Mehr-un-nisa. Mehr-un-nisa got married to Jahangir in AD1611 and was given the (b) He was greatly
title of Nur Mahal and Nur Jahan respectively by Jahangir afterwards. assisted by his
wife Nur Jahan
Early Life of Nur Jahan in administrative
affairs.
Mirza Ghiyas Beg worked under the service of Akbar and being a talented person he (c) The long-drawn
soon rose to eminence. He was appointed as the Diwan at Kabul and later on became war between
the Diwan of the emperor’s household. In AD 1594, Mehr-un-nisa was married to Ali Mewar and the
Mughals ended
Quli Beg. In AD 1599 Ali Quli Beg was given the title of Sher Afghan by Jahangir during Jahangir’s
when he killed a tiger single-handedly. reign.
When Jahangir ascended the throne, he appointed Sher Afghan as the Jagirdar (d) Jahangir greatly
improved the
of Burdwan in Bengal but he was eventually killed in a combat with Qutub-ud-din,
military system
the governor of Bengal. Mehr-un nisa was appointed in the service of Salima Begum, which he
the widow of Akbar, and it was there that Jahangir fell in love with her and eventually inherited from
married her. his father and
increased the
Influence of Nur Jahan on Mughal Politics fighting strength
of his army.
Jahangir, who was gradually becoming accustomed to her decision-making owing to
age and indifferent health, was also not reluctant to delegate his authority to his Self-Instructional
Material 111
Foundation of the intelligent and hardworking queen. Nur Jahan’s political career may be divided into
Mughal Empire-II
two periods. In the first, from AD1611 – 1622, her father and mother were alive and
kept a sobering influence on her ambitions. During the second period—AD1622 –
1627— Jahangir gave her more liberty to control the administration due to his ill-
NOTES health during this period. This resulted in her ambition to capture power of the throne
even after the death of her husband and consequently came in conflict with Shah
Jahan. Soon after her marriage, Nur Jahan formed a clique of her own called Nur
Jahan Junta. Each member of this clique was capable and occupied high offices in the
state. Nur Jahan remained supreme in administration till AD1622 with the help of
these powerful members of her clique.
Revolts Under Nur Jahan
In AD1621, Ladli Begum, Nur Jahan’s daughter by Sher Afghan, was married to
prince Shahryar. Nur Jahan desired to keep the power of the state in her hands even
after the death of her husband. Therefore, Nur Jahan planned to put Shahryar on the
throne after the death of Jahangir. This resulted in the revolt of Shah Jahan and the
weakening of the Empire in his later years of Jahangir’s reign. Mahabat Khan also
revolted in AD1626 and tried to finish the influence of Nur Jahan in the state. Mahabat
Khan was loyal to the throne but was among those nobles who did not like the increasing
influence of Nur Jahan in the state.
Nur Jahan knew it and therefore, she put a check on his promotions though he
was one of the ablest commanders of Jahangir. It resulted in the revolt of Mahabat
Khan. Thus, the interference of Nur Jahan in the politics of the state resulted in two
major rebellions during the last years of the reign of Jahangir which weakened the
Empire and harmed its prestige. If Nur Jahan would not have been interested in
accession of her son-in-law, Shahryar to the throne, the revolt of Shah Jahan would
not have occurred and there was no question of the revolt of Mahabat Khan. Thus, the
interference of Nur Jahan proved harmful to the Empire. When Nur Jahan married
Jahangir, she was thirty-four years of age. She was extremely beautiful even at that
age. Besides, she was an educated, intelligent and cultured lady and was fond of
poetry, music and painting. She wrote verses in Persian. She had an inventive brain
and devised new dresses, ornaments and styles of fashion and decoration. She was
interested in administration and had the capacity to tackle the relevant problems. She
was courageous, patient, social, generous, religious and friend of the poor and
oppressed. Nur Jahan was highly ambitious as well. She participated in administration,
interfered in the politics of her time, increased her influence and tried to keep the
power of the state in her hands. Therefore, she influenced the history and politics of
her time.
Revolt of Shah Jahan
The revolt of Shah Jahan resulted largely from the towering political ambition of Nur
Jahan and her conspiracy to prevent Shah Jahan from becoming the emperor after
Jahangir. The marriage of Ladli Begum, with prince Shahryar, in AD 1621, changed
the attitude of Nur Jahan towards Shah Jahan. He was regarded the crown-prince of
the Empire, and was a member of the Nur Jahan Junta. But Nur Jahan desired that in
place of Shah Jahan, the next emperor should be her own son-in-law, Shahryar who
could be a puppet in her hands. Therefore, she planned to reduce the power and
prestige of Shah Jahan. Her mother and father being dead by AD1622, there remained
nobody to put a check to her towering ambition. Shah Jahan also grew suspicious of
her activities and a conflict between the two became inevitable.
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112 Material
The Fort of Kandhar was besieged by Persia in early AD 1622. Jahangir ordered Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
Shah Jahan to march for its rescue. Shah Jahan agreed to march towards Kandhar
after the rainy reason and demanded entire Punjab and the fort of Rohtasgarh in
return. Nur Jahan got a chance to poison the ears of the Emperor because of the
demands of the prince. Shah Jahan was in the Deccan at that time and the enraged NOTES
emperor asked him to dispatch the troops and the officers under his command
immediately to the court. Another incident occurred at this very time which drove
further the wedge between the two parties. Shah Jahan had asked the jagir of Dholpur
from the emperor and, believing that his request would be granted he dispatched his
troops to occupy it in advance. But Nur Jahan had already got this jagir transferred in
the name of Shahryar from the Emperor. When the troops of Shah Jahan reached
Dholpur they quarreled with the Faujdar who was deputed there by Shahryar. This
enraged Jahangir who ordered Shah Jahan to send all his troops to the court.
Jahangir assigned his jagir in Dholpur to Shahryar. Nur Jahan grew suspicious
of the intentions of Shah Jahan and therefore, called Mahabat Khan from Kabul to the
court and deputed Asaf Khan to safeguard the royal treasury. Shah Jahan proceeded
forward from Mandu and made a surprise attack on Agra. He was, however, defeated
by the imperialists near Agra early in April AD1623. He returned to Mandu. Mahabat
Khan pursued him. Shah Jahan lost entire Gujarat to the imperialists. He then went to
Burhanpur and sought help from Ahmednagar and Bijapur which was, however,
refused. Mahabat Khan captured Burhanpur which was left unprotected by Shah
Jahan. Shah Jahan marched to Orissa and it fell easily in his hands. He captured
Bengal as well. He then proceeded to Bihar and occupied Bihar including the Check Your Progress
Rohtasgarh fort, Jaunpur and Patna. He next besieged the fort of Allahabad. Mahabat
4. Fill in the blanks
Khan followed him to the north and forced him to fight a battle near Allahabad. with appropriate
Shah Jahan was defeated and agreed to retreat. He returned to Ahmednagar via words.
Bihar, Bengal and Bijapur. Mahabat Khan followed him to the Deccan. But this time (a) Nur Jahan was
Shah Jahan received help from Malik Ambar and besieged the fort of Burhanpur but the daughter of
had to withdraw due to the timely arrival of Mahabat Khan for the rescue of the fort. who
belonged to a
Shah Jahan retreated to Balaghat and took shelter in the fort of Rohangarh. Shah noble family of
Jahan begged mercy of the Emperor which was granted to him. Jahangir gave him Tehran.
the governorship of Balaghat as well. In return, however, Shah Jahan surrendered the (b) In AD1613, Nur
forts of Rohtasgarh and Asirgarh to the imperialists and sent his sons Dara Shikoh Jahan was
and Aurangzeb to the court as hostages for his good conduct in future. elevated to the
rank
Shah Jahan of .
5. State whether the
following
Shah Jahan ruled the Mughal Empire from AD 1628–1658. The son of the royal
statements are true
leader Jahangir and his Rajput Queen, popularly called Jodhabai, Shah Jahan was or false.
born on 5 January 1592. Subsequent to the death of his father, he proclaimed himself
(a) Shah Jahan was
the Emperor of the Mughal Dynasty. He extended the political supremacy which was a member of the
established in India by Akbar. The kingdom enjoyed peace and opulence during his Nur Jahan Junta.
reign. His reign was said to be the golden age of Mughal Empire in India. (b) Shah Jahan
agreed to
Reign of Shah Jahan recapture the
Fort of Kandhar
The reign of Shah Jahan was marked as the golden age of the Mughal dynasty. Shah and demanded
Jahan was well educated and cultured, and was known to have provided protection to the entire Punjab
and the fort of
scholars. Persian and Sanskrit literature flourished during his reign. He also patronized Rohtasgarh in
fine arts, appreciated music, painting and structural design. return.
Self-Instructional
Material 113
Foundation of the He had several wives; nonetheless, he was devoted to them. He constructed
Mughal Empire-II
the Taj Mahal to commemorate his love for Mumtaz Mahal. He loved his children
and gave them all necessary training and comforts. He was a hard fighter and an
accomplished commander. He participated in all important campaigns not only during
NOTES his life time, but also had led most of the conquests for his father Jahangir. Soon after
he occupied the throne, he started his military campaigns and busied himself with
extending the boundaries of the Mughal Empire. During his reign, Ahmednagar was
completely annexed to the Mughal dominion, and Bijapur and Golconda were enforced
to accept the suzerainty of the royal leader. He even attempted to conquer Central
Asia and recover Kandahar. Shah Jahan was a just sovereign and solemnly desired
the welfare of his subjects. Trade, industry and agriculture flourished and the state as
well as the subjects enjoyed prosperity during the entire period of his reign. He worked
hard and personally supervised the administration of the Empire. He brought about
enhancement in the mansabdari system. He helped his subjects generously in times
of famines and natural calamities. With regard to religious affairs, he was
unquestionably orthodox when compared with Jahangir and Akbar; yet he did not get
in the way of the daily life of the Hindus and the Christians. He participated in fairs
and festivals of the Hindus and he continued the practices of Jharokha Darshan and
Tula Dan as before. He continued the policy of his father and grandfather towards the
Rajputs and commanded their respect and loyalty.
Trade activities flourished between Delhi, Agra, Lahore, and Ahmedabad during
the reign of Shah Jahan as a result of improved network of roads and waterways. The
greatest achievement of this great good judge of art was the architectural structures
and gravestones erected by him during his life time. A major revolution that occurred
during his period was the replacement of red sandstone with the more expensive
marble as the construction material. As seen in the Diwan-i-am (hall of public audience)
or the black marble exhibition area of the Shalimar Gardens in Srinagar. The Jama
Masjid, the Moti Masjid and the tomb of Jahangir in Lahore unquestionably deserves
mention here. The most famous of all his works is the legendary Taj Mahal at Agra
built as a tomb for his wife, Empress Mumtaz Mahal.
Achievements of Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan pursued the same guiding principles of his ancestors Akbar and Jahangir
regarding the extension of the Empire’s boundaries towards south India. Moreover,
the fact that the states of south India sheltered the rebels in opposition to the Mughals
did not sit well with Shah Jahan and hence, he desired to get the better of these states.
In AD1633 Ahmednagar was annexed to the Mughal Empire.
The ruling family of Golconda was Shia and its rule had refused to acknowledge
the suzerainty of the Mughals. Shah Jahan desired to conquer Golconda. He was able
to manage this when Abdullah Qutub Shah ascended the throne, and he agreed to the
terms and conditions of the Mughal Emperor. In AD 1636, Shah Jahan attacked
Daulatabad. Bijapur was weak at that time due to rebellious attempts of its nobles.
Consequently, Muhammad Adil Shah voluntarily agreed for peace and an agreement
was signed between the two parties. The Deccan guiding principle of the Mughals
proved fairly triumphant for the duration of the period of influence of Shah Jahan.
Since the annexation of Ahmednagar, both Bijapur and Golconda also accepted the
suzerainty of the royal leader. The rulers of these kingdoms were obligatory to pay the
annual acknowledgment from time to time and parts of their territories for the Mughals
to establish their forts and watch stations. Some other minor invasions also occurred
Self-Instructional during Shah Jahan’s rule. These conquests include the following:
114 Material
The Bhils of Malwa and Gonda Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
Raja Pratap of Palam
The Raja of Little Tibet
Raja Pratap of Palam and the Raja of Little Tibet were pardoned after they accepted NOTES
the suzerainty of the Mughals. Moreover, Assam was forced to establish trade relations
with the Mughal kingdom after constant fighting for over a decade spanning from AD
1628 – 1639.
War of Succession
Chaos and bloodshed related to wars of succession for the throne had become the
order of Mughal Era. All the four sons of Shah Jahan – Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja,
Aurangzeb and Murad, started fighting among themselves during the last years of
Shah Jahan’s rule. Shah Jahan personally chose Dara as the would-be heir. But the
Muslim nobles disliked the popular Dara for his liberal mindset.
Ultimately, Aurangzeb cleansed all obstructions through coercion and bloodshed.
He imprisoned Shah Jahan, and murdered Murad and Dara, while the helpless Shah
Shuja ran away from India. Shah Jahan died on 22 January, 1666, in Agra.
War of Succession and Emergence of Aurangzeb
The war of succession after Shah Jahan was a fierce battle waged by the sons of the
royal leader —Shah Shuja, Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb and Murad—in order to seize
the Mughal throne. Emperor Shah Jahan fell critically ill in November1657. When he
recovered from his illness and because of the embarrassment caused by his illness
(dysentery and strangury), he commanded the fortress doors to be closed to everybody,
except his elder son Dara Shikoh and daughter Jahanara. Moreover, he asked his
faithful Rajputs, Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur and Ram Singh, to set a guard in his fort.
This resulted in the rumours among the local population that the Emperor had passed
away. Check Your Progress
The news reached Shah Shuja. He instantaneously gathered a force of 40,000 6. Fill in the blanks
cavalry and an authoritative infantry and marched towards Delhi with the intention of with appropriate
seizing the throne. Contrary to the prevalent rumours, Shah Jahan recovered completely words.
from his ailments, even though Aurangzeb later confined him to a cell till his death in (a) A major
the Agra fort. At Dara‘s commencement, Shah Jahan sent a letter to his son telling revolution that
him of his recovery. But Shuja‘s advisers told him that this might be a ruse and urged occurred during
his period was
him to proceed with his revolt. In retaliation, the Emperor sent Suleman Shikoh with the replacement
a strong force to oppose him. Despite the fact that he was very courageous and of with
intellectual, he lacked the field know-how and was consequently backed by Raja Jai the more
expensive
Singh of Jaipur and Daler Khan the Pathan. They laid an ambush for Shah Shuja and as the
the prince walked into it. His force was in flight and he just about managed to break construction
away from, abandoning his combat elephants, artillery and men. material.
Aurangzeb was in the Deccan when he heard of the rumours of the death of his (b) Shah Jahan built
the tomb of
father. Being a thorough diplomat, he started plotting the actions and being an Jahangir
experienced strategist, he bided his time. Murad Bakhsh’s initial reaction, on the in .
other hand, was to congregate a small armed force and rush to his father’s side. He (c) Ahmednagar was
suspected someone had tried to poison him. Aurangzeb realized that whatever course annexed to the
events took, he would become involved in the conflict, so he took action to ensure an Mughal Empire
in .
impermanent peace in his province. Aurangzeb struck a deal with Shivaji Bhonsle
Self-Instructional
Material 115
Foundation of the that he would not attack the prefecture while Shivaji is gone and in return Shivaji will
Mughal Empire-II
get a part of the revenue from the Deccan. When Shah Jahan heard that his third son
was also planning to attack his capital, he came back to Agra. In the meantime, Dara
Shikoh also warned Aurangzeb against committing treason against their father in a
NOTES letter he wrote to Aurangzeb. Next, Aurangzeb put efforts into winning Murad over
to his side and wrote a letter to Murad to this effect.
In the letter, he declared that he wanted to put Murad on the throne because of
his fervor for the Holy Quran, and his disinterest in acquiring power for himself. He
also stated that he just wanted to spend his last days peacefully in Mecca. He promised
Murad a war funding, encouraging Murad to claim his right to the throne. Murad,
little knowing the true intentions of Aurangzeb, was thankful and acknowledged his
brother’s enthusiastic support. He promised to take care of his family, as it was his
significant privilege, and agreed that his other brothers would have forgotten even
their religious convictions in their quest for power.
Thus Aurangzeb gained Murad’s trust and Murad also fell into the trap. This
led to the royal family being split apart and every family member now had to decide
which camp to join in the war of succession. Aurangzeb left his capital on 5 February
AD 1658, leaving Moazzam Shah in Aurangabad. He reached Burhanpur on 18 th
February. Along the way, he imprisoned his father-in-law, who had posed opposition
to him. In Early April he went across the river Narmada followed by his troops. He
met Murad Bakhsh on the banks of Lake Ujjain and later halted at Dharmatpur. Murad
Bakhsh had with him the reinforcement of 70,000 cavalry to help with Aurangzeb’s
cause.
The engaged in battle, on 20 April, with Jaswant Singh Rajput, whom they
overpowered. After crossing the turbulent River Chambal, they were ambushed by
Dara Shikoh’s son, Siphur Shikoh. A battle ensued and Aurangzeb lost 5,000 men by
drowning and to gun bullets. Finally, in end of May of 1658, at Sambugarh, eight
miles east of Agra, Aurangzeb and Murad’s armies encountered Dara Shikoh’s army.
Dara Shikoh had a strong army that comprised of 30,000 cavalry, 20,000 infantry and
musketeers, and 200 European artillery men. They also had elephants and camels in
abundance to carry their supplies. The army was made up of butchers, barbers,
carpenters, blacksmiths—all inexperienced men in terms of war. In addition, many
others had left the army because they were dissatisfied by Dara’s leadership. However,
Dara also had some able generals who brought along their own armies: Khalilullah
Khan commanded 30,000 Mughals; Ram Singh Rathore had 15,000 Rajputs, and
Rustam Khan, 15,000 cavalry. The army was camped next to the river Yamuna. On
the other hand, the army of Aurangzeb had fewer warriors but they were all experienced
men: Bahadur Khan commanded 15,000 cavalry, and Najabat Khan led 15,000 archers
and musketeers.
Murad was accompanied by Rajputs, 50,000 armed cavalry, and artillery and
also his own son, who was just a child at the time. The biggest mistake that Dara
Shikoh made was to wait to attack until the next morning, on the advice of his astrologer.
At dawn, Dara Shikoh found himself and his troops surrounded by Aurangzeb’s officers
Asalat Khan, Safshi Khan, and Sheikh Mir with their troops. The Rajputs refused to
be intimidated but were killed brutally by Aurangzeb’s artillery. Ram Singh died on
the battlefield. Dara’s archers finally got into the fray by showering the enemy with
arrows. In the meantime, Dara was asked to come down off his elephant by Khalilullah,
his friend, so that he is not in clear sight of the enemy. This was a major mistake, as it
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turned out, because as soon as his army men saw him dismounting, they assumed that Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
he had surrendered or abandoned the troops and they were panic-stricken and ran
away, deserting their own posts.
Somehow, Dara and his son managed to escape from the melee even though
Aurangzeb sent 4,000 cavalrymen to chase and capture them. The father and son NOTES
subsequently reached Delhi. Successfully having overpowered Dara Shikoh,
Aurangzeb and Murad proceeded to Agra and camped at Bagh-i-Dara, in a hunting
pavilion near Mathura. Here, they were visited by Jahanara who brought a missive
from Shah Jahan, their father, which chastised them for their attempt to seize the
throne while their father was alive. He commanded them to give away their struggle
for power and agree to his wishes. Naturally, Aurangzeb was not happy and opined
that it was time that his father stopped favoring Dara Shikoh over his other sons. He
also declared that since his father was almost 70, he should step down from his throne.
This disappointed Jahanara, who went back to her father to report that his sons wanted
him to renounce the throne. Aurangzeb then began his negotiations with his father.
However, the negotiations failed and he subsequently attacked the Agra fort. Shah
Jahan’s defeat seemed imminent and he surrendered to his son’s obviously superior
military power.
After it was made certain that all the nobles and the court had submitted to
Aurangzeb and Murad, the two brothers went to Mathura, to the Bagh-i- Dara, since
Murad needed to get treatment for deep arrow wounds to his face. While he was laid
up with injuries, Aurangzeb took it upon himself to deal with matters that came up
after their victory.
After things normalized, Aurangzeb invited Murad to a celebratory dinner.
Murad’s advisers were suspicious of this and advised him against attending. However,
Aurangzeb proved to be a gracious host and after dinner, invited his brother to sleep
overnight at his palace and leave only in the morning. Murad agreed and paid for his
folly because he was bound in his sleep in chains by Aurangzeb’s men. Aurangzeb
imprisoned him in Salimgarh first, under protection of 4,000 soldiers and later sent
him to Gwalior on 25 June. Aurangzeb’s forces also defeated Shah Shuja at Khwaja
on 9 January 1659. After a long chase, on 9 June 1659 Dara and his son Siphur were
also captured by Aurangzeb and Dara was beheaded. The victorious Aurangzeb
became the emperor on 23 May 1658. On 8 June, Shah Jahan, Jahanara, and some
other members of the royal family were made virtual prisoners in the palace at Agra.
Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb was the son of Shah Jahan and he ascended the throne as the sixth Mughal
Emperor in AD1658. Even though he was an extremely able administrator, it was his
religious intolerance and fanaticism which created unrest among his subjects and led
to the gradual undoing of the Mughal Empire.
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Foundation of the Aurangzeb was the third son of Shah Jahan and among the last Mughal Emperors
Mughal Empire-II
to rule over India. He was born in AD 1618 at Dohad near Ujjain. Aurangzeb was a
hardworking and thorough man who had proved himself as an able administrator in
the years that he spent in the Deccan as well as other regions of the Empire. He learnt
NOTES all the tactics of diplomacy due to his expertise as a skilled soldier and general. All
this came handy when he waged the war of succession with his father and his brothers.
The end of the conflict was marked by Aurangzeb succeeding his father to the throne.
On taking authority as the supreme ruler of the mighty dynasty, he assumed the title
of Alamgir (conqueror of the world), followed by Badshah (Emperor) and then Ghazi
(Holy Warrior) to propound the essence of the roles he would play.
During the reign of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Dynasty was at its pinnacle with
more regions of India becoming part of the Empire. From the time he was young,
Aurangzeb had occupied various important positions during his father’s reign. Thus,
when he usurped the power of his father and ascended the throne, he had the rich
experience as the governor of Gujarat, Multan and Sind to aid him in his day-today
affairs. Aurangzeb was a staunch Sunni Muslim and followed the principles of Islam.
He led a disciplined life and abstained from drinking alcohol. He led a very simple
life and spent little on his attire and food.
Administration of Aurangzeb
Having succeeded Shah Jahan to the throne, Aurangzeb had the dominion over the
largest area under him as a Mughal Emperor, compared to both his predecessors and
successors. He proved himself as a capable ruler and ruled with an iron fist and keen
intellect. His empire extended from Ghazni in the west to Bengal in the east and from
Kashmir in the north to the Deccan in the south.
In fact, one of the reasons cited by prominent historians for the downfall of the
Empire was the over-extended empire that Aurangzeb ruled. Since his youth,
Aurangzeb, being a staunch Sunni Muslim, was deeply devoted to Islam. Soon after
occupying the throne, he felt the need to model his administration along Islamic
principles. He felt indebted to the divine powers for making him the emperor and
wanted to do his duty towards Islam by holding up its tenets through his rule, especially
Check Your Progress those of the Sunni faith. He was of the opinion that all Mughal kings who rule before
7. State whether the him had done grave injustice to Islam by being tolerant of other religions and treating
following them the same as Muslims. As a result, they could not establish the supremacy of
statements are true
or false.
Islam in India. He vowed to change this as he felt that this was his foremost duty as a
Muslim ruler. This mindset actually led to Aurangzeb’s limited vision, narrow vision
(a) In the war of of his empire and turned him into a brutal and unjust ruler.
succession fought
between the four As the first step towards establishing the Muslim supremacy in his empire, he
sons of Shah introduced various policies, most of which were a simple reverse of the policies that
Jahan, Aurangzeb
emerged the were introduced by his forefathers. Thus, his administration saw the birth of a new
winner. class of people whose responsibility was to cleanse the society of various non-Islamic
(b) Aurangazeb was practices such as gambling, alcohol consumption and prostitution. Besides banning
the eldest son of the cultivation and production of narcotic substances, he did away with many of the
Shah Jahan. taxes which found no mention in the Islamic law. Besides all this, he also banned Sati,
(c) Murad Bakhsh a Hindu practice which was common in his time.
suspected that
someone had Most of these steps when implemented found favour among his people. But
poisoned his with the passing of time, and in his attempt to realize his bigger objective of fulfilling
father.
his religious vows, he adopted more puritanical ways. Some of these factors that
made him unpopular among his subjects were the ban on music which meant that
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many musicians lost their livelihood. The emperor also put a stop to general festivities Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
at the court, including the ceremony of giving gifts to emperor on his birthday. He
banned the celebration of Hindu festivals like Holi and Diwali at the court. Besides
this, he imposed rules and laws on Muslims naming them a religious duty. Even
tolerant Shias and Sufis were punished during Aurangzeb’s reign. He proceeded to NOTES
demolish the schools and temples patronized by Hindus. In April AD1679, Jaziya
was imposed on the Hindus. Pilgrimage tax on the Hindus was also revived and
while the Muslim traders remained free from tax, their Hindu counterparts were
asked to pay one part of the value of their commodities as tax.
While he went about with the demolition of schools and temples of Hindus, a
lot of the resources were spent from the treasury for the construction of many masjids
and the upkeep of the existing mosques and other Mughal buildings. Some popular
and exquisite buildings that were erected during his time include the Moti Masjid in
the Red Fort. The masjid is made entirely of white marble and has exquisite carvings.
Another significant monument is the splendid Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, which
boasts of grand domes soaring over the red sandstone walls.
Military Campaigns of Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb was an extraordinary statesman, as is evident from his achievements. The
first one is the annexation of the kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda in less than a year,
which none of his predecessor could do. One must acknowledge the power of his iron
control that even when he was in the Deccan making military conquests, there were no
major uprisings in the north of the country. However, there were some minor episodes
of civil disturbances and a generally slack administration with the ruler being absent.
Revolts during the Reign of Aurangzeb
The tyrannical rule of Aurangzeb could not have gone smoothly. People were bound
to rise up in protest. The first community to rebel against his rule was of the Jats.
They can lay claim to the first organized revolt by the Hindus against Aurangzeb’s
stringent religious laws. Jats were led by Gokul and launched their revolt in AD1669.
To make matters worse Aurangzeb ordered to raze down the temple of Keshav Rai in
AD 1670.
With this incident, the Hindus rose up against him in the Battle of Tilpat, but
however, they were defeated and the surviving Jat leaders were put to severe ordeal.
The Jats who remained undaunted and determined, accumulated their forces under
the leadership of Raja Ram and staged yet another revolt against the Mughal Emperor
in AD 1686. Even though the outcome of the revolt was not a success for both the
parties, the Jats continued their fight against the Mughals till the death of Aurangzeb.
Finally, after his death, the Jats succeeded in founding their own independent kingdom
and Bharatpur was made its capital.
Besides the Hindus, the Sikhs also had fallen out of the favour of the Emperor,
who persecuted them also along with their Hindu brothers. The uprising of the Satnamis
was a major one during the rule of Aurangzeb. They were brave warriors but ultimately,
Aurangzeb’s forces overcame the rebellion.
Guru Gobind Singh led the Sikhs to revolt against Aurangzeb. While the revolt
itself was quickly suppressed by the strong military of Aurangzeb, the Sikhs as a
community came to be recognized as fierce warriors and as a result also made their
mark in the political machinery in Punjab later on.
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Foundation of the The Rajputs, who were in the good books of all the Mughal Emperors from
Mughal Empire-II
Akbar, became an eyesore to Aurangzeb. Doubting the loyalty of the Rajputs,
Aurangzeb began a series of conflicts with them and wished to end their independent
status by annexing their states to the Empire.
NOTES
Combat with the Marathas
One of the strategic mistakes that Aurangzeb made was his decision to subjugate
Bijapur and Golconda. However, the people of these two states were not ready for
Mughal rule and Bijapur residents resisted his invasions with the help of Marathas
and the Sultan of Golconda. Further, Shivaji emerged as an able general and disrupted
Aurangzeb’s run of victory. While the Mughal official, Shaista Khan proved to be
powerless against the Marathas, Mughals led by Jai Singh managed to wreak havoc
among Shivaji’s army. Consequently, in AD1665, Shivaji was made to sign a peace
treaty after spending his entire life in thwarting Mughal invasions against Maratha
power. Shivaji finally died in AD1680, and handed over the reins of carrying on the
fight against the Mughals to son Shambhuji. When Shambhuji helped out Akbar,
Aurangzeb’s son, Aurangzeb himself traveled to the Deccan in AD 1682, to handle
the situation. In 1682 finally, after a number of attempts, Aurangzeb managed to gain
control of Bijapur. Golconda fell soon after in 1687. However, the Marathas were not
going to be suppressed easily and raised a nation-wide resistance against Mughal
power by AD 1691. The rebellion carried on beyond the end of the 17th century.
Policies of Aurangazeb
In this section, you will learn about religious, deccan and Rajput policies of Aurangzeb.
Check Your Progress
Religious Policy of Aurangzeb
8. Fill in the blanks
with the Akbar had consolidated the Mughal Empire by his policy of religious tolerance.
appropriate word. Jahangir had also followed the same religious policy. Though Shah Jahan was not
(a) At the time of liberal like his two predecessors, still he kept politics away from religion. But
being crowned as Aurangzeb was a staunch Sunni Muslim and a fanatic. He wanted to win the sympathy
emperor,
Aurangzeb
of the fanatic Sunni Muslims by means of his fanatic religious policy. Therefore, to
assumed the title convert Hindustan from Dar-ul-Harb to Dar-ul-Islam he adopted two types of
of . measures – the first, which were in accordance with the Islam and the second, those
(b) Cultivation of which were against the non-Muslims and non-Sunnis.
was
banned Measures of Aurangzeb in accordance with Islam
throughout the
Empire. First of all he brought to an end the musical gatherings, dances, painting, poetry
(c) The Jats under reading, etc. Though, in spite of his restrictions on music, it continued among the
their leader ladies of the Harem and in the household of the chiefs. It is important that it was
revolted
against his
during his time that the most number of books were written in Persian on music. He
tyranny in ended the Jharokha Darshan describing it as individual worship, which was against
AD1669. Islam. He also ended the practice of Tuladan (weighing of the Emperor with coins)
(d) The Islamic thinking that it was a Hindu custom and a sort of superstition.
academic
curriculum, Moreover, weighing the Emperor in gold caused a significant economic loss to
known as the treasury. He also placed restrictions on the astrology and making of ‘panchang’.
, was But he was not very much successful in this effort, because many members of the
begun in his
reign.
royal household and many chiefs continued to act against this order.
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He also closed the brothels and gambling dens because Islam did not permit Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
them. This act was morally and socially right. He decorated the royal court in an
ordinary manner and the clerks were given mud-inkpots instead of silver ones. He
gave up wearing silken clothes and in the Diwan-i-Aam golden railing was replaced
by that of Lapiz Lazuli, which was inlaid with gold. NOTES
These measures of Aurangzeb were commendable from an economic point of
view. To decrease the state expenditure, he closed the government department
responsible for recording history. He ended the inscribing of ‘Kalma’ on the coins so
that it does not get dirty in exchange or it does not get trampled underfoot. He placed
restrictions on Nauroz because it was a festival of the Parsis and it had the support of
the Shias of Iran. He appointed Muhatasibs in all the provinces, whose main job was
to see whether people lived according to the Shariat or not. They had also to check the
people from indulging in liquor in public places. The Emperor had issued clear
instructions that officials were not to interfere in the personal life of the people but to
fully aid the government in raising the moral standards of the people. This encouraged
the trading profession among the Muslims and Aurangzeb made it tax-free but when
Muslim traders started indulging in dishonesty and started carrying the goods of the
Hindu traders as their own, then this tax was reimposed on them. But still they had to
pay only half the tax as compared to the Hindu traders. We can call it a discriminatory
decision which proved to be dangerous for the Empire and he had to revise this decision
very soon because of the opposition of the chiefs and the lack of able Muslims for the
post. He also issued instructions to put an end to the practice of Sati. In fact, Aurangzeb
took a commendable step in stopping this inhuman practice.
In view of the above-mentioned activities and measures of Aurangzeb, we
cannot call him fanatic because these measures were inspired by different motives.
Many of these measures were undertaken by Aurangzeb to fulfil his political and
economic motives. Aurangzeb knew that in the Mughal Court there were a large
number of members who were influenced deeply by Islam. Yadunath Sarkar has
pointed out the fact that Aurangzeb wanted to present himself as a strict Sunni and
thus wanted to diminish the marks of his cruel treatment towards Shah Jahan. But
whatever may have been his motives, it would have to be conceded that many of his
measures were not in accordance with the liberal religious policy started by Akbar.
Anti-Hindu steps and activities
Now we will turn our attention towards the measures which Aurangzeb took against
non-Muslims and for which he is described by many historians as intolerant and
fanatic. It is said that he destroyed many Hindu temples, did not give permission for
repairing the old temples and placed restrictions on the building of new temples.
Some modern historians defend Aurangzeb against the charge of fanaticism and hold
that the Firman issued by Aurangzeb to the brahmins of Banaras and Brindabana
clearly show that he neither desecrated the old temples nor prohibited the repair of old
temples. But even these historians agree that he did not give permission for the
construction of new temples.
According to them, Aurangzeb caused old temples to be destroyed to give
warning and punishment to the elements which were against him. He considered the
religious places of the Hindus to be a means for propaganda against him. In fact,
Aurangzeb did not issue any specific instructions for destructing the temples; temples
were destroyed only in times of war. Some of the temples that were destroyed during
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Foundation of the his time were the temples in Thatta, Multan and Banaras in AD 1669 and in Udaipur
Mughal Empire-II
and Jodhpur in AD 1679-1680. Though we have very few instances of Aurangzeb
giving grants to the Hindu temples, but often, he adopted a hostile attitude towards
temple building.
NOTES
Jaziya
In AD 1679, Aurangzeb revived Jaziya, the trade tax imposed on the Hindus. According
to contemporary historians, he imposed it to oppress the Hindus. Some modern
historians are of the opinion that Aurangzeb imposed this tax after considering its
pros and cons. He spent much time in taking this decision—in fact, he introduced this
tax only in his twenty-second year of rule under pressure from staunch Muslim chiefs.
Italian traveller Manuchi wrote that ‘Aurangzeb wanted to improve his economic
condition by means of the imposition of jaziya’. In fact, Manuchi’s view does not
appear to be correct. Some scholars hold that he imposed this tax to attract the Hindus
towards Islam. But like that of Manuchi, even this view does not appear to have been
effective because the economic burden of this tax was very light. Moreover, it was
not imposed on children, women and handicapped and even on the poor and the
government servants.
The truth is that Aurangzeb imposed jaziya due to both – political as well as
principle reasons. According to Satish Chandra, ‘His real motive was to organize the
Muslims against the Marathas and the Rajputs, who were bent upon starting a war.’
The money collected by jaziya was given to Ulemas, as most of them were unemployed.
But whatever might have been the reason for the imposition of Jaizya, it proved to be
more harmful than beneficial. This tax was responsible for spreading discontent among
a majority of Hindus because they considered it a discriminatory practice by the
government, against themselves. Besides, the Hindus who came to pay the tax had to
suffer humiliations at the hands of the Ulemas.
Removing the Hindus from the government posts
Another charge levelled at Aurangzeb was that he removed the Hindus from
government posts. But recent research proves that this charge was false because
during the later part of Aurangzeb’s reign the number of the Hindus who were at
government posts was more than in the time of Shah Jahan. It is said that whereas the
Hindus enjoyed 25 per cent of posts under Shah Jahan, the number had increased to
33 per cent by the time of Aurangzeb.
Restriction on the festivals of the Hindus
Some scholars hold that Aurangzeb imposed a restriction on the celebration of the
Hindu festivals like Holi, Diwali, and Dussehra in the cities. This charge appears to
be true to a certain extent but it will have to be conceded that Aurangzeb could not
enforce this restriction on all the cities and towns of the Empire and it was restricted
to the areas in the neighbourhood of the royal palace.
Anti-Shia measures
Aurangzeb not only adopted anti-Hindu religious policy, but an anti-Shia policy as
well. In this context, two charges are levied on Aurangzeb that are worth mentioning.
He removed the Shias from the government posts and annexed two Shia states of the
Deccan—Bijapur and Golkunda to the Mughal Empire. But recent studies disprove
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both the charges. The historians who refuse the charges hold that many important Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
Shia officials like Zulfikar Khan, Asad Khan and Mir Jumla enjoyed special favours
from Aurangzeb. He followed only the traditional expansionist policy against Bijapur
and Golkunda. He wanted their annexation to the Mughal Empire so that they are
prevented from giving support to the rise of the Maratha power in the Deccan. NOTES
Consequences of the Religious Policy of Aurangzeb
Some scholars hold that Aurangzeb tried to bring about a transformation in the nature
of state through his religious policy, but could not do so because he knew that in India
the majority was Hindus and they were loyal to their religion. Though Aurangzeb did
emphasize on Islam for his political motives, as he himself was a staunch Muslim, he
wanted to enforce Sharia but his main aim was the extension and consolidation of his
empire. Historians are of the opinion that the religious policy of Aurangzeb neither
aided in the extension nor in the consolidation of the empire because it led to many
revolts against him. Besides, most of the revolts against him such as that of the Jats,
Sikhs, and Marathas occurred due to his religious fanaticism. Some scholars hold
that the fanatic policy of Aurangzeb accelerated the process of decline and disintegration
of the Mughal Empire. Because of this policy, very often, he had to adopt contradictory
steps which ultimately proved injurious to the Empire.
Achievements of Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb had made some remarkable achievements, both before and during his
reign. Like all his Mughal predecesors, Aurangzeb’s main aim was to expand his
kingdom as far as possible. A notable conquest, where everyone before him had failed,
was the conquest of Bijapur and Golconda, which were Maratha strongholds against
the Mughal Empire. From the day that he became the emperor, till the day he died,
Aurangzeb single-mindedly pursued his aim of expansion. To this end only, he built
up a strong and massive army as well. He managed to push the northwest boundaries
of Punjab upto Afghanistan, as we know it now and in the south, up till Bijapur and
Golconda.
Conquests of Aurangzeb in the East
The initial conquests made by Aurangzeb after coming to the throne were in eastern
India. While Aurangzeb had been fighting his brothers for the throne, the Ghinud
rulers of Cooch Behar and Assam took advantage of the distraction and launched an
attack on Mughal territory. In AD 1660, Aurangzeb ordered a counter-attack, and as
a result, Mir Jumla went to Dhaka and took control of Cooch Behar after just a few
weeks of struggle. Assam was next and the rule of Assam was made to sign a degrading
treaty of surrender. This was a tribute to the Mughal military power as they also
managed to conquer some nearby forts and towns close to borders of Bengal.
Aurangzeb also conquered Chittagong, which had been under the control of the Arakan
pirates who had made the entire area unsafe. Chittagong was given the name, Islamabad
later on and turned out to be an integral part of the Mughal Empire. Conquering
erstwhile East Pakistan was also a big achievement for Aurangzeb. Area east of the
Brahmaputra River had been isolated from the subcontinent for long because of its
geographical location, typical weather, topography, and native population. The area
was finally annexed by Aurangzeb and added to the Mughal Empire.
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Foundation of the Conquests of Aurangzeb in the Northwest
Mughal Empire-II
Soon after settling the troubles of the eastern parts, Aurangzeb had to contend with
unrest in the north-west frontier region. Bhaku, a Yusafzai leader, raised a rebellion in
NOTES AD1667. Aurangzeb succeeded in suppressing this rebellion for some time. Later in
AD 1672, trouble broke out again when large numbers of people from different tribes
formed groups and staged an uprising against the ruler. When the governor of Kabul
failed to suppress the rebellion, Aurangzeb vowed to handle the problem. Finally,
with a combination of aggression and negotiation, he was able to regain control of the
region and restore peace. All this trouble apart, Aurangzeb could affect a transformation
in the erstwhile bitter relations between the Mughals and Afghanis and establish order
in the region.
Aurangzeb and the Sikhs
Aurangzeb and the Sikhs were constantly engaged in a struggled. In reality, it was the
Sikh community that finally played a big part in the downfall of the Mughal rule. As
was his nature, Aurangzeb was ruthless with the rebellious Sikhs. Surprising to note
now, the Sikhs and the Mughals had shared a cordial relationship initially. When
Guru Nanak propounded the tenets of Sikhism and it became a religion, it was seen
by Mughal rulers to be a potential bridge between Hinduism and Islam. Akbar had, in
fact, made a visit to the third Sikh Guru and had gifted him the land where the Golden
Temple was later built. But with time, conflicts started among the Sikhs and Mughal
noblemen. This first happened during Jahangir’s reign following which the Sikhs
started organizing armies which had only Sikh cadres. The ninth Guru, Guru Tegh
Bahadur, was markedly aggressive and incited his followers against the Mughals.
Aurangzeb later got him killed in Delhi. The Sikh trouble was so pronounced that
Hindu Rajas of the Punjab were intimidated by Sikh military strength and begged
Aurangzeb to help them. Aurangzeb sent forces that defeated the Guru at Anandpur.
Aurangzeb and the Marathas
During the entire period of his reign, Aurangzeb sent out many Mughal generals to
usurp the power of Shivaji. All his generals—Shayista Khan, Dilir Khan and Mirza
Raja Jai Singh as well as his own son, Prince Muazzam failed in their attempts to
overpower Shivaji. In the numerous conflicts that occurred between the two forces,
Shivaji emerged successful to the indignation of Aurangzeb.
Later, the atrocities unleashed against Muslims of Burhanpur by Shivaji’s son
Shambhuji was the last straw of patience for Aurangzeb, who then took things into
his own hands. In the third week of march, AD 1682, he reached Aurangabad in his
attempt to conquer the Deccan, and the last 25 years of his life were spent in that part
of the subcontinent. Bijapur and Golconda which often gave shelter to the Maratha
raiders were finally annexed in AD1686 and AD1687, respectively and Shambhuji
was captured and executed in AD1689. Even though the Mughals had many successes
to their credit, they were all temporary.
Following the death of Aurangzeb, the Marathas became a major factor in the
downfall of the Mughal Empire. Thus the achievements of Aurangzeb have been
quite a few and rather remarkable. His constant policy of expansion, even though it
cost him many lives and an enormous amount of money from the treasury, led to a
widening of the boundaries of the Mughal Empire and the quelling of long-drawn out
issues of contention.
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Revolt of Jats during Aurangzeb Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
Revolts of the Jats during the reign of Aurangzeb took place under the leadership of
Gokul in AD 1669. The Jats organized the first revolt of the Hindus against Aurangzeb
in AD1669. The local Muslim officer at Mathura, Abdul Nabi destroyed the temples NOTES
of the Hindus and disrespected their women. In the year AD1661, Abdul Nabi
destroyed a Hindu temple and raised a mosque on its ruins. The Jats under their
leader Gokul revolted against the oppression in AD1669, killed Abdul Nabi and looted
the Tehsil of Sadabai. In AD1670, the temple of Keshav Rai was destroyed on the
orders of Aurangzeb. It further inflamed the Hindus and Gokul could collect 20,000
followers and he defeated a few small Muslim forces which were sent against him.
He was, however, defeated and killed at the Battle of Tilpat. The Jats were punished
severely. But, the Jats remained undaunted. In AD 1686, they again raised the standard
of revolt under their leader Raja Ram who gave serious trouble to the Mughals for
many years, defeated a few Mughal officers and attacked even Agra. Raja Ram was,
however, defeated and killed in AD1688. Following the death of Raja Ram, Churaman,
his nephew led the Jats. This revolt of the Jats continued till the death of Aurangzeb
and, ultimately, the Jats succeeded in establishing their independent kingdom with its
capital at Bharatpur.
attempt to fix any definite law of succession. Therefore, generally the Mughal (a) The earliest
Emperor had to deal with the revolt of the rebel princes even during their own conquests of
Aurangzeb were
lifetime. Humayun had to witness the hostility of his brothers, Akbar the revolt in the
of Salim and Jahangir had to face the revolts of his sons. Similarly, after parts of
Aurangzeb’s death, his sons fought the battle for succession. Struggles like the Empire.
this encouraged indiscipline among the Mughal Empire and its prestige suffered. (b) In 1660, on
Aurangzeb’s
(ii) Incapable successors of Aurangzeb: After Aurangzeb’s death, his son orders, Mir
Bahadur Shah ascended the throne at the age of sixty-five. Soon after he had to Jumla marched to
face stiff opposition because of his Rajput policy but he realized the mistake of Dhaka and
occupied .
following an anti-Rajput policy and entered into an agreement with them. But
(c) Chittagong was
this agreement was not a liberal one. He did not give any high mansab to the
later renamed
Rajputs. Towards the Maratha chief also he adopted a policy of superficial as _.
friendship only. He gave them the right of sardeshmukhi in the Deccan but did (d) Gokul the Jat
not give them the right of chauth. Therefore, he could not satisfy them leader was
completely. He did not recognize Sahu as the rightful leader. The civil war in defeated and
killed in the
the Maratha region continued and disorder continued in the Deccan.
Battle of .
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Foundation of the He committed another serious mistake by adopting a harsh policy towards the
Mughal Empire-II
Sikh leader, Banda Bahadur, after the death of Guru Gobind Singh. The Sikhs
continued their struggle against the Mughals which led to Mughal Empire
suffering a heavy loss. Bahadur Shah further deteriorated the financial condition
NOTES of the Empire by blindly distributing jagirs in order to make the amirs happy
and by giving the officials promotions. In the war of succession that followed
Bahadur Shah’s death, the incapable Jahandar Shah emerged victorious. He
became a puppet in the hands of his minister, Zulfikar Ali Khan. He adopted a
policy of friendship towards other sects but continued the old policy of repression
towards Banda Bahadur and the Sikhs. He encouraged the persecution of the
peasants by reviving the zamindari policy of farming and revenue. To free
himself from the clutches of his powerful minister, he adopted a policy of
indulging in intrigues against him instead of dismissing him directly. This policy
of his was just like digging the grave of the Mughal Empire. After his death, his
successor Farukhsiyar remained a mere puppet in the hands of the Sayyed
brothers, Abdulla Khan and Hussain Ali Khan. Because of growing influence
the powerful clique of the amirs started intriguing against them and the court
became a ground of parties and politics. After him, Muhammad Shah became
the Emperor. Though he could have given a new direction to the Mughal Empire
in the long thirty years of his reign but he spent most of his time in mere luxury.
It was during his time that the rulers of Bengal, Hyderabad, Oudh, Punjab
became independent and the disintegration of the Mughal Empire got
accelerated.
(iii) Moral decline of the amirs, cliques and selfishness: Selfish and degraded
nobles also contributed towards the decline of the Mughal Empire. After
Aurangzeb the character of the nobles continued to decline. They became
pleasure loving, luxury loving and spendthrifts. Their selfishness and lack of
loyalty towards the Empire led to corruption in the administration and mutual
dissension. In order to increase their income, influence and prestige they made
cliques against each other and even against the Emperor. Their mutual quarrels
made the Empire powerless and therefore it fell an easy prey to the foreign
invaders.
(iv) Crisis of jagirs: One of the causes of the decline of Mughal Empire was the
increasing number of amirs. Increases in their expenditure lead to a scarcity of
the jagirs and a fall in the income from the jagirs. The nobles started making
efforts to earn maximum income from their jagirs, which increased the burden
on the peasants. This affected the popularity of the Mughal Empire. They started
reclaiming the Khalsa land in order to get over the crisis of jagirdari system.
This aggravated the financial crisis of the central government. Because of the
paucity of jagirs, the nobles decreased their army (so that they could lessen
their economic burden), which led to a further weakness in the military power
of the Mughal Empire.
(v) A bad financial situation in the royal treasury: One of the causes of the
downfall of the Mughal Empire was its worsening financial position. It worsened
as a result of many factors. Bahadur Shah distributed jagirs blindly, promoted
officials without any reason, abolished the jaziya, pilgrimage taxes, gave right
of sardeshmukhi to the Marathas, Jahandar Shah and his successors gave costly
gifts and jagirs to please the mansabdars and amirs and gave to the Marathas
the right of extracting the chauth. This was further worsened because of the
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invasions of Nadir Shah and loose administrative control. The worsening of the Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
financial condition made it impossible for the Mughal Emperor to fulfil the
minimum requirements of his people. The conditions of the peasants worsened
from day to day. The government gave no attention to the growth of agriculture,
trade and industries. NOTES
(vi) Military weakness: After Aurangzeb, there was a continuous indiscipline in
the Mughal army and a fall in their fighting morale. Because of the paucity of
money, it became impossible to keep a big standing army. The Mughal emperors
were unable to give salaries to their army and army officials for months on end.
The majority in the army was that of the mercenaries who were always dissatisfied
and it was very easy for them to rise in revolt. In the time of Aurangzeb and even after
him no attention was given to the importance of the navy. The Mughals first gave no
attention to the scientific, technical and new military inventions. Later on, the weak
Mughal army could not face the foreign invaders and the European Navy.
Foreign Invaders
The final blow to the Mughal Empire was given by the continuous foreign invasions.
In AD 1730, the Persian Emperor, Nadir Shah severely defeated the Mughal army in
Kerala. Massacre went on in Delhi, wealth was plundered and women were molested.
The Mughal Emperor and his army could not stop him. After him in AD 1761, Ahmad
Shah Abdali defeated the guardian of the Mughal Empire viz., the Marathas badly in
the Third Battle of Panipat. Because of these foreign invasions the Mughal Empire
was made destitute. Trade and industries also came to a standstill in northern India.
The Mughal Empire which was already breathing its last was dealt another blow in
AD 1764 by the Battle of Buxur in the time of Shah Alam. Gradually, the sphere of
the Mughal Empire shrank and that of the East India Company increased.
In AD1803 Delhi came under the English occupation and the Mughal Emperor
was rendered a mere prisoner and they continued to be like that till AD 1857. The last
of the Mughal Emperors Bahadur Shah Zafar had to die as a mere prisoner in Rangoon
in AD 1862 as a British prisoner.
Aurangzeb and the Decline of Mughal Empire
The process of the disintegration of the Mughal Empire had begun in the time of
Aurangzeb itself. Aurangzeb was very despotic and harsh because of his suspicious
nature. The stability and unity of the Mughal Empire suffered a blow because of his
rigid and despotic rule. In the words of famous historian Irwin, it was imperative for
the Mughal Empire, which was based on military strength, to disintegrate ultimately.
Aurangzeb wanted to keep more and more power in his hands. Because he had ill-
treated his father and killed all his brothers so he was always suspicious that his sons
might behave with him in the same manner.
Rajput Policy of Aurangzeb
The policy adopted by Aurangzeb towards Marwar after Jaswant Singh’s death also
proved to be another factor that resulted in the disintegration and decline of the Mughal
Empire. Because of his folly he incurred the hostility of both the rivals in Marwar
between whom he divided the Mughal Empire. The Rajput guiding principles of
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb were stern and he attempted to destroy the supremacy
of the Rajputs and annex their kingdoms. Rajput policies adopted by Aurangzeb were
strict and stern. Aurangzeb upturned the guiding principle which was enunciated by
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Foundation of the Akbar and pursued by Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The Rajputs were the greatest obstacle
Mughal Empire-II
in his pursuance of the religious policy against the Hindus. Aurangzeb, consequently,
attempted to destroy the supremacy of the Rajputs and annex their kingdoms. There
were three significant Rajput monarchs at that time—Raja Jaswant Singh of Marwar,
NOTES Rana Raj Singh of Mewar and Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur. All the three were at peace
with the Mughals when Aurangzeb ascended the throne, despite the fact that Aurangzeb
never believed in the loyalty of these Rajput rulers.
Aurangzeb deputed Raja Jai Singh in the Deccan in AD1666. Following his
death, Raja Jaswant Singh was deputed to defend the north-western frontier of the
Kingdom. Two of his sons died fighting against the Afghan rebels and he himself died
in Afghanistan in AD1678. Aurangzeb was waiting for this opportunity. At that time,
there was no successor to the throne of Marwar. He occupied Marwar without delay
and, with a view to disgrace the Rajput family, sold the throne of Jaswant Singh for
36 lakhs. It seemed that the Rajputs had lost Marwar forever. But, a son was born to
one of the wives of Rana Jaswant Singh. Durga Das, the commander-in-chief of the
Rathors came to Delhi with the prince Ajit Singh and requested Aurangzeb to hand
over Marwar to Maharaja Ajit Singh. Aurangzeb refused to do so; following which
Ajit Singh was declared the ruler of Marwar by the Rajputs, who then announced
their war of independence.
Rana Raj Singh of Mewar, who realized that it was in the interest of Mewar to
fight against the Mughals, gave support to Marwar. In AD1681, Akbar, the son of
Aurangzeb revolted against his father with the support of the Rajputs. The revolt of
Akbar failed and he fled to Maharashtra under the protection of Durga Das. Aurangzeb
offered peace to Mewar and it was accepted. The Rathors of Marwar, however,
continued their fight against the Mughals. Pursuing his son Akbar, Aurangzeb left for
Deccan and could never come back from there. Marwar fought against the Mughals
till the death of the Emperor in AD 1707; even though they had agreed to maintain
peace twice in between and finally succeeded in gaining its independence.
Thus, Aurangzeb failed to suppress both Mewar and Marwar. The outcome of
this policy was that he lost the support of the Rajputs. Their services could no more
be utilized in strengthening the Mughal realm. On the contrary, it added to the troubles
of the territory. It encouraged other revolts also. Thus, the Rajput guiding principle of
Aurangzeb failed and its failure contributed to the failure of Aurangzeb and resulted
in the weakening of the Mughal Empire.
According to most historians, because of his Rajput policy the Mughal Empire
was engaged in a prolonged struggle with Marwar and Mewar which gave a financial
and military blow to the Mughal Empire, besides tarnishing its prestige as well. Many
historians hold that if Aurangzeb had adopted a friendly attitude towards the Rajputs
as followed by Akbar, he could have appointed Rajputs in big numbers in the Deccan
and a more successful struggle could have been waged against the Marathas.
Immediately after Aurangzeb’s death, when his successors gave up Aurangzeb’s policy
of hostility towards the Rajputs to save the Mughal Empire, the problem of Rajputs
came to an end.
Religious Policy of Aurangzeb
Most historians hold that a great blow was given to the stability of the Mughal Empire
by the religious orthodoxy and opposition to the non-Muslims followed by Aurangzeb.
During the time of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan, the Mughal Empire was basically
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a secular state. All those great emperors had opened the doors of the highest military Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
and civil offices for the Muslims and the non-Muslims equally. During their reign
jaziya was not imposed. Within a few years of his accession, however, Aurangzeb
ended that secular nature of the empire by re-imposing jaziya, desecrating temples
and statues and imposing pilgrimage tax upon the Hindus. Because of this fanatic NOTES
religious policy, the Hindus drifted away from the Mughals. The Mughal Empire
started disintegrating as the people of higher classes and high officials drifted away
from each other on the basis of religion. Though Aurangzeb’s successors tried to
consolidate the Mughal Empire by abandoning his orthodox policy, they did not succeed
in reviving it.
Sikh Policy of Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb committed a serious blunder in not extending a hand of friendship towards
the Sikhs. He imprisoned and forced the ninth Guru of the Sikhs to embrace Islam.
On refusing to comply, he got him murdered. After the assassination of their Guru,
the attitude of the Sikhs became all the more hostile towards the Mughals. Guru
Teghabadur’s son and the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh organized the
Sikhs into a military power. He got two of Guru Gobind Sing’s sons buried alive and
killed two more. Guru Gobind Singh kept the Khalsa engaged in a fight against the
Mughal Empire throughout his life. Because of this struggle the Mughal Empire had
to suffer tremendous military and financial loss and advanced towards disintegration.
Deccan Policy of Aurangzeb
Inspired by his anti-Shia attitude, Aurangzeb tried to annex the two Shia states of the
Deccan—Golkunda and Bijapur—completely to the Mughal Empire. He might have
satisfied his imperialistic ambition by annexing the two states, but later on it proved
to be a terrible mistake. Both these states gave financial and military aid to the Marathas
against the Mughals. By weakening these two states, he indirectly helped the rise of
the Marathas because now there was nobody in the Deccan to impose a check on their
activities. Aurangzeb spent about 26 years of his reign in the Deccan to suppress the
three big powers of the Deccan. This gave an opportunity to the Rajputs, Sikhs, and
Jats to flourish in the North and the administrative machinery became inefficient in
his absence.
The constant wars in the Deccan led to the Mughal Empire suffering tremendous
financial and military losses which affected adversely the trade industries as well as
the agriculture. The Mughal administrative machinery started breaking up following
the extension of the Empire to Golkunda, Bijapur and Karnataka. Now, the Mughal
Empire was subjected to direct attacks by the Marathas which made it difficult for the
Mughal officials to raise revenue also.
Maratha Policy of Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb could not understand the real nature of the Maratha Empire and he
disregarded Jai Singh’s advice to make friendship with Shivaji. He could have
strengthened the Mughal Empire by cultivating friendship with the rising Maratha
power under Shivaji’s leadership; instead, he showcased his lack of farsightedness by
insulting Shivaji at his Agra Court. One of his other serious mistakes was to assassinate
Sambhaji. This left no effective Maratha leader on the scene with whom Aurangzeb
could enter into an agreement. He thought that after the annexation of Golkunda and
Bijapur by him, Marathas would beg for mercy and they would be left with no other
alternative, but to accept the terms and conditions imposed by him. But those very Self-Instructional
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Foundation of the Marathas whom he used to call hill rats and dacoits proved an important factor in the
Mughal Empire-II
disintegration of the Mughal Empire. Though by AD 1703 Aurangzeb had virtually
entered into an agreement with the Marathas, but till the end of his life he remained
suspicious towards Sahuji and other Maratha leaders. Therefore, he could not save
NOTES the Mughal Empire from their terrible attacks. He accorded mansabs also to the
Marathas, but he never assigned to them any post of responsibility or trust. It was
because of the Maratha policy of Aurangzeb that Marathas could never become an
integral part of Mughal political system.
4.4 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have learnt that:
Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar was born to Hamida Banu Begum in AD 1542
in Amarkot.
On 19 February 1556, Akbar was declared the Emperor at Kalanaur when he
was just thirteen years of age. The initial difficulties that Akbar faced during
his accession were that he was a minor, he had only a small kingdom, he faced
problems from Sikandar Suri, and other Afghan chiefs. Akbar gradually
overcame all these difficulties through his own good fortune and the guidance
Check Your Progress and loyalty of Bairam Khan.
10. Fill in the blanks Akbar conquered the whole of northern India, the Deccan, and Gwalior in
with the central India. Akbar faced a major challenge from Rana Pratap who refused to
appropriate word.
accept his sovereignty and the historic Battle of Haldi Ghati was fought between
(a) Aurangzeb being them.
a ruler
wanted to keep Akbar’s policy towards the non-Muslims was one of toleration. He soon
all power under abandoned the rigid, cruel and hostile policy followed by the Delhi Sultans and
him.
the early Mughal emperors towards the Hindus.
(b) The policy
adopted by Akbar found the so called order or religion Din-i-Illahi to give a common
Aurangzeb platform to the Hindus and Muslims.
towards after
Jaswant Singh’s Jahangir was born on 20 September AD1569 and ascended the throne a week
death also proved after the death of his father Akbar.
to be another
factor that Revolt of Prince Khusrav, the eldest son of Jahangir, resulted from his desire of
resulted in the becoming the emperor after his grandfather Akbar.
decline of the
Mughal Empire.
Nur Jahan, the wife of Jahangir, was the daughter of Mirza Ghiyas Beg who
belonged to a noble family of Tehran.
(c) Aurangzeb tried
to annex the two The revolt of Shah Jahan resulted largely because of the towering political
Shia states of the ambition of Nur Jahan and her conspiracy to prevent Shah Jahan from becoming
Deccan
and the Emperor after Jahangir.
completely to the Shah Jahan was an accomplished and skilled ruler, who had ascended the throne
Mughal Empire.
after the death of his father Jahangir in AD 1628. Shah Jahan contributed
(d) Aurangzeb spent extensively towards fortifying and enlarging the Mughal kingdom.
about
years of his reign During Shah Jagan’s reign some of the most impressive Mughal structures
in the Deccan to were erected upon Indian soil. These include the Diwan-i-am, the black marble
suppress the
three big powers exhibition area of the Shalimar Gardens in Srinagar, the Jama Masjid, the Moti
of the Deccan. Masjid and the tomb of Jahangir in Lahore. The most famous of all is the
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130 Material
legendary Taj Mahal at Agra built as a tomb for his wife, Empress Mumtaz Foundation of the
Mughal Empire-II
Mahal.
Aurangzeb succeeded to the throne as Mughal Emperor in AD1658, after
disposing off his brothers and all other enemies.
NOTES
Even though Aurangzeb was an extremely able administrator, his religious
intolerance and fanaticism created unrest among his subjects and led to the
gradual undoing of the Mughal Empire.
Soon after he began his reign, Aurangzeb introduced numerous reforms to
cleanse the Muslim society. As part of this cleansing programme, he appointed
many officials who kept a strict watch and punished the offenders. Moreover,
Aurangzeb who belonged to the Sunni sect of Islam, went about persecuting
the Shia Muslims, and earned their wrath also.
Aurangzeb earned much acclaim for the annexation of Bijapur and Golconda
which had remained elusive during the reigns of his predecessors.
Various factors have been accounted for the downfall of the Mughal Empire,
which reached its zenith during the reign of Aurangzeb. Of all these factors,
the most important was the various harsh policies which Aurangzeb adopted
towards the ‘Islamization’ of his Empire.
His reversal of the Rajput policy practiced by his ancestors distanced the Rajputs
from him; the Rajputs later formed a confederacy and revolted against him.
Aurangzeb failed to assess correctly the power of the Maratha chief, who
troubled him throughout his reign. The Deccan invasion undertaken by
Aurangzeb resulted in the financial depletion of the Mughal Empire.
Self-Instructional
Material 131
Foundation of the Dar-ul- Islam: An Islamic term for the Muslim regions of the world under the
Mughal Empire-II
system of divisions of the world in Islam
Dar-ul-harb: ‘Abode of War’. A land ruled by infidels that might, through
war, become the ‘Abode of Islam’, dar-ul-Islam
NOTES
4.6 ANSWERS TO ‘CHECK YOUR PROGRESS’
1. (a) Adil Shah; (b) Punjab, Delhi; (c) Bairam Khan
2. (a) Firman (b) Jizya; (c) Nine jewels; (d) The unification of India
3. (a) True; (b)True; (c) True; (d) False
4. (a) Mirza Ghiyas Beg; (b) Badshah Begum
5. (a) True; (b) True
6. (a) Red sandstone, Marble; (b) Lahore; (c) AD 1633
7. (a) True; (b) False; (c) True
8. (a) Alamgir; (b) Narcotics; (c) Gokul; (d) Dars-i-Nizamiya
9. (a) Eastern; (b) Cooch Behar; (c) Islamabad; (d) Tilpat
10. (a) Despotic; (b) Marwar; (c) Golkunda, Bijapur; (d) Twenty-six
Short-Answer Questions
1. Assess the character and personality of Akbar.
2. Describe the imperialist policy introduced by Akbar.
3. Describe the events that led to the Second Battle of Panipat.
4. Describe the early career and accession of Jahangir.
5. Describe briefly the war of succession after Shah Jahan.
6. Summarize the various achievements of Aurangzeb.
7. Explain the religious policy of Aurangzeb, with special reference to the revolt
by Jats.
8. Analyse the relation of Aurangzeb with the Sikhs.
Long-Answer Questions
1. Highlight the features of Din-i-Illahi.
2. Analyse the features of the religious policy adopted by Akbar.
3. What was the influence of Nur Jahan in state administration? Elaborate.
4. Discuss the early life and accession of Shah Jahan.
5. Discuss the early career and accession of Aurangzeb.
6. Analyse the factors that led to the decline and disintegration of the Mughal
Empire.
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132 Material
Foundation of the
4.8 FURTHER READING Mughal Empire-II
Habib, Irfan; Atlas of the Mughal Empire, Oxford University Press, New Delhi,
1982. NOTES
Nizami, K.A.; Studies in Medieval Indian History and Culture, Kitab Mahal,
New Delhi, 1966.
Smith, V.A.; Akbar: The Great Mogul 1542–1605, Oxford University Press,
New Delhi, 1917.
Sarkar, Jadunath; Fall of the Mughal Empire (Volume 5), Orient Longman,
New Delhi, 1992.
J.C. Sharman 2021 Empires of the weak
The ascension and falls of the major Mughal rulers, including Akbar,
Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb
The decline of the Mughal rule in India
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Material 133
Rise and Rule of the
Bahmanis
5.0 INTRODUCTION
During the last years of Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign (AD 1324–1351), disorder
spread in most of the areas of his empire because of his misguided policies, and many
regions declared their independence. The Hindus of South India also did not deter
from taking advantage of the situation. They founded the Vijaynagar empire in AD
1336 under the leadership of Harihar and Bukka, two of the five brothers viz., Harihar,
Kampa I, Bukka I, Marappa and Madhuappa. According to the inscriptions of the
later kings, they were the sons of Chandravanshi Sangam of the Yadav family.
In this unit, you will learn about the Vijaynagar Empire and the rise and fall of
the Bahmani kingdom.
ACTIVITY
Trace the family tree of Achyutdev Rai for at least four generations.
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Material 151
Rise and Rule of the Causes of the downfall of Bahmani Kingdom
Bahmanis
Many causes were responsible for the decline of the Bahmani Kingdom. Chief causes
amongst which were:
NOTES (i) Internal intrigues and Civil Wars: In its 175 years of reign the Bahmani
Dynasty had in all 17 Sultans; out of which five were assassinated, three deposed,
two blinded and two died of excessive drinking. It can be said, therefore, that
due to the lack of any definite rules of succession, incessant intrigue within the
royal household as well as among the highest officials caused monetary and
physical damage to it and contributed to the growth of indiscipline. During the
reign of Sultan Shahabuddin Mahmud, the Queen mother ordered Khan-i-Jahan
to be hanged.
(ii) Partisanship of the Deccanis (original inhabitants) and the Afaquis (foreign
settlers): Some historians say that the Bahmani Kingdom was founded by
those Amirs who had come and settled in India from Persia, Turkey etc. There
was a deep enmity between them and the original inhabitants. They wanted to
give the entire credit for every success to their party and put the blame for
every failure on the opposite group. In this party rivalry an able man like Mahmud
Gawan became a victim. He had served the Bahmani Kingdom for 35 years
but the party politics led to his assassination and within a short time of his
death, the Bahmani Kingdom disintegrated.
(iii) Religious fanaticism of some rulers: Some of the Bahmani rulers were
religious fanatics and they did not show real sympathy towards their Hindu
subjects. The Bahmani Sultans considered it their God given duty to propagate
Islamic culture in the Deccan. Since Muslims numbered less than the Hindus,
many a time they raised the slogan of Jihad (crusade) and the Muslim soldiers
lost their lives in large numbers in the ensuing warfare. Fanatic Sultans tried to
carry out a general massacre of the Hindus quite a numbers of times which
aroused the fanaticism of the Hindus as well and thus the Bahmani Empire
grew weak progressively.
(iv) Defective Foreign Policy: Bahmani Sultans followed a policy of warfare and
enmity towards all their neighbouring states like Malwa, Khandesh, Gujarat,
Telangana, Vijaynagar etc. Majority of the Sultans tried to win popularity by
their military achievements; very few of them utilized their time for the public
welfare activities. Their attitude weakened the Bahmani Kingdom.
(v) Excessive authority given to Provincial Governors: Ever since the time of
founders of the Bahmani Empire, the Governors of four major provinces (who
were called Tarafs) were given the right to collect revenue and maintain a big
army. The centre had no great control over them. Mahmud Gawan tried to
divide them into eight parts and tried to bring them under the greater control of
Check Your Progress the centre but the Sultans following him could not arrest their ambition and
7. Why was the soon after his death they started proclaiming themselves independent and the
Bahmani Empire central Government could do nothing against it.
given this name?
(vi) Financial Disparity: Some historians hold opinion that an important cause of
8. Why was Zafar
Khan popular? the downfall of the Bahmani Empire was financial disparity prevailing there. A
9. Who is considered Russian merchant Atansiuv Nikitn, who stayed in Bidar in AD 1470–1474
the blessed among wrote that the population of the empire was too much but the condition of the
the Bahmani rulers common man was miserable, whereas the Amirs were very rich and lived a
and why? luxurious life. Briefly then, the party groupings in the Bahmani court,
administrative defects and a protected struggle against Vijaynagar and other
Self-Instructional kingdoms contributed to its downfall.
152 Material
Rise and Rule of the
5.4 SUMMARY Bahmanis
Short-Answer Questions
1. Who were the two most prominent kings of the Sangam dynasty? Write in
detail about both.
2. Write a short note on Sadashiv Rai.
3. How did the misguided policies of Muhammad Tughlaq contribute to the rise
of the Bahmani Empire?
4. Who was Achyutdev Rai? How was he overthrown?
Long-Answer Questions
1. List the achievements of Krishnadev Rai.
2. How did the Rakshasa-Tangdi battle figure in the downfall of the Vijaynagar
Empire?
3. Enumerate the causes of conflict between the Vijaynagar and Bahmani Empires.
4. Write in detail about the Bahmani kings who contributed to the expansion of
the Bahmani Empire.
5. What were the causes of the fall of the Bahmani kingdom?
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Rise and Rule of the
5.8 FURTHER READING Bahmanis
Basu, Shyama Prasad; Rise and Fall of Khilji Imperialism, U.N. Dhur and Sons,
Kolkata, 1963. NOTES
Islam, Misbah; Decline of Muslim States and Societies, Xlibris Corporation,
Philadelphia, 2008.
Mahajan, V.D.; History of Medieval India (Part I), S. Chand and Sons, New Delhi,
1991.
Farooqui, Salma Ahmed; A Comprehensive History of Medieval India, Pearson
Education India, New Delhi, 2001.
Jackson, Peter; The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History, Cambridge
University Press, London, 2003.
J.C. Sharman 2021 Empires of the weak
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Material 155
The Rule of the Marathas
6.0 INTRODUCTION
The Mughal Empire which gave Indian history an era of splendid accomplishments
disintegrated with the irreparable mistakes of emperors like Aurangzeb.
At the time of the Mughal Empire, a powerful group emerged in the Deccan
known as the Marathas. They were great warriors. When the Bahmani Empire
collapsed, many Hindu kingdoms rose to high positions; Marathas were also among
them. They lived in the Deccan, in the region of present Maharashtra and north
Karnataka. Shivaji and Peshwa Baji Rao were the prominent Maratha rulers and they
challenged the supremacy of the Mughal Empire. But the Third Battle of Panipat
shattered the dream of the Marathas to establish their supremacy on the whole of
India and gave the opportunity to the East India Company to establish its rule in India.
In this unit, you will study about the historical background of the Marathas and
the causes and consequences of the Third Battle of Panipat.
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The Rule of the Marathas 3. The campaigns of Muazzam and Jai Singh against Shivaji and the
Treaty of Purandar
The earlier-mentioned activities of Shivaji made the Mughal Emperor Aurangezeb
NOTES very worried. He sent a vast army against Shivaji under the leadership of his principal
advisor, Jai singh of Amer and his own son, Prince Muazzam Rai. Jai Singh was
given all the necessary military and administrative rights so that he did not have to
depend upon the Mughal Governor of Deccan. He was also ordered to keep in direct
contact with the Emperor himself. Jai Singh was an able and brave general and a far-
sighted politician. He did not commit a mistake like his predecessors in assessing the
military strength of Shivaji. He tried first to win over all the opponents of Marathas to
his side and also managed to win over the Sultan of Bijapur to his side, then, with full
military preparation attacked the main centre of Shivaji, viz. the fort of Purandar.
Shivaji’s treasury was there and he lived there, with his family. He besieged the fort
of Purandar and appointed an army to plunder and terrorize the Maratha regions. Not
seeing any help coming from anywhere, Shivaji thought it necessary to start negotiations
for peace because in the fort of Purandar, families of the amirs also lived and Shivaji
considered it his duty to protect their lives and honour. Shivaji met Jai Singh and
settled the peace terms. This treaty is famous in history as the Treaty of Purandar
(June 1665). The terms of this treaty were as follows:
(i) Shivaji had to surrender to the Mughals twenty-three of his thirty-five forts
yielding annual land revenue of 4 lakh Huns. Shivajji was left with just twelve
forts of one lack Huns of the annual land revenue.
(ii) Shivaji promised to remain loyal to the Mughal Emperor.
(iii) Shivaji’s hold over the Konkan region yielding 4 lakh Huns annually was allowed
to remain as before.
(iv) Besides some regions in Balaghat yielding 5 lakh Huns annually which Shivaji
had yet to conquer from Bijapur were allowed by Mughals to remain with him.
In return, Shivaji had given to the Mughals 40 lakh Huns in installments.
(v) Shivaji was granted the permission not to go personally to the Mughal court
but his son Sambhaji was granted a mansab of 5000.
(vi) Shivaji promised to help the Mughals against Bijapur.
As far as a critical assessment of the treaty of Purandar is concerned, it would have to
be conceded that the treaty represented a great political and diplomatic success of Jai
Singh against Shivaji. Within a short period of three months Jai Singh forced a rapidly
rising Maratha leader and the rising power of Marathas, to accept Mughal sovereignty.
With great cleverness he sowed the seeds of a conflict between Bijapur and Shivaji.
But the success of the treaty’s settlement depended on the extent to which the Mughals
helped Shivaji to conquer the regions of Bijapur to enable him to pay the instalment of
the war indemnity.
This plan could not come through. Aurangzeb was yet not assured about Shivaji
and viewed suspiciously any prospect of a combined attack by the Mughals and Shivaji
on Bijapur. Jai Singh wanted to take Shivaji to Agra so that he could enter into a
permanent settlement with him. According to Jai Singh, for the conquest of the Deccan,
friendship with Shivaji was essential for the Mughals. Shivaji was suspicious of
Aurangzeb and he did not agree to go to Agra till Jai Singh assured him completely
by putting the responsibility of his protection on his son Ram Singh. Probably, Shivaji
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also wanted to go to the north to view the situation there and prepare a group of his The Rule of the Marathas
supporters in the Mughal court. He also expected that by negotiating with Aurangzeb
he would get Mughal help to conquer Janzira islands and thus safeguard his western-
frontier. Jai Singh started on his first campaign against Bijapur in alliance with the
Marathas. But it was not successful. Shivaji was given the task of conquering the fort NOTES
of Panhala but even he did not succeed. Seeing his plans failing like this, Jai Singh
persuaded Shivaji to come to Agra and meet the emperor and Shivaji reached Agra in
AD 1666.
4. Shivaji in Mughal court and his successful escape from prison
Shivaji came to the Mughal Court on 12 May, AD 1666 along with his son Sambhaji
and 350 soldiers. Aurangzeb made him stand among ‘Panch Hazaris’ and did not
even talk to him. Shivaji was very annoyed. Aurangzeb made him and his son prisoners,
but after some time both effected their escape from the prison through a clever device
and in the guise of Sadhus reached Raigarh on 22 September, AD 1666. Aurangzeb
held his own carelessness responsible for this successful escape of Shivaji. After
reaching the Deccan, Shivaji was quiet for about two years. Actually, Aurangzeb did
not give much importance to the friendship with Shivaji because for him Shivaji was
no more than a petty Zamindar.
But subsequent events showed that this disregard of Shivaji and the Maratha
power by Aurangzeb proved very dangerous for the Mughals.
5. Second plunder of Surat, conquest of other Mughal territories
Shivaji started his second campaign against the Mughals in AD 1666–1670. Though
he had started his campaign against Bijapur a short while ago but he did not gain
anything from Bijapur so he started his campaign against the Mughals again. He
reconquered gradually all the 23 forts he had surrendered to the Mughals by the
treaty of Purandar. Shivaji plundered Surat the second time on 6 October, AD 1670.
In a plunder of three days he got about 66 lakh rupees.
According to J.N. Sarkar, ‘This plunder of Surat affected trade quite adversely
and the merchants of Surat stopped getting goods from the internal parts of the country.’
After this Shivaji attacked Barar, Badlana and Khandesh and conquered the forts of
Salher and Muler. So much was the terror of Marathas in the Deccan that they even
exacted chauth and sardeshmukhi from Mughal regions there. Chauth was one-fourth
of the revenue of a province effected as tribute by Marathas as a tax of their protection
against the Mughals and sardeshmukhi was an additional surcharge of one-tenth of
the land revenue. In return, the Marathas protected these regions from the external
attacks. Mughals were fighting the Afghans in the North-West at this time, therefore,
they could not pay much attention towards Shivaji. Shivaji renewed his struggle against
Bijapur also. Through bribery he occupied Panhala and Satara and also attacked the
region of Canara.
Shivaji’s Judicial System
Shivaji did not establish organized courts like the modern courts nor did he establish
any law code. His judicial administration was based on the traditional ways only. At
the centre, the eight ministers of the Ashtapradhan, viz. Nyayadhish decided both the
civil and the criminal cases according to the Hindu Scriptures only. In the provinces,
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The Rule of the Marathas the same function was performed by the provincial judges only. In the villages judicial
work was performed by the Panchayats. Justice was impartial and the penal code was
strict.
In brief, Shivaji was an able administrator and he laid the foundations of a
NOTES
powerful empire. Undoubtedly his kingdom was a regional kingdom but it was based
on popular will. Shivaji adopted a secular policy in his empire. In the words of Dr.
Ishwari Prasad, he organized an administrative system which in many respects was
better than even that of the Mughals.
Although Shivaji was able to conquer land and gather enough power, he was
not considered a ruler or a superior. This led Shivaji to organize a formal coronation.
Coronation of Shivaji
Shivaji had conquered a large tract of land. He also started behaving like an independent
ruler. Yet, the Sultan of Bijapur considered him no more than a rebel Jagirdar. The
Mughal Emperor considered him as just a petty Zamindar. Many Maratha families
looked upon him only as a Nayab Amir or Zamindar whose ancestors were just ordinary
peasants. To prove his superiority among other Maratha families also Shivaji thought
it advantageous to get his coronation done in a formal manner. On 15 June, AD 1674,
Shivaji held his coronation with great pomp and show. On the auspicious occasion,
Pandit Gang Bhatt who presided over the function proclaimed Shivaji to be a high
ranking Kshatriya. To improve his social standing, Shivaji entered into matrimonial
relations with traditional Maratha families like Mohite and Shirke. The coronation
greatly enhanced Shivaji’s political position. Now he could enter into the independent
treaty relationship with the Sultans of the Deccan or the Mughal Emperor unlike
Check Your Progress
previously when he was treated like a powerful dacoit or a rebel Jagirdar.
1. Fill in the blanks
with the
appropriate word.
Shambhaji (AD1680–1689)
There was a dispute about succession between the two sons of Shivaji (Sambhaji and
Rajaram) from his two different wives. Finally, after deposing Rajaram from the
throne, Sambhaji or Sambhuji ascended the throne on 20 July 1680. For more than a
year afterwards, however, his position continued to be insecure. As a matter of fact,
his whole reign was disturbed by frequent conspiracies and desertions among his
officers. Shambhaji, the eldest son of Shivaji, found a faithful adviser in a Kanauji
Brahmin on whom he conferred the title of Kavi Kalash. Aurangzeb was determined
to crush Shambhaji. In AD1689, Shambhaji and Kavi Kalash were captured by a
Mughal general and put to death.
Rajaram was crowned by the Maratha ministers at Raigarh as Shambhaji’s son
Shahu was too young. Then Raigarh was captured by the Mughals. By the end of
AD1689, Aurangzeb’s Deccan policy appeared to have achieved complete success.
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The Rule of the Marathas However, animated by the desire to avenge their wrongs, the Maratha bands spread
over the Mughal territories harassing Mughal armies, destroying their outposts. The
Mughals could not deal effectively with such raiders. When Aurangzeb died in AD
1707, he was aware that his efforts to crush the Marathas had failed.
NOTES
Rajaram (AD1689–1700)
At the time of Sambhaji’s death, his son Sahu was only seven years old. Rajaram, the
younger son of Shivaji and stepbrother of Sambhaji, who had been kept in prison by
the latter, was proclaimed King by the Maratha Council of Ministers and crowned at
Raigarh in February AD 1689. But soon thereafter, apprehending a Mughal attack,
Rajaram left Raigarh and, moving from one place to another, ultimately reached Jinji
(South Arcot district, Tamil Nadu). The Maratha Council of Ministers and other officials
also joined him at Jinji which, till AD 1698, became the centre of Maratha activity
against the Mughals.
Shortly after Rajaram’s flight to Jinji, the Mughals under Zulfiqar Khan captured
Raigarh in October 1689 and all members of Sambhaji’s family, including his son
Sahu, fell into Mughal hands. Although Sahu was given the title of Raja and granted
a mansab, he virtually remained a prisoner in the hands of the Mughals till the death
of Aurangzeb (AD1707). Thus, at the close of AD1689, the situation in the Maratha
kingdom had completely changed. The royal family was virtually immobilized, the
Maratha country no longer had a common head or a central government and the
whole of the Deccan was divided into different spheres of influence under various
Maratha commanders. With a nominal Maratha king living at a distance from the
Maratha homeland, the resistance to the Mughals in the Deccan was organized by the
Maratha leaders and commanders. This situation changed the basic character of the
Mughal–Maratha struggle into a civil war or a war of independence.
Tarabai (1700–1707)
After Rajaram’s death, his minor son by his wife Tarabai, named Shivaji II, was
placed on the throne. Tarabai’s energy and ability made her the de facto ruler of the
state. She saved the Maratha state during a period of grave crisis. The succession to
the throne was in dispute. Personal jealousies divided the throne in dispute. It divided
the Maratha leaders. Several thousands of mavles (Maratha hill infantry) were in the
Mughal pay.
Aurangzeb, after the fall of Jinji, concentrated all his resources on the siege of
successive Maratha forts. In this situation, Tarabai played a role which elicited high
praise from the hostile Muslim historian Khafi Khan who says ‘Under Tarabai’s
guidance, Maratha activities began to increase daily. She took into her own hands the
control of all affairs, such as the appointment and change of generals, the cultivation
of the country and the planning of raids into the Mughal territory. She made such
Check Your Progress arrangements for sending troops to ravage the ‘six subas’ of the Deccan and winning
2. After Rajaram’s the heart of her officers to the extent that all the efforts of Aurangzeb against the
death, who was Marathas down to the end of his reign failed.’ Tarabai moved from place to place with
placed on the a view to guiding the Maratha operations against the Mughals.
throne?
3. Name the two Sahu’s release from Mughal captivity and the rise of the Peshwas
brothers who
attacked Bijapur Nearly three months after Aurangzeb’s death, Sambhaji’s son Sahu (born 18 May
with Shivaji. 1682) who had been in Mughal captivity since 3 November 1689 was liberated on 8
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May 1707 by Aurangzeb’s second son, who ascended the throne as Bahadur Shah I.
164 Material
Sahu was recognized as the king of the Marathas and his right to the Maratha swaraj The Rule of the Marathas
and to chauth and sardeshmukhi of the Deccani subahs of the Mughals was also
probably recognized. The Mughal suzerainty was protected through the arrangement
that he would rule as a vassal of the Empire. The intention of the Mughals was to end
long-drawn wars in the Deccan or to create dissensions in the Maratha camp. Both NOTES
situations were advantageous to the Mughals and they were not disappointed. Sahu’s
release was followed by a civil war between the forces of Tarabai and Sahu, which
lasted up to AD1714.
ACTIVITY
6.5 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have learnt that:
Shivaji’s father was a high military official at the court of the Sultan of Bijapur
and a powerful Maratha leader. His mother Jijabai was an intelligent and a
religious lady of high ideals.
Shivaji gave an evidence of his bravery by conquering the forts of Rajgarh near
Poona, Konkan and Toran, from AD 1645–1647.
Shivaji began his real military campaigns in AD 1655 when he seized Javali
from the Maratha Chief Chandra Rao More. The kingdom of Javali and the
treasure of More in it was very important for Shivaji and he occupied it by
intrigue.
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb ordered his maternal uncle Shaista Khan to
invade Shivaji’s territory and the Sultan of Bijapur was asked to cooperate
with him.
The success in Pune against Shaista Khan greatly increased the morale of Shivaji
and the Maratha army. Immediately, he launched a terrible attack on the Mughal
port of Surat. From 16 – 20 January, AD 1664 he plundered the rich city to his
heart’s content. Shivaji got enormous wealth from this first plunder of Surat
City.
On 15 June, 1674, Shivaji held his coronation with great pomp and show,
during which event Shivaji was proclaimed to be a high ranking Kshatriya.
Shivaji is famous in Indian history not only as a brave daring person, a successful
general and the founder of an empire but also as a great administrator and a
ruler having the well wishes of his subjects at heart. He laid the foundation of
a strong administrative system.
Shivaji was a despotic and an autocratic ruler who commanded that all the
powers of the state were vested in him. He was the supreme judge,
administrative head, law giver and general.
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The Rule of the Marathas The Marathas reigned supreme till they were decisively defeated in the Third
Battle of Panipat in AD 1761.
The defeat of the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat was due to the alienation
of the Rajputs and Jats and the failure to neutralize Shuja-ud-daula and Najib-
NOTES ud-daula.
Short-Answer Questions
1. Trace the events that led to the coronation and later the death of Shivaji.
2. Discuss the events that led to the Third Battle of Panipat.
3. Discuss the factors that led to the rise of the Maratha power.
Long-Answer Questions
1. Discuss the early career and conquests of Shivaji. Add a note on Shivaji’s
relations with Aurangzeb.
2. List the successors of Shivaji. What role did they play in the Mughal-Maratha
relations?
3. What were the consequences of the Third Battle of Panipat?
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The Rule of the Marathas
6.9 FURTHER READING
Ali, Athar; The Mughal Nobility under Aurangzeb, Oxford University Press, New
Delhi, 2001. NOTES
Faruki, Z.; Aurangzeb and His Times, Idarah-i Adabiyât-i Delli, New Delhi, 1972.
Habib, Irfan; Atlas of the Mughal Empire, Oxford University Press, New Delhi,
1982.
Laine, James, W.; Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India, Oxford University Press,
New York, 2003.
Sarkar, Jadunath; Fall of the Mughal Empire (Volume 5), Orient Longman,
New Delhi, 1992.
Subrahmanyam, Sanjay and Muzaffar Alam (eds.); The Mughal State, 1526-1750.
Oxford University Press, Kolkata, 1998.
J.C. Sharman 2021 Empires of the weak
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Economic Aspects
of the Period
7.0 INTRODUCTION
The economy during the Mughal rule was largely supported by agriculture. Apart
from agriculture, handicrafts, silk weaving and trade also formed an integral part of
the economy in the Mughal kingdom. According to historians, agriculture formed the
main source of economy, because, since time immemorial agriculture has always
been the backbone of the economy of the country. Similarly, in the Mughal era also,
agriculture was the biggest source of income. Additionally, it was also one of the
main sources of livelihood of the people in the country. The major crops that were
cultivated during the Mughal period included millets, oilseeds, cereals, hemp, chilly,
sugarcane, cotton, indigo, betel and other cash crops. Indigo cultivation was popular
at that time in various places like Agra and Gujarat. On the other hand, Ajmer was
well known for the production of the best quality sugarcane.
In this unit, you will learn about the economic aspects of the Mughal period,
with focus on agriculture, industry and trade.
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Material 179
Economic Aspects Commerce
of the Period
Like trade, commerce also expanded in India during the Mughal period. The use of
Hundis not only made it easier to move goods from one part of the country to another
NOTES but also from India to the other countries, especially West Asia as there were Indian
banking houses. English and Dutch traders who came to Gujarat during the 17th
century, found the India financial system to be highly developed, and the Indian
merchants to be active and alert. Not only roads, but the major rivers of the country
were used for the exchange of goods in the Mughal period. The Mughal emperors
could well built one of the finest coin currencies in the contemporary world, a tri-
metallic currency of great uniformity and purity with the silver rupee as the basic
coin. The basic coin, the rupaya (rupee) weighed 178 grains troy in which the alloy
was never allowed to rise above 4 per cent. The Mughals issued their coin from a
large number of mints throughout their empire. The mints worked on the basis of free
coinage. Theoretically, the value of a coin should have equalled its weight in bullion
plus the minting charges and seignior age. In large transactions, coinage was
supplemented to a considerable extent by credit money.
In brief, we can say that the trade and commerce expanded in India during the Mughal
period. The historians and scholars have given the following reasons or factors for the
progress of the trade and commerce during the period:
(i) The political integration of the country: Dr Satish Chandra says, ‘Perhaps
the most important factor was the political integration of the country under the
Mughal rule and the establishment of conditions of law and order over extensive
areas.’ From Akbar onwards and up to Aurangzeb, all the Mughal emperors
tried to give India a political unity. They issued the same coins and weight, and
equal tax system was levied throughout the country. Definitely, this led to an
increase to the internal trade of the country.
(ii) Cash revenue system: The Mughal emperors gave peasants the freedom to
pay the land revenue in cash or kind. But most of the emperors preferred the
mode of cash payment. No doubt, the payment of land revenue in cash helped
a lot in the growth of trade and commerce.
(iii) Goods administration: Most of the Mughal emperors were efficient
administrators. They made their best efforts to maintain law and order for the
public. The Mughals paid attention to the roads and sarais, which made
communication and movement easier. The Mughal minted silver rupees of
high purity, which became a standard coin in the country and abroad and thus
helped the Indian trade.
(iv) Cash salaries to officials and employees: During Mughal period, nobles,
mansabdars, soldiers, officials and other officials used to spend lavishly. This
also increased the internal as well as the external trade.
(v) Growth of new cities: During the Mughal period, some new towns and cities
were developed. Not only this, some of the old cities also rapidly extended.
Prominent towns and cities of the Mughal period were Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur
Sikri, Patna, Dhaka, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Surat, Goa, etc. According to
Dr Satish Chandra, ‘The demand for all types of luxury goods by nobles led to
the expansion of handicrafts production and to the growth of towns’. A study of
Agra shows that it doubled in area during the 17th century. According to Ralph
Fitch who came to India during Akbar’s reign, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri were
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each larger than London. Montserrat says that Lahore was second to none of Economic Aspects
of the Period
the cities in Europe or Asia. Similarly, Burnier says that Delhi was not much
less than Paris.
(vi) Advent of Europeans: Another factor which helped Indian’s trade and
commerce was the arrival of the Europeans. No doubt, the Portuguese came NOTES
before the Mughals but during the Mughal period their trade activities increased
considerably. The Dutch and the English traders arrived in India towards the
beginning of the 17th century. The Indian traders welcomed these foreign traders
to break the Portuguese monopoly of the sea trade, and in due course of time,
helped to establish a direct link between the Indian and the European markets.
Indian textiles became a large import of England by the last quarter of the 17th
century.
7.5 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have learnt that:
The economy during the Mughal rule was largely supported by agriculture.
Apart from agriculture, handicrafts, silk weaving and trade also formed an
integral part of the economy in the Mughal kingdom. Check Your Progress
Improved transport and communication facilities helped the development of 5. Fill in the blanks:
economy during the reign of Mughal royal leaders. There was tremendous (a) Long distance
demand for cash crops like silk and cotton as because the textile industry was trade was
flourishing during the Mughal period. supported by
improved
The artistic lifestyle of the Mughal rulers also encouraged art and architecture, conditions of the
handicrafts and trade in the country. During that era, the merchants and traders
were powerful classes. Trade—both inside the country and outside—grew systems.
tremendously. (b) was
the major
Urbanization and fixed markets also helped in expanding the economy in Mughal commodity of
Empire. Initially, the weekly market concept was popular. Eventually, several trade and
trade centres were formed in prosperous cities with the growth of the economy. commerce along
the western
Majority of the people earned their livelihood through agriculture. Different coast.
types of food and cash crops were cultivated. Agriculture in Mughal India (c) The Mughal
remained the most important source of economy. emperors could
build one of the
Wheat was cultivated mostly in the northern and central regions of India. Further, finest coin
millets were also cultivated in wheat dominant areas and other drier districts. currencies in the
Apart from the food crops, the development of a number of cash crops also contemporary
world, a
formed an integral part of agriculture.
Agriculture for the duration of the Mughal period also included vegetables and currency of great
fruits. They were mostly cultivated in the cities. During the Mughal rule, Indian uniformity and
purity.
economy was considered as the second largest in the world. In the 16th century,
(d) The Dutch and
the net domestic production of India was estimated to be around 24.5 per cent the English
of the total world economy. traders arrived
Industry in India had been developing even before the Mughal rulers came in in India towards
the beginning of
but by the Mughal era, it had diversified to a great extent. A substantial number the
of people were involved in industry and produced a large number of goods in century.
considerable volumes. The large volumes helped in promoting international
trade.
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Economic Aspects Besides textile, another important industry was the shipbuilding industry, despite
of the Period
the fact that India had fewer ports than many other countries.
The state liberally gave grants to merchants and industries. The state also set
up royal Karkhanas (workshops) to work according to the needs of the Sultan
NOTES and his family.
Trade in Mughal India was diversified and moderately developed. The vast
assortment and volume of products that were man-made in industries catered
to both large domestic as well as worldwide demands. Trade in Mughal India
involved huge numbers of people.
The Mughal period was considered as the age of relative peace and in this
period trade and business flourished enormously. The growing foreign trade
led towards the establishment of marketplaces in towns and also in villages.
According to the description of the foreign travellers, a number of important
towns and big cities existed along the main highways and rivers. In the markets
of these towns and cities, goods of necessity, comfort and luxury were available
in abundance.
During the Mughal period, our foreign trade also flourished. India had external
trade with Central Asia, Burma, China, Persia, Sri Lanka, England, Portugal,
France and Holland. The foreign trade was carried out both by the land and the
sea routes.
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Economic Aspects
7.8 QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES of the Period
Short-Answer Questions
NOTES
1. Discuss the economic condition of the people under the Mughals.
2. Discuss the social condition of the people under the Mughals.
3. Describe the foreign trade that flourished under Mughal rule.
Long-Answer Questions
1. Highlight the measures implemented by the Mughal Emperors for the
development of trade and commerce.
2. Describe the industries that existed in the Mughal period.
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Socio-Religious
Movements
UNIT 8 SOCIO-RELIGIOUS
MOVEMENTS NOTES
Structure
8.0 Introduction
8.1 Unit Objectives
8.2 Sufis: Orders, Beliefs and Practices
8.3 Bhakti Movement: Chaitanya and Shankaradeva
8.4 Sikh Movement: Guru Nanak
8.5 Summary
8.6 Key Terms
8.7 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’
8.8 Questions and Exercises
8.9 Further Reading
8.10 Learning outcomes
8.0 INTRODUCTION
The previous unit discussed the socio-economic conditions of the Mughal Empire.
You learned that the central feature of the agrarian system under the Mughals was the
alienation of the peasant from his surplus produce in the form of land revenue which
was the main source of the state’s income. Three classes of people existed during the
Mughal Period—the upper class who led a luxurious life, the middle class and the
lower class. You also learned that the Period saw improvements in education as well
as literature, especially Persian and Hindi. Both internal and international trade
developed due to better roads and other amenities, especially during the time of
Aurangzeb.
This unit discusses the spread of Sufism in India, the development of the Bhakti
movement and the Sikh movement, including the role of Guru Nanak.
NOTES Vallabhacharya
Vallabhacharya was a Tailang Brahmin. He preached the worship of Vishnu in the
form of Krishna. He was born in AD1479 in the Telugu country. He visited Mathura,
Vrindavan and many other sacred places and finally settled at Varanasi.
Chaitanya
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a Bhakti saint from Bengal, rejected the caste system and
preached the importance of devotion for the attainment of God. He was a devotee of
Lord Krishna and a Vaishnavite. He went about singing and dancing to the beating of
the drum, accompanied by a large number of followers, both Hindus and Muslims.
He did not care for rituals or caste distinctions. He travelled widely throughout Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa. He helped the old and the needy. People sing his hymns even today.
Kabir
Kabir probably lived in the 15th century, and was a disciple of Ramananda. He was a
weaver by trade. His dohe are sung all over the country even today. Kabir promoted
brotherhood among the people and was against discrimination based on caste or
religion. He preached that, ‘God is one; some call him Ram and some call him Rahim;
he is not found in any temple or mosque but dwells in the heart of man.’ Kabir tried to
bridge the gap between Hinduism and Islam and people of both the religions were his
followers. The followers of Kabir were called Kabirpanthi.
Mira Bai
Mira Bai was a Rajput princess who was married into the ruling family of Mewar.
She was a passionate devotee of Lord Krishna. Her songs or hymns are famous and
sung all over India even today. Mira made no caste distinction and her doors were
open to people of all castes.
Sant Jnaneshwar
The greatest saint of Maharashtra was Jnaneshwar, who preached in the 13th century.
He wrote the Bhagavad Gita in Marathi. He worshipped Vishnu and spread his message
of love throughout western India.
Shankaradev
When the Bhakti movement was sweeping over all of India, Shankardev was its
messenger for Assam. He is responsible for adding culture to the Assamese society
through songs, musical instruments, dances, literature, festivals, monasteries, ethical
movement and concept of non-violence. Shankaradev is considered the most-
remembered and most influential religious leader in Assam, who singlehandedly ignited
a sense of consciousness through his philosophy and saintly ways. His most well-
known disciple was Madhavdev, who later was pivotal in laying the foundation for a
spiritual order.
The unique strength of Shankardev was that he introduced Vaishnav ideals into
a mixed society of assorted ethnic and cultural races, which were previously notorious
for such practices as tantrism, animism, sorcery and human and animal sacrifice.
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world. In the words of Bani Kanta Kakati, ‘the land was infested with itinerant teachers Socio-Religious
Movements
of the Vamacara tantric schools with the insistence on the philosophy of sex and the
palate. Tantric brand of sakta Hindu faith came to be overloaded by occult primitive
practices and thereby was degenerated’.
The philosophy of Shankardev is based on the Bhakti cult propounded by the NOTES
Bhagavat Puraan. It propounds the concept of complete surrender to the will of God,
as stated in the Gita. Shankardev propounded the eka-sarana-nama, a liberal ideology
acceptable to all, which prescribes the worship of one and only reality in the person of
Narayana who according to Shankardev, represents the saguna aspect of the absolute
reality. The Vaishnav saint forbade the worship of any deity other than Vishnu-Krishna-
Narayana. He thus succeeded in establishing his motto of monotheism in place of the
prevailing polytheism and animism.
Namdeva
Namdeva, another saint from Maharashtra, was first a tailor, a bandit and later a
Bhakti saint. He composed in Marathi, travelled far and wide and held discussions
with the Sufi saints. He had a large number of followers belonging to all castes.
Guru Nanak, the first guru (divine teacher) of the Sikhs (disciples), was born
at Talawandi in west Punjab in AD 1469. He preached that there is one God, who is
the creator of the Universe, that God is truth. Guru Nanak, like the saints of his time,
refuted the authority of the Brahmins and useless rites and rituals. He was against the
caste system, which separated human beings from each other. In order to remove
caste distinction and bring them closer to each other, he insisted that his followers Check Your Progress
must dine from a common kitchen or langar.
2. State whether true
Nanak saw no distinction between Islam and Hinduism and tried to bring the or false.
followers of the two religions closer to each other. The teachings of Guru Nanak are
(a) The Bhakti
written in the form of verses in the book Adi Granth. He died in AD 1539. Movement
His chosen successor, Guru Angad, gave the community a greater cohesion gained
momentum
and a sense of identity. He had recorded the sayings of Guru Nanak in a specially during the latter
devised script called Gurumukhi, meaning from the Guru’s mouth. The third guru half of the Indian
found in Akbar a great patron. During his time more people converted to this faith. medieval period
Sikhism believed in community eating. It did not believe in the purdah system or between AD
800–1700.
caste distinctions. Akbar’s religious tolerance and generosity saw the fourth guru,
Ram Das, the beneficiary of a piece of land on which now stands the sacred Golden (b) The Bhakti
Movement gave
Temple which was completed by Ram Das’ son Arjan, the fifth guru. He named the importance to
city Amritsar (Pool of Immortal Nectar) as there stands the tank filled with sacred idol worship.
water. Arjan also compiled the Granth Sahib, the sacred book for the Sikhs, and had 3. Fill in the blanks
it kept safely in the Golden Temple. with the
appropriate word.
Guru Nanak combined the Sufi and Bhakti ideas and had both Muslims and
Hindus as followers. God, according to him, was nirankara (without form), akal (a) One of the first
great exponents
(eternal) and alakh (one who could not be known). He used both Hindu and Muslim of Bhakti
names for God, i.e., Allah, Ram, Khuda, Govinda. was_ _.
(b)
propounded the
ACTIVITY Bhakti
Movement in
North India in
Prepare a list of prominent Sufi saints and Hindu religious leaders of the the 14th century.
Mughal period.
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Socio-Religious
Movements 8.4 SIKH MOVEMENT: GURU NANAK
Guru Nanak was born into a Bedi Hindu Kshatriya family in Talwandi (today known
NOTES as Nankana Sahib, near Lahore, Pakistan) on 15 April 1469. His father, Mehta Kalyan
Das Bedi was the patwari (accountant) for the village of Talwandi.
Guru Nanak’s mother was Tripta Devi and Bibi Nanaki was his elder sister.
Nanki was married to Jai Ram, who was the steward (modi) to Daulat Khan Lodi, the
eventual governor of Lahore. Guru Nanak was attached to his older sister and followed
her to Sultanpur to live with her. Guru Nanak also found work with Daulat Khan,
when he was around 16 years old.
Guru Nanak was an intelligent child. He was different from others. Since childhood,
he had a deeply contemplative mind and all efforts to engage him in worldly pursuits
had failed. At age seven, his father enrolled him at the village school. As a child Guru
Nanak surprised his teacher by describing the implied symbolism of the first letter of
the alphabet, resembling the mathematical version of one, as denoting the unity or
oneness of God. Guru Nanak was a contemporary of following three Lodhi dynasty
rulers:
Babar Lodhi (1451–1489)
Sikandar Lodhi (1489–1517)
Ibrahim Lodhi (1517–1526)
Nanak got great satisfaction in serving the poor and needy. An important story of his
childhood tells us that once his father gave him some money to start a business in the
neighbouring town. On the way, Nanak saw some sadhus (hermits or sages) who had
not eaten for many days. Nanak purchased food for them with the money given by his
father and they had a good meal. When Nanak’s father asked him what business
venture he started with the money, he replied that he made a ‘most profitable bargain’.
On noticing that Nanak was not interested in business his father sent him to Sultanpur
Lodhi, a town in Kapurthala district of Punjab. Here, Nanak was employed as a
storekeeper by the local ruler. This duty was discharged by Nanak with great integrity.
It was during his stay at Sultanpur Lodhi that Nanak got his enlightenment.
According to popular traditions, one morning when Nanak went for a dip in the river
Beas flowing nearby, he was absorbed in the thoughts of God and was ushered into
the divine presence. Blessed by the Almighty, Nanak came out of the river to preach
the holy name of the God. The first words that Nanak uttered after his enlightenment
were ‘there is no Hindu and there is no Musalman’. At a time when the Hindus and
the Muslims were engaged in sectarian conflicts, these words heralded Nanak’s new
mission of reconciliation of the two.
Basic Elements of Sikhism
In this section, you will study basic concepts of Sikhism.
Concept of Ishwar
The basic belief of Sikhism is that God exists as a real entity and not just as an idea or
a design. The Gurus have described God in numerous ways in their hymns that are
included in the Guru Granth Sahib. These hymns emphasize on the unity of the deity.
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The best definition that any Sikh can give to the concept of God in Sikhism is Socio-Religious
Movements
by quoting the Mulmantra–the fundamental creed of Sikhism, which occurs at the
beginning of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. It is mentioned in the first verse of the Guru
Granth Sahib as follows:
There exists but one God, who is called The True, The Creator, Free from fear NOTES
and hate, Immortal, Not begotten, Self-Existent, Great and Compassionate.
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion and it urges its followers to practice strict
monotheism. It believes in only one supreme God who, in the unmanifest form, is
called Ek Omkara. In the manifest form, God is called Omkara and he has the following
several attributes:
Kartar (The Creator)
Akal (The Eternal)
Sattanama (The Holy Name)
Sahib (The Lord)
Parvardigar (The Cherisher)
Rahim (The Merciful)
Karim (The Benevolent)
He is also called as Wahe Guru–the one true God. Sikhism also does not believe in
Avataravada, i.e., the doctrine of incarnation. It says that the Almighty God does not
incarnate Himself in various Avataras. Sikhism is strongly against idol worship.
Sikhism assumes that God is Karta Purakh, the maker being. He created the
whole spatial universe not from some pre-existing forcible elements, but from his
own self. So, the universe is his emission. It is not a maya or illusion but it is real. As
Guru Arjan Singh said, ‘True is He and true is His creation because all have exhaled
from God himself.’ But God is not identical with the universe. Rather, the universe is
contained within him. Sikhism also believes that God is Akal Murat (eternal being)
and Nirbhay (fearless). Thus, in Sikhism, God has been described in three different
aspects, i.e., God in Himself, God’s relation to creation and God’s relation to man.
God by himself is nirguna (without attributes). He is timeless, formless and boundless.
Whenever it suits Him, he becomes saguna (with attributes) and sees himself in
conception.
God’s relation with man is unique as the latter is his most precious creation. He is the
only species which has the ability to think and understand. It has been said by Guru
Arjan that once the soul has been born as a human being, its endeavour should be to
unite with God. For this, the human being should have a craving for the Lord. Sikhism
assigns the following characteristics to God:
Worship and meditation are only meant for God.
He is the creator, upholder and also the destroyer.
God is kind.
God is wise.
With His grace, he comes to stay in our mind and body.
He is the ultimate protector of all living things.
Only God’s will can ensure that poverty, pain and disease are eradicated.
God is everywhere.
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Socio-Religious Concept of Bhakti
Movements
Hinduism has been the religion of India for ages. The Vedas demonstrate this point.
With the advent of Buddhism and Jainism, Hinduism became slightly sidelined as
NOTES people began exploring these other two religions. However, by the 7th century AD,
Hinduism had regained its lost glory and had become the most important religious
faith of the country.
The Bhakti movement in Medieval India is chiefly responsible for the many
rites and rituals that are linked with the reverence of God by Hindus, Muslims and
Sikhs. The word Bhakti has been derived from the term Bhakta, which means to
serve, revere, adore, love and honour. In the religious context, Bhakti describes a
fervent devotion to God and it is defined as ‘that particular affection for God which is
mothered by the knowledge of the attributes of the adorable one.’
The Bhakti movement spread into numerous movements all over North and
South India. In North India, the movement cannot be distinguished from the Sufi
movement of the Shia Muslims of Chishti fame. The first Punjabi Sufi saint who
emerged from the sufi saints belonging to the Chishti order was Baba Sheikh Farid
Shakarganj. He paved the way for Punjabi patriotism and even brought peace among
the Hindus and Muslims.
In North India, the Bhakti cult basically consisted of Vaisnavas. Rather than
concentrating on Vishnu, it chose to concentrate on Vishnu’s human embodiments –
Rama and Krishna, the two incarnations of Vishnu who were central to the two epics
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Those who followed the Bhakti movement, for
them, Rama and Krishna were the direct objects of devotion. In the twelfth and
thirteenth century, the followers of the movement admitted saints such as Bhagat
Namdev and Kabir. These saints insisted on the devotional singing of praises of the
Lord through their own compositions.
Since the Bhakti movement started before Guru Nanak many historians have
said that Sikhism was nothing more than a Bhakti movement of Punjab. It is completely
wrong and is against the basic Sikh virtues of equality of humans and worship of one
God. The ultimate Guru of a Sikh is the Guru Granth Sahib, which includes only
about 10 per cent of the verses of the Bhakti saints.
As a famous Sikh author says, ‘Sikhism undoubtedly accepted some of the
aspects of the Bhakti movement and admitted some of its practices into its ordained
set. It did lay down spiritual love as the way to the deity, but the deity to be worshipped
was neither Shiva nor Vishnu. Further, it could not be any of the incarnations of Shiva
or Vishnu or any other God of the Hindu pantheon. It was the one and only God, the
Lord of the Universe who was at once transcendent (Nirguna) and immanent (Sarguna).
Renunciation of the world as a spiritual pursuit thus stood rejected and celibacy was
also no more countenanced under Sikhism. Instead, full participation in life in a spirit
of detachment was prescribed.’
Sikhism lays huge stress on equality between male and female, good work
ethic and leading a righteous married life. Sikhism enunciated thus ‘of all the religious
rules and observances, grihasthya (the homestead) is supreme. It is from here that
everything else is blessed.’
Concept of Shabad
Shabad means hymn. In Sikhism, a shabad is a sacred song that is selected from
Self-Instructional
Sikhism’s scripture Guru Granth Sahib. Shabad is connected with surti, which has to
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be attuned to the melody of shabad to realize God. In this process, it becomes the Socio-Religious
Movements
Guru and surti, absorbed in its melody, is its follower. For achieving union of surti
with shabad, one has to continuously remember God and try to mould one’s life to
truthful living. It is not a simple affair.
The shabads or hymns of Guru Granth Sahib are known as Gurbani or the NOTES
Guru’s word, and are written in the Gurmukhi script and composed in raag (musical
score). The main focus of any Sikh worship service is kirtan (singing of the sacred
shabads of Gurbani). Shabads may be sung by kirtanis (individual singers) or ragis
(professional singers well versed in Gurbani) accompanied by sangat (members of
the Sikh congregation).
Concept of Guru
Almost all the great religions of the world highlight the need of a preceptor or Guru or
holy man for the achievement of salvation. The Vedas list the qualities of a religious
guide. Even Guru Nanak has highlighted that bliss can be attained only through a
Guru. Sikhism does not identify any chosen prophets. Guru Nanak Sahib did not
insist on a human or physical Guru. Rather, his Guru was God Himself.
The importance of the Guru in Sikhism can hardly be overemphasized. What is
important in Sikhism is not the person but the word. It is said in Sikhism, ‘The word
is the Guru. The Guru is the word. If the devotee follows what the word says, surely
the Guru will save him.’ This is the reason why Guru Gobind Singh installed the
Granth Sahib as the Guru of all times. He had observed that Sikhs do not need any
man as their Guru as the word is now with them. Guru Arjan Sahib had said, ‘Without
a Guru, liberation cannot be won. The Guru is my boat, which will ferry me across
the rough ocean of existence.’
Guru Ramdas Sahib had said, ‘The Guru is the Sikh and the Sikh who practices
the Guru’s word is equal to the Guru.’ Guru Gobind Singh Sahib had said, ‘I live and
have my being in the Khalsa.’ The Guru lives in the form of the Panth (Group) and
resides in the Sangat (Collective). All the Gurus are identical with Guru Nanak. Guru
Gobind Singh passed on the corporal succession to the Panth, which is regarded as
the embodiment of the Guru. The Panth represents the Guru and is progressing well
with the passage of time. It is a dynamic and corporate personality with authority to
make decisions that are binding on the Sikhs. Thus, we see that there is a two-fold
concept of the Guru–one permanent and the other progressive. The word is the
embodiment of eternal and changeless truth, while the Panth is the progressive,
collective personality of the Guru among the Sikhs.
Guru Granth Sahib is the living embodiment of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs. It is
the living flame of the name, which lights the lamp of the disciple. There is no place
for a living Guru in the Sikh religion because Gurbani is Guru and Guru is Gurbani.
This is the permanent Guru concept of Sikhism. When a Sikh is in doubt about any
principle of Sikhism, he refers the matter to the Panth for a decision or clarification.
This is the progressive Guru concept of Sikhism.
Sikhism in India
Founded in India, Sikhism has had a profound impact on Indian society. It had a
calming influence on the warring Hindus and Muslims through its message of unity
of God and brotherhood of mankind. Sikhism managed to dent the strong hold of the
caste system in Indian society by strongly condemning it. As visualized by Guru
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Socio-Religious Nanak, Sikhism actually turned into a religion that played the role of a reconciler
Movements
between Hinduism and Islam. It drew from both the religions and their followers and
achieved some kind of a synthesis. It preached equality of all religions and included
several hymns of the Hindu Bhaktis or Bhaktas and Muslim saints in the Granth
NOTES Sahib.
The Sikh Gurus gave a positive direction to the Indian society by emphasizing
upon transcendental humanism and other spiritual values. Realizing that Indian society
was bereft of love and understanding at that point in time (fifteenth and sixteenth
century), the Sikh Gurus preached the philosophy of love and compassion of the God.
Sikhs in India have been peace-loving people and have been very industrious.
They are hard working and have migrated to other countries in search of a better
livelihood. However, things took an ugly turn in the 1980s and 1990s when militant
and aggressive Sikh groups tried to create a new country of Khalistan from out of the
existing State of Punjab. Terrorist acts resulted in many killings and the Hindus in
Punjab were unlawfully targeted. Many Hindus were murdered in cold blood.
Things neared normalcy towards the mid-1990s but the fair name of Sikhism
was tarnished by the acts of the militant Sikhs. However, Sikhism continues to evoke
love and respect from Hindus and Muslims because of the universal brotherhood
preached by it. Sikhism symbolizes the great plurality of modern India as it happily
co-exists with so many other religious faiths.
Short-Answer Questions
1. What is Sufism? Add a note on the philosophy of Sufism.
2. Who was Guru Nanak? What message did he give to humanism?
3. Discuss the origin of the Bhakti Movement in India.
4. Discuss the concepts of God, Bhakti and Guru in Sikhism.
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Socio-Religious Long-Answer Questions
Movements
1. Analyse the teachings of Sufism.
2. Discuss the emergence of Sufism in India.
NOTES 3. Analyse the various principles of Sufism.
4. Analyse the teachings of the various propounders of the Bhakti Movement and
the socio-cultural reforms that occurred in India.
5. Write briefly about the impact that Sikhism had on India.
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Social and Cultural Life
9.0 INTRODUCTION
The emperor was supreme in the society of the Mughal times and under him was a
feudal system. The emperor had a matchless status and ruled as the final authority in
every way. After him came the rank of nobility, which included the zamindars and the
chieftains. The only way to be a part of the aristocratic class was through the clan or
family links.
The Mughals promoted art and architecture in every way and as a result, both
flourished. Another reason for this development was that new ideas had been
successfully adopted from the Sultanate and the insecurity of the Sultanate period
was not there to disrupt the growth of culture. With the backing of the authoritative
Mughal rulers, remarkable works in art and architecture were begun in all regions of
the kingdom. Besides architecture, painting was a well-liked and accepted expression
of art in those times. Due to this reason, a Mughal school of painting developed,
which was distinct from all other styles of painting.
However, after Jahangir passed away, Mughal art declined gradually because
Shah Jahan was not much fond of art and did not have any knowledge regarding art.
After him, even Aurangzeb was not a patron of art, and as a result the Mughal painters
moved on to other autonomous states in Rajasthan and other countries where they
could work with artistic freedom as they wanted. As far as monuments are concerned,
all Mughal kings had a fine eye, except Aurangzeb who felt that great buildings were
only indulgences and did not believe in spending state money on their construction
and maintenance.
In this unit, you will learn about the classification of society in Mughal times,
and trace the development of literature, art and architecture in the Mughal era.
Common Men
During the Mughal period, majority of the society belonged to the class of the
commoners. Among the common men in Mughal times could be included the peasants,
labourers, artisans, etc. The people of this class led a comparatively hard life. The
food of the people of this class was very ordinary. The normal food of the commoners
was boiled rice, chapatti, pulses, saag and some other vegetables with salt, although
the most universal and popular was Khichari, which was prepared in an ordinary
way, and was taken without ghee and butter. The diet of an ordinary Muslim was
simple like that of Hindu. This normal meal consisted of wheat bread, fried bread and
chicken. The people of this class could not afford good and costly clothes. Their
clothing was generally insufficient, and they could not afford to use woollen garments.
Babur was struck by the scanty clothes worn by the common people. He observed
that ‘peasants and people of the low standing go about naked’. He described the
langota or decency cloth worn by men and the Sari worn by women. His impression
has been corroborated by later travellers. Ralph Fitch, who came to India towards the
end of the 16th century, says that ‘at Banaras, the people go naked save a little cloth
bound about their middle’.
Writing about the people of the common class between Lahore and Agra, Sal
Bank says, ‘The plebeian is so poor that a great part of them go naked’. Abul Fazal,
the court historian of Akbar, writes that men and women of Bengal for the most part
go naked wearing only a cloth about their loins, and this appears to have been true for
a bulk of India’s teeming millions. De Laet wrote that ‘the labourers had insufficient
clothing to keep themselves warm and cosy during winter’. However, Fitch observed,
‘In the winter which is our May, the men wear quilted gowns of cotton, and quilted
caps’. But their accounts do not appear to be completely true.
Because the accounts of many contemporary historians prove that the Indians
used clothes in an abundant skepticism. In fact, the remarks of the foreign travellers
need to be treated with some skepticism. Coming from a colder climate and not
familiar with the climate and traditions of India, the impression of nakedness which
they gained was natural. The overall impression remains one of insufficient clothing
rather than nakedness. According to Padshahanama of Lahauri, the people used lungis
(loincloth) in private. When and where the climate was cold, the people covered
themselves more fully. Generally, the Hindu of this class wore dhoti and kurta, and
the women wore sari, blouse along with some inner garments. The usual dress of an
average Muslim appears to have been a payjamah (ijar), an ordinary shirt, and a cap
on his shaven head. The women of this community used to wear salwar, shirt or long
kurta along with burkha.
As far as the housing and furniture was concerned, little needs to be said. Most
of the people of this class used to live in houses made of mud. They had hardly any
furniture except cots and bamboo mats, and earthen utensils, which were made by
the local potter. Copper and bell, metal plates, and utensils were expensive, and were
generally not used by commoners. The poor people of the village often came to cities
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in search of jobs and worked there as porters, domestic servants and artisans. This Social and Cultural Life
was partly due to the natural growth of the population, and partly due to their
abandoning their cultivation due to the famine or other unfavourable circumstances,
such as over-assessment. As far as the cities and the towns were concerned, the largest
class consisted of the poor artisans, the servants and slaves, the soldiers, petty NOTES
shopkeepers, etc.
The salary of the lowest grade of servant, according to European travellers,
was less than 2 per month. The bulk of the means and foot soldiers began at less than
2 per month. But because the costs of the things were less, these people did not have
to suffer much, in spite of the fact that their pay was very low.
The Middle Classes
According to historians like Mooreland, in this age, middle class or the intelligentsia
was almost non-existent. This is partly true because even at that time there were
Vakils, Hakims, Vaidyas, and scholarly Pandits and Ulemas throughout the country,
though their number was very low as compared to the population of the country.
According to the well-known historian, Dr Satish Chandra, ‘The middle class in
medieval India consisted mainly of merchants, professional classes, such as Vaidyas
and Hakims, and officials’. The people of this class lived a frugal life, free from
luxury. The merchants lived simple and temperate lives. As Bernier observed, they
would always try to conceal their wealth and deliberately lived in a state of studied
indigence because they were afraid lest they should be robbed of their wealth by the
provincial governors who were at once covetous and corrupt. In fact, there was a high
degree of professionalism among the Indian merchants. Some specialized in wholesale
trade and others in retail trade, the former being called Seth or Bohra and the latter
Beoparis or Banik.
In south India, the Chettis formed the trading community. There was a special
class, banjaras, who specialized in the ‘carrying’ trade. The banjaras used to move
from place to place, overladen with salt, ghee, food grains, haldi, etc. The majority of
the Pandits and the Ulemas were dependent on charity and were servants of the states.
Therefore, this class could not undertake the intellectual leadership of the society and
used to think of augmenting comforts by making the upper classes happy.
In religious matters, the Pandits and the Ulemas had great effect on ordinary
people but they did not have the capacity to provide moral leadership to the country
and free them from any social evils. The middle class people were often depressed
because they wanted to live like the people of high class in a luxurious manner, but
because of their lesser income, they could not do so. There was a lot of use of wine in
this class. They also gave great attention towards cosmetics, etc.; their standard was
not as high as that of nobility but their financial condition was better. The middle
classes managed to have their meals thrice daily. On the occasions of marriage and
festivity, they indulged in extravagances beyond their means.
Higher Classes
In this division came the people of three categories. Firstly, in this class came the
Emperor, very high officials, Mansabdars and Zamindars. Second came the provincial
rulers— Mansabdars and other nobles. Thirdly, the Gazirdars or the land-owners,
etc., were also the part of the high class.
The ruling class used to enjoy the highest standard in the society, both socially
and economically; the Mughal nobility formed a privileged class. Theoretically, the Self-Instructional
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Social and Cultural Life door of the Mughal nobility was open to everyone. In practice, persons belonging to
the aristocratic families, whether they were Indian or foreigners, had a decided
advantage. To begin with, the bulk of the Mughal nobles were drawn from the homeland
of the Mughal, Turan, and from its neighbouring areas, Tajakistan, Khursana, Iran,
NOTES etc. The Mughal rulers never followed a narrow racialist policy, recruiting their nobles.
Along with the Mughals, highest nobles were appointed from the Afghans, the
Hindustani Muslims, the Rajputs and other Hindus also. The nobles tried to live up to
the standard of the Emperor, and had the same vices and virtues.
Mughal court habits were carried to the Rajputana by the Rajput Rajas. The
nobles of this period lived in a great style and most of the European travellers testify
that their standard of living was much higher than that of the European monarchs.
The Mughal nobles received extremely high salaries but their expenses were also
very high. Each noble maintained a large train of servants and attendants and a large
stable of horses, elephants and transport of all types. Many of them maintained a
large harem of women, which was considered normal for a man of a status during
Mughal period. They used to spend lavishly on clothes, food and ornaments. Their
life was luxurious. Because of their spendthrift nature and not saving enough money,
many nobles used to be in debt at the time of their deaths. Some nobles used to invest
in trade. Some purchased land, bought gardens and got markets constructed, and
some people from this class made fruits of new kinds popular. Many nobles extended
patronage to musicians, poets, scholars and painters. They also encouraged many
artisans.
From the writing of Abul Fazal and other contemporary scholars, it is clear that
the personal ownership of land was very old in India. The right of the ownership in
land depended mainly upon succession. But new rights of ownership were being
created all the time. The tradition was that anyone who first brought land under
cultivation was considered its owner. In addition to owning the lands they cultivated,
a considerable section of Zamindars had the hereditary right of collecting the land
revenue from a number of villages. They used to get a share of the land revenue. The
Zamindars had their own armed forces and they generally lived in forts or garhis,
which was both a place of refuge and a status symbol. In the whole of India, Zamindars
were called by different names like Sri Deshmukh, Patil, Naik, etc.
In addition to the Zamindars, there was a large class of religious leaders and
scholars also whom the Emperor granted land due to their qualities and services to
the Mughal empire. Such grants were given for their maintenance and were called
milk or Madad-i-Massh. Although these grants were to be renewed by every ruler,
they often became hereditary in practice. We have little idea of the living standard of
this particular section of high class. But this can be said definitely that their living
standard was far better than the people of middle and lower classes.
Family Life during the Mughal Period
Majority of the people lived in a joint family. There was no place for private property
within the joint family but all members had a right to spend from the joint income of
the family. This family system on the one hand kept the people under the feeling of
mutual cooperation, while on the other hand, it hindered the development of the feeling
of self-dependence and the cultivation of individual personality traits. In a joint family,
generally all the members were supposed to follow the orders of the oldest male
member. The system of joint family was popular among the Hindus as well as among
the Muslims during the Mughal period. The well known historian K.M. Ahsraf writes
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about the joint family of the medieval period. ‘In rural countries the family is the Social and Cultural Life
major institution of domestic life; it ranks even above the church and the state. The
Indians in this respect are still a family community.’
Caste System NOTES
Even during the Mughal period, the caste system and the feeling of inequality in the
Hindu society remained rooted. The Hindu society was divided into many castes and
sub-castes. The feeling of untouchability and inequality was more prevalent among
the Hindu people of the rural India than the urban one. The descriptions of some
historians testify the existence of the caste system. As Mooreland points out in his
book ‘India at the death of Akbar’ that the Hindu caste system existed in full vigour,
as it does today, though the English documents of the period do not as a rule differentiate
between the various types of castes and classes.
Just as they refer to all the Hindus under the generic title of ‘Gentus’, i.e.,
Gentities, so they apply the term ‘Moor’ to all classes of the Mohammadans. The
Mohammadans of India at this date were roughly divided into those of the north-
western region and those of the coast. Though the Hindus did not like to mix up with
the Muslims in the beginning and hesitated to take their foods, later on both the
communities started participating in each other’s festivals.
As a result of the integration of the two cultures, a new culture had arisen,
which later on came to be known as the Indo-Muslim culture. Many Hindus and Sufi
saints raised their voice against the caste system and discrimination among the human
beings on the basis of caste. There is no doubt that they could not eliminate altogether
this evil from Indian society but it cannot be said their efforts were altogether useless.
To quite an extent, there was a feeling of unity among the Mughals, Pathans, Turks,
Rajputs, Jats and other Hindu sects. Now Akbar’s secular state has taken place of the
Sultanate period’s religion predominating state. The concept of sulahkul of Akbar
consolidated the feeling of co-operation, mutual understanding and goodwill between
the people of different caste and communities.
Food and Drink
The daily food of the Hindus and the Muslims was essentially the same except that
meat was a popular dish of the Muslims. The dishes in Mughal age included different
varieties and their quality depended upon the socio-economic status of different classes
amongst the Hindus and the Muslims. People of higher strata used high quality wheat,
rice, vegetables, fruits, sweets, etc. Most of the nobles, Zamindars and members of
the royal family used to purchase dry and imported fruits. As Jahangir has written in
his book Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, ‘During that period, foreign fruits were easily available
in the market’. Ice, scents, rose water, meat and wine, etc., were occasionally used
even by the common people in those days.
The Mughal emperors, particularly Akbar, took keen interest in the bakery and
had bought the best material for his kitchen. The food of the upper class was also very
costly. Puri and luchis were quite popular among the people of this class. Hindus in
general being vegetarians, confined themselves to pulses, curd, butter, oil and milk,
and its several preparations. Abul Fazal gives a detailed list of various vegetables,
meat and sweet dishes in the Ain-e-Akbari. The favourite dishes of the upper class
Muslims were meat, fish, keema-pulao, dum biryani, halwa, etc. The common people,
both Hindus and Muslim, could ill-afford the expenditure on rich and dainty dishes,
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Social and Cultural Life and contented themselves with simple food. Khichri was the most popular dish of this
class.
The Gujaratis preferred rice and curd. Rice formed the chief food of the people
of the South. The middle classes managed to have their meals thrice daily.
NOTES
The utensils used in the Hindu kitchens were all made of bronze or brass while
those of the Muslims were of copper or earthen ware. The Mughal emperors used
silver or gold utensils and were very fond of precious China and glassware. Wine,
opium, bhaang and tobacco were the most common intoxicants abused in the Mughal
period. Tea and coffee were not taken as beverages in those days but as intoxicants.
Babur and Jahangir were renowned drinkers. Humayun was fonder of opium more
than alcohol. Akbar and Shah Jahan never passed the limit of decency whenever they
took wine but Aurangzeb totally abstained from wine. Some superior kinds of wine
were also imported from foreign countries like Portugal and Iran. Betel leaf was in
common use among all the classes of the Indians.
Means of Amusement
The Mughal period has been called the age of joy and pleasure on the account of the
organizing of the different kinds of games, sports, fairs, festivals, and other various
sources of recreation and amusement. People used to have recreation through several
types of sports, such as archery and Polo, hunting, catching fish, wrestling, boxing,
kiting, animal race, animal fighting, walking and touring, boating and swimming,
horse riding, etc. Apart from this, there were many festivals for amusement. The
Hindu festivals were like that of present day, like Diwali, Holi, Raksha Bandhan,
Bhaiya Duj, Durga Puja, Basant Panchami, Ram Navami, Krishna Janmashtami,
Shivratri, etc. The Muslims had Shab-e-Barat, Eid ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Zuha, Barah Wafat,
etc. Among royal festivals were Aab-i-Peshan, Meena Bazar, birthday celebration,
etc.
Some indoor games were used as the means of recreation. The important and
popular indoor games of the Mughal period were chess, playing cards, chopar, chandal
mandal and dice roll gambling. In those days, theatrical performances were also a
source of recreation for the people. Smooth faced boys were dressed up as women to
take part in the drama. The theatre, dance and music had their prescribed hours. We
also find that poetic recitations were frequently organized. Gulbadan Begum writes
that ‘renounced poets were called upon and guests were invited’.
Gardening was also a very notable means of recreation for the royal individuals
and nobles. Babur laid out symmetrical gardens and fitted them with fountains.
Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb visited Kashmir to spend their summer and to
enjoy the beauty of Kashmir. During the Mughal period, we find that fairs were held
at numerous seats of Hindu pilgrimage. It also appears that there were many local
fairs in every province held in the memory of some reverends. Most important Hindu
fairs were held at Prayag, Haridwar, Gaya, Ayodhaya, Mathura, Puri, Dwarka, Ujjain,
Kanchipuram and Rameshwaram.
Dress, Ornaments and Cosmetics
According to M.A. Ansari, ‘dress is the mirror of the civilization’. Indian dress,
throughout the ages had been determined mainly by the climate conditions as well as
by the changing requirements of the socio-religious customs and the manners of our
country. There is no doubt that the foreign influence also played an important part in
its evolution. The Mughal emperors were very much interested in new fashions and
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variety in dresses. Humayun invented several new brands of dresses, particularly the Social and Cultural Life
one called ulbagcha. It was a vast waist coast open in front and hanging down of the
waist over the Qabaor Coat. Akbar employed skilled tailors to improve the style of
costumes in his wardrobe. The Ain-i-Akbari describes eleven types of coats. The
most important of them was the Takan Chiyah Peshwai coat with a round skirt tied on NOTES
the right side, open in front and tied in the back, and Shah Ajidah, the royal fur coat.
Shah Jahan was fond of fashionable dresses which were profusely adorned with costly
pearls, diamonds and rubies. Aurangzeb was, however, a man of modern taste and
habits, and he, undoubtedly, made an attempt in simplicity in matters of dressing.
The people of the upper class spent lavishly on their dresses, and the wealthy
Muslims wore both salwar and breeches or tight trousers. Over their shirts they wore
narrow waist coats. The rich also carried coloured woollen shawls over their shoulders.
The dress of the common people differed almost radically from that of the aristocracy.
The common people generally went quite naked except for a piece of cloth round
their waist which reached their knees. Babur writes in his memoirs, ‘The Hindus
wore one thing called langota, decent cloth which hangs to span below the navel’.
The remarks of the foreign travellers and some of the scholars need to be treated
with caution. Coming from a colder climate and not familiar with the climate and
traditions of India, the impression of nakedness which they gained was natural. The
overall impression remains one of the insufficiency of clothing rather than their
nakedness. It should be remembered that in those days cloth was comparatively more
expensive than it is now, in comparison to food. Nakedness extended to shoes. Nikitan
observes that the people of the Deccan went bare-foot. However, the contemporary
English traveller Ralph Fitch, speaking of Patna says, ‘Here the women are so bedecked
with silver and copper that it is strange to see, they use no shoes by reason of the rings
of silver and copper they wear in their toes’. In those days, most of the Brahmins used
wooden slippers in summer. The middle class people used red leather shoes
embroidered with gold, silver or silver flowers.
During the Mughal period, women were very anxious to adorn themselves
with a variety of bulky ornaments. Abul Fazal enumerates 37 types of ornaments in
his list given in Ain-i-Akbari. According to him, chaulk, mang, kot-bildzr, sekra and
binduli were used for adorning the head and the forehead. Ears were adorned with
bali, more-bhanwar, peepal patti, karan phool, etc. Natch and besar were used to
adorn the nose. Necklaces of gold, pearl and other costly stones were used to adorn
the neck. Rings were worn in toes and fingers, Bichua, ghungru and payal were also
worn by women on their feet. As for men, the Muslims were usually against ornaments.
Some of them, however, wore amulets. The Hindus on the other hand, adorned
themselves with either ear and finger rings. All the Mughal emperors except Aurangzeb
adorned themselves with all possible types of jewellery, especially during important
festivals and events.
Many things were used as cosmetics by the men and women. Wasma and
khizab for hair dyeing were prepared from indigo and other ingredients. Soaps, powders
and creams had their substitutes in ghazul myrobalans, ubtan, (paste) and pounded
sandal-wood. According to Ain-i-Akbari, different types of perfumes were used by
the royal families and the nobles. Nur Jahan’s mother prepared a new perfume from
roses and named it Itr-i-Jahangiri. It is evident that women in general were more
particular about their toilet than men. Abul Fazal describes in the Ain-e-Akbari the 16
items of a woman’s toilet which includes bathing, anointing, braiding the hair, decking
the crown of her head with jewels, eating pan, garlands of flowers and decorating
herself with various ornaments.
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Social and Cultural Life 9.2.1 Position of Women
The best way to understand the spirit of a civilization, and to appreciate and realize its
excellence and limitations is to study the history of its womenfolk, the development
NOTES and change in their status, and their position from time to time. The position of the
Indian women during the Mughal period registered a further decline. Child marriage,
polygamy, Sati and Pardha continued, and personal respect for the sex went down.
Even a liberal emperor like Akbar had to issue strict order that if a young woman was
found running about the streets and markets of the town, and while doing so did not
veil herself or allowed herself to be unveiled, she was to go to the quarters of the
prostitutes and take up the profession.
Barbosa, an early 16th century traveller, has referred to the strict observation
of the Pardha by the women of Bengal. Eunuchs were freely employed as a means of
communication between the male and female members of the royal family. Hindu
ladies could move out of doors with little or no restrictions. Unlike Muslim women,
they did not cover themselves from head to foot. The birth of a daughter was considered
inauspicious. A Rajput was often heard to say ‘accursed be the day, when a woman
child is born to me’. A wife who unfortunately happened to give birth to girls in
succession was despised and even sometimes divorced. Generally, polygamy was
prevalent among the Muslims whereas Hindus practiced monogamy. Among the
Hindus, the daughters were married at a very early age. Akbar tried to stop the evil of
early marriage but he did not succeed.
According to Abul Fazl, Akbar issued instructions that a boy of less than 21
years and a girl of less than 16 years could not be married. Among the Hindus, widow
remarriage was prohibited, except among the lower caste people. The custom of Sati
was prevalent. Even betrothed girls had to commit Sati on the funeral pyres of their
would-be husbands. Those widows who would not burn themselves with the dead
body of their husbands were harshly treated by the society. They were not allowed to
wear ornaments or to braid their long hair. But the position of Muslim women was
better in this aspect. Muslim women could remarry.
So far as rights over property were concerned, the position of Muslim women
was much better as compared to their Hindu counterparts. They had equal share in
their father’s property. Generally, no attention was paid towards the education of
women in the lower and middle classes. Only the women of high classes got education;
that is why many ladies of a high class did remarkable works in the field of literature,
politics, etc. For example, Humayun’s sister Gulbadan Begum wrote, Humayunama
and translated Tuzk-i-Bauri in Persian. Nur Jahan played a very active role in the
Mughal court. Meera Bai became a popular poetess of that time. Similarly, Chand
Bibi of Ahmednagar and Tara Bai of Maratha state played very active roles in politics.
About Tara Bai, the well known historian J.N. Sarkar rightly observed, ‘Her
administrative genius and strength of character saved the nation in that awful crisis’.
Thus, we reach the conclusion that women were not given equal opportunities in all
fields; or they could have played an important role in the society.
Social Customs and Faiths
Among the Hindus, many important family and social customs began with the birth
of a child and continued throughout life among them. These six were birth celebration,
naming ceremony, Sagai or engagement, marriage ceremony, sacred thread wearing,
and Mundan ceremony. Some Hindus used to celebrate the first day of school going
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of the child by distributing sweets and gifts. The Muslims also celebrated the birth of Social and Cultural Life
a child with a ceremony called Aquiqah. Naming ceremony was also celebrated among
them, which was called Bismillah. Other important customs among the Muslims
were circumcision and the school going ceremony.
NOTES
9.3 DEVELOPMENT OF LITERATURE
During the Mughal period, education was given special emphasis, especially by Akbar.
Akbar, himself a scholar in Turkish and Persian, emphasized the need for the right
education. A reformed coordination of instruction took place in the Mughal times.
Primary school curriculum comprised learning. Thus, under the guidance of his finance
minister, Fathullah Shirazi, a systematized educational set-up was implemented.
Accordingly, special sections of the Holy Quran were read out and explained to the
students. The curriculum emphasized the practice of reading and writing the alphabet
and other lessons on wooden boards.
In the secondary institutions, the art of administration, arithmetic, algebra,
sciences, accounts, economics, history, law, morals, literature and philosophy were
taught. The aim of education was to bring out the latent faculties of the students, to
inculcate authority, to mould character, prepare for life and equip them for the various
professions. Religious conviction was at the root of all studies. Teachers were held in
high esteem. Universities were of the residential type. Monitorial system was in vogue,
education was free and scholarships were granted. Most of the Islamic schools were
attached to mosques and were called Maktabs. There were Hindu institutions also,
called pathshalas, especially during Akbar’s reign. Some of the prominent centres of
learning during the Mughal Era were Delhi, Lahore, Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Multan,
Sialkot, Lucknow, Ajmer and Murshidabad. Scholars from Central Asia and the East
served in these institutions. While the students received free education, the scholars
were well rewarded from the treasury.
Literature during the Mughal period witnessed tremendous development as
there was a return of a stable and prosperous empire. Persian, Sanskrit, Hindi and
Urdu languages saw tremendous creative activity as did many vernacular languages.
The emperors extended their patronage profusely to this activity. For the duration of
the Mughal period Urdu developed more in the Deccan than in Hindustan where its
expansion began only during the reign of Aurangzeb. The social content of the literature
was inadequate. Themes are over and over again taken from outside India. Such
literature was a necessary outcome of medieval feudalism and aristocratic life. Major
art works of the era point to the huge influence of the Muslims in the growth and
development of the historical writing and prose narration.
Literature in the Mughal period developed during Akbar’s reign. Different
branches of literature such as translations, histories, letters and verse developed during
the Mughal Era especially during Akbar’s reign. The return of a stable government
also helped in the development of literature. Since Persian was the language of the
Mughal Court, most works of art were in Persian. The literature of the Mughal Period Check Your Progress
has a special place in world history as they are the main source of information about 1. What was the
the life and times of the people of that era. Besides Akbar, Shah Jahan was also a normal food of the
commoners during
great patron of arts. As mentioned in an earlier unit, Shah Jahan’s reign was referred the Mughal period?
to as the Golden Period. Some of the most famous works of art of this period are 2. What is Aquiqah?
listed below:
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Social and Cultural Life
Ta’rikh-Ialfi Mulla Daud
Ain-i-Akbari, Akbarnamah Abul Fazal
Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh Badauni
NOTES Tabaqat-i-akbari Nizam-ud-din Ahmad
Ma’asir-i-Rohini Abdul Baqi
The most accomplished writer was Abul Fazl. He was a poet, an essayist, a critic and
a historian. Abul Fazl wrote the Akbarnamah which is in three volumes and talks in
detail about the Mughal Emperors and their reign. Poetry was at its zenith during the
Mughal reign. Babur and Humayun were poets and this tradition was continued by
Akbar. Abul Fazl, Abdur Rahim, Abdul Fateh, Ghizali, Mohammad Husain Naziri
and Sayyid Jamaluddin Urfi of Shiraj were the prominent poets of that period.
Jahangir possessed an excellent literary taste. His autobiography is second only
to that of Babur as far as content and style is concerned. His court was adorned by
literary gems like Ghiyas Beg, Naqib Khan, Mutamid Khan, Niamatullah and Abdul
Check Your Progress
Haqq Dihlawi. Some historical works like the Ma‘asir-i-Jahangiri, Padshah-namah
3. State whether true by Abdul Hamid Lahori, Shah-jahannamah by Inayat Khan and Amal-i-Salih by
or false.
Muhammad Salih Shah were composed during this period. Two distinct schools of
(a) In the schools writers had come into existence during this period, the Indo-Persian school and the
special sections purely Persian discipline. Abul Fazl was an exceptional representative of the Indo-
of the Quran
were read out
Persian discipline. Abdul Hamid Lahauri, Md. Waris, Chandra Bhan and Md. Salih
and the were the representatives of this school. This school absorbed Indian ideas. The poets
meanings wrote ghazals, Qasida, masnavi and poems of adulation. Gilani, Kalim, Qudsi, Rafi,
interpreted. Munir, Haziq, Khiyali and Mahir were the some of the popular poets. There were
(b) The curriculum prose writings of other types for occurrence dictionaries, medicinal books, astronomy,
emphasized the
practice of
mathematics and translations from Sanskrit.
reading and Records from the pages of history say that Aurangzeb in the earlier days of his
writing the
alphabet.
reign wrote many poems and other works of art. But he gave up this amusement in
accordance with Islamic injunctions. Works of art during Aurangzeb’s reign were
(c) Vernacular
languages were composed in secret and kept away from the public. Some of the famous works from
neglected during this period were Alamgirnamah by Mirza Muhammad Kazim, Muntakhab-ul-Lubab
the Era. of Khafi Khan, Khulasat-ut-Tawa-rikh of Sujan Rai Khatri and Fatuhat-i-Alamgiri
4. Fill in the blanks of Ishwar Das.
with the
appropriate word. Provincial languages developed in leaps and bounds during the Mughal Period.
This age may be called the classical age of Hindustani literature. Hindi owed its
(a) The Hindu
students lived in
greatest development to a number of saints and poets. This period saw some of the
residential greatest Hindi and Persian writers such as Tulsidas, Kabir, Surdas, Sundar Das,
schools Chintamani, Kavindra Acharya, Keshava Das, Matiram, Bhushan, Bihari, Deva,
called . Padmakar, Alam, and Ghananand, among others. Religion, heroism, human love and
(b) was praise of the king were some of the themes explored by these writers.
at the root of all
studies.
(c) ACTIVITY
developed more
in the Deccan
than in Compare the features of the modern-day residential schools to those that
Hindustan.
were prevalent in the Mughal period. Are there any similarities?
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Social and Cultural Life
9.4 ART, ARCHITECTURE AND PAINTING
Mughal art and structural design refers to the Indo-Islamic-Persian approach that
flourished during the reign of the Mughals who ruled India between AD 1526 and NOTES
1857. The characteristic feature of the Mughal architecture is the symmetry and designs
in their building/monuments and tombs. Prior to the Mughal dynasty which started
with Babur, the Delhi Sultanate (AD 1192–1398) laid down the foundation of Mughal
art in India. The Qutub Minar which was erected by Qutub-ud-din-Aibak in AD1193
remains a prominent characteristic of Delhi’s skyline.
The earliest Islamic monuments in India were time and again built over the
Jain and Hindu monuments which were plundered and destroyed by the Muslim
invaders. The Adhai-Din-Ka Jhopra of Ajmer and the Qutab Minar, both dating back
to the 12th century were built over the ruins of a Jain monastery/ temple. The Adhai-
Din-Ka Jhopra of Ajmer was a centre of Sanskrit learning patronized by the rulers of
the Chauhan period.
Later, with the passage of time, the Mughal architecture was introduced in
Bengal too. The Sultans who were predecessors to the Mughals had constructed
several mosques in the regions of the old capitals of Pandua and Gaur during the
period between the 14th and 15th centuries. The Adina Mosque of Pandua and the
Eklahi mosque were also built on the vandalized remains of Hindu temples, apparent
from the intricate carvings on their structures. The art work on the Adina Mosque
shares a striking resemblance with the Kakatiya ruins of Warangal in Andhra Pradesh.
In the central Gangetic Plain, the Sharqis who ruled from Jaunpur during the
14th and 15th century patronized the construction of mosques with fine jaali work
which influenced the monuments built by Sher Shah Suri. In Gujarat too, the mosques
rested on fine intricate carvings of ancient Jain and Hindu temples, evident from the
display of Hindu motifs like the Chakra, the Kalpa-Lata or Kalpa-Vriksha, the Purna
Kalash, the lotus symbol, and the lamp of acquaintance on their mosques.
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Jodha Bai’s Palace and the Panch Mahal are also unique. The construction of Social and Cultural Life
Akbar’s tomb at Sikandra, near Agra, was started by Akbar but completed by his son
Jahangir. Jahangir constructed the tomb of Itmadud- Daulah (father of Nur Jahan) in
white marble. He was fond of gardens and laid two beautiful gardens in Kashmir—
the Nishat Bagh and the Shalimar Bagh. NOTES
The reign of Shah Jahan is known in history as the Golden Era of Mughal architecture.
As peace and prosperity prevailed throughout the Empire, he devoted himself to
architecture.
Mughal art reached its nadir during the reign of Shah Jahan, who is known for
his passion for architecture. He almost re-built the Agra Fort, adding marble to the
existing sandstone structure, and went on to build his new capital in Shahjahanabad
or the Red Fort, the Pearl Mosque and the Taj Mahal among numerous other
monuments. Lapidary and fine pietra dura were new trends set by Shah Jahan.
He built the Taj Mahal at Agra as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz
Mahal. Shah Jahan also constructed the Moti Masjid in Agra Fort and the Jama Masjid
in Delhi. After the death of his beloved wife Mumtaz, Shah Jahan shifted the capital
to Delhi and started the construction of a new city called Shahjahanabad. He built the
Jami Masjid at Agra in honour of his daughter Jahanara. He also built the Red Fort,
which has many beautiful buildings like the Diwan-i-Khas, Diwan-i-Aam, and the
celebrated Peacock Throne, which was made of gold and studded with precious stones.
This throne was carried away by Nadir Shah, a Persian invader, in AD 1739. Shah
Jahan also gave liberal aid to artists. He also built a number of palaces and gardens in
places like Lahore, Kashmir and Kabul.
Jahanara, daughter of Shah Jahan, was also a generous patron of structural
design and showed an eclectic taste in building spacious gardens, mosques, madrasas
and serais. At Delhi, she built the prominent Begum Ka Bagh and Begum Serai. She
also built her own tomb near the shrine of the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin.
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Social and Cultural Life
NOTES
NOTES
9.5 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have learnt that:
During the Mughal period, majority of the society belonged to the class of the
Check Your Progress commoners. Among the common men in Mughal times could be included the
9. State whether true peasants, labourers, artisans, etc. The people of this class led a comparatively
or false. hard life.
(a) The use of paper According to historians like Mooreland, in this age, middle class or the
became popular intelligentsia was almost non-existent. This is partly true because even at that
during the
Mughal Period.
time there were Vakils, Hakims, Vaidyas and scholarly Pandits and Ulemas
throughout the country, though their number was very low as compared to the
(b) During the times
of Shah Jahan population of the country.
and Aurangzeb The best way to understand the spirit of a civilization and to appreciate and
painting began
to decline. realize its excellence and limitations is to study the history of its womenfolk,
(c) The miniature
the development and change in their status and position from time to time.
style of painting The daily food of the Hindus and the Muslims was essentially the same except
was developed
from the
that meat was a popular dish of the Muslims.
Afghans. The Mughal period has been called the age of joy and pleasure on the account
10. Fill in the blanks of the organizations of the different kinds of games, sports, fairs, festivals, and
with the
appropriate word. other various sources of recreation and amusement.
(a) One of the During the Mughal period, education was given special emphasis, especially
popular forms of by Akbar. The Mughal period promoted the residential type of schools; while
painting the Muslim students pursued education in makbats, their Hindu brothers grew
developed
during the
up in pathsalas.
Mughal Era was Scholars from other countries were invited to teach at the educational institutions,
the
which were funded by endowments. Students received free education. Subjects
painting.
such as science, maths, astronomy, algebra, accounts, economics, history and
(b) The theme of
most of law were taught.
works was A stable and prosperous economy during the Mughal period provided the climate
dominated by
court scenes, and
suitable for the growth of literature, especially Persian. Since it was the court
local flora and language and hence the most number of works of literature were in Persian.
fauna. The Mughal rulers were visionaries who reflected in the all-round development
(c) The form of of various arts, crafts, music, building and structural design.
music that was
predominant in The characteristic feature of the Mughal architecture is the symmetry and designs
India during the in their building/monuments and tombs.
Mughal period
was the . The earliest Islamic monuments in India were time and again built over the
Jain and Hindu monuments which were plundered and destroyed by the Muslim
invaders.
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Humayun’s tomb erected by Akbar in Delhi in AD 1560 marked the construction Social and Cultural Life
of monuments on Indian soil.
The buildings till the time of Akbar used red sandstone as the construction
material. The reign of Jahangir saw the transition to marble, while Shah Jahan
used white marble for the Taj Mahal. NOTES
Mughal architecture was at its zenith during the reign of Shah Jahan, while it
started its decline during Aurangzeb’s time.
The Mughal Period also saw the development of painting. The paper became
more popular during this period; thus portrait painting grew to new heights
with the kings and Begums as the favourite subject of painting.
Jahangir showed immense interest in painting and had a good eye to recognize
and differentiate the works of popular artists of his time. He patronized art and
was himself good at painting.
Most works of Jahangir depicted nature and the flora and fauna of the
surrounding places.
Dhrupad was the form of music that was predominant in India during the Mughal
period and can be best described as the result of interaction of two cultures –
the Hindu culture and the Perso-Turkish culture.
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Social and Cultural Life 3. (a) True; (b) True; (c) False
4. (a) Pathsalas, (b) Religious conviction; (c) Urdu
5. (a) True; (b) False
NOTES 6. (a) Kakatiya ruins; (b) Sharqis; (c) Jahangir
7. (a) False; (b) True
8. (a) Jahangir; (b) marble; (c) Safdar Jung’s Tomb
9. (a) True; (b) True; (c) False
10. (a) Portrait; (b) Jahangir’s; (c) Dhrupad.
Short-Answer Questions
1. Explain the condition of women in the Mughal times.
2. Describe the Mughal style of architecture.
3. Analyse the development of music under the Mughals.
4. Discuss the progress of education under the Mughals.
5. Discuss the contribution of Jahangir in the development of art.
Long-Answer Questions
1. Trace the development of art under the Mughals.
2. Discuss the contribution of Aurangzeb in developing Mughal architecture.
3. Write about the development of painting under the Mughals.
4. Analyse the development of Persian and Hindi literature during the Mughals.
5. Discuss in detail the social condition of people during Mughal era.
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Administration of
VARIOUS EMPIRES
NOTES
Structure
10.0 Introduction
10.1 Unit Objectives
10.2 Sher Shah Suri’s Administrative Reforms
10.3 Mughal Administration, Land Revenue System and Mansabdari
10.4 Maratha Administration
10.5 Summary
10.6 Key Terms
10.7 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’
10.8 Questions and Exercises
10.9 Further Reading
10.10 Learning Outcomes
10.0 INTRODUCTION
Though Sher Shah had only the small period of five years to rule but within this short
span of time he brought such important changes in the administrative system that he
is considered as one of the best administrators. In fact, he managed his administration
keeping before him a model idea. The early death of Sher Shah (AD 1545), and later,
the Second Battle of Panipat (AD 1557), assured Mughal dominance. Their
administration, known as the mansbadri system, was in essence a military one.
Similar to these great rulers, Shivaji is also famous in Indian history not only as
a brave and daring person, a successful general and the founder of an empire, but also
as a great administrator and a ruler who had the best interests of his subjects at heart.
In this unit, you will learn about the administrative reforms and systems of
Sher Shah Suri, the Mughal kings and Shivaji, the Maratha ruler.
The Nasq or Kankut system was continued in Bengal, Gujarat and Kathiawar. (a) Babur and
Humayun
The Dahsala system was followed in the provinces of Bihar, Allahabad, Malwa, imposed Jizya on
Awadh, Agra, Delhi, Lahore and parts of Multan. Patwaris and muqaddams assessed the Hindus and
and collected revenue and also maintained records. In return, they were paid a part of Zakat on the
the revenue. Akbar abolished Jizya and Zakat. He also abolished taxes from the sale Muslims.
and purchase of animals, salt, sale and purchase of houses, house-tax, leather, blankets, (b) Banjar-land was
left uncultivated
etc., for lessening the burden of the cultivators. The system was continued by Jahangir for five years or
as it existed during the reign of his father. However, there was leniency in its execution. more.
During his reign, Jagirdars claimed more rights. Though it did not concern the peasants (c) Babur
adversely, the income of the state was condensed. Shah Jahan increased the state introduced the
demand. Ryotwari system.
(d) The Dahsala
The peasants were asked to pay between 33 per cent – 50 per cent of their system
produce as revenue. Besides, Shah Jahan gave the right of collecting the revenue to introduced
contractors. Aurangzeb continued the practices of the reign of Shah Jahan. throughout the
entire empire.
The Jagirdari system persisted; lands were given to contractors; revenue was 10. Fill in the blanks
fixed between one-half to two-thirds of the produce and the rest of the defects remained with the
as before. The net result was that the cultivators suffered badly. The system broke appropriate word.
down during the period of the later Mughals emperors. There remained nothing except (a) The major
that the lands were given to the contractors for the purpose of collection of revenue. income of the
state was the
The state increased its demand to the contractors and, in turn, the contractors, who in revenue from
most of the cases enjoyed hereditary rights, taxed the cultivators heavily. It resulted in .
the poverty of the cultivators which, ultimately, broke down the economy of the Mughal (b) Babur
Empire. distributed all
land as
to his nobles.
(c) The Dahsala
system was
introduced by
in 1580.
(d) One unit of land
was called
.
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Administration of
Various Empires 10.4 MARATHA ADMINISTRATION
Shivaji laid the foundation for a strong administrative system. To some extent his
NOTES administration was based on those of the Deccan administration system, but it had
some original features of its own. A study of the various levels of his administration
and the administration of its various departments can be made under the following
heads.
Central Administration
1. The King: Shivaji was a despotic and an autocratic ruler who enjoyed all
sovereignty. All the powers of the state were vested in him. He was the supreme
judge, administrative head, law giver and General. In spite of being autocratic,
he never used his power for meeting his selfish ends. He used to run his
administration with the help of a council of ministers called the Ashtapradhan.
It consisted of eight ministers who were responsible to Shivaji. Their continuation
in office depended upon the wishes of Shivaji.
2. Ashtapradhan: To help Shivaji with the work of administration, there was a
Council of eight ministers called the Ashtapradhan. The ministers were as
follows:
(a) Peshwa or Mukhya pradhan: The Prime Minister was known as the
Peshwa or Mukhya pradhan. His main task was to look after the efficiency
of administration. For the fulfilment of this duty he kept a control over all
officials of the government. He acted on behalf of the king in his absence.
In all governmental documents there was his stamp and signatures below
those of the Chhatrapati. He had to follow the instructions of the
Chhatrapati.
(b) Sare-Naubat or Senapati: He was responsible for the organization and
supervision of the army, he used to command the army in the battlefield.
He used to give an accurate account of the booty to the Chhatrapati. It
was he who informed the Chhatrapati about the requests and requirements
of the soldiers. His main duties were recruitment of soldiers, organization
of army and maintenance of discipline.
(c) Amatya or Finance Minister: He was in charge of the income and
expenditure of the state. He was not only the finance minister, but also
had to perform active military service at the time of war. He had to
acknowledge the orders of the ‘Chhatrapati’ in all the acts performed by
him.
(d) Sumant or Foreign Minister: He used to perform all the functions
connected with the foreign affairs. He used to look after the foreign
ambassadors and deputies and acquired knowledge about the political
activities of the other states through the spies. The king took his advice at
the time of entering into peace treaties with the enemy rulers.
(e) Sachiv or Shurunvish: He was a sort of superintendent in the central
ministry. His main duties were the arrangement for the official posts and
to set the language and style of royal letters right.
(f) Wakianavis or Mantri: He kept an account of the daily activities of the
king and the important events at the court. He also prepared a list of the
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people desirous of visiting the king and kept a strict watch over the food, Administration of
Various Empires
etc. prepared for the king.
(g) Panditrao or Danadhyaksha: Panditrao or Danadhyaksha was in charge
of religious activities. His main function was the hospitality of the Brahmins
on behalf of the king, to give them donation and prizes and to fix dates for NOTES
religious activities, to arrange for the punishments for anti-religious or
other perverse activities, to make the regulations for religious ceremonies,
etc. and to give his decisions on the religious questions. It was his
responsibility to reform the conduct of the people.
(h) Nyayadhisha: He was the highest official of judicial department. He heard
both the civil and the criminal cases. He also decided about the land-right
and chefship, etc. It was also his duty to implement the decisions of the
Gram Panchayat. He also interpreted the law. Out of the above mentioned
eight ministers, everybody had to perform military service at the time of
necessity except Panditrao and Nyayadhisha. With the exception of
Senapati and Wakianavis, very often all the members of the Ashtapradhan
were Brahamins. No office was hereditary. On all official documents,
firmans and peace documents, on the top there were the signatures of the
king, then the Peshwa and at the bottom were those of Amatya, Wakianavis,
Sachiv and Sumant.
Provincial and Local Administration
Shivaji had divided his whole empire into four provinces:
1. Northern provinces: This part included Balaghat, Kori region, Southern Surat,
Northern Konkan, Northern Bombay and Poona. It was under Peshwa Maro
Trimbak Pingle.
2. Southern provinces: This part included Southern Bombay, Southern Konkan,
Coastal regions, Samantvari regions,etc. This province was under Annaji Pant.
3. South eastern province: This province included the regions of Satara, Koljpur,
Belgaon and Dharwad and Kopal. Its Sar-Karkun was Dattaju Trimbak.
4. Four southern provinces: These included districts from Kopal to Vellure like
Zinzi, Velari, Chennai, Chittore and Arcot. This province was under the military
officials.
These provinces were known as Swarajya. Every provincial ruler respected the wishes
of the king. Like at the centre, there was a committee of eight ministers in every
province. In order to maintain central hold over the Sar-i-Karkun or the Prantpati and
the provincial ministers, Shivaji did not make their offices hereditary and to some
extent kept central hold on their appointments under the Prantpati or the Sar-i-Karkun
and the Subedars. Perhaps, Karkun was responsible for the maintenance of the empire
and Subedars was in charge of the land yielding about 1 Lakh annual revenue.
According to one estimate, Shivaji got the income of 3.5 crores annually barring the
income from the chauth. On the basis of this account it can be maintained that there
were about 350 subedars in his empire. The office of Subedar was generally given to
the Brahmins.
In the local administration of Shivaji, forts played an important part. The
responsibility for the defense of the neighbouring area of the fort was of the Havaldar.
He made arrangements for all administration of the fort. Shivaji’s empire included
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Administration of about 240 forts. Thus, he had appointed about 240 Havaldars. The post of the Havaldar
Various Empires
was generally given to a Maratha. He managed the entire administration of the fort. In
every fort, besides the havaldar, there were two other officials of equal rank – first
Sari-Naubat (who was generally a Maratha), who led and supervised the army
NOTES stationed in the fort and the other equal ranking officer was Sabnis. He was generally
a Brahmin. The financial arrangements of the fort and the neighbouring area, the
correspondence and the management of the official stores were his responsibilities.
Karakhanis (who were generally Kayasthaa) helped him. Shivaji paid all his provincial
or local officials either in cash or ordered their salaries to be given out of the revenues
of a particular area.
Military Administration/Army Organization
The organization and discipline of Shivaji’s army was worth emulating. He paid cash
salaries to his soldiers. He adopted the practice of branding the horses and writing the
descriptive rolls of the soldiers. Soldiers of his army did not carry their wives with
them. Shivaji ordered his soldiers to carry a minimum burden or luggage so that the
mobility of the army should be efficiently maintained. His army had the four branches
of cavalry, infantry, artillery and navy.
Cavalry consisted of two parts. The horsemen who were provided horses and
weapons on behalf of the state were called the Bargirs and the horsemen who arranged
for their own horses and weapons were called Siledars. All cavalry was under Sar-i-
Naubat. Infantrymen were good archers. Shivaji recruited the Mawalis in big numbers
in his army. His army had 700 Pathan soldiers as well.
Shivaji’s artillery consisted of only the mortar guns. It was managed by the
Portuguese. Shivaji got gunpowder, etc. from the French of Bombay. The main purpose
behind organizing the navy was to arrest the plunder of the Abyssinians.
The army remained in the cantonment only for the period of four months of
rainy season. During the remaining eight months, it went out either to conquer fresh
territory or to collect supplies from the enemy-land. Every article of every soldier was
accounted before he left the cantonment and when he returned to it, so that no soldier
will possibly hide his booty. Shivaji formed elaborate rules and regulations to maintain
discipline in the army and all of them were rigorously enforced. Consequently, he
succeeded in organizing a well-disciplined, strong and highly mobile army for the
period of his own lifetime. The forts and their security occupied an important place in
the army organization of Shivaji. Shivaji had as many as 250 forts which were important
for him both for purposes of defence and offence. Consequently, he took all necessary
measures for the security of his forts. There were three important officers, viz., a
havaldar, a sabnis and a sar-i-naubat in every fort. All the three were jointly responsible
for the safety of their fort. The sar-i-naubat and the havaldar were Marathas at the
same time as the sabnis was a Brahmana by caste.
There was another officer called kharkhana-navis who was responsible for the
maintenance of all sorts of supplies in the fort. He also kept an account of every
income and expenditure incurred in the fort. The havaldar had to look after the working
of his subordinates, the right to dismiss them, to receive and dispatch letters, to close
the gates of the fort in the evening, to open the gates in the morning and to check the
measures taken for the security of the fort. Shivaji maintained a navy as well.
Once he conquered the Konkan coast, it became necessary for him to safeguard
his coastal territory from the invasion of the Sidis of Janjira. Shivaji had 400 ships of
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different types in his navy. The navy was divided into two parts and each part was Administration of
Various Empires
commanded by daria nayak and mai nayak respectively. The navy of Shivaji fought
against the Dutch, the Portuguese and the English at several occasions.
Land Revenue Administration NOTES
Shivaji organized his land revenue administration most probably after the pattern of
that of Malik Amber, the minister of Ahmednagar. Four main sources of revenue in
his kingdom were the land revenue, custom, chauth and sardeshmukhi. He brought
the jagir system under control to some extent to make his land revenue system effective
and successful. In AD 1679, Annaji Datta made a revenue survey of the cultivable
land and fixed the land revenue according to the productivity of the soil. Initially, he
fixed it 30 per cent of the produce but later on it was increased to 40 per cent. To
protect the peasants, Shivaji exempted the revenue demands at the time of natural
calamities and gave them Takvi loans to purchase seeds, etc. Takvi loans were taken
back in easy instalments. According to some historians, Shivaji completely ended the
Zamindari or Deshmukhi system but it does not appear to be correct from our point of
view because he gave salary to many officials in the form of jagir though they were
kept under control. During his time there was strict supervision over the officials who
acquired a hereditary right over land. Shivaji did not permit them to keep soldiers or
build forts in their jagirs and took from every jagir a fixed amount as the State’s
share. Besides revenue, a fixed percentage of the custom duty was charged on the
import and export of the goods of businessmen. Shivaji augmented his income by
exacting revenue from the neighbouring regions of the Mughals. This was one-fourth
of the revenue imposed on the land and was called the chauth. Probably, it was a sort
of military tax. It was levied on those regions where Marathas promised not to have
any military raid. A similar type of tax was sardeshmukhi which was one-tenth of the
state income. It was levied on those Maratha Deshmukhs who acknowledged Shivaji
as their Sardeshmukh. By levying this tax, Shivaji proved that he was very farsighted Check Your Progress
and the builder of a strong empire. By means of the sardeshmukhi tax he achieved 11. Fill in the blanks
success in bringing the various Maratha Chiefs under one sovereign power and with the
appropriate word.
established a Maratha empire. Recent research has proved that the financial system
of Shivaji was beneficial to the people. (a) The Prime
Minister was
Judicial System known as
the
Shivaji did not establish organized courts like the modern courts nor did he establish or .
any Law Code. His judicial administration was based on the traditional ways only. At (b) was
the highest
the centre, the eight ministers of the Ashtapradhan, viz. Nyayadhish decided both the
official of
civil and the criminal cases according to the Hindu Scriptures only. In the provinces judicial
the same function was performed by the provincial judges only. In the villages judicial department.
work was performed by the Panchayats. Justice was impartial and the penal code was (c) All cavalry was
strict. under
(d) Shivaji
In brief, Shivaji was an able administrator and he laid the foundations for a exempted the
powerful empire. Undoubtedly his kingdom was a regional kingdom but it was based revenue
on popular will. Shivaji adopted a secular policy in his empire. In the words of Dr. demands at the
Ishwari Prasad, he organized an administrative system which in many respects was time of natural
calamities and
better than even that of the Mughals. gave them loans
to purchase
.
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Administration of
Various Empires 10.5 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have learnt that:
NOTES Sher Shah Suri was the first great national ruler. He ruled only for a short time
but the subsequent history of India shows that this short rule of Sher Shah had
the same significance as fifty years of Akbar’s reign.
Islam Shah was a worthy son of his father. He not only maintained the
administrative setup of his father, but also strengthened it further. Sher Shah
had constructed Sarais on every fourth mile. Islam Shah constructed Sarais on
every second mile and arranged for free distribution of food in each of them.
The early death of Sher Shah (AD 1545) and, later, the second battle of Panipat
(AD 1557), assured the Mughal dominance.
In the Mughal system of governance, the emperor enjoyed real sovereignty,
which was indivisible and inalienable. Within this realm, he stood supreme as
a symbol of unity and preserver of peace.
It was Akbar who organized the provincial administration of the country and
put it on a sound footing. He divided the empire into twelve divisions, later on
increased to fifteen, and named them subahs.
The administrative system in the provinces of the Mughal Empire was an exact
replica of the Central government.
During the Mughal administration, each subah was divided into a number of
units called the Sarkars.
The revenue administration under the Mughal rule was under the wazir. The
nomenclature diwan and wazir were used interchangeably by the various Mughal
emperors.
The Ryotwari system of land revenue was launched in AD 1582 by Raja Todar
Mal (a Hindu), who was appointed by Akbar as the Diwan-i-Ashraf.
The Mughals, in the beginning, readily adopted the administrative system, which
had been introduced by their Pathan predecessors.
In theory, the Mughals like every other Muslim ruler were under the Holy Law.
Though, he led the divine service and presided at the prayer, the emperor enjoyed
no spiritual functions.
The emperor was the pivot of the Mughal administrative power, and the supreme
dispenser of justice. He was the despot and the source of all the authority. He
was the head of the state, supreme commander of the military and the chief
executive of the civil administration.
To help Shivaji with the work of administration, there was a Council of eight
Ministers called the Ashtapradhan. It was a committee of eight ministers in
every province. In order to maintain central hold over the Sari-Karkun or the
Prantpati and the provincial ministers, Shivaji did not make their offices
hereditary and to some extent kept central hold on their appointments under
the Prantpati or the Sar-i-Karkun and the subedars.
Shivaji organized his land revenue administration most probably after the pattern
of that of Malik Amber, the minister of Ahmednagar. Four main sources of
revenue in his Kingdom were the land revenue, custom, Chauth and
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Sardeshmukhi.
Administration of
10.6 KEY TERMS Various Empires
Short-Answer Questions
1. Analyse the land reforms brought about by Sher Shah.
2. Discuss the important features of the land revenue system of the Mughal
Dynasty.
3. Highlight the important features of Shivaji’s administration.
4. Describe the characteristic features of the central administration of Mughals.
Long-Answer Questions
1. Describe the administrative setup introduced by Sher Shah.
2. Analyse the features of the provincial administration and local administration
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during the Mughal Dynasty.
Material 251
Administration of 3. Analyse the judicial and social reforms brought about by Akbar during his
Various Empires
reign.
4. Discuss the important features of the mansabdari system. Add a note on its
merits and demerits.
NOTES
5. Analyse the military organization adopted by Shivaji.
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