UPSCHistoryMughal Empire P2
History UPSC

Mughal Empire P2

Reading time: 6 min Topic: Medieval History

Jahangir (1605-27)-

He was also called as Salim

His mother was Rajput wife of Akbar

Rebellion of Prince Khusru-

In 1606 Jahangir’s ascension was challenged by his eldest son Prince Khusrau with the help of Sikh Guru Arjun Dev

Prince Khusrau was defeated, while Guru Arjun Dev was executed

He established Zanjir-i-Adal (i.e. Chain of Justice) at Agra Fort for the seekers of royal justice

In 1611, Jahangir married Mihar-un-nisa, widow of Sher Afghan, a Persian nobleman who was sent on expedition to Bengal. Later on she was given the title Nurjahan

Jahangir issued coins jointly in Jurjahan‘s name and his own

Visit of Captain Hawkins and Thomas roe-

In 1608 Jahangir court was visited by Captain William Hawkins who was representative of East India Company

In 1615 Jahangir court was visited by an ambassador of King James I of England Sir Thomas Roe and during this visit Thomas roe got the permission for bruisers to establish port at Surat

He wrote his autobiography Tuzuk-i- Jahangiri in Persian

Duh-Aspah Sih-Aspah system-

This system was related to small modification in Mansabdari system

Under this system the close and selected nobles were allowed to have larger number of troopers (swar) without changing their Zat rank

Jahangir died near Lahore and was buried in Lahore.

Art and Architecture-

Paintings-

The reign of Jahangir saw the development of paintings

Jahangir used different theme like nature, birds, animals etc. in his paintings

Famous painters-

Dasvanth, Basawan, Manohar, Doulat, Mansur, Kesu, Nanha, Kanha, etc.

We can also see some Iranian influence in his paintings

Architecture-

Jahangir started Pietra Durra style which means decorating walls with different designs

He built-

Moti Masjid at Lahore

Shalimar and Nishant gardens in Kashmir

Shah Jahan(1627-1658 AD)-

He was born to Jodha Bai who was daughter of Raja Jagat Singh

He was also called as Khurram

Military conquests-

In 1628 –He defeated Bundela’s king Junjhar Singh son of Bir Singh Bundela

In 1631- During his time Qasim khan the governor of Bengal defeated Portuguese at Hugli

In 1630’s He had control over Ahmednagar,Nijapur and Golconda

Inayat Khan wrote Shah Jahan Nama

His court historian Abdul Hameed Lohiri wrote “Badusha nama”.

In 1631 Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz mahal passed away at Burhanpur. In memory of her Shah jahan started constructing Musoleum at Agra called as Taj mahal

Different travelers visited India during his reign-

Tavernier -French gem merchant and traveler

Mandelslo - German adventurer and traveler

Peter Mundy- English Trader

Manucci - Italian writer and traveller

Bernier -French physician and traveler

Towards the end of his period there was fight with between Aurangzeb and shahzahan and Aurangzeb imprisioned him and he died in 1666

Different wars of succession -

Battle of Dharmat(1658)-

It was fought between Aurangzeb abd Jasawant singh rathore who was allied with Mughal prince Dara Shikoh

Battle of Samugarh(1658)-

It was fought between Dara Shikoh  and his two younger brothers Aurangzeb and Murad Baksh to decide who will be the heir of the throne after their father

Battle of Deorai (1659)-

Dara shikoh was defeated and Aurangzeb emerged victorious

 

Art and Architecture of Shahjahan-

Paintings-

Paintings were formal with personal themes

There was decrease in the quality of paintings as comparison to previous mughals

 

Some of the natural elements were also used in these paintings

Famous painters-

Mir Hassan, Anoop and Chinamani etc.

 

Architectures of Shah Jahan’s time-

Features-

He built variety of buildings like Forts, Mosques and palaces etc.

There was large use of White marble in these buildings

The practice of Pietra Durra i.e. decoration of wall was there

Garden system around or in front of the building was there

He built-

Taj Mahal –

It was built in the memories of his wife, Mumtaj Mahal.

Extensive use of white marble can be seen

Formal layout of gardens can be seen around Taj mahal

Moti Masjid : A pearl mosque located at Agra

Jama Masjid: it is located at Delhi and Red sandstone is used

Red Fort-

It is Islamic style architecture with local influence

Some of the buildings inside the Red fort-

Diwan-i-Aam(public audience hall ) and Diwan-i-Khas

(hall for private meetings)

Mumtaz Mahal, Rang Mahal and Khas Mahal

Moti Masjid

Nahar Bahishit

 

Aurangzeb (1658-1707 AD)

He was the only Mughal king to be coroneted twice

He was called as Zinda Pir and Alamgir

Military conquests-

In 1675 - Aurangzeb captured Guru Teg Bahadur, the 9th Guru of Sikhs in 1675 and executed him when he refused to embrace Islam

 

In 1686 He annexed Bijapur

In 1687 He annexed Golkonda

Marathas were constant threat to him

Religious policy of Aurangzeb-

He ordered that no new Hindu temples were to be built. Old temples were allowed to be repaired

The Jaziya tax which was abolished is know reintroduced by him in 1679

Also the previous initiative of Akbar called Jarokha Darshan was also discontinued by him

He also discontinued the celebration of Dasarah & Navroz 

He added one more rank in Masabdari called as Mashrut which means conditional mansabdari

 

Mughal Administration-

Central administration-

Mughal Administration was headed by the King itself and he was the supreme head of the administration

There was council of ministers to help the king

Some of the officials were as follows-

Diwan-i-Ala/Wazir – Head of revenue department

Mir Bakshi – Head of military department and the artillery was under the charge of daroga-i-topkhana or the mir atish.

Khan-i-Saman – Head of imperial household

Muhtasibs – They were appointed to regulate the lives of the people according to moral and spiritual values and in some other areas they had role of supervision over market

Mir saman – in charge of the imperial households.

Barids – Intelligence officers.

Waqia Navis – Reporters

Chief Qaz - Head of judicial department.

Sadr-ul-sadr – Incharge of charitable & religious endowments.

Mutasaddi – Governor of port

 

Territorial division of Mughal empire-

Suba/Provinces-

The governor of the province was known as nizam, sipahsalar or subahdar and had all political and military powers

They were assisted by bakshi(military officer), The Waqa-i-Navis(secret service officers), the kotwal (head of police), qazi(judicial officer), the amil etc.

 

Sarkar/District-

Provinces were divided into small districts

Faujdar was important official of the district

The amal guzar was the officer in charge of finance assisted by Bitikchi and qanungo

 

Paraganas/Subdivision-

It was headed by Shiqdar and he was assisted by Amil (revenue collector), karkuns(clerks) and qanungo

Village-

Village was the lowest unit of administration headed by Muqaddam

Literature

Tuzuk-i-jahangiri – Jahangir

Babarnama -  Abdul Rahim Khan

Ain-i-Akbari  and Akbar Nama–Abul Fazl

Tobaqat-i-Akbari–Khwajah Nazamuddin Ahmad Baksh

Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri—Muhammad Khan

Padshah Namah– Abdul Hamid Lahori

Shahjahan Namah– Muhammad Salih

Sirr-i-Akbar– Dara Shikoh

Safinat-ul-Auliya — Dara Shikoh

Majma-ul-Bahrain — Dara Shikoh

Raqqat-e-Alamgiri – AurangzebJahangir‘s court.

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