The
Mughal Empire was an early modern Islamic empire in South Asia.[11] For some two centuries,
the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in
the northwest, Kashmir in the north, Bangladesh in the east, and the uplands of the Deccan
Plateau in South India.[12]
The Mughal Empire was founded in 1526 by Babur (r. 1526–1530), a chieftain warrior of Andijan. He
employed military aid in the form of matchlock guns and cast cannon from the Ottoman Empire,
[13]
and his superior strategy and cavalry to defeat the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodhi,[14][15] in the First
Battle of Panipat,[16][17] and to sweep down the plains of Upper India, subduing Rajputs and Afghans.[18]
[19][20]
The Mughal imperial structure, however, is sometimes dated to 1600, to the rule of Babur's
grandson, Akbar (r. 1556–1605).[21] This imperial structure lasted until 1720, until shortly after the
death of the last major emperor, Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707),[22][23] during whose reign the empire also
achieved its maximum geographical extent. The empire lost significant territory to the conquests of
the Maratha Empire, absorbed as a puppet state, and this continued during the East India Company
rule in India. The empire was formally dissolved by the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
The Mughal empire was created and sustained by military warfare[24][25][26] but also established new
administrative practices[27][28] and incorporated diverse ruling elites to produce an efficient, centralised,
standardised rule.[29] Akbar, the third Mughal emperor, instituted agricultural taxes which served as
the base of the empire's collective wealth.[30][31] These taxes, amounting to well over half of a peasant
cultivator's output,[32] had to be paid in money,[29] and this impelled peasants and artisans to enter
market networks so as to obtain it.[33]
The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's
economic expansion.[34] Burgeoning European presence in the Indian Ocean, and its increasing
demand for Indian raw and finished products, created still greater wealth in the Mughal courts.
[35]
There was more conspicuous consumption among the Mughal elite,[36] resulting in greater
patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture, especially during the reign of Shah
Jahan.[37] Among the Mughal UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Asia are Agra Fort, Fatehpur
Sikri, Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Lahore Fort, and the Taj Mahal, which is described as the "jewel
of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."[38]
Contents
1Name
2History
o 2.1Babur and Humayun (1526–1556)
o 2.2Akbar to Aurangzeb (1556–1707)
o 2.3Decline (1707–1857)
o 2.4Causes of decline
2.4.1Modern views on the decline
3Administration and state
o 3.1Government
o 3.2Capitals
o 3.3Law
3.3.1Legal ideology
3.3.2Courts of law
4Economy
o 4.1Coinage
o 4.2Labour
o 4.3Agriculture
o 4.4Industrial manufacturing
4.4.1Textile industry
4.4.2Shipbuilding industry
o 4.5Bengal Subah
5Demographics
o 5.1Population
o 5.2Urbanization
6Culture
o 6.1Architecture
o 6.2Art and literature
o 6.3Language
7Military
o 7.1Gunpowder warfare
o 7.2Rocketry and explosives
8Science
o 8.1Astronomy
o 8.2Chemistry
o 8.3Metallurgy
9List of Mughal Emperors
10See also
11References
o 11.1Footnotes
o 11.2Citations
12Further reading
o 12.1Culture
o 12.2Society and economy
o 12.3Primary sources
o 12.4Older histories
13External links
Name
Contemporaries referred to the empire founded by Babur as the Timurid empire,[39] which reflected
the heritage of his dynasty, and this was the term preferred by the Mughals themselves.[40]
The Mughal designation for their own dynasty
was Gurkani (Persian: گورکانیان, romanized: Gūrkāniyān, lit. 'sons-in-law').[41] The use of "Mughal" and
"Moghul" derived from the Arabic and Persian corruption of "Mongol", and it emphasised the Mongol
origins of the Timurid dynasty.[42] The term gained currency during the 19th century, but remains
disputed by Indologists.[43] Similar transliterations had been used to refer to the empire, including
"Mogul" and "Moghul".[44][45] Nevertheless, Babur's ancestors were sharply distinguished from the
classical Mongols insofar as they were oriented towards Persian rather than Turco-Mongol culture.
The Mughals themselves claimed ultimate descent from Mongol Empire founder Genghis Khan.[46]
Another name for the empire was Hindustan, which was documented in the Ain-i-Akbari, and which
has been described as the closest to an official name for the empire.[47] In the west, the term
"Mughal" was used for the emperor, and by extension, the empire as a whole
