Beginning of the Delhi Sultanate

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The Slave Dynasty (1206-1290)

The conquest of India and the establishment of Turkish rule changed India by destroying Buddhism and introducing the Muslim religion. Sultan Muhammad of Ghur and his slave lieutenant Qutb-ud-din Aybak led their first raid in 1175, and then eventually conquered Delhi in 1193, which became the first capital under Turkish rule. Ghur left his trusted slave Aybak in charge of consolidating North India to Delhi conquests. His introduction of martial slavery, or mamluks, proved to be advantageous for intelligent, ambitious, young men to rise up rapidly out of and above their birth status. Aybak took advantage of this opportunity and earned the right for higher position. In 1206 Ghur was assassinated and so Aybak became his successor. Because Ghur was his master and he was still regarded as a slave, Aybak legitimized his rule by arranging several marriages of influential figures. So began the first Turkish dynasty known as the Slave Dynasty (1206-90).

Aybak's reign was short lived due to a polo accident so his son-in-law, Iltutmish (1211-36), succeeded him to the throne. Iltutmish is known as the third and greatest sultan of the Slave Dynasty. During his reign he established a monarchical form of government and rule. He maintained an organized army and created a new form of currency, the Tanka coin (silver) and Jital (copper). He is also well known for completing construction of the Qutub Minar, a structure that represents victory, celebrating the rise of Muslim rule. Iltutmish was recognized by the chroniclers and poets of his reign as a very religious and wise leader. Before he died, he was able to nominate his capable and dynamic daughter Raziyya (1236-1239), as his successor over his sons who he felt were incompetent and unable to rule.

It has been said that Raziyya's only weakness was that she was a woman. Raziyya's reign was marked as the beginning of the struggle for power between the monarchy and the Turkish Chief's, sometimes called "The Forty" or Chahalgami. "The Forty" served as the advisors to the monarchy. Raziyya appointed an African to an important position that insulted her advisors and council of "The Forty". Shortly after, internal rebellion broke and Raziyya was murdered. The throne was left in the hands of "The Forty". Raziyya served as Sultan a short three years and remains the first and only woman to ascend the throne of Delhi.

Balban (1266-1287), the most ambitious and demanding of "The Forty" ascended to the throne as the next Sultan. Balban is most noted for strong, centralized government and for his arduous labor in elevating the Sultan to divine status. Balban awed the people with his royal pomp and ruthless, impartial dealings with relatives and strangers alike. Balban's death in 1287, was the end of the Slave Dynasty although the Dynasty actually lasted for three years after by his inept and competing grandsons. It was given a decisive final blow by a coup led by Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji, Balban's army general who used his position to ascend to the throne of the Sultan and institute the second Delhi Dynasty.

Although the Turkish rule annihilated Buddhism in India, the majority of Hindus were unaffected; some even welcomed their new conquerors. The middle classes were especially receptive to the new rule since they were assigned positions to run the new administration. In general, the Hindus were grateful to Aybak and the succeeding kings of the Turkish Dynasty for at least one major reason: their ability to militarily defend against Mongol invaders, such as Ghengiz Khan, who terrorized neighboring kingdoms with their barbaric conquests. This protection, which lasted for more than a century, was most valuable to India.

The Khiljis Dynasty(1290-1320)

After coming to the throne of the Khilji dynasty Jalal-ud-din expanded the boundaries of his empire. Besides this his achievements include suppression of the revolt of Malik Chhaju with the governor of Qudh. He suppressed the 'Thuggees' a band of robbers and send them off peacefully to Bengal. It was during the conquest of Bhilsa that Ala-ud-din,the nephew of Jalal-ud-din, started realising the dream of being Sultan. Ala-ud-din Khilji wanted to become a world conqueror and called himself the second Alexander (Sikander-i-Sani). In 1292,Alauddin led an expedition to Devagiri hearing of its wealth. Devagiri was forced to pay a huge war indemnity. This helped Alauddin in buying the nobles and pleasing the soldiers who were disatisfied by the rule of Jala-ud-din. Alauddin then hatched a conspiracy and got Sultan Jala-lud din killed and proclaimed himself as the Sultan. In the year 1296, Alauddin became the Sultan, after Malika Jan the widow of Jalal-ud-din and her younger son Qadin Khan left Delhi. In 1297,Alauddin Khilji set off for conquering Gujarat. The Raja of Gujarat took shelter in Devagiri where Nusrat Khan an Ulugh Khan pursued them and looted. Here Nusrat Khan purchased a Hindu slave called Malik Kafur, who in due course helped Alauddin Khilji in his future conquests. In 1301, Ramthambhor was captured and the Rajput Hamir Deva was murdered. In 1303, he conquered Chittor killing Rana Rattan Singh.

First, he followed the policy of defense from the Mongol invasion. The Mongols had already invaded the Sultanate six times. He followed the policy of Balban in tackling the Mongol menace in the frontier regions.

He then adopted the policy of expansion. In 1305, Alauddin Khilji captured Malwa and annexed Ujjain, Mandu, Dhar and Chanderi. Allauddin Khilji's expedition to Bengal was not successful and it remained independent.

In 1308, Allauddin led an expedition to capture a fort in Sivana, Rajasthan. In 1311,Allauddin set off on the Jalor expedition. Thus he almost completed his conquests of North. Allauddin now set out to conquer the south lured by the wealth of Devagiri.Being the first to have thought of venturing to the south this region could be a source of revenue for him. In this adventure of his, Malik Kafur his slave who in course of time turned to be an able commander contributed greatly.Allauddin had already invaded Devagiri in the year 1294,and had reconciled for the condition that a tribute would be paid. Malik Kafur led the operation . A huge war indemnity was paid and a tribute offered. In 1310,Malik Kafur was sent to invade the Hoyasala kingdom of Dwarasamudra. The ruler conceded to his demands and further assisted Malik Kafur in his quest against the Pandya kingdom.In 1311, Malik Kafur went on an expedition to the Pandya kingdom which had its capital at Madurai. Malik Kafur came out successful. In 1313, Allauddin set out on Devagiri and annexed it to Delhi. During the rule of Allauddin Khilji, the Mongols invaded the country several times. The first invasion came during the period of 1297. The forces of Sultan successfully repulsed this invasion .

In his later days Allauddin had to face many troubles. Malik Kafur influenced all his actions. He met with his death in the year 1316 AD. An infant son of the Sultan was placed on the throne and he acted as the regent. Malik Kafur imprisoned, blinded and killed other members of the royal family. But Malik Kafur was murdered, and Mubarak Khan the third son of Alauddin Khilji became the regent. He then imprisoned Sahib uddin and ascended the throne as Qutb-ud-din Mubarak in the year 1316 AD. The rule of Qutb-ud-din Mubarak was an utter failure owing to his liberal administration and luxurious life style. Above all he was under the influence of youth called Hassan who later was called Khusru Khan. The misdoings of Qutb-ud-din Mubarak led to his death at the hands of Khusru Khan. The death of Mubarak sealed the fate of the Khilji dynasty. Khusru who came to the throne after Qutbuddin Mubarak was not favoured by the Turkish nobles. He was killed by a Qaraunak Turk noble, Ghazi Malik Tughluq. This paved the way for the foundation of a new dynasty called the Tughluq dynasty.

The Tughlaqs Dynasty(1320-1412)

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq founded the third dynasty of the Sultanate period. He was an experienced warrior, statesman and an able administrator. He liberalized various harsh measures imposed by Alauddin Khilji and restored peace and order in the kingdom. He built the fortified city of Tughalaqbad in Delhi. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq was succeeded by Muhammad bin Tughlaq in A. D. 1325. Ibn Battutah, a traveller from Morocco, visited India during his reign. He was appointed as the chief Qazi of Delhi and was later sent by the Sultan as in ambassador to China. Muhammad Tughlaq was a great scholar and was well versed in various branches of learning. He offended the orthodox ulema by curbing their political influence and tried to resolve the problems of the states. But he failed on account of his three famous projects. The first project was the Transfer of Capital from Delhi to Devagiri (district Aurangabad, Maharashtra). He thought that it would be easier to control the Deccan from Daulatabad. But the project failed because of two reasons. First he ordered the entire population to shift to Daulatabad. This caused great hardship to the people. Secondly, it became impossible to control north India from the attacks on the northwestern frontiers. Within five years the capital was shifted back to Delhi, once again causing great hardship to the people.

Muhammad's second project was the introduction of token currency. This project failed on account of the circulation of counterfeit coins on a very large scale, which caused chaos in trade and commerce. Muhammad had to finally withdraw the token currency and offer to exchange all the token coins for silver coins.

The third project he launched was to compensate his monetary loss in the above projects. In order to get more money he increased the land revenue in the Doab. The measure proved to be ill timed, as the Doab region was then passing through a great famine, which was followed by plague. The discontentment among the people forced him to withdraw his order. After this he established a new department of agriculture to improve production. During the last decade of his reign, he faced various rebellions in which several regions of south and north of India became independent.

After Muhammad Tughlaq, Firoz Shah Tughlaq came to the throne. He adopted appeasement policies to gain support of the nobles, the army and the ulema. Feroz Shah was a caring ruler unlike Mohammed bin Tughlaq. However, he was not militarily strong and could not sustain any sort of external attacks or aggression. He made sure that people in his kingdom were happy and heard out their problems patiently. To please orthodox Muslims he imposed jizyah on Brahmans and also made it a separate tax. He also granted lands to the ulema and made iqtas hereditary. The one remarkable feature of his reign was his interest in public works. He founded new cities like Hissar, Ferozpur, Jaunpur and Firuzabad. He also constructed dams, canals, sarais, mosques and madrasas and laid about 1200 state managed fruit gardens.

The process of decay and disintegration of the Sultanate began with the death of Firoz Shah(1388). Firoz Shah and his successors were not able to take back the lost provinces. The Sultanate was reduced to a local principality within two decades after the death of Firoz. During the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud, the last ruler of the dynasty, Timur, the Mongol king from central Asia, invaded India. On his way to Delhi he plundered various towns and cities. He reached Delhi in A.D. 1398 and ordered a general massacre. Like Mahmud of Ghazni, Timur too carried wealth of India to beautify Samarkand and to build mosques and palaces.

Timur's invasion dealt a fatal blow to the Tughlaq dynasty and the Sultanate of Delhi. By A.D. 1412 the Sultanate disintegrated and numerous new kingdoms emerged in its place.

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Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1451)

After the Tughlaq dynasty disintegrated, the Sayyid dynasty rose to power. They were essentially the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate of India. The history of the Sayyid dynasty is not clearly known but they claimed to be the descendants of Prophet Mohammad(PBUH). The Sayyid Empire was formed amidst chaos when there was no figure of authority to control Delhi. The sayyid dynasty lasted 37 years.

Khizr Khan was the founder of Sayyid dynasty and ruled from 1414-1421. Khizar defeated Daullat Khan, the last ruler of Tughlaq dynasty, and founded the 'Sayyid Dynasty' in Delhi. He was known to be an able administrator and was very soft natured. He never resorted to bloody battles until it was absolutely necessary. It was his kind and docile nature that did not let him acquire many kingdoms during his reign. He defeated the Hindus of Daob, Kalithar and Chandwar since they had stopped paying tributes. Though he didn't wage many battles during his reign, he was busy suppressing revolts in different parts of his kingdom. He could not come up with many great reforms but still he was greatly respected and loved by his subjects.

After the death of Khizar Khan, his son Mubarak Shah succeeded him on the throne. Mubarak opposed to the superiority of Timur's descendants and declared his exclusive right on the throne of Delhi. Like his father, Mubarak Shah was a wise man and an efficient ruler and remained on the throne from 1421-1434. He used his resources carefully and to the fullest. He was a devout Muslim and cared for his subjects. He was not quite able to possess many areas and kingdoms during his rule and kept suppressing revolts like his father. The city of Mubarakabad was founded by him in the year 1433.

After the death of Mubarak Shah, his brother's son Muhammad Shah succeeded him on the throne since Mubarak Shah did not have a son. Muhammad Shah ruled from 1434-1444. He was not an able ruler and misused his power and position of authority. He lost the trust and affection of his nobles and royal force who had freed him from his captors. He was lethargic and lazy ruler who just wanted to live his life in pleasure.

After the death of Muhammad Shah in 1444, his son took over the throne under the title of Alam Shah. During the year 1447, he visited a place called Baduan and loved it so much that he decided to stay there forever. Till 1451, Delhi was ruled by Buhlul Lodhi. Alam Shah ruled Baduan till he died in the year 1478.With his death the Sayyid dynasty came to end.

Lodhi Dynasty(1451-1526)

The Lodhi dynasty in India arose after the Sayyid dynasty. The Lodhi Empire was established by the Ghizlai tribe of the Afghans. The Lodhi dynasty lasted 75 years.

Buhlul Khan Lodi (1451-1489) was the founder of the Lodi dynasty in India and the first Afghan ruler of Delhi. He was an Afghan noble who was a very brave soldier. Buhlul Khan seized the throne without much resistance from the then ruler, Alam Shah. His territory was spread across Jaunpur, Gwalior and northern Uttar Pradesh. During his reign in 1486, he appointed his eldest son Barbak Shah as the Viceroy of Jaunpur. Though he was an able ruler, he really couldn't decide as to which son of his should succeed him as the heir to the throne.

After the death of Buhlul Khan, his second son succeeded him as the king. He was given the title of Sultan Sikander Shah. He was a dedicated ruler and made all efforts to expand his territories and strengthen his empire. His empire extended from Punjab to Bihar and he also signed a treaty with the ruler of Bengal, Alauddin Hussain Shah. He was the one who founded a new town where the modern day Agra stands. He was known to be a kind and generous ruler who cared for his subjects.

Ibrahim Lodhi was the son of Sikander who succeeded him after his death. Due to the demands of the nobles, his younger brother Jalal Khan was given a small share of the kingdom and was crowned the ruler of Jaunpur. However, Ibrahim's men assassinated him soon and the kingdom came back to Ibrahim Lodhi. Ibrahim was known to be a very stern ruler and was not liked much by his subjects. In order to take revenge of the insults done by Ibrahim, the governor of Lahore Daulat Khan Lodhi asked the ruler of Kabul, Babur to invade his kingdom. Ibrahim Lodhi was thus killed in a battle with Babur who was the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India. With the death of Ibrahim Lodhi, the Lodhi dynasty also came to an end.

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The Mughal Dynasty/Empire (1526 to 1858)

The Mughal dynasty was established by able Muslim rulers who came from the present day Uzbekistan. The Mughal rule in India saw the country being united as one single unit and being administered under one single powerful ruler. During the Mughal period, art and architecture flourished and many beautiful monuments were constructed. The rulers were skillful warriors and admirers of art as well.


Zahir ud-Din Muhammad (Babur)(1495-1530):

Born in : 1483 - Died in : 1530



Zahir ud-Din Muhammad Babur was a Muslim Emperor from Central Asia and founded the Mughal dynasty of India. He was a direct descendant of Timur, and also believed himself to be a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. Following a series of set-backs he succeeded in laying the basis for one of the most important empires in Indian history, the Mughal dynasty.


Babur's name:

The name "Babur" is a nickname, derived from the Indo-European word for beaver. Babur's cousin, Mirza Muhammad Haidar, wrote : "At that time the Chaghatai (Mongol tribes descended from Genghis Khan's second son, Chagatai Khan) were very rude and uncultured, and not refined as they are now; thus they found (his given name) Zahir-ud-din Muhammad difficult to pronounce, and for this reason gave him the name of (Babur)".

Background:

He was born on February 14, 1483 in the town of Andijan, in the Fergana Valley which is in modern Uzbekistan. He was the eldest son of Omar Sheikh Mirza, ruler of the Fergana Valley - who he described as "short and stout, round-bearded and fleshy faced", and his wife Qutlugh Nigar Khanum. Although Babur hailed from the Barlas tribe which was of Mongol origin, his tribe had embraced Turkic and Persian culture, converted to Islam and resided in Turkestan and Khorasan. His mother tongue was the Chaghatai language and he was equally at home in Persian, the lingua franca of the Timurid elite; he wrote his famous memoirs, the Baburnama, in the former language, that of his birthplace.

"Andijanis are all Turks; everyone in town or bazar knows Turki. The speech of the people resembles the literary language; hence the writings of Mir 'Ali-sher Nawa'i, though he was bred and grew up in Hin (Herat), are one with their dialect. Good looks are common amongst them. The famous musician, Khwaja Yusuf, was an Andijani ". Hence Babur, though nominally a Mongol, drew much of his support from the Turkic and Iranian peoples of Central Asia, and his army was diverse in its ethnic makeup, including Persians (Tajiks or Sarts, as they were called by Babur, Pashtuns), and Arabs as well as Barlas and Chaghatayid Turco-Mongols from Central Asia. Babur's army also included Kizilbash fighters, a militant religious order of Shia Sufis from Persia who later became one of the most influential groups in the Mughal court.

Babur is said to have been extremely strong and physically fit. Allegedly, he could carry two men, one on each of his shoulders, and then climb slopes on the run, just for exercise. Legend holds that Babur swam across every major river in India, again for exercise.

Military career:

When only eleven years of age, Babur succeeded his father as ruler of Fergana in 1494. His uncles were relentless in their attempts to dislodge him from this position. Babur, thus, spent a major portion of his life shelterless and in exile aided only by friends and peasants. In 1497, Babur attacked and gained possession of the Uzbek city of Samarkand. While he was winning that city, a rebellion amongst nobles back home robbed him of Fergana. As he was marching to recover it, his troops deserted him; he lost Samarkand as well as Fergana. Babur did manage to regain both cities within a relatively brief period. In 1501, however, he was again defeated, this time by his most formidable enemy, Muhammad Shaybani, Khan of the Uzbeks; Samarkand, his lifelong obsession, was lost again.

Escaping with a small band of followers from Fergana, for three years Babur concentrated on building up a strong army, recruiting widely amongst the Tajiks of Badakhshan in particular.

In 1504, he was able to cross the snowy Hindu Kush mountains and capture Kabul. With this move, he gained a wealthy new kingdom and re-established his fortunes and assumed the title Padshah. In the following year, Babur united with Husayn Bayqarah of Herat, a fellow Timurid, against the usurper Muhammad Shaybani. The death of Husayn Bayqarah in 1506 put paid to that venture, but Babur occupied his ally's city of Herat and spent a year there, enjoying the pleasures of that city and becoming further acquainted with the great poet Ali Sher Nawa'i, who encouraged the use of Chagatai as a literary language, which may have influenced Babur in his decision to use it for his memoirs.

A brewing rebellion finally induced him to return to Kabul from Herat. He prevailed on that occasion, but two years later, a revolt among some of his leading generals drove him out of Kabul; escaping with very few companions, Babur, soon returned, capturing Kabul again and regaining the allegiance of the rebels. Muhammad Shaybani was defeated and killed by Ismail I, Safavid ruler of Persia, in 1510, and Babur used this opportunity to attempt to reconquer his ancestral Timurid territories. He received considerable aid from Shah Ismail.

However, the Shah's help was not free. Shah Ismail gave Babur's sister, Khanzada - widow of the now deceased Shaybani, to him for his protection, along with a large wealth of luxury goods. In return for these gifts and military assistance, the Shah's conditions stated that Babur adopt the dress and the outward customs of a Shia. The Shah's Persia had become the bastion of Shia Islam, and he claimed descent from Imam Musa al-kazim, the seventh Shia Imam. Coins were to be struck in Ismail's name, and the Khutba at the Mosque was also to be read in his name. In effect, Babur was supposed to be holding Samarkand as a vassal territory for the Persian Shah, though in Kabul, coins and the Khutba would remain in Babur's name. With this assistance, Babur marched on Bukhara, where his army were apparently treated as liberators, Babur having greater legitimacy as a Timurid, unlike the Uzbeks. Towns and villages are said to have emptied in order to greet him, and aid and feed his army.

At this point Babur dismissed his Persian aide, believing them no longer required. In October 1511 Babur made a triumphant re-entry into Samarkand, his ten year absence ended. Bazaars were drapped in gold, and again villages and towns emptied to greet the liberator. Dressed as a Shia, Babur stood out starkly amongst the masses of Sunnis who had thronged to greet him. The original belief was that this show of Shi'ism was a ploy to garner Persian help which would soon be dropped. While it was indeed a ploy, Babur did not think it wise to drop the charade. His cousin, Haidar, wrote that Babur was still too fearful of the Uzbegs to dismiss the Persian aid. Though Babur did not persecute the Sunni community, to please the Persian Shah, he did not drop the show of collaboration with the Shia either, resulting in popular disapproval and the re-conquering of the city by the Uzbeks eight months later.

Conquest of northern India:

Babur had now resigned all hopes of recovering Fergana, and although he dreaded an invasion from the Uzbeks to his West, his attention increasingly turned towards India and its lands in the east.

Babur claimed to be the true and rightful Monarch of the lands of the Sayyid dynasty. Babur believed himself the rightful heir to the throne of Timur, and it was Timur who had originally left Khizr Khan in charge of his vassal in the Punjab, who became the leader, or Sultan, of the Delhi Sultanate, founding the Sayyid dynasty. The Sayyid dynasty, however, had been ousted by Ibrahim Lodhi, a Ghilzai Afghan, and Babur wanted it returned to the Timurids. Indeed, while actively building up the troop numbers for an invasion of the Punjab he sent a request to Ibrahim : "I sent him a goshawk and asked for the countries which from old had depended on the Turk," the "countries" referred to were the lands of the Delhi Sultanate.

Following the unsurprising reluctance of Ibrahim to accept the terms of this "offer", and though in no hurry to launch an actual invasion, Babur made several preliminary incursions and also seized Kandahar - an essential strategic city if he was to fight off attacks on Kabul from the West while he was occupied in India. The siege of Kandahar, however, lasted far longer than anticipated, and it was only almost three years later that Kandahar, and its Citadel (backed by enormous natural features) were taken, and that minor assaults in India recommenced. However, during this series of skirmishes and battles an opportunity for a more extended expedition presented itself. It was an attack on the Gakhar stronghold of Pharwala in 1521 that led to the beginning of the end for Ibrahim Lodhi.

The section of Babur's memiors covering the period between 1508 and 1519 is missing; during these years Shah Ismail I suffered a reasonably large defeat when his large cavalry-based army was obliterated at the Battle of Chaldiran by the Ottoman Empire's new weapon, the matchlock musket. Both Shah Ismail and Babur, it appears, were swift in acquiring this new technology for themselves. Somewhere during these years Babur introduced matchlocks into his army, and allowed an Ottoman, Ustad Ali, to train his troops, who were then known as Matchlockmen, in their use. Babur's memoirs give accounts of battles where the opposition forces mocked his troops, never having seen a gun before, because of the noise they made and the way no arrows, spears, etc appeared to come from the weapon when fired.

These guns allowed small armies to make large gains on enemy territory. Small parties of skirmishers who had been dispatched simply to test enemy positions and tactics were making inroads into India. Babur, however, had survived two revolts, one in Kandahar and another in Kabul, and was careful to pacify the local population after victories, following local traditions and aiding widows and orphans.

The final battle with Ibrahim Lodhi:

However, while the Timurids were united, the Lodhi armies were far from unified.

Ibrahim was widely detested, even amongst his nobles, and indeed it was several of his Afghan nobles who were to invite Babur's intervention. Babur assembled a 12,000-man army, and advanced into India. This number actually increased as Babur advanced as members of the local population joined the invading army. The first major clash between the two sides was fought in late February 1526. Babur's son, Humayun (then aged 17), led the Timurid army into battle against the first of Ibrahim's advance parties. Humayun's victory was harder fought than the previous skirmishes, but it was still a decisive victory. Over one hundred prisoners of war were captured along with around eight war elephants. However, unlike after previous battles, these prisoners were not bonded or freed; by decree from Humayun, they were shot.

In His memoirs Babur recorded the incident thusly : "Ustad Ali-quli and the matchlockmen were ordered to shoot all the prisoners, by way of example; this had been Humayun's first affair, his first experience of battle; it was an excellent omen!". This is, perhaps, the earliest example of execution by firing squad.

Ibrahim Lodhi advanced against him with 100,000 soldiers and 100 elephants; and though Babur's army had grown, it was still less than half the size of his opponents, possibly as few as 25,000 men. This was to be their main engagement, the First battle of Panipat, and was fought on April 21, 1526. Ibrahim Lodhi was slain and his army was routed; Babur quickly took possession of both Delhi and Agra - That very day Babur ordered Humayun to ride forward to Agra (Ibrahim's former capital) and secure its national treasures and resources from looting. Here Humayun found the family of the Raja of Gwalior, the Raja himself having died at Panipat, sheltering from the invaders, fearing the dreadful nature of the "Mongols" from the stories that preceded their arrival.

After guaranteeing their safety they gave their new ruler a famous jewel, then the largest known diamond in the world - the Koh-i-Noor or 'Mountain of Light'. This was presented in hopes that the family would remain a part of Indian nobility, and whether it was because of the gift or not, the family did remain a noble family, though now serving the Timurids.

Babur, meanwhile, marched onward to Delhi itself, reaching it three days after the battle. He celebrated his arrival with a festival on the river Jumna, and remained there at least until Friday (Jum'ah), when Muslim congregational prayers were said and he heard the Khutba, (sermon), read in his name in the Jama Masjid of that time, a sign of the assumption of sovereignty. He then marched on to Agra to rejoin Humayun. Upon arrival Babur was presented with the Koh-i-Noor, and Babur reports that "I just gave it back to him", adding, "its value would provide two and a half days' food for the whole world".

Battles with Rajputs:

Although master of Delhi and Agra, Babur records in his memoirs that he had sleepless nights because of continuing worries over Rana Sanga, the Rajput ruler of Mewar. The Rajputs had, prior to Babur's intervention, succeeded in conquering some of the Sultanate's territory. They ruled an area directly to the southwest of Babur's new dominions, commonly known as "Rajputana". It was not a unified kingdom, but rather a confederacy of principalities, under the informal suzerainty of Rana Sanga, head of the senior Rajput dynasty. The Rajputs had possibly heard word of the heavy casualties inflicted by Lodhi on Babur's forces, and believed that they could capture Delhi, and possibly all Hindustan, bringing it back into Hindu Rajput hands for the first time in almost three hundred and fifty years when Muhammad of Ghor defeated the Rajput Chauhan King Prithviraj III in 1192.

Furthermore, the Rajputs were well aware that there was dissent within the ranks of Babur's army. The hot Indian summer was upon them, and many troops wanted to return home to the cooler climes of Central Asia. The Rajputs' reputation for valour preceded them, and their superior numbers no doubt further contributed to the desire of Babur's army to retreat. Babur resolved to make this an extended battle, and decided to push further into India, into lands never previously claimed by the Timurids. He needed his troops to take the battle to the Rajputs.

Despite the unwillingness of his troops to engage in further warfare, Babur was convinced he could overcome the Rajputs and gain complete control over Hindustan. He made great propaganda of the fact that for the first time he was to battle non-Muslims, the Kafir. He had his men line up and swear on the Qur'an that none would "think of turning his face from his foe, or withdraw from this deadly encounter so long as life is not rent from his body". He also began to refer to himself as a Ghazi, or "Holy Warrior," a title used by Timur when he fought in India.

The two armies fought each other forty miles west of Agra at Khanwa. In a possibly apocryphal tale referred to in Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Babur is supposed to have sent about 1,500 choice cavalry as an advance guard to attack Sanga. These were heavily defeated by Sanga's Rajputs. Babur then wanted to discuss peace terms. Sanga sent his general Silhadi (Shiladitya) to the parley. Babur is said to have won over this general by promising him an independent kingdom. Silhadi came back and reported that Babur did not want peace and preferred to fight. The Battle of Khanwa began on March 17, 1527 and, as Tod puts it, "While the issue was still doubtful" Silhadi and his army left the field. Whatever the truth of this tale, it seems plausible that a treacherous Tomara who led the vanguard of Sanga's army at Khanwa went over to Babur, causing Sanga to retreat and costing him a likely victory. Within a year he was dead, probably poisoned by one of his own ministers, and a major rival to Babur had been removed. In return for the payment of regular tribute Babur allowed the Rajput princes to remain in control over their principalities, and maintain their customs and traditions.

Consolidation:

Babur was now the undisputed ruler of Hindustan, and he began a period of further expansion. Each of the nobles or Umarah whom he appointed was granted leave to set up his own army, or militia, and, to facilitate Babur's expansionist aims, many were granted lands yet to be conquered as jaghirs, freeing Babur from many of the problems involved in raising troops. Meanwhile he granted his own sons the provinces furthest away from his new centre of operations: Kamran was given control over Kandahar, Askari was to control Bengal and Humayun was to govern Badakhshan, perhaps the most remote province of Babur's expanding empire.

Babur also continuously used new technology to improve his army, with the help of Ustad Ali. In addition to guns, Babur and Ali tested new types of Siege weaponry, such as cannons, which Babur recalls as being capable of firing a large rock almost a mile (although, he records, its initial test did leave eight innocent bystanders dead). Alongside this, they developed Shells which exploded on impact. The army's organisation was also maintained with great discipline, and according to Babur it received regular inspections.

Impact on Architecture:

Babur travelled the country, taking in much of the land and its scenery, and began building a series of structures which mixed the pre-existing Hindu intricacies of carved detail with the traditional Muslim designs used by Persians and Turks. He described with awe the buildings in Chanderi, a village carved from rock, and the palace of Raja Man Singh in Gwalior describing them as "wonderful buildings, entirely hewn from stone". He, was, however, digusted by the Jain "idols" carved into the rock face below the fortress at Gwalior. "These idols are shown quite naked without even covering for the privities ... I ordered them to be destroyed". Fortunately, the statues were not destroyed entirely, rather the faces and genitalia of the offending pieces were removed. (Modern sculptors have restored the faces).

To remind himself of the lands he had left behind Babur began a process of creating exquisite gardens in every palace and province, where he would often sit shaded from the fierce Indian sun. He tried as far as was possible to recreate the gardens of Kabul, which he believed were the most beautiful in the world, and in one of which he would eventually be buried. "In that charmless and disorderly Hindustan, plots of garden were laid out with order and symmetry." Almost thirty pages of Babur's memoirs are taken up describing the Fauna and Flora of his Hindustan.

Lavish lifestyle and final major battle:

Late in 1528 Babur celebrated a great festival, or tamasha. "All nobles from the different regions of his empire were gathered, along with any noble who claimed descent from Timur or Genghis Khan. This was a celebration of his Khanal, Chingissid lineage, and when guests were sat in a semi-circle the farthest from Babur (who was, naturally, at the centre) was seated over 100 metres from him. The huge banquet involved giving presents and watching animal fights, wrestling, dancing and acrobatics. Guests presented Babur with tribute of gold and silver, and were in turn presented with sword-Belts and cloaks of honour (khalats). The guests even included Uzbegs, (who under Shaybani Khan had ousted the Timurids from Central Asia and were now the occupiers of Samarkand), and a group of peasants from Transoxiana who were now being rewarded for befriending and aiding Babur before he was a leader".

After the Festival, many of the other gifts given to Babur were sent to Kabul, "to adorn the ladies" of his family. Babur was far too generous concerning wealth, and by the time of his death the Empire's coffers were almost empty; troops were even ordered to return a third of their income back to the treasury. Baburs extravagance did not go unnoticed. He was a heavy drinker and took hashish, perhaps as a means of alleviating the various illnesses he suffered from; he was known to cough up blood, he had numerous boils on his person, suffered from Sciatica and also bled fluid from his ears. These substances were supposedly strictly forbidden by the orthodox doctrines of Islam, although in the Babur-nama Babur does write without censure of relatives in Ferghana who indulged in strong liquor. Nevertheless, Babur, who had fought as a warrior for Islam was now indulging in the forbidden (Haraam). On May 6, 1529, Babur defeated Mahmud Lodhi, Ibrahim's brother, who led an army of those disaffected with his rule, at the Battle of Ghagra, thus crushing the last remnant of resistance in North India.

Last days:

After Babur fell seriously ill, Humayun was told of a plot by the senior nobles of Babur's court to bypass the leader's sons and appoint Mahdi Khwaja, Babur's sister's husband, as his successor. He rushed to Agra and arrived there to see his father was well enough again, although Mahdi Khwaja had lost all hope of becoming ruler after arrogantly exceeding his authority during Babur's illness. Upon his arrival in Agra it was Humayun himself who fell ill, and was close to dying.

Babur is said to have circled the sick-bed, crying to God to take his life and not his son's. The traditions that follow this tell that Babur soon fell ill with a fever and Humayun began to get better again. This is not accurate, as there are months separating the recovery of Humayun and the death of Babur, and Babur's final illness was a rather sudden affair.

His last words apparently being to his Humayun : "Do nothing against your brothers, even though they may deserve it".

He died at the age of 48, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Humayun. Though he wished to be buried in his favourite garden in Kabul, a city he had always loved, he was first buried in a Mausoleum in his capital of Agra. Roughly nine years later his wishes were fulfilled by Sher Shah and Babur was buried in a beautiful garden Bagh-e Babur in Kabul, now in Afghanistan. The inscription on his tomb reads (in Persian) :

- "If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, oh it is this, oh it is this" !

Babur's legacy was a mixed one. The Sikh Guru, Nanak, wrote a series of complaints against Babur in the Guru Granth Sahib, claiming Babur "terrified Hindustan" and was a "messenger of death". He also claimed that women with braided hair "were shaved with scissors, and their throats were choked with dust" and that "the order was given to the soldiers, who dishonored them, and carried them away." However, by contemporary standards he was particularly liberal, allowing freedom of religion and not interfering with local customs. Indeed further Sikh texts mention that Babur was blessed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. His conciliation of enemies instead of outright destruction may have allowed them to regroup and re-attack, but it was far-sighted and allowed him to rule a large empire without too much social upheaval. He also wrote or dicated his extraordinary memoirs, one of the great monuments of Chaghatai literature, and oversaw the beginnings of an artistic and architectural legacy which fused indigenous traditions with those from Iran and Central Asia (such as the domed tomb, the original model for which was the Gur-e Amir in Samarkand). Ultimately this would result in the Mughal empire leaving India with some of the most breathtaking architecture in the world, including Humayun's Tomb, the Taj Mahal, the Pearl Mosque, and many other buildings.


Baburnama:

Baburnama are the memoirs of Zahir ud-Din Mohammad Babur. It is an autobiographical work, originally written in the Chagatai language, known to Babur as "Turki" (meaning Turkish), the spoken language of the Andijan-Timurids. It also contains many phrases and smaller poems in Persian.

Babur was a highly educated Central Asian Muslim and his observations and comments in his memoirs reflect an interest in nature, society, politics and economics. His vivid account of events covers not just his life, but the history and geography of the areas he lived in, and their flora and fauna, as well as the people with whom he came into contact.

The Baburnama begins with these plain words:

"In the province of Fergana, in the year 1494, when I was twelve year old, I became king."

After some background, Babur describes his fluctuating fortunes as a minor ruler in Central Asia - in which he took and lost Samarkand twice - and his move to Kabul in 1504.

There is a break in the manuscript between 1508 and 1519. By the latter date Babur is established in Kabul, now in Afghanistan, and is campaigning in northwestern India. The final section of the Baburnama covers the years 1525 to 1529 and the establishment of the Mughal empire in South Asia, which Babur's descendants would rule for three centuries.

Babur also writes about his homeland, Fergana:

"The Domain of Fergana has seven towns, five on the south and two on the north of the Syr river. Of those on the south, one is Andijan. It has a central position and is the capital of the Fergana Domain."

He also wrote:

"A man took aim at Ibrahim Beg. But then Ibrahim Beg yelled,"Hai!Hai!"; and he let him pass, and by mistake shot me in an armpit from as near as a man on guard at the Gate stands from another. Two plates of my armour cracked. I shot at a man running away along the ramparts, adjusting his cap against the battlements. He abandoned his cap, nailed to the wall and went off, gathering his turban sash together in his hand."

The Baburnama is widely translated and is part of text books in no less than 25 countries mostly in Central, Western, and Southern Asia. It was first translated into English by the British orientalist scholar Annette Akroyd.

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Nasiruddin Humayun (1530 - 1556)

Born in : Kaboul, 1508 - Died in : New Delhi, 1556

Son of Zahir ud-Din Muhammad (Babur)


Biography:

Nasiruddin Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor and ruled northern parts of India from 1530/1540 and again from 1555/1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one.

He succeeded his father in India in 1530, while his half-brother Kamran Mirza, who was to become a rather bitter rival, obtained the sovereignty of Kabul and Lahore, the more northern parts of their fathers empire. He originally ascended the throne at the age of 22 and was somewhat inexperienced when he came to power.

Humayun lost his Indian territories to the Afghan Sultan, Sher Shah, and only regained them with Persian aid ten years later. Humayun's return from Persia, accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen, signalled an important change in Mughal Court culture, as the Central Asian origins of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by Persian art, architecture, language and literature. Subsequently, in a very short time thereafter, Humayun was able to expand the Empire further, leaving a substantial legacy for his son, Akbar the Great.


Background:

Babur's decision to divide the territories of his empire amongst two of his sons was unusual in India, but had been common Central Asian practice since the time of Genghis Khan. Unlike most European Monarchies which practised primogeniture, the Timurids, following Genghis Khan's example, did not leave an entire kingdom to the eldest son. Whilst under this system none but a Chinggisid could lay claim to sovereignty and khanal authority, the lack of primogeniture also meant that all male Chingissids within a given sub-branch (such as the Timurids) had an equal right to the throne. Thus whilst Genghis Khan's Empire had been peacefully divided between his sons upon his death, almost every Chinggisid succession since had seen fratricide on a greater or lesser scale. Timur himself had divided his territories between Pir Muhammad, Miran Shah, Khalil Sultan and Shah Rukh upon his death, which almost immediately resulted in inter-family warfare.

Upon Babur's demise, Humayun's territories were the least secure. Babur had died only four years into his rule in North India and those who swore allegiance to him did not necessarily see Humayun as the rightful ruler. Indeed, even before Babur's death some of the umarah (nobles) had tried to install Humayun's uncle, Mahdi Khwaja, as ruler whilst Babur was struck down with illness; although this attempt failed thanks to the Khwaja's arrogance, it was perhaps a sign of problems to come.


Personal traits:

Humayun was portrayed by his sister, Gulbadan Begum, in his biography, the "Humayun-nama", as extraordinarily lenient, constantly forgiving acts which were deliberately aimed at angering him. In one instance the biography records his youngest brother Hindal killed Humayun's most trusted advisor, an old Sheikh, and then marched an army out of Agra. Humayun, rather than seek retribution, went straight to his mother's home where Gulbadan Begum and other women were also present and swore on the Qur'an that he would bear no grudge against his younger brother, and insisted he return home. His many documented acts of mercy may have stemmed largely from weakness, but he does seem to have been a gentle and humane man by the standards of the day.

He was also deeply superstitious, and fascinated by Astrology and the Occult. Upon his accession as Padishah (Emperor), he began to re-organise the administration upon mystically determined principles. The public offices were divided into four distinct groups, for the four elements. The department of Earth was to be in charge of Agriculture and the agricultural sciences, Fire was to be in charge of the Military, water was the department of the Canals and waterways while Air seemed to have responsibility for everything else. His daily routine was planned in accordance with the movements of the planets, so too was his wardrobe. He refused to enter a house with his left foot going forward, and if anyone else did they would be told to leave and re-enter.

His servant, Jauhar, records in the Tadhkirat al-Waqiat that he was known to shoot arrows to the sky marked with either his own name, or that of the Shah of Persia and, depending on how they landed, interpreted this as an indication of which of them would grow more powerful. He was a heavy drinker, and also took pellets of Opium, after which he was known to recite poetry. He was, however, not enamoured of warfare, and after winning a battle would spend months at a time indulging himself within the walls of a captured city even as a larger war was taking place outside.


His early reign:

Upon his succession to the throne Humayun had two major rivals interested in acquiring his lands. To his South West was Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat, and to the East was Sher Shah Sur (Sher Khan) currently settled along the river Ganges in Bihar.

During the first five years of Humayun's reign, these two rulers were quietly extending their rule, although Sultan Bahadur faced pressure to the East from sporadic conflicts with the Portuguese. While the Mughals had acquired firearms via the Ottoman Empire, Bahadur's Gujurat had acquired them through a series of contracts drawn up with the Portuguese, allowing the Portuguese to establish a strategic foothold in north Western India.

Humayun was made aware that the Sultan of Gujarat was planning an assault on the Mughal territories with Portuguese aid. Showing an unusual resolve, Humayun gathered an army and marched on Bahadur. His assault was spectacular, and within a month he had captured the forts of Mandu and Champaner. However, instead of pressing his attack, and going after the enemy, Humayun ceased the campaign and began to enjoy life in his new forts. Bahadur, meanwhile, escaped and took up refuge with the Portuguese.


Sher Shah Suri:

Shortly after Humayun had marched on Gujarat, Sher Shah saw an opportunity to wrest control of Agra from the Mughals. He began to gather his army together hoping for a rapid and decisive siege of the Mughal capital. Upon hearing this alarming news Humayun quickly marched his troops back to Agra allowing Bahadur easily to regain control of the territories Humayun had recently taken. A few months later, however, Bahadur was dead, killed when a botched plan to kidnap the Portuguese viceroy ended in a fire-fight which the Sultan lost.

Whilst Humayun did succeed in protecting Agra from Sher Shah, the second city of the Empire, Gaur the capital of the vilayat of Bengal, was sacked. Humayun's troops had been delayed whilst trying to take Chunar, a fort occupied by Sher Shah's son, in order to protect his troops from an attack from the rear. The stores of grain at Gaur, the largest in the empire, were emptied and Humayun arrived to see corpses littering the roads. The vast wealth of Bengal was depleted and brought East giving Sher Shah a substantial war chest.

Sher Shah withdrew to the East, but Humayun did not follow: instead he "shut himself up for a considerable time in his Harem, and abandoned himself to every kind of luxury". Hindal, Humayun's nineteen year old brother, had agreed to aid him in this battle and protect the rear from attack but abandoned his position and withdrew to Agra where he decreed himself acting emperor. When Humayun sent the grand Mufti, Sheikh Buhlul, to reason with him, the Sheikh was killed. Further provoking the rebellion, Hindal ordered that the Khutba or sermon in the main mosque at Agra be read in his name, a sign of assumption of sovereignty. When Hindal withdrew from protecting the rear of Humayun's troops, Sher Shah's troop quickly reclaimed these positions, leaving Humayun surrounded.

Humayun's other brother, Kamran, marched from his territories in the Punjab, ostensibly to aid Humayun. However, his return home had treacherous motives as he intended to stake a claim for Humayun's apparently collapsing empire. He brokered a deal with Hindal which provided that his brother would cease all acts of disloyalty in return for a share in the new empire which Kamran would create once Humayun was deposed.

Sher Shah met Humayun in battle on the banks of the Ganges, near Benares, in Chausa. This was to be an entrenched battle and both sides spent a lot of time digging themselves into positions. The major part of the Mughal army, the artillery, was now immobile, and Humayun decided to engage in some diplomacy using Muhammad Aziz as ambassador. Humayun agreed to allow Sher Shah to rule over Bengal and Bihar, but only as provinces granted to him by his Emperor, Humayun, falling short of outright sovereignty. The two rulers also struck a bargain in order to save face: Humayun undertook that his troops would charge those of Sher Shah, which would then retreat as though in fear. Thus honour would, supposedly, be satisfied.

Once the Army of Humayun had made its charge and Sher Shah's troops made their agreed retreat, the Mughal troops relaxed their defensive preparations and returned to their entrenchments without posting a proper guard. Observing the Mughals' new vulnerability, Sher Shah reneged on his earlier agreement. That very night, Sher Shah's army approached the Mughal camp: finding the troops unprepared and mostly asleep they advanced and killed most of them. The Emperor survived by swimming the Ganges using an air filled "water skin", and quietly returned to Agra.


In Agra:

When Humayun returned to Agra he found that all three of his brothers were present. Humayun once again not only pardoned his brothers for plotting against him, but even forgave Hindal for his outright betrayal - he was probably not in a position to inflict any punishment by this stage in any case. With his armies travelling at a leisurely pace, Sher Shah was gradually drawing closer and closer to Agra. This was a serious threat to the entire family, but Humayun and Kamran squabbled over how to proceed. Kamran withdrew after Humayun refused to make a quick attack on the approaching enemy, instead opting to build a larger army under his name.

When Kamran returned to Lahore his troops followed him shortly afterwards, and Humayun, with his other brothers Askari and Hindal, marched to meet Sher Shah just 150 miles east of Agra at the Battle of Kanauj on May 17, 1540. The battle once again saw Humayun make some appalling tactical errors, and his army was soundly defeated. He and his brothers quickly retreated back to Agra, humiliated and mocked along the way by peasants and villagers. They chose not to stay in Agra, and retreated to Lahore, though Sher Shah followed them, founding the short-lived Sur Dynasty of Northern India with its capital at Delhi.


In Lahore:

The four brothers were united in Lahore, but every day they were informed that Sher Shah was getting closer and closer. When he reached Sirhind Humayun sent an ambassador carrying the message "I have left you the whole of Hindustan (i.e. the lands to the East of Punjab, comprising most of the Ganges Valley). Leave Lahore alone, and let Sirhind be a boundary between you and me". Sher Shah, however, replied "I have left you Kabul. You should go there". Kabul was the capital of the empire of Humayun's brother Kamran Mirza, who was far from willing to hand over any of his territories to his brother. Instead, Kamran approached Sher Shah, and proposed that he actually revolt against his brother and side with Sher Shah in return for most of the Punjab. Sher Shah dismissed his help, believing it not to be required, though word soon spread to Lahore about the treacherous proposal and Humayun was urged to make an example of Kamran and kill him. Humayun refused, citing the last words of his father, Babur. "Do nothing against your brothers, even though they may deserve it".


Withdrawing further:

Humayun decided that it would be wise to withdraw still further. He asked that his brothers join him as he fell back into Sindh. While the previously rebellious Hindal did remain loyal, Kamran and Askari instead decided to head to the relative peace of Kabul. This was to be a definitive schism in the family.

Humayun expected aid from the Amir of Sindh, whom he had appointed and who was supposed to owe him allegiance. Whilst the Amir, Hussein, tolerated Humayun's presence, he knew that raising an army against Sher Shah would ultimately end in disaster, and he therefore politely refused all of Humayun's requests for military assistance. Whilst in Sindh Humayun met and married Hamida, (who was to become the mother of Akbar), on August 21, 1541. The date was selected when Humayun consulted his astrolabe to check the location of the planets.

In May 1542 the Raja of Jodhpur, Rao Maldeo Rathore, issued a request to Humayun to form an alliance against Sher Shah and so Humayun and his army rode out through the Desert to meet with the Prince. However, as they made their way across the desert the prince became aware of how feeble Humayun's army had now become. Furthermore Sher Shah had offered him more favourable terms and so he sent word that he no longer wanted to see Humayun, who was now less than 50 miles from the city. Thus, Humayun and his troops, and his heavily pregnant wife, had to retrace their steps through the Desert at the hottest time of year. All the wells had been filled with sand by the nearby inhabitants after Humayun's troops had killed several cows, (a sacred animal to the Hindus), leaving them with nothing but berries to eat. When Hamida's horse died no one would lend the Queen (who was now eight months pregnant) his horse, so Humayun did so himself, resulting in him riding a camel for four miles, although Khaled Beg then offered him his mount. Humayun was later to describe this incident as the lowest point in his life. He ordered Hindal to join his brothers in Kandahar.

However, whilst Humayun was on his travels, Hussein, the Amir of Sindh, had killed the father of Maldeo, prompting the Raja to change his mind about Humayun. He decided to ride out to meet him in Umarkot, a small town by a desert oasis. Humayun was afforded full courtesies and was given new horses and weapons as the men formed an alliance against Sindh. Umarkot was to become the centre of operations for this battle, and it was here, on October 15, 1542 that Hamida, still only 15 years old, gave birth to her first child, a boy they called Akbar, and at last an heir apparent for the 34 year old Humayun.


Retreat to Kabul ?:

The war against Sindh had led to a stalemate, and so Hussein decided to bribe Humayun to leave the area. Humayun accepted and in return for three hundred Camels (mostly wild) and two thousand loads of grain he set off to join his brothers in Kandahar, crossing the Indus on July 11, 1543.

In Kamran's territory, Hindal had been placed under what would now be described as House arrest in Kabul after refusing to have the Khutba recited in Kamran's name. His other brother Askari was now ordered to gather an army and march on Humayun. When Humayun received word of the approaching hostile army he decided against facing them, and instead sought refuge elsewhere. Akbar was left behind in camp close to Kandahar for as it was December it would have been too cold and dangerous to include the 14 month old toddler in the forthcoming march which lay through the dangerous and snowy mountains of the Hindu Kush. Askari found Akbar in the camp, and embraced him, and allowed his own wife to rear him, and she apparently treated him as her own.


Refuge in Persia:

Humayun fled to the refuge of the Safavid Empire in Iran, marching with forty men and his wife and her companion through mountains and valleys. Amongst other trials the Imperial party were forced to live on horse meat boiled in the soldiers' helmets. These indignities continued during the month it took them to reach Herat, however after their arrival they were reintroduced to the finer things in life. Upon entering the city his army was greeted with an armed escort, and they were treated with lavish food and clothing. They were given fine accommodation and the roads were cleared and cleaned before them. Shah Tahmasp, unlike Humayun's own family, actually welcomed the Mughal, and treated him as a royal visitor. Here Humayun went sightseeing and was amazed at the Persian artwork and architecture he saw: much of this was the work of the Timurid Sultan Husayn Bayqarah and his ancestor, princess Gauhar Shad, thus he was able to admire the work of his relatives and ancestors at first hand.

He was introduced to the work of the Persian miniaturists, and Kamaleddin Behzad had two of his pupils join Humayun in his court. Humayun was amazed at their work and asked if they would work for him if he were to regain the sovereignty of Hindustan (They agreed). With so much going on Humayun did not even meet the Shah until July, some six months after his arrival in Persia. After a lengthy journey from Herat the two met in Qazvin where a large feast and parties were held for the event. The meeting of the two monarchs forms the subject of a famous wall-painting in the Chehel Sotoun (Forty Columns) palace in Esfahan.

The Shah urged that Humayun convert from Sunni to Shia Islam, hinting that this was the price of his support, and eventually and reluctantly Humayun did so, much to the disapproval of his biographer Jauhar. With this outward acceptance of Shi'ism the Shah was prepared to offer Humayun more substantial support. When Humayun's brother, Kamran, offered to cede Kandahar to the Persians in exchange for Humayun, dead or alive, the Shah refused. Instead the Shah threw a party for Humayun, with three hundred tents, an imperial Persian carpet, 12 musical bands and "meat of all kinds". Here the Shah announced that all this, and 12,000 choice cavalry were his to lead an attack on his brother Kamran. All the Shah asked for, was that if victorious then Kandahar would be his.


Kandahar and onwards:

With this Persian aid Humayun took Kandahar from Askari after a two-week siege. He noted how the nobles who used to serve Askari quickly flocked to serve him, "in very truth the greater part of the inhabitants of the world are like a flock of sheep, wherever one goes the others immediately follow". Kandahar was, as agreed, given to the Shah who sent his infant son, Murad, as the Viceroy. However, the baby soon died and Humayun thought himself strong enough to assume power.

Humayun now prepared to take Kabul, ruled by his brother Kamran. In the end, there was no actual siege. Kamran was detested as a leader and as Humayun's Persian army approached the city hundreds of Kamran's troops changed sides, flocking to join Humayun and swelling his ranks. Kamran absconded and began building an army outside the city. in November 1545 Hamida and Humayun were reunited with their son Akbar, and held a huge feast. They also held another, larger, feast in the childs' honour when he was circumcised.

However, while Humayun had a larger army than his brother and had the upper hand, on two occasions his poor military judgement allowed Kamran to retake Kabul and Kandahar, forcing Humayun to mount further campaigns for their recapture. He may have been aided in this by his reputation for leniency towards the troops who had defended the cities against him, as opposed to Kamran, whose brief periods of possession were marked by atrocities against the inhabitants who he suspected of helping his brother.

His youngest brother, Hindal, formerly the most disloyal of his siblings, died fighting on his behalf. His brother Askari was shackled in chains at the behest of his nobles and aides. He was allowed go on Hajj, and died en route in the desert outside Damascus. Humayun's other brother, Kamran, had repeatedly sought to have Humayun killed, and when in 1552 he attempted to make a pact with Islam Shah, Sher Shahs successor, he was apprehended by a Gakhar. The Gakhars were one of only a few groups of people who had remained loyal to their oath to the Mughals. Sultan Adam of the Gakhars handed Kamran over to Humayun. Humayun was tempted to forgive his brother, however he was warned that allowing Kamran's continuous acts to go unpunished could foment rebellion within his own ranks. So, instead of killing his brother Humayun had Kamran blinded. He sent him on Hajj, as he hoped to see his brother absolved of sin, but he died close to Mecca in the Arabian desert in 1557.


India revisited:

Sher Shah Sur had died in 1546, and, although he was a powerful ruler, his son Islam Shah died too in 1554. These two deaths left the dynasty reeling and disintegrating. Three rivals for the throne all marched on Delhi, while in many cities leaders tried to stake a claim for independence. This was a perfect opportunity for the Mughals to march back to India. Humayun placed the army under the able leadership of Bairam Khan. This was a wise move given Humayun's own record of military ineptitude, and turned out to be prescient, as Bairam was to prove himself one of the world's legendary tacticians. Bairam Khan led the army through the Punjab virtually unopposed. The fort of Rohtas, which was built in 1541-43 by Sher Shah Sur to crush the Gakhars who were loyal to Humayun, was surrendered without a shot by a treacherous commander. The walls of the Rohtas Fort measure up to 12,5 meters in thickness and up to 18,28 meters in height. They extend for 4 km and feature 68 semi-circular bastions. Its sandstone gates, both massive and ornate, are thought to have exerted a profound influence on the Mughal military architecture.

The only major battle faced by Humayun's armies was against Sikander Suri in Sirhind, where Bairam Khan employed a tactic whereby he apparently engaged his enemy in open battle, but then quickly retreated. When the enemy followed after they came upon entrenched defensive positions and were easily annihilated.

From here on most towns and villages chose to welcome the invading army as it made its way to the capital. On July 23, 1555 Humayun, once again, sat on Babur's throne in Delhi.


Ruling north India again:

With all of Humayun's brothers now dead, there was no fear of another usurping his throne during military campaigns. He was also now an established leader, and could trust his generals. With this new-found strength Humayun embarked on a series of military campaigns aimed at extending his reign over areas to the East and West. His sojourn in exile seems to have reduced Humayun's reliance on astrology, and his military leadership instead imitated the methods he had observed in Persia, allowing him to win more effectively and quicker.

This also applied to the administration of the empire. Persian methods of governance were imported into North India in Humayun's train. The system of revenue collection is held to have improved on both the Persian model and that of the Delhi Sultanate one. The Persian arts too were very influential, and Persian-style miniatures were produced at Mughal (and subsequently Rajput) courts. The Chaghatai Language, in which Babur had written his memoirs, disappeared almost entirely from the culture of the courtly elite, and Akbar could not speak it. Later in life Humayun himself is said to have spoken in Persian verse more often than not.


Death and legacy:

On Febuary 22, 1556, only six months after his victorious return to India Humayun caught his foot in his robe as he descended some stairs and fell, hitting his temple on a rugged stone edge. He died three days later, and was succeeded by the 13 year old Akbar.

Humayun loved astrology and astronomy and built observatories that lasted centuries. His life was chronicled in slightly hagiographical work called the Humayun-nama written by his sister Gulbadan Begum at the request of his son, Akbar. His most lasting impact was the importing of Persian ideas into the Indian empire, something which was expanded on by later leaders. His support for the arts, following exposure to Safavid art, saw him recruit painters to his court who developed the celebrated Mughal style of painting. Humayun's greatest architectural creation was the Din-Panah (Refuge of Religion) citadel at Delhi which was destroyed by Sher Shah. He is best remembered today for his great Tomb, built by his widow after his death. The ultimate model for Humayun's tomb is the Gur-e Amir in Samarkand, and it is best-known as a precursor to the Taj Mahal in style. However, in its striking composition of dome and iwan, and its imaginative use of local materials, it is one of the finest Mughal monuments in India in its own right.

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Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar (1556 -1605)

Born in : 1542 - Died in : 1605

Son of Nasiruddin Humayun



Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, also known as Akbar the Great (Akbar-e-Azam) was the son of Nasiruddin Humayun whom he succeeded as ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1605.


Biography:

Though only 13 when he ascended to the throne, he is widely considered the greatest of the Mughal emperors. During his reign, he eliminated external military threats from the Afghan descendants of Sher Shah (an Afghan who was able to temporarily oust Humayun from 1540-1555), and at the Second Battle of Panipat defeated the Hindu leader Hemu. In addition to his military gains, the emperor solidified his rule by repealing the jizya tax on non-Muslims and courting the favor of the powerful Rajput caste, to the extent of marrying Rajput princesses.

However, Akbar's most lasting contributions were to the arts and to Indian religion. He initiated a large collection of literature, including the Akbar-nama and the Ain-i-Akbari, and incorporated art from around the world into the Mughal collections. He also commissioned the building of widely admired buildings, including the Panj Mahal. Having a greatly tolerant attitude toward religion, Akbar preserved Hindu temples. He also began a series of religious debates where Muslim scholars would debate religious matters with Sikhs, Hindus, Carvaka atheists and even Jesuits from the Vatican. He founded his own religion, the "Din-i-Elahi" or the "Divine Faith"; the religion, however, amounted only to a form of personality cult for Akbar, and quickly dissolved after his death.


Early years:

Akbar was born at the Rajput Fortress of Umarkot in Sind where the Mughal Emperor Humayun and his recently wedded wife, Hamida Banu Begum were taking refuge. In 1540, Humayun had been driven into exile, following decisive battles, by the Afghan leader Sher Shah. Akbar did not go to Persia with his parents, and was raised for a time instead by his uncle Askari and his wife in the rugged country of Afghanistan rather than in the splendor of the Persian court. He spent his youth learning to hunt, run and fight, but he never learned to read or write, the sole exception in Babur's line. Nonetheless, Akbar matured into a well-informed ruler, with refined tastes in the arts, architecture and music, a love for literature, and a breadth of vision that tolerated other opinions.

Following the chaos over the succession of Islam Shah (Sher Shah's son), Humayun reconquered Delhi in 1555, leading an army partly provided by his Persian ally Shah Tahmasp. Only a few months later, Humayun died from an accident. Akbar succeeded his father on February 14, 1556, while in the midst of a war against Sikandar Shah for the reclamation of the Mughal throne. Here, in Kalanaur the 13 year old Akbar donned a golden robe and Dark Tiara and sat on a newly constructed platform, which still stands, and was proclaimed "Shahanshah" (Persian for "King of Kings")


Clash with Hemu:

Early into Akbar's career, he decided that he should eliminate the threat of Sher Shah's dynasty, and decided to lead an army against the strongest of the three, Sikandar Shah Suri, in the Punjab. He left the city of Delhi under the regency of Tardi Beg Khan.

Sikandar Shah Suri presented no major concern for Akbar, and often withdrew from territory as Akbar approached; however, back in Delhi Hemu, a low-caste Hindu warrior, succeeded in launching a surprise attack on the unprepared Tardi Beg Khan, who promptly fled the city. Hemu, who had launched the attack on behalf of Adil Shah Suri, one of Sikandar's brothers, had won 22 successive battles and appointed himself ruler, or Raja Vikramaditya, instead Adil Shah.

Word of the capitulation of Delhi spread quickly to the new Mughal ruler, and he was advised to withdraw to Kabul, which was relatively secure. However, Bairam Khan differed and urged Akbar to fight the invaders and reclaim the capital. Akbar sided with Bairam, and began to march on Delhi. In order to bolster troop morale, Akbar took the curious step of ordering that someone "prepare fireworks as a treat for the soldiers" and that one should "make an image of Hemu, fill it with gunpowder, and set it on fire". On the march forward, he was joined by Tardi Beg and his retreating troops, who also urged him to retreat to Kabul, but Akbar refused again; later, Bairam Khan had the former regent executed for cowardice, though Abul Fazl and Jahangir both record that they believed that Bairam Khan was merely using the retreat from Kabul as an excuse to eliminate a rival.

On November 5, 1556 Akbar's Mughal army defeated the numerically superior forces of General Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat, fifty miles north of Delhi, thanks to a chance arrow into Hemu's eye. Hemu was brought before Akbar unconscious, and was beheaded. Some sources say that it was actually Bairam Khan who killed the man, but Akbar certainly did use the term "Ghazi", warrior for the faith, a term used by both Babur, his grandfather, and Timur when fighting the Kafir (non-Muslims) in India. Hemu's head was sent to Kabul while his body was displayed on a type of gallows specially constructed to display this dead body. Even more gruesomely Akbar followed an old Khanate tradition, one which pre-dates even Genghis Khan, and constructed a "victory pillar" made from the heads of the dead soldiers.

The victory also left Akbar with over 1,500 war elephants which he used to re-engage Sikandar Shah at the siege of Mankot. Sikandar surrendered and so was spared death, and lived the last remaining two years of his life on a large estate granted to him by Akbar. In 1557 the only other threat to Akbars rule, Adil Shah, brother of Sikandar, died during a battle in Bengal. Thus, by the time Akbar was 15 his rule over Hindustan was secured.


Bairam Khan:

Akbar was only 13 years old when he became emperor, and so his general ruled on his behalf till he came of age. The regency belonged to Bairam Khan, a Shia Turkoman noble who successfully dealt with pretenders to the throne and improved the discipline of the Mughal armies. He ensured power was centralised and was able to expand the empires boundaries with orders from the capital. These moves helped to consolidate Mughal power in the newly recovered empire.

Respect for Bairam's regency was not, however, universal. There were many people plotting his demise in order to assume the apparent absolute rule they saw in him. Much was written, critically, of his religion. The majority of the early court were Sunni Muslims, and Bairam's Shia'ism was disliked. Bairam knew about this, and perhaps even to spite that, appointed a Shia Sheikh, Gadai to become the Administrator General, one of the more important roles in the empire. Further Bairam lived a rather opulent lifestyle, which appeared to be even more excessive than that of Akbar.

The most serious of those opposed to Bairam was Maham Anga, Akbar's aunt, chief nurse and mother of his foster brother, Adham Khan. Maham was both shrewd and manipulative and hoped to rule herself by proxy through her son. In March 1560 the pair of them urged Akbar to visit them in Delhi, leaving Bairam in the capital, Agra. While in Delhi Akbar was bombarded by people who told him he was now ready to take full control of the empire and to dismiss Bairam. He was persuaded to fund an excursion for Bairam to go on Hajj to Mecca, which was to act, essentially, as a form of ostracism. Bairam was shocked at the news from Delhi, but was loyal to Akbar, and despite Akbars refusal to even meet with the General, refused the suggestions by some of his commanders to march on Delhi and "rescue" Akbar.

Bairam left for Mecca, but was quickly met by an army sent by Adham Khan, but approved by Akbar, which was sent to "escort" him from the Mughal territories. Bairam saw this as the last straw, and led an attack on the army, but was captured and sent as a rebel back to Akbar to be sentenced. Bairam Khan, whose military genius had seen the Mughals regain their lands in India, who had served both Humayun and Akbar loyally, and laid the foundation for a strong empire, was now before the emperor as a prisoner. Maham Anga urged Akbar to execute Bairam, but Akbar refused. Instead, in defiance of Anga, he laid down full honours to the General, and gave him robes of honour, and agreed to fund him a proper Hajj excursion. However, shortly after Bairam Khan's Hajj journey got underway, just before he reached the port city of Khambhat (then known as "Cambay") he encountered an Afghan whose father had been killed five years earlier in a battle led by Bairam. The Afgan saw a chance to reap vengeance, and promptly stabbed Bairam, who died on January 31, 1561.


Adham Khan and Maham Anga:

With the demise of Bairam Khan, Maham Anga saw an opportunity for herself, and attempted to wrest the control that Bairam had. Her attempts at absolute rule, however, were not particularly successful.

In February 1561, her son Adham was sent to capture Malwa, which was being incompetently ruled by Baz Bahadur. Baz Bahadur was a talented musician but had no ability to govern an area, and many of the people of the area had fled to Mughal territories, alerting the Mughals to the possibility of taking the area. As the army of Adham Khan approached Baz Bahadur fled, leaving behind his wealth and his wives in their Harem, and instructions that they were to be killed if the city of Sarangpur (now a part of the Rajgarh District) fell to the Mughals. However, despite the best attempts by the Eunuch in charge of the Harem, many of the women survived; even Rupmati, who was famed through many of Baz Bahadurs songs for her beauty, survived multiple slash wounds to be captured by the invading Mughals. However, when Adham Khan came to claim his prize, Rupmati drank poison rather than be raped by Akbar's brother.

However, aside from this instance when he was thwarted, Adham engaged in some thoroughly grotesque abuses of the captured Harem and populace. The least attractive members of the women were brought before the senior members of the invading army and killed, as they drank alcohol, took opium pellets, and generally treated the event as if it were a festive occasion. Badauni records that on at least one occasion members present tried to stop the slaughter but were shackled. The slaughter was not only of the women in the harem, and Badauni records that "Sayyids and Sheikhs came out to meet him with their Qur'ans in hand, but Khan put them all to death and burnt them". Besides, Adham kept the vast majority of the wealth and captives for himself and sent a mere three elephants to his Emperor. Along with the elephants, Akbar received word of what Adham had done, and became enraged. He decided to ride out to Malwar himself, along with a small band of loyal soldiers, racing and beating a group of courtiers sent by Maham Anga to warn Adham of Akbar's rage.

Adham became terrified and quickly begged for Akbar's forgiveness. Akbar forgave him, and received the booty he had seized. However, Adham secretly kept two of the women he decided were the most attractive in his own Harem. When Akbar found out about this, Maham Anga killed the women, fearing what they might reveal about Adham to Akbar.

These events left Akbar with no option but to begin assuming absolute control for himself. The conflict came to a head when in 1562, Atkah Khan, an Afghan appointed by Akbar to be the equivalent of Prime Minister, was dealing with affairs of his position when Adham burst forth, had Atkah Khan stabbed, and tried to storm the Harem of Akbar. The Eunuch who guarded the section went in, closed the door and locked it from the inside. Akbar became aware of the disturbance, and entered the room. Here Adham laid his hand on his foster brother's arm, a sign of apparent disrespect, to which Akbar responded by punching him in the face, possibly knocking him unconscious. Seeing his Prime Minister stabbed, Akbar had had enough of Adham and ordered that he be thrown from a height, over a parapet. This failed to kill him, so Akbar ensured that the second attempt succeed by ordering he be dropped head first. Akbar then went straight to Maham Anga and informed her that her son was dead. With this act, the 19 year old Akbar assumed complete control over his empire.


Restoration:

While previous Muslim rulers, in particular the Mughal founder Babur, allowed freedom of worship for Hindus and other religious groups, Akbar engaged in a policy of actively encouraging members of the varying religious groups to enter his government. In one instance, he persuaded the Kacchwaha Rajput rulers of Amber (modern day Jaipur) into a matrimonial alliance: The King of Amber's daughter, Hira Kunwari, became Akbar's queen. She took the name Jodhabai, and was the mother of Prince Salim, who later became the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Further, while other Muslim rulers had married Hindu wives, he was the first one to allow to fully practise their religion, not just without hindrance but with everything they needed in that regard. During his reign more than in any other Mughal ruler's, Hindus were employed in the Civil Service. He also married a Christian woman from Goa, Maryam.

The other Rajput kingdoms also gave their daughters' hands to Akbar, until only two Rajput clans remained against him, the Sisodiyas of Mewar and Hadas (Chauhans) of Ranthambore. The Rajputs were a famed group of Hindu warriors, who, like the Afghans took opium prior to battle to ward off fear. Entering into an alliance with these groups helped to secure Akbar's control, as for the next 100 years Rajput soldiers served on behalf of the Mughal empire.

Finally Raja Man Singh of Amber went with Akbar to meet the Hada leader, Surjan Hada, to effect an alliance. Surjan grudgingly accepted an alliance on the condition that Akbar did not marry any of his daughters. Surjan later moved his residence to Banaras.

Akbar is recorded as saying "A monarch should be ever intent on conquest, lest his neighbours rise in arms against him", and he went on to expand the Mughal empire to include Malwa (1562), Gujarat (1572), Bengal (1574), Kabul (1581), Kashmir (1586), and Kandesh (1601), among others. Akbar installed a governor over each of the conquered provinces, under his authority.

Akbar did not want to have his court tied too closely to the city of Delhi. He ordered the court moved to Fatehpur Sikri, near Agra, but when this site proved untenable, he set up a roaming camp that let him keep a close eye on what was happening throughout the empire. He developed and encouraged commerce, in part by abolishing religious restrictions on the conduct of business between Muslims and Hindus.

Akbar's tax reforms were an especially noteworthy achievement, and formed the basis of the Mughal Empire's immense wealth in succeeding generations. His officials prepared a detailed and accurate cadaster (land register) noting each land parcel's soil quality, water access, etc., and then converted those characteristics to money, taking account of the different prevailing prices for various crops in each region of the Empire. This was a distinct improvement on earlier land tax systems, including the Egyptian and Roman ones, which had levied land taxes as an in-kind share of the harvest. By making land tax payments more accurately reflect the economic rent of the land in money rather than the actual harvest, Akbar's innovations had the effect of stimulating both investment in improvements and more productive use of the land. He also abolished the jizyah (a discriminatory tax on non-Muslims) and gave strict orders to prevent extortion by tax collectors. The salutary economic effect of these reforms was such that the revered Qing emperor Kang Xi adopted similar measures a century later in China, with similar success.


Personality:

Akbar is said to have been a benevolent and wise ruler, a man of new ideas, and a sound judge of character. As a ruler, he was able to win the love and reverence of his subjects.

Abul Fazal, and even the hostile critic Badayuni, described him as having a commanding personality. He was fearless in the chase as well as in the field of battle, and, "like Alexander of Macedon, was always ready to risk his life, regardless of political consequences". He often plunged his horse into the full-flooded river during the rainy seasons and safely crossed over to the other side. Though a mighty conqueror, he did not usually indulge in cruelty. He is said to have been affectionate towards his relatives. He pardoned his brother Hakim, who was a repented rebel. However, on some rare occasions, he dealt cruelly with the offenders, as is shown by his behavior towards his maternal uncle, Muazzam, and his foster-brother, Adam Khan.

He is said to have been extremely moderate in his diet. According to records, he was fond of fruits and had little liking for meat, which he ceased to eat altogether in his later years.

Many of the historians are of the opinion that Emperor Akbar possessed inordinate "lust" for women. It is also believed that he was an alcoholic as well. He had a harem of over 5000 women.

... Akbar habitually drank hard. The good father had boldly dared to reprove the emperor sharply for his licentious relations with women. Akbar instead of resenting the priests audacity, blushingly excused himself.


Views on religion:

At the time of Akbar's rule, the Mughal Empire included both Hindus and Muslims. Profound differences separate the Islamic and Hindu faith. When Akbar commenced his rule, a majority of the subjects in the Mughal Empire were Hindu. However, the rulers of the empire were almost exclusively Muslim. In this highly polarized society, Akbar fostered tolerance for all religions. He not only appointed Hindus to high posts, but also tried to remove all distinctions between the Muslims and non-Muslims. He abolished the pilgrim tax in the eighth year and the jizya in the ninth year of his reign, and inaugurated a policy of universal toleration. He also enjoyed a good relationship with the Catholic Church, who routinely sent Jesuit priests to debate in his court, and at least three of his Grandsons were baptized as Catholics (though they did become Muslim later in life).

Akbar built a building called Ibadat Khana (House of Worship), where he encouraged religious debate. Originally, this debating house was open only to Sunnis, but following a series of petty squabbles which turned ugly, Akbar encouraged Hindus, Catholics and even atheists to participate. He tried to reconcile the differences of both religions by creating a new faith called the Din-i-Ilahi ("Faith of the Divine"), which incorporated both 'pantheistic' versions of Islamic Sufism (most notably the Ibn Arabi's doctrine of 'Wahdat al Wajood' or Unity of existence) and 'bhakti' or devotional cults of Hinduism. Even some elements of Christianity - like crosses, Zoroastrianism- fire worship and Jainism were amalgamated in the new religion. Akbar the Great was particularly famed for this. Akbar was greatly influenced by the teachings of JainAcharyaHir Vijay Suri and Jin Chandra Suri. Akbar gave up non-vegetarian food by their influence.Akbar declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals in the holy days of Jains like Paryushan and Mahavir Jayanti. He rolled back Zazia Tax from Jain Pilgrim places like Palitana. This faith, however, was not for the masses. In fact, the only "converts" to this new religion were the upper nobility of Akbar's court. Historians have so far been able to identify only 18 members of this new religion.

He also married several Hindu princesses, though many consider that to be politically motivated rather than a genuine attempt at religious reconciliation.

His moves from Islam, while welcomed by the Hindu majority, were not appreciated by the Muslim faithful. Rumours were rife that Mosques were being closed and destroyed, that those who entered his Harem were required to say "There is no God but Allah, and Akbar is his messenger" a bastardised version of the traditional Muslim Shahada, or declaration of faith. When Akbar opened a wine shop, it was believed he also ordered pigs blood to be mixed with the mixture. Many members of the ulema began to protest his actions, and Ahmad Sarhindi (who had been nick-named "Mujaddid" or "Renovator" of islam) wrote tracts rejecting the Shirk that he believed Akbar was guilty of. He was to be arrested by Jahangir upon his successon. Ultimately, despite Akbar's attempts at reconciling the two major faiths, by the end of the 16th century community relations would be worse than when Akbar ascended to power.
Akbar passed decrees against child marriage and sati.


Patron of arts and literature:

Although Akbar was illiterate, he had a fine literary taste. He took interest in philosophy, theology, history, and politics. He maintained a library full of books on various subjects, and was fond of the society of scholars, poets and philosophers, who read books to him aloud, and thus enabled him to be conversant with Sufi, Christian, Zoroastrian, Hindu and Jain literature. He used to invite scholars from different religions for discussions with him.

In his book, "Akbar, The Great Mogul" Vincent Smith wrote that "anybody who heard him arguing with acuteness and lucidity on a subject of debate would have credited him with wide literary knowledge and profound erudition and never would have suspected him of illiteracy". He was a patron to many literary figures, including the brothers Feizi and Abul-Fazel. The former was commissioned by Akbar to translate a number of Sanskrit scientific works into Persian; and the latter produced the Akbarnama, an enduring record of the emperor's reign. It is also said that Akbar employed Jerome Xavier (nephew of Francis Xavier) , a Jesuit missionary, to translate the four Gospels of the New Testament into Persian. He commissioned the Tarikh-i-Alfi, or "The History of a Thousand Years" to celebrate the year 1000 (1591-92CE) on the Muslim calendar, though only about thirty of the original hundreds of paintings and pages of the manuscript now remain.

Akbar also possessed a fair taste of art, architecture and mechanical works. Many pieces, including the magnificent Hamzanama, were produced under Akbar. Akbar is also credited with many inventions and improvements in the manufacture of matchlocks. He built a vast administrative machinery on a detailed plan. He looked, as we know from the Ain-i-Akbari, "upon the smallest details as mirrors capable of reflecting a comprehensive outline.


Navratnas:

As with many Indian rulers Akbar's court had Navaratnas ("Nine Jewels"), a term denoting a group of nine extraordinary people. Akbar's Navratnas were:
• Abul-Fazel - Akbars's chief advisor and author of Akbarnama, Akbar's biography
• Faizi
• Mian Tansen - known for his voice and music
• Birbal - known for great wit
• Raja Todar Mal
• Raja Man Singh
• Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana
• Fakir Aziao-Din
• Mullah Do Piaza
• Baiju Bawara


Final years:

The last few years of Akbar's reign were troubled by the misconduct of his sons. Two of them died in their youth, the victims of intemperance. The third, Salim, later known as Emperor Jahangir, was frequently in rebellion against his father. Asirgarh, a fort in the Deccan, proved to be the last conquest of Akbar, taken in 1599 as he proceeded north to face his son's rebellion. Reportedly, Akbar keenly felt these calamities, and they may even have affected his health and hastened his death, which occurred in Agra. His body was interned in a magnificent mausoleum at Sikandra, near Agra.

[marwatone]

Nuruddin Salim Jahangir (1605 - 1627)

Born in : Fatehpur-Sikri, 1569 - Died in : Lahore, 1627

Son of Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar



Birth:

He was born as Prince Muhammad Salim on 30 August 1569. He was the third and eldest surviving son (Akbar's twin sons, Hasan and Hussain, died in infancy) of Mughal Emperor Akbar. His mother was the Rajput Princess of Amber (Jodhabai, born Rajkumari Hira Kunwari, eldest daughter of Raja Bihari Mal or Bharmal, Raja of Amber, India).

It is said to be by blessing of Shaikh Salim Chisti (one of the revered sage of his times) that Akbar's first surviving child, the future Jahangir, was born. He was born at the dargah of the Sheikh Salim Chishti, in the village Sikri near Agra. The child was named Salim after the darvesh and was affectionately addressed by Akbar as the Sheikhu Baba.

Akbar developed emotional attachment with the village Sikri (abode of Chishti). Therefore, he developed the town of Sikri and shifted his imperial court and residence from Agra to Sikri, later renamed as Fatehpur Sikri.


Name:

The name Jahangir is from Persian words meaning "Conqueror of the World", "World-Conqueror", or "Dominant over the World". Nuruddin or Nur al-Din means "the Light of the Faith"


Education:

Akbar ensured that his son received the best education possible. Salim started his studies at the age of four and was taught Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Urdu, history, arithmetic, geography and other sciences by important tutors like Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, a renowned soldier and scholar.


Marriage:

Salim was made a Mansabdar of ten thousand (Das-Hazari), the highest military rank of the empire, after the emperor. He commanded, independently, a regiment in Kabul campaign of 1581, when he was barely twelve. His Mansab was raised to Twelve Thousand, in 1585, at the time of his betrothal to his cousin Man Bai, daughter of Bhagwan Das of Amber. Bhagwan Das (son of Bihari Mal) was the brother of Akbar's wife Mariam-uz-Zamani nee Rajkumari Hira Kunwari. The marriage with Man Bai took place on February 13, 1585.

Thereafter, Salim was allowed to marry, in quick succession, a number of accomplished girls from the aristocratic Mughal and Rajput families. One of his favorite wives was a Rajput Princess, known as Jagat Gosain, who gave birth to Prince Khurram, the future Shah Jahan, the successor of Jahangir.

Jahangir married his eighteenth and last wife, the extremely beautiful and intelligent Mehr-un-Nisa, in May 1611. She was the widow of Sher Afghan. Mehr-un-Nisa was given the title of Nur Jehan afterwards.


Revolt:

Salim raised a standard of revolt against Akbar in 1599. Prince Salim finally succeeded to the throne on November 3, 1605, eight days after his father's death. Salim ascended to the throne with the title of Nuruddin Muhammad Jahangir Padshah Ghazi, and thus began his 22 year reign at the age of 36. Having seized power, he had to fend off his own son's, Prince Khusraw, claim to the throne. Khusraw/Khusrau was defeated in 1606 and confined in the fort of Agra. Later on, unearthing a conspiracy for his murder, Jahangir had blinded Khusraw as punishment; afterwards, however, Jahangir's parental love lead him to summoning the best of physicians to cure him, and after a lot of effort vision in one of Khusrau's eyes was restored. In 1622, Khurram (Shah Jahan), younger brother of Khusrau, in a conspiracy to eliminate all possible contenders to the throne had murdered Khusrau .


Reign:

Jahangir started his reign with several popular acts. He released prisoners of war, promised to protect Islam and granted general amnesty to his opponents. He set up a "Chain of Justice" outside his palace. Anyone in trouble could simply pull the chain and receive a hearing from the Emperor. Jahangir was fond of ease and comfort. He was an alcoholic and could be found day and night with wine goblets in his hands. He was also susceptible to the influence of others, a weakness exploited by many. Because of his constantly inebriated state, Nur Jehan became the actual power behind the throne. It was during Jahangir's reign that the British got formal permission to trade freely in the Mughal Empire. This is often said to be his greatest blunder, for these traders went on to become the rulers of South Asia.


Autobiography:

Jahangir was a good writer and loved nature. He recorded all sorts of wildlife in his autobiography, Tuzk-e-Jahangiri. He liked paintings and collected many of them in his palace. Some of them are still found in museums.


Death:

He died in 1627 and was buried in Shahdara, a suburb of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. He was succeeded by his third son, Prince Khurram who took the title of Shah Jahan. Jahangir's elegant mausoleum is located in the Shahdara locale of Lahore and is a popular tourist attraction in Lahore.