Transcript Mughals

The
Mughals
How did the demographics of India
contrast to the Safavid and Ottoman
Empires?
Central Question for Mughals
(and maybe for all of Indian
history after 700s!):
How to integrate – into a stable
society – Turkish warlords (invaders!),
Muslim scholars, bureaucrats, and
holy men AND a Hindu majority
population??
Establishment of the Mughals (1523)
• Recap of early invasions of India:
• Aryan, Greeks, Huns, Muslim Arabs (722-713),
Muslim Afghans (971 – 1030), Delhi Sultanate
(1200-1523)
• Babur – descendant of Timur the Lame and
Ghengis Khan – conquered Delhi in 1523
• Humayan – successor
Rule of Akbar (1556 – 1605)
• Grandson of Babur
• Extended empire over 2/3 of
subcontinent
• Akbar said to have special
relationship with God; “universal
man”
Treatment of Hindus
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Brought rajas into military
Incorporated Hindus into bureaucracy (about ¼)
Encouraged different viewpoints in his court
Married a Rajput princess
Rescinded head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims
Exempted Hindus from Shari’a when not dealing
with Muslims
• outlawed sati
More good stuff…..
• Built new capitals across Empire (final one at
Delhi)
• Thriving economy
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- Land tax and cash economy
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- Large population
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- Agriculture
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* new world crops: sugar cane, tobacco,
maize,
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indigo PLUS opium and mulberries
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* increasing rice cultivation
• Faced few external threats
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- resistant Hindu kings in Deccan
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- Afghans on western frontier
More economic changes…
• Exported fine cottons and silks
- innovations in production methods credited to
Akbar
- Port cities: Pulicat (sw – Portugal 1611)
Surat (nw – Great Britain 1619)
- Had no merchant ships or navy (like Safavids)
- Saw Europeans not as rivals but as shipmasters
whose naval help could be bought with trading
privileges
• Imported wood, tin, lead, copper, luxury items
from Europe and spices from Asia
• Gold (1/2 ton) and silver (34 tons) flowing into
India
• Government Revenues exceeded expenditures
Religion in Akbar’s India
• Din-i-Ilahi - “Divine Faith”
• incorporated Islam, Hindu, Zorastrianism, Sikh,
and Christian beliefs
• Fostered debates among all religions
• Muslim scholars challenged Akbar, refusing to
accept his claim to religious authority; he
crushed them and took away their
independence
"Akbar Fights with Raja Man
Singh," from a copy of the
Akbarnama.
(circa 1600-03)
Smithsonian Institute,
Washington, DC
Cultural Syncretism
• Between 20% and 25% of population of
Mughal India became Muslim
• Northern India’s religious culture became
blend of Hindu and Islamic traditions and
practices
• Sufis used Sanskrit derivative Hindi to spread
their message
• Also inspired creation of Urdu language
(combined Hindi, , Arabic, Persian, and
Sanskrit)
Conversion to Islam
• Mostly in Indus River and east Bengal
- lowest caste Hindus?
- Sufi evangelicals?
- Coincidence with rice farming regions?
Sikhism
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Punjab region
Stressed meditation as road to enlightenment
Borrowed Islamic and Hindu imagery
Community did not differentiate castes
Ninth guru beheaded by Aurangzeb for refusing to
convert to Islam (1675)
- became dedicated to avenging death
- organized into “army of the pure” to defend Sikh
beliefs
*leave hair uncut, carry comb, steel bracelet, and
sword or dagger; wear military style breeches
Decline of Mughals
• Jahangir (r. 1605 – 1627)
- enjoyed the arts more than politics
- workshops produced thousands of miniatures
- enjoyed polo
- also enjoyed wine and opium
- Nur Jahan – wife
* Fashion Queen
* Supported charities
* 19 children!!
The young Jahangir also commissioned an
album called the “Shikarnama,” or “Hunting
Book.” In the sole “Shikarnama” folio on view
Prince Salim (the future Jahangir) has killed a
rhinoceros and a lioness. The painting is a
frenzy of activity
Smithsonian Institute
Washington, DC
• Shah Jahan
- more of the same….
- Mumtaz Mahal – wife
* Taj Mahal - tomb
• Still great under Akbar’s grandson, Aurangzeb
(1658 – 1707) who took title Alamgir
(“Grasper of the Universe”)
"Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan with
their Ministers,“ from the Minto
album. (circa 1630-31)
Smithsonian Institute
Washington, DC
Aurangzeb
• Reinstated restrictions on Hindus and further
expanded empire into Southern India
- reinstituted tax on non-Muslims
- banned Hindu fairs and festivals
- crushed Hindu temples and idols
Formidable Enemies Arose
• Marathas across central India
- Sikhs, Afghan Muslims, and Rajputs in NW India
- Shah Jahan tried to take Samarkand
- Mughals pushed out of Kandahar in 1649
- empire weakened; increased taxes from ⅓ to ½
of production
- Nadir Shah Safavid successor, sacked Delhi in
1739, carrying off symbolic “peacock throne” as
war booty
• By 1723 Mughal sultan Nizam al-Mulk gave up
on central government; he established his
own independent state – other local leaders
followed his model
- Weaknesses in India and Iran allowed for
establishment if independent Afghan
kingdom
- Fractious nature of region “favored intrusion
of Europeans”