Mughal Empire and its founders

The transition from Sultanate to Mughal Period c. 1500s

• The integration of South Asia into the Mughal domains was very gradual

• Mughal rule was built not only on the surviving administrative features of the Sultanate, but also traditions borrowed from Central Asia’s Timurid states (see Map)

• By the time the Mughals come to India in 1526, Sultanate culture had become indigenized to a vast extent

Sultanate-era Influences

– Adoption of Indian language, dress, cultural norms among the Afghan-Turkish elite

– Intermarriage between ruling families– The use of Persianate vocabulary in common speech– The existence of composite theological borrowings,

but also of new traditions that went beyond a hybrid or syncretic approach, ex. Sikhism and Guru Nanak

– The Imperial structure of the empire was laid by the third Emperor, Akbar, but the reign of the first two emperors is very significant to understanding the choices made by Akbar.

Zahir –ud-din Mohamad Babur, b.1484/ r. 1526-1530

• Ruler of the Farghana Valley in Afghanistan, descended from both Timur (Tamerlame) and Ghengis Khan. He comes to the throne at age 12.

• Early rule in Afghanistan beset with troubles with the Uzbeki tribe, and occasional support by the Persian Emperor Shah Ismail. By the time he was 15, he would have won and lost Ferghana twice, and eventually started a new kingdom in Kabul.

• Intimate knowledge of his life from Baburnama, Begum Gulbadan’s work, other histories

• Babur reading his memoirs

Babur’s life appears heavily influenced by some of the changes sweeping through the Timurid Khanates

•Persianization of culture, shift from peripatetic to fixed courts•Early adoption of Guns and canons to cavalry and siege tactics•The new emphasis on courtly life mirroring the cultivation of an inner spiritual, aesthetic, cultivated world (sp. Use of Persian)•Close relationships among the young begs, Turkish/timurid nobility

Ferghana Valley

Early Conquests and motivations

• Clearly not as concerned about creating an empire as on reclaiming the Fergana valley

• Intentions towards South Asia were mixed• In 1519 Babur first invades India, seizes Bajaur

in the Northwest, but goes no further. He sends an envoy to Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan at Delhi to give him the Panjab province, but gets no reply.

• Successive battles in Kabul and Lahore, defending his own territories distract Babur from his original target.

First Battle of Panipat, April 21 1526

• Early capitulation of the governor of Lahore crucial

• Odds of Mughal victory uneven—about 12000 men v. Lodi army of about 100, 000 plus 1000 war elephants

• Strategy was innovative and relied on new cannons and flanking cavalry movements

• Treasure from the Lodi conquests very important to attracting help from other Turkish Begs, securing main cities of Delhi and Agra

Babur’s Short Reign• Sources reflect the efforts of attempting to adapt to new, south asian

environment were difficult• Considerable worries about the support of the Begs that mirror the

problems of the iqta system• Babur does put in considerable effort into sorting out questions of

succession and division of duties within the royal family• Attempts to collect information about local customs, society, flora,

fauna• Plants new gardens, orders the creation of new buildings that signal

an acceptance of India as the new base of his empire• Short and unexpected death curtail Babur’s plans and also our

knowledge of his intentions.

Humayun, 1508/r.1530-1556

• Babar’s fours sons—Humayun, Kamran, Askari, and Hindal all compete with each other, even though they inherit different regions in the north west.

• Humayun himself relies on persuasion rather than orders• Women of the court take a primary role in mediating

disputes, making alliances, preserving the Empire• Humayun has to deal with simultaneous rebellions in

Gujrat and Bihar, along with troubles with his brothers• Makes the fatal error of moving too many troops to

Gujrat, allowing Sher Shah Suri of Bihar to quickly establish control over the east

Conq. by Babur

Base for Suri

How Humayun lost his Empire

• In 1535 moves to Gujrat to annex kingdom of Bahadur Shah, has useful seaports

• During the next five years Sher Shah Suri uses his base in Bihar to forge an Afghan-Rajput alliance and capture Bengal

• Humayun marches back to the Gangetic plain and loses key battles in Chausa (1539) and Kanauj (1540)

• Goes to Persia in exile.

Who is Sher Shah Suri?

• Sher Shah completely reorganizes the ‘iqta system, and classifies and records the land assignments.

• He encourages trade by making roads, carvanserais (rest-stops), and imposing law and order on major trade routes.

• For five short years, 1540-45, his conquests are brought into the framework of a well-run state.

• When Sher Shah dies, his descendent are unable to hold on to their gains.

• His reforms are copied by Akbar

Humayun’s comeback

• Long years of exile in Persia• Birth of Akbar and influence of this early period• Struggles of Humayun with addiction to alcohol

and opium—delegation of powers to important Begs (chiefs), Begums (Royal Women)

• 1555, with help of Begs and Persian Emperor, new in-laws regains Afghanistan, Lahore

• Difficult choices about Kamran• Sudden death in fall from library steps

Consequences of these Early Years

• Great emphasis within the family of preserving Timurid traditions, particularly among women, yet ambivalent feelings on this by Akbar, Humayun’s successor

• Signals early power struggle between family, Begs, and Emperor

• Explains some of the innovative and radical choices made by Akbar in his own reforms

•Designation of an heir, their education and mentoring, emphasis on “hands-on” experience•Emphasis on adapting to local, south Asian traditions•Balancing the influence of family with a bureaucratic administration•Emphasizing a cult of loyalty to the emperor•Perhaps even explains his ambivalent relationships with Timurid origins, esp. female relatives

Influences on Akbar