MUGHAL EMPIRE - social structure

•RAJVI PATEL•PRACHI PANWALA

•RUTA DESAI•AMI DESAI

•GRISHMA PATEL•SIDDHI SHAH

•VAIBHAVI SHAH

INTRODUCTION

• The Mughal Empire was an empire that at its greatest territorial extent ruled most of the Indian subcontinent, then known as Hindustan.

• It also parts of what is now Afghanistan and the Baluchistan region.

• It was established in 1526, enjoyed expansion and consolidation until about 1707 and survived, even if in drastically attenuated form, until 1857.

1526-1530 Babur1530-1556 Humayun1556-1605 Akbar1605-1627 Jahangir1628-1658 Shah Jahan1659-1707 Aurangzeb

Mughal empire classic period

BABUR HUMAYUN

AKBAR JAHANGIR

SHAN JAHAN AURANZEB

RELIGION• The Mughal ruling class was Muslims,

although most of the subjects of the Empire were Hindu.

• Although Babur founded the Empire, the dynasty remained unstable until the reign of Akbar.

• Akbar was quite possibly the emperor with the most tolerance for Hindus.

• He abolished the discriminatory taxes on Hindus and even included non-Muslims in his group of advisors

• He never began any wars for religious reasons (jihad), unlike many other emperors

RELIGION• He invited Hindus, Muslims and many others to

come debate at his palace for entertainment purposes.

• Then, in 1581, he created the Divine Faith, a mixture of his own ideas and those from the debates.

• Akbar ‘s bold attempts at religious reform encouraged many Hindus to believe they could live in peace with their conquerors

• As other rulers came to power, the religious tolerance that Akbar had created started to diminish.

• Mughal emperors tried to convert Hindus, Hindu men married Muslim women and converted them and very few accepted any religion besides their own

•Rulers also worked to spread Muslim culture through India

•Invited artists, scholars from other parts of Islamic world to Delhi

•New culture formed, blending Muslim, Indian elements

•Example: new language, Urdu, formed from combination of Arabic, Sanskrit•Religious tolerance was a new idea that Akbar brought with him, but this declined as other emperors came to power. •The Mughal empire also merged their beliefs on the role of women and social classes into daily Indian life.

CULTURE

ECONOMY• The Mughals used the Mansabdar system

to generate land revenue. • The emperor would grant revenue rights

to a Mansabdar in exchange for promises of soldiers in war-time.

• The greater the size of the land the emperor granted, the greater the number of soldiers the Mansabdar had to promise.

• The Mansab was both revocable and non-hereditary.

• This gave the center a fairly large degree of control over the Mansabdars.

• The Indian economy boomed under the Mughals, because of the creation of a road system and a uniform currency, together with the unification of the country

• Cities and towns boomed under the Mughals

• however, for the most part, they were military and political centres, not manufacturing or commerce centres.

ECONOMY

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

• The Mughal control of India impact the society in several large ways.

• Religious tolerance was a new idea that Akbar brought with him, but this declined as other emperors came to power.

• He also appreciated the arts, and brought Islamic and Persian perspective to the artwork.

• The Mughal empire also merged their beliefs on the role of women and social classes into daily Indian life.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL• Akbar was quite possibly the emperor with

the most tolerance for Hindus. • He abolished the discriminatory taxes on

Hindus and even included non-Muslims in his group of advisors.

• He never began any wars for religious reasons (jihad), unlike many other emperors.

• Akbar was angry with the religious situation. He did not see the need for clashing of religions. Instead, he invited Hindus, Muslims and many others to come debate at his palace for entertainment purposes.

• Then, in 1581, he created the Divine Faith, a mixture of his own ideas and those from the debates.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

• His new religion was never certified by the courts but he still had a huge impact on the citizens of his empire.

• "Akbar's bold attempts at religious reform encouraged many Hindus to believe they could live in peace with their conquerors."

• However, as other rulers came to power, the religious tolerance that Akbar had created started to diminish.

• Mughal emperors tried to convert Hindus, Hindu men married Muslim women and converted them and very few accepted any religion besides their own.

CLASSES IN THE MUGHAL SOCIETY

• Society in Mughal times was organized on a feudal basis and the head of the social system was Emperor.

• He enjoyed an unparallel status. He was the ultimate authority in everything.

• Next in rank were the nobility along the zamindars.• The Mughal nobles monopolized most of the jobs in the country. • Socially and economically the Mughal nobility formed a privileged class.

There were men of every type and nationality among the Mughal nobles.• Clan or family links were the most important considerations for

recruitment and admission to the aristocratic class of the society.• Zamindars or the chieftains also constituted the nobility. They had their

own armed forces and generally lived in forts or garhis which was both a place of refuge and a status symbol.

• There was a large class of merchants and traders. They had their own rights based on tradition and protection of life and property. They also maintained a high standard of living.

WOMEN”S CONDITION IN MUGHAL PERIOD

• Mughal rule also brought about better treatment of women.

• They had always played an important role in Mughal society.

• Men in the government often relied on their wives for political advice and many rich or aristocratic women learned to read and write.

• Those women sometimes worked and received salaries, and were also allowed to own land.

WOMEN”S CONDITION IN MUGHAL PERIOD

• Some women even fought in wars, right beside the men.

• Women of course were not treated equally, but the Mughals brought the Indian society closer to the equality of men and women than they had ever been before.

• However, the Mughals imposed several Islamic laws that restricted women, such as isolating women (purdah).

• Also, many of the Hindu laws remained intact, so women were clearly not treated equal to men.

ART IN MUGHAL EMPIRE

• Akbar brought his love of the arts with him to India.

• His style was a mixture of Persian and Indian motifs.

• He also had his artists mimic the European style art work, focusing on perspective and life-like recreation.

• Also, the Islamic influence of not including humans in pictures lead to the floral motifs that are seen today in carpets, lamps and textiles.

Mughal Paintings

• The very mention of Mughal Paintings evokes stylized images of richly draped figures involved in various court activities.

Mughal Paintings

• Though there is very little regard to realism, these paintings capture ones imagination because of their unique style and choice of themes.

Mughal Paintings

• The popular perception of Mughal paintings is not altogether an unfounded one, these paintings hardly follow the dictum of realism in style but their themes are as true to their period as possible.

• In fact they can be seen as the most substantial specimens of their times.

Mughal Paintings

• A blend of the Indian and the Persian style, these paintings depicted various themes.

• From scenes of a Mughal court to lovers in intimate positions, the themes were both informative and provocative.

ARCHITECTURE • The love of beauty that the Mughals had was

also seen in their architecture. • The beautiful Taj Mahal was built in 1632, under

the rule of Shan Jahan, in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

• The architecture of this building combined Persian and Islamic styles and is constructed of sandstone and white marble.

• It is obvious that the Mughals treasured presious stones because the interior of the Taj Mahal, and of other amazing creations, is inlaid with geometirc patterns of beautiful black and colored stones, gold and other valuable stones.

• Lal Qila, the Red Fort, is another breathtaking structure built in 1639 by Shan Jahan. This building was constructed of red sand stone, and the interior was all gold, silver, white marble and other various stones.

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