Pakistan Through the Ages

Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur

When Babur swept down out of the valleys of Central Asia to conquer India, he was only one of
a long line of such conquerors through history. However, his descendants, the Mughal emperors,
built a long-lasting empire that ruled much of the subcontinent until 1868, and that continues to
impact the culture of India to this day.
It seems appropriate that the founder of such a mighty dynasty would himself be descended from
great bloodlines. Babur's pedigree seems to have been specifically designed for the job. On his
father's side, he was a Timurid, a Persianized Turk descended from Timur the Lame. On his
mother's side, Babur was descended from Genghis Khan.

Childhood:
Zahir-ud-din Muhammad, nicknamed "Babur" or "Lion," was born into the Timurid royal family
in Andijan, now in Uzbekistan, on February 23, 1483. His father, Umar Sheikh Mirza, was the
Emir of Ferghana; his mother, Qutlaq Nigar Khanum, was the Moghuli king Yunus Khan's
daughter.
By the time of Babur's birth, the remaining Mongol descendants in western Central Asia had
intermarried with Turkic and Persian peoples, and assimilated into local culture. They were
strongly influenced by Persia (using Farsi as their official court language), and they had
converted to Islam. Most favored the mystic Sufism-infused style of Sunni Islam.

Babur Takes the Throne:

In 1494, the Emir of Ferghana died suddenly, and 11-year-old Babur ascended his father's throne.
His seat was anything but secure, however, with numerous uncles and cousins plotting to replace
him.
Evidently aware that a good offense is the best defense, the young emir set out to expand his
holdings. By 1497, he had conquered the famous Silk Road oasis city of Samarkand. While he
was thus engaged, however, his uncles and other nobles rose in rebellion back in Andijan. When
Babur turned to defend his base, he once again lost control of Samarkand.
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The determined young emir had regained both cities by 1501, but the Uzbek ruler Shaibani Khan
challenged him over Samarkand, and dealt Babur's forces a crushing defeat. This marked the end
of Babur's rule in what is now Uzbekistan.

Exile in Afghanistan:
For three years, the homeless prince wandered Central Asia, trying to attract followers to help
him retake his father's throne. Finally, in 1504, he and his small army looked to the southeast
instead, marching over the snow-bound Hindu Kush mountains into Afghanistan. Babur, now 21
years old, besieged and conquered Kabul, creating a base for his new kingdom.
Ever optimistic, Babur would ally himself with the rulers of Herat and Persia, and try to take
back Fergana in 1510-1511. Once more, however, the Uzbeks utterly defeated the Moghul army,
driving them back to Afghanistan. Thwarted, Babur began to look south once more.

Invitation to Replace Lodi:

In 1521, a perfect opportunity for southern expansion presented itself to Babur. The sultan of
the Delhi Sultanate, Ibrahim Lodi, was hated and reviled by his ordinary citizens and the nobility
alike. He had shaken up the military and court ranks, installing his own followers in place of the
old guard, and ruled the lower classes with an arbitrary and tyrannical style. After just four years
of Lodi's rule, the Afghan nobility were so fed up with him that they invited the Timurid Babur to
come to the Delhi Sultanate and depose Ibrahim Lodi.
Naturally, Babur was quite happy to comply. He gathered an army, and launched a siege on
Kandahar. The Kandahar Citadel, however, held out for much longer than Babur had anticipated.
As the siege dragged on, however, important nobles and military men from the Delhi Sultanate
such as Ibrahim Lodi's uncle, Alam Khan, and the governor of Punjab allied themselves with
Babur.

First Battle of Panipat:

Five years after his initial invitation into the subcontinent, Babur finally launched an all-out
assault on the Delhi Sultanate and Ibrahim Lodi in April of 1526. On the plains of Punjab,
Babur's army of 24,000, mostly horse cavalry, rode out against Sultan Ibrahim, who had 100,000
men and 1,000 war-elephants. Although Babur appeared to be terribly outmatched, he had a far
more cohesive command... and guns. Ibrahim Lodi had none.
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The battle that followed, now called the First Battle of Panipat, marked the fall of the Delhi
Sultanate. With superior tactics and firepower, Babur crushed Lodi's army, killing the sultan and
20,000 of his men. Lodi's fall signalled the beginning of the Mughal Empire (also known as the
Timurid Empire) in India.

Rajput Wars:
Babur had overcome his fellow Muslims in the Delhi Sultanate (and of course, most were happy
to acknowledge his rule), but the mainly-Hindu Rajput princes were not so easily conquered.
Unlike his ancestor, Timur, Babur was dedicated to the idea of building a permanent empire in
India - he was no mere raider. He decided to build his capital at Agra. The Rajputs, however, put
up a spirited defense against this new, Muslim, would-be overlord from the north.
Knowing that the Mughal army was weakened after the Battle of Panipat, the princes of
Rajputana gathered an army even larger than Lodi's had been, and went to war behind Rana
Sangam of Mewar. In March of 1527, at the Battle of Khanwa, Babur's army managed to deal the
Rajputs a huge defeat. The Rajputs were undaunted, however, and battles and skirmishes
continued all over the northern and eastern sections of Babur's empire for the next several years.

Death of Babur:
In the autumn of 1530, Babur fell ill. His brother-in-law conspired with some of the Mughal
court nobles to seize the throne after Babur's death, by-passing Humayun, Babur's eldest son and
appointed heir. Humayun hurried to Agra to defend his claim to the throne, but soon fell gravely
ill himself. According to legend, Babur cried out to God to spare Humayun's life, offering his
own in return. Soon, the emperor once more grew weak.
On January 5, 1531, Babur died at the age of just 47. Humayun, 22 years old, inherited a rickety
empire, beset by internal and external enemies. Like his father, Humayun would lose power and
be forced into exile, only to return and restake his claim to India. By the end of his life, he had
consolidated and expanded the empire, which would reach its height under his son, Akbar the
Great.
Babur lived a difficult life, always battling to make a place for himself. In the end, however, he
planted the seed on one of the world's great empires. Himself a devotee of poetry and gardens,
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Babur's descendants would raise all kinds of arts to their apogee during their long reign.
The Mughal Empire lasted until 1868, when it fell to the colonial British Raj.

Nsir al-Din Muhammad Humayun

Humayun (7 March 1508 27 January 1556) was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled over
territory in what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 15311540 and
again from 15551556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but regained it with the
aid of the Safavid dynasty of Persia, with additional territory. At the time of his death in 1556,
the Mughal Empire spanned almost one million square kilometers.
Humayun succeeded his father in 1531, as ruler of the Mughal territories in India. At the age of
23, Humayun was an inexperienced ruler when he came to power. His half-brother Kamran
Mirza inherited Kabul and Lahore, the more northern parts of their father's empire. Mirza was to
become a bitter rival of Humayun.
Humayun lost Mughal territories to the Pashtun noble, Sher Shah Suri, and, with Persian
(Safavid) aid, regained them 15 years later. Humayun's return from Persia was accompanied by a
large retinue of Persian noblemen and signaled an important change in Mughal court culture.
The Central Asian origins of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian
art, architecture, language and literature. There are many stone carvings and thousands
of Persian manuscripts in India dating from the time of Humayun.
Subsequently, in a very short time, Humayun was able to expand the Empire further, leaving a
substantial legacy for his son, Akbar. His peaceful personality, patience and non-provocative
methods of speech earned him the title Insn-i-Kamil (Perfect Man), among the Mughals.

Background
Babur's decision to divide the territories of his empire between two of his sons was unusual in
India although it had been a common Central Asian practice since the time of Genghis Khan.
Unlike most monarchies which practised primogeniture, the Timurids, following Genghis Khan's
example, did not leave an entire kingdom to the eldest son. Although under that system only
a Chingissid could claim sovereignty and khanal authority, any male Chinggisid within a given
sub-branch (such as the Timurids) had an equal right to the throne.[2] While Genghis Khan's
Empire had been peacefully divided between his sons upon his death, almost every Chinggisid
succession since had resulted in fratricide.[3][full citation needed]
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Timur himself had divided his territories between Pir Muhammad, Miran Shah, Khalil
Sultan and Shah Rukh, which resulted in inter-family warfare.[2][full citation needed] Upon
Babur's death, Humayun's territories were the least secure. He had ruled only four years, and not
all umarah (nobles) viewed Humayun as the rightful ruler. Indeed earlier, when Babur had
become ill, some of the nobles had tried to install his uncle, Mahdi Khwaja, as ruler. Although
this attempt failed, it was a sign of problems to come.

Early Reign
Upon his succession to the throne, Humayun had two major rivals interested in acquiring his
lands Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat to the south west and Sher Shah Suri (Sher Khan) currently
settled along the river Ganges in Bihar to the east. Humayuns first campaign was to confront
Sher Khan Suri. Halfway through the counter offensive Humayun had to abandon it and
concentrate on Gujarat, where a threat from Ahmed Shah had to be squelched. In this he
succeeded and annexed Gujarat and Malwa. Champaner and the great fort of Mandu followed
next.
During the first five years of Humayun's reign, these two rulers were quietly extending their rule,
although Sultan Bahadur faced pressure in the east from sporadic conflicts with the Portuguese.
While the Mughals had obtained firearms via the Ottoman Empire, Bahadur's Gujarat 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.[5]
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. Sultan Bahadur,
meanwhile escaped and took up refuge with the Portuguese.[6]

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 to easily regain control of the territories Humayun had
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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 succeeded 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 while 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 Gauri, the largest in the empire, were
emptied and Humayun arrived to see corpses littering the roads.[7] The vast wealth of Bengal
was depleted and brought East giving Sher Shah a substantial war chest.[5]
Sher Shah withdrew to the east, but Humayun did not follow: instead he "shut himself up for a
considerable time in his Harem, and indulged himself in every kind of luxury."[7][full citation
needed]Hindal, Humayun's 19-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.[6][full
citation needed] When Hindal withdrew from protecting the rear of Humayun's troops, Sher
Shah's troop quickly reclaimed these positions, leaving Humayun surrounded.[8]
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.[8]
Sher Shah met Humayun in battle on the banks of the Ganges, near Benares, in Chausa. This was
to become an entrenched battle in which 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's troops would charge those of Sher Shah whose forces then retreat
in feigned fear. Thus honour would, supposedly, be satisfied.[9]
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Once the Army of Humayun had made its charge and Sher Shah's troops made their agreed-upon
retreat, the Mughal troops relaxed their defensive preparations and returned to their
entrenchments without posting a proper guard. Observing the Mughals' vulnerability, Sher Shah
reneged on his earlier agreement. That very night, his army approached the Mughal camp and
finding the Mughal troops unprepared with a majority 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. 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 own
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 240
kilometres (150 mi) east of Agra at the Battle of Kanauj on 17 May 1540. The battle once again
saw Humayun make some 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
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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."[10]

Withdrawing further
Humayun decided that it would be wise to withdraw still further, Humayun and his army rode
out through and across the Thar Desert, when the Hindu ruler Rao Maldeo Rathore allied himself
with Sher Shah Suri against the Mughal Empire. In many accounts Humayun mentions how he
and his heavily pregnant wife, had to trace their steps through the desert at the hottest time of
year. All the wells had been filled with sand by the nearby Hindu inhabitants in order to starve
and exhaust the Mughals further, 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) a horse, so
Humayun did so himself, resulting in him riding a camel for six kilometeres (four miles),
although Khaled Beg then offered him his mount. Humayun was later to describe this incident as
the lowest point in his life.[11][full citation needed]
He asked that his brothers join him as he fell back into Sindh. While the previously rebellious
Hindal Mirza remained loyal and was ordered to join his brothers inKandahar. Kamran Mirza
and Askari Mirza 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 Emir of Sindh, Hussein Umrani, whom he had appointed and
who owed him his allegiance. The Emir Hussein Umrani welcomed Humayun's presence and
was loyal to Humayun just as he had been loyal to Baburagainst the renegade Arghuns. Whilst in
the oasis garrison of Umerkot in Sindh, Hamida daughter of noble Sindhi, gave birth to Akbar on
25 October 1542, the heir-apparent to the 34-year old Humayun. The date was special because
Humayun consulted his Astronomer to utilize the astrolabe and check the location of the planets.
While in Sindh, Humayun alongside Emir Hussein Umrani, gathered horses and weapons and
formed new alliances that helped regain lost territories. Until finally Humayun had gathered
hundreds

of Sindhi and Baloch tribesmen

alongside
8

his

Mughals and

then

marched

towards Kandahar and later Kabul, thousands more gathered by his side as Humayun continually
declared himself the rightful Timurid heir of the first Mughal Emperor Babur.

Retreat to Kabul
After Humayun set out from his expedition in Sindh, along with 300 camels (mostly wild) and
2000 loads of grain, he set off to join his brothers in Kandahar after crossing the Indus River on
11 July 1543 along with the ambition to regain the Mughal Empire and overthrow the Suri
dynasty. Among the tribes that had sworn allegiance to Humayun were the Magsi, Rind and
many others.
In Kamran Mirza's territory, Hindal Mirza had been placed under house arrest in Kabul after
refusing to have the Khutb are cited in Kamran Mirza's name. His other brother Askari Mirza
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
through the dangerous and snowy mountains of theHindu Kush. Askari Mirza found Akbar in the
camp, and embraced him, and allowed his own wife to parent him, she apparently started treating
him as her own.
Once again Humayun turned toward Kandahar where his brother Kamran Mirza was in power,
but he received no help and had to seek refuge with the Shah of Persia.

Refuge in Persia
Humayun fled to the refuge of theSafavid Empire in Iran, marching with 40 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 to lavish food and clothing. They were given fine accommodations 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
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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 is depicted in a famous wall-painting in the Chehel Sotoun (Forty Columns)
palace in Esfahan.
The Shah urged that Humayun convert from Sunni to Shia Islam, and Humayun eventually and
reluctantly accepted, in order to keep himself and several hundred followers alive.[12] Although
the Mughals initially disagreed to their conversion they knew that with this outward acceptance
of Shi'ism, Shah Tahmasp was eventually prepared to offer Humayun more substantial support.
[12] When Humayun's brother, Kamran Mirza, offered to cede Kandahar to the Persians in
exchange for Humayun, dead or alive, Shah Tahmasp refused. Instead the Shah staged a
celebration for Humayun, with 300 tents, an imperial Persian carpet, 12 musical bands and "meat
of all kinds". Here the Shah announced that all this, and 12,000 elite cavalry were his to lead an
attack on his brother Kamran. All that Shah Tahmasp asked for was that, if Humayun's forces
were victorious, Kandahar would be his.

Kandahar and onwards

With this Persian Safavid aid Humayun took Kandahar from Askari Mirza after a two-week
siege. He noted how the nobles who had served Askari Mirza 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 of Persia who
sent his infant son, Murad, as the Viceroy. However, the baby soon died and Humayun thought
himself strong enough to assume power.

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Humayun now prepared to take Kabul, ruled by his brother Kamran Mirza. In the end, there was
no actual siege. Kamran Mirza was detested as a leader and as Humayun's Persian army
approached the city hundreds of Kamran Mirza's troops changed sides, flocking to join Humayun
and swelling his ranks. Kamran Mirza 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 Mirza 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 Mirza, whose brief periods of possession were marked by atrocities against
the inhabitants who, he supposed, had helped his brother.
His youngest brother, Hindal Mirza, formerly the most disloyal of his siblings, died fighting on
his behalf. His brother Askari Mirza 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 Mirza, had repeatedly sought to have Humayun killed. In
1552 Kamran Mirza attempted to make a pact with Islam Shah, Sher Shah'ssuccessor, but was
apprehended by a Gakhar. The Gakhars were one of the minority of tribal groups who had
consistently remained loyal to their oath to the Mughals. Sultan Adam of the Gakhars handed
Kamran Mirza over to Humayun. Humayun was inclined to forgive his brother. However he was
warned that allowing Kamran Mirza's repeated acts of treachery to go unpunished could foment
rebellion amongst his own supporters. So, instead of killing his brother, Humayun had Kamran
Mirza blinded which would end any claim by the latter to the throne. Humayun sent Kamran
Mirza on Hajj, as he hoped to see his brother thereby absolved of his offences. However Kamran
Mirza died close to Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula in 1557.

Restoration of the Mughal Empire

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Sher Shah Suri had died in 1545; his son and successor 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.
The Mughal Emperor Humayun, gathered a vast army and attempted the challenging task of
retaking the throne in Delhi. 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 a great tactician.

Marriage relations with the Khanzadas

The Gazetteer of Ulwur states:
Soon after Babur's death, his successor, Humayun, was in AD 1540 supplanted by the Pathan
Sher Shah, who, in AD 1545, was followed by Islam Shah. During the reign of the latter a battle
was fought and lost by the Emperor's troops at Firozpur Jhirka, in Mewat, on which, however,
Islam Shah did not loose his hold. Adil Shah, the third of the Pathan interlopers, who succeeded
in AD 1552, had to contend for the Empire with the returned Humaiyun.[13]
In these struggles for the restoration of Babar's dynasty Khanzadas apparently do not figure at
all. Humaiyun seems to have conciliated them by marrying the elder daughter of Jamal Khan,
nephew of Babar's opponent, Hasan Khan, and by causing his great minister, Bairam Khan, to
marry a younger daughter of the same Mewatti.
Bairam Khan led the army through the Punjab virtually unopposed. The fort ofRohtas, which
was built in 154143 by Sher Shah Suri 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 Mughal military architecture.

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The only major battle faced by Humayun's armies was against Sikander Suri inSirhind, where
Bairam Khan employed a tactic whereby he engaged his enemy in open battle, but then retreated
quickly in apparent fear. When the enemy followed after them they were surprised by 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 23 July 1555, Humayun once again sat on Babur's throne in Delhi.

Ruling Kashmir
With all of Humayun's brothers now dead, there was no fear of another usurping his throne
during his 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 in eastern and western India. His sojourn in exile seems
to have reduced Humayun's reliance on astrology, and his military leadership came to imitate the
more effective methods that he had observed in Persia.
In the year 1540, the Mughal Emperor Humayun met the Ottoman Admiral Seydi Ali Reis.
During their discussions in the Durbar, Humayun asked which of the two empires was bigger and
Seydi Ali Reis, stated that the Ottoman Empire was "ten times bigger", Humayun was very
inspired and he turned towards his nobles and remarked without resentment: "Indeed Suleiman
the Magnificent, deserves to be called the only Padshah on Earth".[14]
Humayun returned from exile in Persia with thousands of Persians soldiers and nobles. This
influx increased the cultural and political influences of the Persians in Mughal Empire. It also
applied to the administration of the empire. Persian methods of governance were imported into
Kashmir during the remainder of Humayun's reign. The system of revenue collection was
improved by following both the Persian model and that of the Delhi Sultanate. The Persian arts
became 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 use by of the courtly elite, and Akbar could not speak it. Later
in life, Humayun himself is said to have frequently used quotations from Persian verse.

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Trusted Generals
After defeating Bahadur Shah's confederacy in Gujarat, Humayun placed the following Generals
in Gujarat:
1. Mirza Askurry
2. Yadgar Nasir
3. Kasim Hussein Sultan
4. Hindu Beg
5. Tardy Beg Khan

Death and Legacy

On 27 January 1556, Humayun, with his arms full of books, was descending the staircase from
his library when the muezzin announced the Adhan (the call to prayer). It was his habit,
wherever he heard the summons, to bow his knee in holy reverence. Trying to kneel, he caught
his foot in his robe, tumbled down several steps and hit his temple on a rugged stone edge. He
died three days later. His body was laid to rest in Purana Quila initially, but because of attack
by Hemuon Delhi and capture of Purana Qila, Humayun's body was exhumed by the fleeing
army and transferred to Kalanaur in Punjab where Akbar was coronated. His tomb stands in
Delhi, where he was later buried in a grand way.

His full title as Emperor of the Mughal Empire was:

Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram, Jam-i-Sultanat-i-haqiqi wa Majazi, Sayyid alSalatin, Abu'l Muzaffar Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun Padshah Ghazi, Zillu'llah.

In Short
Babur's eldest son and successor, Humayun, was 22 years old when his father passed away.
Humayun lacked the experience and the tough fiber necessary to consolidate a new dynasty. the
first decade of his rule brought a steady erosion of Mughal authority in northern India. In

14

particular, Humayun had to deal with the determined hostility of the Afghans who were still
allied with the dispossessed Lodi regime.
Humayun was defeated by insurrections of nobles from the old Lodi regime. In 1540, the
Mughal domain came under the control of one of those nobles, Farid Khan Sur, who assumed
the regional name of Sher Shah Sur. Humayun would spend the next 15 years in exile in Sind,
Iran, and then Afghanistan. During this exile, Humayun's Persian wife,Hamida Begum, a native
of Turbat-I Shaykh Jam in Khurasan, gave birth to the future emperor Akbar.
Humayun was the eldest son of Babur. He had three younger brothers,Kamran, Askari and
Hindal. Born on March 6, 1508, at Kabul, he learntTurkish, Arabic and Persian at a very
young age. He assisted his father in the governance of the country. In 1520, he was appointed
theGovernor of Badakshan at the age of 12 years. When Babur invaded India in 1526,
Humayun joined him. Humayun won a maiden victory in this campaign. He also participating in
the battle of Kanwaha. After Babur's death in 1530, he was chosen as his successor. Humayun
ascended the throne at Agra on December 30, 1530, at the age of 23, four days after his father's
death.
Humayun inherited an empire barely held together by force of arms. It lacked a consolidated
civil administration. He faced numerous problems right from the start. He faced troubles from
the Afghan nobles, the Rajputs, and most of all from his brothers who were mean and disloyal to
him. Unable to judge the growing power of Sher Shah, Humayun was defeated in the battle
of Kanauj in 1540. He became a fugitive and escaped towards Iran via Sindh.
While in Sindh, he married a young Persian girl, Hamida Bano, who joined him in his
wanderings. A year later in Umerkot in upper Sindh, his first son Akbar was born. Legend has it
that Humayun had nothing to give to his followers at this happy occasion except some musk. The
musk was broken into pieces and passed among his men. He is reported to have said that one day
the fame of the prince would spread like the smell of the musk.
For a period of 15 years, the Mughal Empire lay dormant and Sher Shah founded the Suri
Dynasty.in 1555 Humayun returned once again, and by his sheer perseverance, was able to
recover his kingdom.
15

Although lacking his father's abilities, Humayun was a cultivated gentleman. He was unrivalled
in the science of astrology and mathematics. he was very kind towards his brothers; and despite
their treachery, forgave them again and again. He possessed a very charitable and magnificent
personality.
Although Humayun had recovered his kingdom, he was not destined to rule it for long. In
January 1556, he met his tragic end by slipping from the famous building known as Din Panah.

Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar

Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar, known popularly as Akbar(IPA: [kbr], literally "the
great"; 15 October 1542[a] 27 October 1605), also known as Akbar the Great or Akbar I,[5]
[6] was Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death. He was the third and one of the greatest
rulers of the Mughal Dynasty in India. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a
regent,Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in
India. A strong personality and a successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal
Empire to include nearly all of the Indian Subcontinent north of the Godavari river. His power
and influence, however, extended over the entire country because of Mughal military, political,
cultural, and economic dominance. To unify the vast Mughal state, Akbar established a
centralised system of administration throughout his empire and adopted a policy of conciliating
conquered rulers through marriage and diplomacy. In order to preserve peace and order in a
religiously and culturally diverse empire, he adopted policies that won him the support of his
non-Muslim subjects. Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic state identity, Akbar strived to unite
far-flung lands of his realm through loyalty, expressed through aPersianised culture, to himself as
an emperor who had near-divine status.
Mughal India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and
greater patronage of culture. Akbar himself was a patron of art and culture. He was fond of
literature,

and

created

library

of

over

24,000

volumes

written

in Sanskrit, Hindustani, Persian, Greek, Latin, Arabic andKashmiri, staffed by many scholars,
translators, artists, calligraphers, scribes, bookbinders and readers. Holy men of many faiths,
poets, architects and artisans adorned his court from all over the world for study and discussion.
16

Akbar's courts at Delhi, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri became centers of the arts, letters, and learning.
Perso-Islamic culture began to merge and blend with indigenous Indian elements, and a
distinct Indo-Persian

culture emerged

characterised

by

Mughal

style

arts, painting,

and architecture. Disillusioned with orthodox Islam and perhaps hoping to bring about religious
unity within his empire, Akbar promulgated Din-i-Ilahi, a syncretic creed derived from Islam,
Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity. A simple, monotheistic cult, tolerant in outlook, it
centered on Akbar as a prophet, for which he drew the ire of theulema and orthodox Muslims.
Akbar's reign significantly influenced the course of Indian history. During his rule, the Mughal
empire tripled in size and wealth. He created a powerful military system and instituted effective
political and social reforms. By abolishing the sectarian tax on non-Muslims and appointing
them to high civil and military posts, he was the first Mughal ruler to win the trust and loyalty of
the native subjects. He had Sanskrit literature translated, participated in native festivals, realizing
that a stable empire depended on the co-operation and good-will of his subjects. Thus, the
foundations for a multicultural empire under Mughal rule was laid during his reign. Akbar was
succeeded as emperor by his

Early Years
Defeated in battles at Chausa and Kannauj in 1539-40 by the forces of Sher Shah Suri Mughal
emperorHumayun fled westward to Sindh.[7] There he met and married the then 14 year
old Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a teacher of Humauyun's younger
brother Hindal Mirza. Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar was born the next year on 15 October
1542[a] (the fourth day of Rajab, 949 AH) at the Rajput Fortress of Umerkot in Sindh (in modern
day Pakistan), where his parents had been given refuge by the local Hindu ruler Rana Prasad.[9]
During the extended period of Humayun's exile, Akbar was brought up in Kabul by the extended
family of his paternal uncles, Kamran Mirza and Askari Mirza, and his aunts, in particular
Kamran Mirza's wife. He spent his youth learning to hunt, run, and fight, made him a daring,
powerful and a brave warrior, but he never learned to read or write. This, however, did not hinder
his search for knowledge as it is said always when he retired in the evening he would have
someone read.[10][better source needed] In November of 1551, Akbar married hisfirst
17

cousin, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum at Kabul.[11] Princess Ruqaiya was the only daughter of his
paternal uncle, Hindal Mirza, and was his first wife and chief consort.[12] The marriage was
arranged by Akbar's father and Ruqaiya's uncle, Emperor Humayun, and took place soon after
the untimely death of Hindal Mirza, who died in a battle.[13]
Following the chaos over the succession of Sher Shah Suri's son Islam Shah, Humayun
reconquered Delhi in 1555, leading an army partly provided by his Persian ally Tahmasp I. A few
months later, Humayun died. Akbar's guardian, Bairam Khanconcealed the death in order to
prepare for Akbar's succession. Akbar succeeded Humayun on 14 February 1556, while in the
midst of a war against Sikandar Shah to reclaim the Mughal throne. In Kalanaur, Punjab, the 13year-old Akbar was enthroned by Bairam Khan on a newly constructed platform, which still
stands.[14][15] He was proclaimed Shahanshah(Persian for "King of Kings"). Bairam Khan
ruled on his behalf until he came of age.

Military Campaigns

Military innovations:

Akbar was accorded the epithet "the Great" due to his many

accomplishments,[17] among which was his record of unbeaten military campaigns that both
established and consolidated Mughal rule in the Indian subcontinent. The basis of this military
prowess and authority was Akbar's skillful structural and organisational calibration of
the Mughal army.[18] TheMansabdari system in particular has been acclaimed for its role in
upholding Mughal power in the time of Akbar. The system persisted with few changes down to
the end of the Mughal Empire, but was progressively weakened under his successors.[18]
Organisational reforms were accompanied by innovations in cannons, fortifications, and theuse
of elephants.[17] Akbar also took an interest in matchlocks and effectively employed them
during various conflicts. He sought the help of Ottomans, and also increasingly ofEuropeans,
especially Portuguese and Italians, in procuring firearms and artillery.[19] Mughal firearms in the
time of Akbar came to be far superior to anything that could be deployed by regional rulers,
tributaries, or by zamindars.[20] Such was the impact of these weapons that Akbar's Vizier, Abul
Fazl, once declared that "with the exception of Turkey, there is perhaps no country in which its
guns has more means of securing the Government than [India]."[21]The term "Gunpower
18

Empire" has thus often been used by scholars and historians in analysing the success of the
Mughals in India. Mughal power has been seen as owing to their mastery of the techniques of
warfare, especially the use of firearms encouraged by Akbar.[22]

Struggle for North India:

Akbar, who had been born in 1542 while his

father, Humayun, was in flight from the victorious Surs, was only thirteen when he was
proclaimed emperor in 1556. His father had succeeded in regaining control of the Punjab, Delhi,
and Agra withSafavid support, but even in these areas Mughal rule was precarious, and when the
Surs reconquered Agra and Delhi following the death of Humayun, the fate of the boy emperor
seemed uncertain. Akbar's minority and the lack of any possibility of militiary assistance from
the Mughal stronghold of Kabul, that was at this time in the throes of an invasion by the ruler
of Badakhshan, Prince Mirza Suleiman, aggravated the situation.[23] When his regent, Bairam
Khan, called a council of war to marshall the Mughal forces, none of Akbar's chieftains approved
of it. However, Bairam Khan was ultimately able to prevail over the nobles and it was decided
that the Mughals would march against the strongest of the Sur rulers, Sikandar Shah Suri, in the
Punjab. Delhi was left under the regency of Tardi Baig Khan.[23] Sikandar Shah Suri, however,
presented no major concern for Akbar, and avoided giving battle as the Mughal army
approached.[24] The gravest threat came fromHemu, a minister and general of one of the Sur
rulers, who had proclaimed himself Hindu emperor and expelled the Mughals from the IndoGangetic plains.[23]
Urged by Bairam Khan, who re-marshalled the Mughal army before Hemu could consolidate his
position, Akbar marched on Delhi to reclaim it.[25] Akbar's army, led by Bairam Khan, defeated
Hemu and the Sur army on 5 November 1556 at the Second Battle of Panipat, 50 miles (80 km)
north of Delhi.[26] Soon after the battle, Mughal forces occupied Delhi and then Agra. Akbar
made a triumphant entry into Delhi, where he stayed for a month. Then he and Bairam Khan
returned to Punjab, to deal with Sikandar Shah, who had become active again.[27] In the next six
months, the Mughals won another major battle against Sikander Shah Suri, who then fled east
to Bengal. Akbar and his forces occupied Lahore and then seized Multan in the Punjab. In 1558,
Akbar took possession of Ajmer, the aperture toRajputana, after the defeat and flight of its
Muslim ruler.[27] The Mughals had also besieged and defeated the Sur forces in control
of Gwalior Fort, the greatest stronghold north of theNarmada river.[27]
19

Royal begums, along with the families of Mughal amirs, were finally brought over from Kabul to
India at the timeaccording to Akbar's vizier, Abul Fazl, "so that men might become settled and
be restrained in some measure from departing to a country to which they were accustomed.
[23] Akbar had firmly declared his intentions that the Mughals were in India to stay. This was a
far cry from the political settlements by his grandfather, Babur, and by his father, Humayun, both
of whom had done little to indicate that they were anything but transient rulers.

Expansion into Central India:

By 1559, the Mughals had launched a drive to the

south into Rajputana and Malwa.[28] However, Akbar's disputes with his regent, Bairam Khan,
temporarily put an end to the expansion.[28] The young emperor, at the age of eighteen, wanted
to take a more active part in managing affairs. Urged on by his foster mother, Maham Anga, and
his relatives, Akbar decided to dispense with the services of Bairam Khan. After yet another
dispute at court, Akbar finally dismissed Bairam Khan in the spring of 1560 and ordered him to
leave on Hajj to Mecca.[29] Bairam Khan left for Mecca, but on his way was goaded by his
opponents to rebel.[26] He was defeated by the Mughal army in the Punjab and forced to submit.
Akbar, however forgave him and gave him the option of either continuing in his court or
resuming his pilgrimage, of which Bairam chose the latter.[30]Bairam Khan was later
assassinated on his way to Mecca, allegedly by an Afghan with a personal vendetta.[28] In 1560,
Akbar resumed military operations.[28] A Mughal army under the command of his foster
brother, Adham Khan, and a Mughal commander, Pir Muhammad Khan, invaded Malwa. The
Afghan ruler, Baz Bahadur, was defeated at the Battle of Sarangpur, and fled to Khandesh for
refuge leaving behind his harem, treasure, and war elephants.[28] Despite initial success, the
campaign proved a disaster from Akbar's point of view. His foster brother retained all the spoils
and followed through with the Central Asian practice of slaughtering the surrendered garrison,
their wives and children, and many Muslim theologians and Sayyids, who were the descendants
of Muhammad.[28] Akbar personally rode to Malwa to confront Adham Khan and relieve him of
command. Pir Muhammad Khan was then sent in pursuit of Baz Bahadur but was beaten back by
the alliance of the rulers of Khandesh and Berar.[28] Baz Bahadur temporarily regained control
of Malwa until, in the next year, Akbar sent another Mughal army to invade and annex the
kingdom.[28] Malwa became a province of the nascent imperial administration of Akbar's

20

regime. Baz Bahadur survived as a refugee at various courts untils until, eight years later, in
1570, he took service under Akbar.[28]
Despite ultimate success in Malwa, the conflict however, exposed cracks in Akbar's personal
relationships with his relatives and Mughal nobles. When Adham Khan confronted Akbar
following another dispute in 1562, he was struck down by the emperor and thrown from a terrace
into the palace courtyard at Agra. Still alive, Adham Khan was dragged up and thrown to the
courtyard once again by Akbar to ensure his death. Akbar now sought to eliminate the threat of
over-mighty subjects.[28]He created specialized ministerial posts relating to imperial
governance. No member of the Mughal nobility was to have unquestioned pre-eminence.
[28] When a powerful clan of Uzbek chiefs broke out in rebellion in 1564, Akbar decisively
defeated and routed them in Malwa and then Bihar.[31] He pardoned the rebellious leaders,
hoping to conciliate them. But they rebelled again, so Akbar had to quell their uprising a second
time. Following a third revolt with the proclamation of Mirza Muhammad Hakim, Akbar's
brother and the Mughal ruler of Kabul, as emperor, his patience was finally exhausted. Several
Uzbek chieftains were subsequently slain and the rebel leaders trampled to death under
elephants.[31] Simultaneously the Mirza's, a group of Akbar's distant cousins who held important
fiefs near Agra, had also risen up in rebellion. They, too were slain and driven out of the empire.
[31] In 1566, Akbar moved to meet the forces of his brother, Muhammad Hakim, who had
marched into the Punjab with dreams of seizing the imperial throne. Following a brief
confontration, however, Muhammad Hakim accepted Akbar's supremacy and retreated back to
Kabul.[31]
In 1564, Mughal forces conquered the Gondwana kingdom. Gondwana, a thinly populated hilly
area in central India was of interest to the Mughals because of its herd of wild elephants.[32] The
territory was ruled over by Raja Vir Narayan, a minor, and his mother, Durgavati,
a Rajput warrior queen of the Gonds.[31] Akbar did not personally lead the campaign because he
was preoccupied with the Uzbek rebellion, but left the expedition in the hands of Asaf Khan, the
Mughal governor of Kara.[31][33] Durgavati committed suicide after her defeat at the Battle of
Damoh while Raja Vir Narayan was slain at the Fall of Chauragarh, the mountain fortress of the
Gonds.[33] The Mughals seized immense wealth, an uncalculated amount of gold and silver,
jewels and 1000 elephants. Kamala Devi, a younger sister of Durgavati, was sent to the Mughal
21

harem.[33] The brother of Durgavati's deceased husband was installed as the Mughal
administrator of the region.[33] Like in Malwa, however, Akbar entered into a dispute with his
vassals over the conquest of Gondwana.[33] Asaf Khan was accused of keeping most of the
treasures, and sending back only 200 elephants to Akbar. When summoned to give accounts, he
fled Gondwana. He went first to the Uzbeks, then returned to Gondwana where he was pursued
by Mughal forces. Finally, he submitted and Akbar restored him to his previous position.

Conquest of Rajputana:

Having established Mughal rule over northern India, Akbar

turned his attention to the conquest of Rajputana. No imperial power in India based on the IndoGangetic plains could be secure if a rival centre of power existed on its flank in Rajputana.
[33] The Mughals had already established domination over parts of northern Rajputana
in Mewar, Ajmer, and Nagor.[27][31] Now, however, Akbar was determined to drive into the
heartlands of the Rajput kings that had never previously submitted to the Muslim rulers of
the Delhi Sultanate. Beginning in 1561, the Mughals actively engaged the Rajputs in warfare and
diplomacy.[32] Most Rajput states accepted Akbar's suzerainty; the ruler of Mewar, Udai Singh,
however, remained outside the imperial fold.[31] Raja Udai Singh was descended from the
Sisodia ruler, Rana Sanga, who had died fighting Babur at the Battle of Khanwa in 1527.[31] As
the head of the Sisodia clan, he possessed the highest ritual status of all the Rajput kings and
chieftains in India. Unless Udai Singh was reduced to submission, the imperial authority of the
Mughals would be lessened in Rajput eyes.[31] Furthermore, Akbar, at this early period, was still
enthusiastically devoted to the cause of Islam and sought to impress the superiority of his faith
over the most prestigious warriors in Brahminical Hinduism.[31]
In 1567, Akbar moved to reduce the Chittorgarh Fort in Mewar. The fortress-capital of Mewar
was of great strategic importance as it lay on the shortest route from Agra toGujarat and was also
considered a key to holding the interior parts of Rajputana. Udai Singh retired to the hills of
Mewar, leaving two Rajput warriors, Jaimal and Patta, in charge of the defense of his capital.
[34] Chittorgarh fell on February 1568 after a siege of four months. Akbar had the surviving
defenders massacred and their heads displayed upon towers erected throughout the region, in
order to demonstrate his authority.[35][36] The total loot that fell into the hands of the Mughals
was distributed throughout the empire.[37] He remained in Chittorgarh for three days, then
returned to Agra, where to commemorate the victory, he set up, at the gates of his fort, statues of
22

Jaimal and Patta mounted on elephants.[38] Udai Singh's power and influence was broken. He
never again ventured out his mountain refuge in Mewar and Akbar was content to let him be.[39]
The fall of Chittorgarh was followed up by a Mughal attack on the Ranthambore Fort in 1568.
Ranthambore was held by theHada Rajputs and reputed to be the most powerful fortress in India.
[39] However, it fell only after a couple of months.[39]Akbar was now the master of almost the
whole of Rajputana. Most of the Rajput kings had submitted to the Mughals.[39] Only the clans
of Mewar continued to resist.[39] Udai Singh's son and successor, Pratap Singh, was later
defeated by the Mughals at the Battle of Haldighati in 1576.[39] He spent the remainder of his
life in exile in the Aravalli hills. Akbar would celebrate his conquest of Rajputana by laying the
foundation of a new capital, 23 miles (37 km) W.S.W of Agra in 1569. It was calledFatehpur
Sikri ("the city of victory").[40]

Annexation of Western and Eastern India

Akbar's next military objectives were the conquest of Gujarat and Bengal, which connected India
with the trading centres of Asia, Africa, and Europe through the Arabian Sea and theBay of
Bengal respectively.[39] Furthermore, Gujarat had been a haven for rebellious Mughal nobles,
while in Bengal, the Afghans still held considerable influence under their ruler,Sulaiman Khan
Karrani. Akbar first moved against Gujarat, which lay in the crook of the Mughal provinces of
Rajputana and Malwa.[39] Gujarat, with its coastal regions, possessed areas of rich agricultural
production in its central plain; an impressive output of textiles and other industrial goods, and the
busiest seaports of India.[39][41] Akbar intended to link the maritime state with the massive
resources of the Indo-Gangetic plains.[42] However, the ostensible casus belli was that the rebel
Mirzas, who had previously been driven out of India, were now operating out of a base in
southern Gujarat. Morever, Akbar had received invitations from cliques in Gujarat to oust the
reigning king, which served as justification for his military expedition.[39] In 1572, he moved to
occupy Ahmedabad, the capital, and other northern cities, and was proclaimed the lawful
sovereign of Gujarat. By 1573, he had driven out the Mirzas who, after offering token resistance,
fled for refuge in the Deccan. Surat, the commercial capital of the region and other coastal cities
soon capitulated to the Mughals.[39]The king, Muzaffar Shah III, was caught hiding in a corn
field; he was pensioned off by Akbar with a small allowance.[39]
23

Having established his authority over Gujarat, Akbar returned to Fatephur Sikiri, where he built
the Buland Darwaza to commemorate his victories, but a rebellion by Afghan nobles supported
by the Rajput ruler ofIdar, and the renewed intrigues of the Mirzas forced his return to Gujarat.
[42] Akbar crossed the Rajputana and reached Ahmedabad in eleven days - a journey that
normally took six weeks. The outnumbered Mughal army then won a decisive victory on 2
September 1573. Akbar slew the rebel leaders and erected a tower out of their severed heads.
[39] The conquest and subjugation of Gujarat proved highly profitable for the Mughals; the
territory yielded a revenue of more than five million rupees annually to Akbar's treasury, after
expenses.[39]
Akbar had now defeated most of the Afghan remnants in India. The only centre of Afghan power
was now in Bengal, where Sulaiman Khan Karrani, an Afghan chieftain whose family had served
under Sher Shah Suri, was reigning in power. While Sulaiman Khan scrupulously avoided giving
offence to Akbar, his son, Daud Khan, who had succeeded him in 1572, decided otherwise.
[43] Whereas Sulaiman Khan had the khutba read in Akbar's name and acknowledged Mughal
supremacy, Daud Khan assumed the insignia of royalty and ordered the khutba to be proclaimed
in his own name in defiance of Akbar. Munim Khan, the Mughal governor of Bihar, was ordered
to chastise Duad Khan, but later, Akbar himself set out to Bengal.[43] This was an opportunity to
bring the trade in the east under Mughal control.[44] In 1574, the Mughals seized Patna from
Daud Khan, who fled to Bengal.[43] Akbar returned to Fatehpur Sikri and left his generals to
finish the campaign. The Mughal army was subsequently victorious at the Battle of Tukaroi in
1575, which led to the annexation of Bengal and parts of Bihar that had been under the dominion
of Daud Khan. Only Orissa was left in the hands of the Karrani dynasty as a fief of the Mughal
Empire. A year later, however, Daud Khan rebelled and attempted to regain Bengal. He was
defeated by the Mughal general, Khan Jahan Quli, and had to flee into exile. Daud Khan was
later captured and executed by Mughal forces. His severed head was sent to Akbar, while his
limbs were gibetted at Tandah, the Mughal capital in Bengal.[43]

Campaigns in Afghanistan and Central Asia:

Following his

conquests of Gujarat and Bengal, Akbar was preoccupied with domestic

concerns. He did not leave Fatehpur Sikri on a military campaign until 1581,
when the Punjab was again invaded by his brother, Mirza Muhammad Hakim.
24

[43]Akbar expelled his brother to Kabul and this time pressed on, determined
to end the threat from Muhammad Hakim once and for all.[43] In contrast to
the problem that his predecessors once had in getting Mughal nobles to stay
on in India, the problem now was to get them to leave India.[43] They were,
according to Abul Fazl "afraid of the cold of Afghanistan."[43] The Hindu
officers, in turn, were additionally inhibited by the traditional taboo against
crossing the Indus. Akbar, however, spurred them on. The soldiers were
provided with pay eight months in advance.[43] In August 1581, Akbar
seized Kabul and took up residence at Babur's old citadel. He stayed there
for three weeks, in the absence of his brother, who had fled into the
mountains.[43] Akbar left Kabul in the hands of his sister, Bakht-un-Nisa
Begum, and returned to India. He pardoned his brother, who took up de facto
charge of the Mughal administration in Kabul; Bakht-un-Nis continued to be
the official governor. A few years later, in 1585, Muhammad Hakim died and
Kabul passed into the hands of Akbar once again. It was officially
incorporated as a province of the Mughal Empire.[43]
The Kabul expedition was the beginning of a long period of activity over the northern frontiers
of the empire.[45] For thirteen years, beginning in 1585, Akbar remained in the north, shifting
his capital to Lahore in the Punjab while dealing with challenges from beyond the Khyber Pass.
[45] The gravest threat came from the Uzbeks, the tribe that had driven his grandfather, Babur,
out of Central Asia.[43] They had been organized under Abdullah Khan Shaybanid, a capable
military chieftain who had seized Badakhshan and Balkh from Akbar's distant Timurid relatives,
and whose Uzbek troops now posed a serious challenge to the northwestern frontiers of the
Mughal Empire.[43][46] The Afghan tribes on the border were also restless, partly on account of
the hostility of the Yusufzai of Bajaur and Swat, and partly owing to the activity of a new
religious leader, Bayazid, the founder of the Roshaniyya sect.[45] The Uzbeks were also known
to be subsidizing Afghans.[47]
In 1586, Akbar negotiated a pact with Abdullah Khan in which the Mughals agreed to remain
neutral during the Uzbek invasion of Safavid held Khorasan.[47] In return, Abdullah Khan
agreed to refrain from supporting, subsidizing, or offering refuge to the Afghan tribes hostile to
25

the Mughals. Thus freed, Akbar began a series of campaigns to pacify the Yusufzais and other
rebels.[47] Akbar ordered Zain Khan to lead an expedition against the Afghan tribes. Raja
Birbal, a renowned minister in Akbar's court, was also given military command. The expedition
turned out to be a disaster, and on its retreat from the mountains, Birbal and his entourage were
ambushed and killed by the Afghans at the Malandarai Pass in February 1586.[47] Akbar
immediately fielded new armies to reinvade the Yusufzai lands under the command of Raja
Todar Mal. Over the next six years, the Mughals contained the Yusufzai in the mountain valleys,
and forced the submission of many chiefs in Swat and Bajaur.[47] Dozens of forts were built and
occupied to secure the region. Akbar's response demonstrated his ability to clamp firm military
control over the Afghan tribes.[47]
Despite his pact with the Uzbeks, Akbar nurtured a secret hope of reconquering Central Asia
from Afghanistan.[48] However, Badakshan and Balkh remained firmly part of the Uzbek
dominions. There was only a transient occupation of the two provinces by the Mughals under his
grandson, Shah Jahan, in the mid-17th century.[46] Nevertheless, Akbar's stay in the northern
frontiers was highly fruitful. The last of the rebellious Afghan tribes were subdued by 1600.
[46] The Roshaniyya movement was firmly suppressed. The Afridi and Orakzai tribes, which
had risen up under the Roshaniyyas, had been subjugated.[46] The leaders of the movement were
captured and driven into exile.[46] Jalaluddin, the son of the Roshaniyya movement's founder,
Bayazid, was killed in 1601 in a fight with Mughal troops near Ghazni.[46] Mughal rule over
Afghanistan was finally secure, particularly after the passing of the Uzbek threat with the death
of Abdullah Khan in 1598.[47]

Conquests in the Indus Valley:

While in Lahore dealing with the

Uzbeks, Akbar had sought to subjugate the Indus valley to secure the frontier
provinces.[47] He sent an army to conquer Kashmir in the upper Indus basin
when, in 1585, Ali Shah, the reigning king of the Shia Chak dynasty, refused
to send his son as a hostage to the Mughal court. Ali Shah surrendered
immediately to the Mughals, but another of his sons, Yaqub, crowned himself
as king, and led a stubborn resistance to Mughal armies. Finally, in June,
1589, Akbar himself travelled from Lahore to Srinagar to receive the

26

surrender of Yaqub and his rebel forces.[47] Baltistan and Ladakh, which
were Tibetan provinces adjacent to Kashmir, pledged their allegiance to
Akbar.[49] The Mughals also moved to conquer Sindh in the lower Indus
valley. Since 1574, the northern fortress ofBhakkar had remained under
imperial control. Now, in 1586, the Mughal governor of Multan tried and
failed to secure the capitulation of Mirza Jani Beg, the independent ruler
of Thattain southern Sindh.[47] Akbar responded by sending a Mughal army
to besiege Sehwan, the river capital of the region. Jani Beg mustered a large
army to meet the Mughals.[47] The outnumbered Mughal forces defeated the
Sindhi forces at the Battle of Sehwan. After suffering further defeats, Jani Beg
surrendered to the Mughals in 1591, and in 1593, paid homage to Akbar in
Lahore.[49]

Subjugation

of

Baluchistan.

As

early

as

1586,

about

half

dozen Baluchi chiefs had been persuaded to attend the imperial court and
acknowledge the vassalage of Akbar. In preparations to take Kandahar from
the Safavids, Akbar ordered the Mughal forces to conquer the rest
of Baluchistan in 1595.[49][50] The Mughal general, Mir Masum, led an
attack on the stronghold of Sibi, situated to the northwest of Quetta and
defeated a coalition of local chieftains in a pitched battle.[50] They were
made to acknowledge Mughal supremacy and attend Akbar's court. As a
result, the whole of Baluchistan, including the strategic region of Makran, the
coastal strip running from India to Iran, became a part of the Mughal Empire.
[50] The Mughals now frontiered Persian ruled Kandahar from three sides.
[50]

Safavids and Kandahar: Kandahar was the name given by Arab historians
to the ancient Indian kingdom of Gandhara.[51] It was intimately connected
with the Mughals since the time of their ancestor, Timur, the warlord who
had conquered much of South, Central, and Western Asia in the 14th century.
However, the Safavids considered it as an appanage of the Persian ruled
27

territory ofKhorasan and declared its association with the Mughal emperors
to be a usurpation. In 1558, while Akbar was consolidating his rule over
northern India, the Safavid emperor, Tahmasp I, had seized Kandahar and
expelled its Mughal governor. For the next thirty years, it remained under
Persian rule.[49] The recovery of Kandahar had not been a priority for Akbar,
but after his prolonged military activity in the northern frontiers, a move to
restore Mughal rule over the region became desirable.[49] The conquests of
Sindh, Kashmir and Baluchisan, and the ongoing consolidation of Mughal
power over Afghanistan had added to Akbar's confidence.[49] Furthermore,
Kandahar was at this time under threat from the Uzbeks, but the Emperor of
Persia, himself beleaguered by the Ottoman Turks, was unable to send any
reinforcements. Circumstances favoured the Mughals.[49]
In 1593, Akbar received the exiled Safavid prince, Rostam Mirza, after he had quarrelled with
his family.[52] Rostam Mirza pledged allegiance to the Mughals; he was granted a rank
(mansab) of commander of 5000 men and received Multan as a jagir.[52] Beleaguered by
constant Uzbek raids, and seeing the reception of Rostom Mirza at the Mughal court, the Safavid
prince and governor of Kandahar, Mozaffar Hosayn, also agreed to defect to the Mughals.
Mozaffar Hosayn, who was in any case in an adversary relationship with his overlord, Shah
Abbas, was granted a rank of 5000 men, and his daughterKandahari Begum was married to
Akbar's grandson, the Mughal prince, Khurram.[49][52] Kandahar was finally secured in 1595
with the arrival of a garrison headed by the Mughal general, Shah Bayg Khan.[52] The
reconquest of Kandahar did not overtly disturb the Mughal-Persian relationship.[49] Akbar and
the Persian Shah continued to exchange ambassadors and presents. However, the power equation
between the two had now changed in favour of the Mughals.[49] Akbar had built a large and
secure empire for himself, while Persian power had declined.

Administration:
Introduction
A simple military victory is like erecting an edifice without a foundation. Such a structure
28

collapses with the first blow. Military forces under Baburs command did succeed in achieving
significant victories, first against the most prominent political power in north India under the
Lodis, followed by others. Yet he could find no time for organizing administrative structures or
institutions to consolidate the gains. Humayun struggled and failed to hold this structure.
However, the Mughal forces regrouped themselves, and with the assistance provided by the
Safavid ruler of Persia, they recaptured the Delhi throne in July 1555. Accidental death of
Humayun within a few months of this success did not allow him any time for the designing and
development of political institutions or administrative structures suitable for resource
mobilisation and evolution of a cohesive social structure, if he at all had any such plan. His
successor, Akbar was only about fourteen years old when he was entrusted with works for which
he was yet not adequately prepared and trained, that too in somewhat an alien land. But within
four-five years time he appears to have acquired remarkable maturity. Gradually he not only
extracted himself from endless intrigues of his nobility but also initiated steps towards
maximisation of resource potential and a standardised distribution mechanism for the officials of
the state. Simultaneously, he worked towards securing territorial integrity and organising nobility
that was fully under his command and represented cohesiveness amidst heterogeneous social
structure. To achieve these multifarious objectives he successfully carried out measures that
constituted

his

administrative

system

and

institutions. The accidental death of Humayun placed Akbar on quite an insecure throne at a
tender age (born in October 1542, accession in February 1556). Around next four years were
spent under an over-arching personality of Bairam Khan. This period was witness to
contestations between different groups of kinsmen of Turani background for control over greater
share of revenue from large contiguous areas, possibly for carving out an independent
principality at some future date.

Removal of Bairam Khan

Removal of Bairam Khan, as wakil-us saltanate, and appointment of Munim Khan(September
1560November 1561) in his place had apparently made no visible improvement in the
administration or income of the state. Rather, the situation had worsened. Around November
1561 Akbar revied upon Shamsuddin Atka and entrusted him with certain responsibilities. Soon
it was followed by his formal appointment as wakil-us saltanate (November 1561June 1562).
29

From this time onwards some clarity of thought and approach towards governance comes into
view. Such persons who had established their reputation as professional in approach and
competent in their work were appointed in the revenue department irrespective of their past
association with discredited nobles or officials. The revenue department initiated scrutiny of
records to ascertain the value of nobles land assignments (jagirs). Apparently some corrective
steps were also initiated, leading to resentment.

Execution of Adham Khan

Added to this, the recall of Adham Khan from Malwa at this juncture precipitated the matter.
Adham Khan who could not hold himself any longer engineered the assassination of Shamsuddin
Atka (June, 1562) while the latter was in his office. Without loss of any time Adham Khan was
executed at the express orders of Akbar. Munim Khan and Shihabuddin Ahmed Khan fled from
Agra. It clearly demonstrated that Akbar would not hesitate to take severest action against any
person, even if that person was considered to be close to the ruler and thereby above law, if he
interfered in discharge of duties assigned by the ruler.

New Hierarchical Order/The Mansab System

(MANSABDARI SYSTEMM OF MUGHALS)
Mughal mansabdari system was modeled on the Mongol yassa(decrees of Chengiz Khan). The
Mongol tribes were led by Khans (chiefs). The Mongol aristocracy was based on heredity and
noble birth and the council which elected the chiefs was composed of the direct descendants of
Chengiz. These nobles were commanders of men (Ulus-tribal units) and they obtained tribute
from the territories for sustenance and were not a permanent landed aristocracy since the
assigned territories held by them could be transferred.
Akbar had inherited a system in which there does not appear to be much clarity on the hierarchy
of the Mughal nobles and the size and salary at which they maintained armed contingents under
their command. Remuneration and expenditure on these two entailed huge financial liability on
the State. Right from the time of the establishment of the Sultanate, payments for these two were
made through alienation of state revenue from assigned territory to individuals. The Mughals too
followed

the

same

practice.

Arrangement
30

appears

to

have

been

very

flexible.

In 1573-4 an innovative scheme was introduced that streamlined the position of the nobles in the
state hierarchy. The arrangement was called mansab system. Under the mansab system ranks
were expressed in numerical terms. The Ain-i Akbari has listed 66 ranks, though in practice only
33 were utilized. The entire hierarchical ordering of the state officials, irrespective of office and
their work, was covered under the scheme, starting with the lowest rank of 10 reaching the
highest of 5,000. Above 5,000 and up to 7,000 were reserved for the princes of royal blood.
Though reference about numerical ranks from earlier times could be found, nothing was as
elaborate and comparable to the Mughal mansab system.
Abul Fazl points out in the Ain
For this cause( to help him) did His Majesty establish the ranks(mansabs) of mansabdars from
the
dahbashi
(commander
of
ten)
to
the
dahhazari (commander of ten thousand), limiting however, all commands above five thousand to
his august sons.. The number of mansabs is sixtysix ,the same as the value of letters in the
name of Allah which is an announcement of the eternal bliss ..
During the Sultanate period ranking was expressed by designations that were separate for the
military and civil personnel; lower rank commanders along with their contingents were integral
to the contingent of a higher ranked commander. Under the Mughals, each mansabdar (holder of
a rank) maintained sanctioned strength of contingent and account for it and each was paid
separately in accordance with the schedule of pay. By now the earlier three rates of payment
fixed (1566-67) for the contingents were abolished and each member of the contingent,
irrespective of his being part of a higher ranked mansabdar or a lower mansabdar, received the
same salary, fixed at 8,000 dams per annum (per unit of sawar rank). To strictly ensure that the
mansabdars properly maintained the sanctioned size of their contingents they were required to
regularly bring their contingents, with the equipage, for inspection. The office of bakshi
maintained descriptive rolls (tashih) of individual trooper and separate branding mark (dagh) for
the war and transport animals of each mansabdar. Badauni informs us how many masabdars
cheated the exchequer by hiring untrained persons at the time of inspection and disbanding them
once the inspection was over. Till about the 40th regnal year only one rank was used for the
mansab

which

suggests

that

rank

and

size

of

contingent

were

the

same.

The fraudulent practices noted by Badauni were perhaps also noticed by the Mughal
administration. As a remedial step from the 40th regnal year onwards mansabs were expressed in
31

dual terms, zat and sawar. While zat denoted the personal rank of an official, sawar indicated the
sizes of contingents maintained by the mansabdars. Depending on the strength of the contingents
mansabdars were placed in three categories:

In the first, zat and sawar ranks were equal;

in the second sawar rank was lower than the zat but stopped at half, or fifty percent,

of the zat rank;

under the third sawar rank was lower than fifty per cent of the zat rank. Salary for the

zat rank varied accordingly.

The schedule of pay for the mansabdars given in the Ain-i Akbari was obviously redrawn after
these changes were introduced. The schedule of pay in the Ain also lists size of stables,
specifying species and numbers of war and transport animals, to be maintained by the
mansabdars. The expenditure on the maintenance of these was borne out by the mansabdars out
of their zat salary.Though it cost about twenty five percent of the zat salary, the balance left with
the mansabdars was still very substantial by any standard. The overall assignments given to
mansabdars, around the year 1600, out of the total revenue of the Mughal empire is estimated at
around

seventy

five

per

cent.

The obligations of the mansabdars underwent changes during the time of successors of Akbar.
Jahangir had introduced a new provision in the sawar rank. According to it a part of sawar rank
was termed du-aspa sih-aspa (currently written in its short form as 2-3h) in case of select
mansabdars. For this part additional payment at the same rate of 8,000 dams per sawar was
sanctioned. Thus, if the sawar rank was 4,000 out of which 1,000 was du-aspa sih-aspa, salary
for this rank was calculated as 3,000 x 8,000 + (1,000 x 8,000 x 2) = 40,000,000 dams. Without
du-aspa sih-aspa, salary for the same 4,000 sawar would have stood at (4,000 x 8,000)
32,000,000 dams only. The debilitation is more visible during the time of Shahjahan. The
numbers of du-aspa sih-aspa awards are on a much larger scale. In addition, a still more serious
step taken was, what could be termed as, the Rule of Proportion. The mansabdars were allowed
to maintain 1/5, to 1/3 of the sanctioned strength of the sawar rank without any accompanying
reduction in their claim on the maintenance amount for the sawar rank. While Aurangzeb
continued with all these changes, an additional rank, called mashrut (conditional), was affixed.
Apparently due to the Rule of Proportion the size of contingent available with a mansabdar was,
at times, not considered adequate. Therefore, on appointment to qiladar or faujdar like positions
32

the concerned official was given mashrut rank. It was withdrawn on removal from the office.

Holders of Du-aspa sih-aspa ranks during Jahangirs reign

Total

holders

of

du-aspa

sih-aspa

ranks

10th

year

of

the

Reign

191

12

20th

year

of

the

Reign

219

23

30th year of the Reign 253 25

( The Mughal Nobility Under Aurangzeb, M. Athar Ali.)
Mansabdari and Jagirdari systems explain the organisation of the Mughal nobility. Mansabdars
receive their pay either in cash or in the forms of Jagirs. However most of them were jagirdars.
They raised the revenue from their jagirs and imperial officials were appointed to keep a check
over them. It seems that zat rank was generally always higher than the sawar rank In the Mughal
system the main distinction was not between civil and military as Athar Ali points out . there
was no division between civil and military services as such. The main dividing line was between
the

executive

and

financial

duties

i.e

Subedar

and

Diwan, Amil

and

Faujdar.

REORGANISING ADMINISTRATION
By the year 1582 Akbar had not only developed two major tiers of governance, central,
provincial and local, he had also given shape to various administrative offices for ensuring
efficient and effective working of the state both at the central as well as provincial levels. In the
division of authority proper safeguards were provided to ensure that supreme power would be
vested in the ruler.

Central Administration
separation

of

revenue

department

from

the

control

of

the

wakil.

The office of wakil-us Saltanate had become most powerful during the period of Bairam Khans
regency, enjoining both the important functions of administrative and revenue departments. The
arrangements continued for another two years when Munim Khan and Shamsuddin Muhammad
Atka were elevated to this position one after the other. However, after the assassination of
Shamsuddin Atka, Munim Khan also came under suspicion for the conspiracy, Akbar took
advantage of the situation and drastically curtailed the powers of the wakil. Munim Khan was
reappointed as wakil without the revenue department. It was not before long that while the office
of the wakil lost all all lustre, the office of diwani (revenue department), successively under the
33

supervision of meritorious professional hands, emerged as one of the most important and
powerful departments. However the emperor was the supreme head of the administration and the
fountainhead of all powers. All the important appointments were made by the emperor.

Office of the Bakshi

Another important office at the centre was that of bakshi. The bakshi was responsible for keeping
strict watch over proper maintenance of the sanctioned size of armed contingents and war
equipage by the mansabdars.

Restrictions on the authority of a sadr

The office of sadr had become very lucrative during the first twenty-five years of Akbars reign.
In the eyes of a contemporary, the largess squandered by this office, from about 1556 till around
the middle of the 1570s, was far larger than the total value of earlier three hundred years. In a
way this office had started to become another power centre. However, the promulgation of
mahzar (declaration according to which in case of conflicting views on religion Akbars view
would

prevail)

in

1580

ended

their

domination

in

matters of religion. It was followed by severe restrictions on the authority of a sadr for award of
revenue-free grants etc.

Provincial and Local Administration

The Mughal empire was divided into twelve subas or provinces by Akbar in 1582. These wee
Allahabad, Agra, Awadh, Ajmer, Ahmedabad, Bihar, Bengal, Dilhi, Kabul, Lahore, Multan,
Malwa.
Later on three more added after the conquest of Deccan. These were Ahmednagar, Khandesh and
Berar. Subedar, diwan, bakhshi, miradl (qazi), sadr, kotwal, mirbahr (incharge of port duties,
customs etc.) and waqianavis were the key officials of suba.

Subedar
The subedar(governor or sipahsalar) was the head of the suba administration. The governor was
entrusted with wide range of powers relating to provincial administration. In 1586-87 as a part of
new experiment two governors were appointed in each suba. According to Abul Fazl in the case
of inability of one the other could take his place. But the experiment was abandoned after
sometime.
At provincial levels, separation and independence of authority of important officials was strictly
enforced. Each province was provided with an administrative head, who was initially called
34

Sipahsalar. Hakim, Nazim and Subedar were other designations. During course of time Subedar
became a more common title used for this office. He, however, had no jurisdiction over the
revenue department.

Diwan
Next in importance was the diwan. Like the central diwan (diwan-i kul) provincial diwan was incharge of all matters relating to revenue affairs. The diwan had under him a number of
subordinate and local officials, such as amin, qanungo, chaudhari and muqqddam who assisted
him in the revenue administration of the parganas and villages. He directly reported to the diwani kul (central diwan). This position of diwan in the suba independent of the governor, sometimes
created administrative problems. In case the diwan and governor of the suba did not work in
harmony, the administration suffered.
However, this

separation

prevented

the governor

from becoming very powerful.

Bakshi
Another suba level official was bakshi who carriedout the task assigned by Mir Bakshi, or central
bakshi.

Sadr
The representative of the central sadr (Sadr us Sadr) at the provincial level was called sadr. He
was

responsible

for

the

welfare

of

those

engaged

in

religious

activities and learning. As he was considered a learned person he was entrusted with the work of
judiciary and in that capacity supervised the work of qazis appointed at lower level
administrative divisions.

Faujdars
In every suba a number of faujdars were appointed. From the sources it does not appear very
clear whether under normal circumstances faujdari jurisdiction corresponded to a sarkars
territorial jurisdiction. There are instances when a faujdar was appointed to supervise over two
adjoining sarkars even if these belonged to two different subas. they were, sometimes, also
appointed over areas covering a number of parganas within a sarkar. They were not only
responsible to maintain law and order; they also assisted in the timely collection of revenue from
their jurisdictions. They were assisted by the amalguzar in performing the task of revenue
administration. Faujdari was an administrative division whereas sarkar was a territorial and
revenue division. Faujdars were appointed by imperial order.
35

Amin Kotwals, qanungos, amils, shiqdar

Penetration of the state authority reached to the lowest level of administrative units through
various other officials, like the kotwals (incharge of law and order) who were appointed mainly
in towns by the imperial government, qanungos, amils (revenue) etc. Even the services of the
zamindars were utilized for the maintenance of law and order in their areas as well as in the
collection of revenue. The shiqdar was responsible for the maintenance of law and order,
administration of criminal justice and general administration of pargana. In Akbars period the
office of Amin (dealt with religious grants) and sadar were combined. In the 17th century amin
was placed under the provincial diwan as revenue assessment officer.
The important officers of the province were appointed by imperial order. These were governor,
diwan, sadr, qazi, bakshi and muhtasib. The subordinate officers in the diwani were also
appointed by imperial order viz. daroga (superintendent of office), mushrif (head clerk),
tahvildar-i-daftarkhana (treasurer of office). The waqianavis were posted in the provinces and
kept the emperor informed of the happenings there.

Conclusion
Seen in its totality it comes out very clearly that Akbar undertook the onerous task of building an
empire by engaging competent and experienced persons from various areas of specilisation to
frame and execute innovative systems of governance. When needed, he did not hesitate to adopt
measures initiated by earlier rulers. He, however, fine-tuned them through long surveys and
deliberations to make them acceptable, transparent and effective instruments of administration.
Thus, without resorting to coercive methods, he maximised the resource potential of the state.
These were implemented, through a transparent hierarchical machinery, to organise a distinctly
subordinate and cohesive nobility out of heterogeneous social groups to supervise and maintain
the territorial integrity of the Mughal state. However, his successors do not seem to have had
either his caliber or foresight. They did not to challenge the root cause and instead took recourse
to such measures that at best could provide temporary relief to the ailing systems of governance.
Din-e-Elahi
The Dn-i Ilh (Persian:

lit. "Religion of God")[1][2] was a syncretic religion propounded

by the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great in 1582 AD, intending to merge the best elements of the
religions of his empire, and thereby reconcile the differences that divided his subjects.[2] The
36

elements were primarily drawn from Islamand Hinduism, but some others were also taken
from Christianity, Jainism andZoroastrianism.
Akbar promoted tolerance of other faiths. In fact, not only did he tolerate them, he encouraged
debate on philosophical and religious issues. This led to the creation of the Ibdat Khna ("House
of Worship") at Fatehpur Sikri in 1575. He had already repealed the Jizya (tax on non-Muslims)
in 1568. A religious experience while hunting in 1578 further increased his interest in the
religious traditions of his empire.[3]
From the discussions he led at the Ibdat Khna, Akbar concluded that no single religion could
claim the monopoly of truth. This inspired him to create the Dn-i Ilhin 1582. Various pious
Muslims, among them the Qadi of Bengal and the seminalSufi personality Shaykh Ahmad
Sirhindi, responded by declaring this to beblasphemy to Islam.
Dn-i Ilh appears to have survived Akbar according to the Dabestn-e Mazheb ofMubad
Shah (Mohsin Fani). However, the movement never numbered more than 19 adherents.[4]
Din-i-Ilahi prohibits lust, sensuality, slander and pride, considering them sins. Piety, prudence,
abstinence and kindness are the core virtues. The soul is encouraged to purify itself through
yearning of God.[2]Celibacy is respected and the slaughter of animals is forbidden. There are
neither sacred scriptures nor a priestly hierarchy in this religion.[5] He increased the marriage
minimum age for boys to 16 and girls to 14.
Akbar was deeply interested in religious and philosophical matters. An orthodox Muslim at the
outset, he later came to be influenced by Sufi mysticism that was being preached in the country
at that time, and moved away from orthodoxy, appointing to his court several talented people
with liberal ideas, including Abul Fazl, Faizi and Birbal. In 1575, he built a hall called the Ibadat
Khana ("House of Worship") at Fatehpur Sikri, to which he invited theologians, mystics and
selected courtiers renowned for their intellectual achievements and discussed matters
of spirituality with them.[116] These discussions, initially restricted to Muslims, were
acrimonious and resulted in the participants shouting at and abusing each other. Upset by this,
Akbar opened the Ibadat Khana to people of all religions as well as atheists, resulting in the
scope of the discussions broadening and extending even into areas such as the validity of
37

the Quran and the nature of God. This shocked the orthodox theologians, who sought to discredit
Akbar by circulating rumours of his desire to forsake Islam.[123]
Akbar's effort to evolve a meeting point among the representatives of various religions was not
very successful, as each of them attempted to assert the superiority of their respective religions
by denouncing other religions. Meanwhile, the debates at the Ibadat Khana grew more
acrimonious and, contrary to their purpose of leading to a better understanding among religions,
instead led to greater bitterness among them, resulting to the discontinuance of the debates by
Akbar in 1582.[128] However, his interaction with various religious theologians had convinced
him that despite their differences, all religions had several good practices, which he sought to
combine into a new religious movement known as Din-i-Ilahi.[129][130] However, some
modern scholars claim that Akbar did not initiate a new religion and did not use the word Din-iIlahi.[131] According to the contemporary events in the Mughal court Akbar was indeed angered
by the acts of embezzlement of wealth by many high level Muslim clerics.[132]
The purported Din-i-Ilahi was more of an ethical system and is said to have prohibited lust,
sensuality, slander and pride, considering them sins. Piety, prudence, abstinence and kindness are
the core virtues. The soul is encouraged to purify itself through yearning of God.[133] Celibacy
was respected, chastity enforced, the slaughter of animals was forbidden and there were no
sacred scriptures or a priestly hierarchy.[134] However, a leading Noble of Akbar's court, Aziz
Koka, wrote a letter to him from Mecca in 1594 arguing that the discipleship promoted by Akbar
amounted to nothing more than a desire on Akbar's part to portray his superiority regarding
religious

matters.[135] To

commemorate

Din-e-Ilahi,

he

changed

the

name

ofPrayag to Allahabad (pronounced as ilahabad) in 1583.[136][137]

It has been argued that the theory of Din-i-Ilahi being a new religion was a misconception which
arose due to erroneous translations of Abul Fazl's work by later British historians.[138] However,
it is also accepted that the policy of sulh-e-kul, which formed the essence of Din-i-Ilahi, was
adopted by Akbar not merely for religious purposes, but as a part of general imperial
administrative policy. This also formed the basis for Akbar's policy of religious toleration.
[139] At the time of Akbar's death in 1605 there were no signs of discontent amongst his Muslim

38

subjects and the impression of even a theologian like Abdu'l Haq was that close ties remained.
[140]

New Article on Deen-e-Elahi

Akbars Newly Created Brand New Religion Din-I-Ilahi (The Divine

Faith):He invented his newly created own concept which was associated with "rulership as being a
divine illumination, which was reflected and also enshrined in his brand-new religion Din-i-Ilahi
(The Divine Faith), he purely created this theory by accepting the teachings of all the Religions
such Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. He was encouraged the remarriage of the
women which had lost their Husbands. At his time in Hindustan there was a custom of marriage
in a small age. Child marriages were harmful for both Females and Males. It also affects their
family lives. Therefore, he strongly discouraged the marriages of small children. The custom of
sati was also strongly discouraged by Akbar and he encouraged satis remarriage. He also
persuaded Delhi vendors to set up special market place days to weeks for females, which
normally had been quiet in the house.
At the end of the his rule, this Mongol Empire expanded to the north India perhaps to the south
on the Narmada water. Well known exclusions had been Gondwana with central Indian, which in
turn paid for honor towards Mughals, Assam within the northeast, and also huge aspects of this
Deccan. The area to the south on the Godavari water conquered totally from the ambit on the
Mongols. In the era of 1600s, the Akbar's Empire was becoming the great empire had the income
more than 17 million.
Death
On 3 October 1605, Akbar fell ill with an attack ofdysentery, from which he never recovered. He
is believed to have died on or about 27 October 1605, after which his body was buried at a
mausoleum inSikandra, Agra.[162]

39

Seventy-six years later, in 1691, a group of austereHindu rebels known as the Jats, rebelling
against the Mughal Empire robbed thegold, silver and fine carpets within the tomb, desecrated
Akbar's mausoleum.

Legacy
Akbar left behind a rich legacy both for the Mughal Empire as well as the Indian subcontinent in
general. He firmly entrenched the authority of the Mughal empire in India and beyond, after it
had been threatened by the Afghans during his father's reign,[165] establishing its military and
diplomatic superiority.[166] During his reign, the nature of the state changed to a secular and
liberal one, with emphasis on cultural integration. He also introduced several far-sighted social
reforms, including prohibiting sati, legalising widow remarriage and raising the age of
marriage.Folk tales revolving around him and Birbal, one of his navratnas are popular in India.
Bhavishya Puranais a minor Purana that depicts the various Hindu holy days and includes a
section devoted to the various dynasties which ruled India, having its oldest portion dated to 500
CE and newest to the 18th century. It contains a story about Akbar in which he is compared to
the other Mughal rulers. The section called "Akbar Bahshaha Varnan" written in Sanskrit
describes his birth as a "reincarnation" of a sage who immolated himself on seeing the first
Mughal ruler Babur, who is described as the "cruel king of Mlecchas (Muslims)". In this text it is
stated that Akbar "was a miraculous child" and that he would not follow the previous "violent
ways" of the Mughals.[167][168]
Citing Akbar's melding of the disparate 'fiefdoms' of India into the Mughal Empire as well as the
lasting legacy of "pluralism and tolerance" that "underlies the values of the modern republic of
India", Time magazine included his name in its list of top 25 world leaders.

In Short Akber King

Unlike Babur or Humayun, Akbar had both the time and the resources to build on a monumental
scale. Most of the monuments were constructed in or near Agra rather than in Delhi, Hambly
writes. Akbar did not have great affection for Delhi, although most important Mughal structures
40

had been built there. For Akbar, Delhi must have been a city of unhappy memories -- the scene
of his father's death and his own narrow escape from an assassination attempt. the principal
landmarks in Delhi -- the Purana Qala, the city walls and gateways -- commemorated the
greatness of Sheir Shah whom Akbar considered as the usurper of his father's kingdom. Since
Delhi was the capital of both the Lodi Sultanate and the Sher Shah Sur dynasty, the city was
always restless and hostile to the Mughals. In light of these circumstances, Akbar must have
found Agra a more attractive residence.Akbar initially ruled from Delhi, but two years later he
moved to Agra. The city was renamed Akbarabad in his honor and became the greatest city in the
empire. The main part of the city lay on the west bank of the Yamuna and was provided with a
drainage system to control the flow of rainwater.
Akbar was not a a drunkard like his grandfather nor clumsy like his fatherhe became a wise
and strong administratorhe reconciled with the Hindus in the kingdom, preaching tolerance
he encouraged intermarriage between Hindus and Muslimsabolished the jizya
promotedHindus into high ranking positions in governmentcreated a new religion, Din-i-Ilahi,
a combination of Islam and Hinduism.
Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar (

Jall ud-Dn Muhammad Akbar), also known

as Akbar the Great (November 23, 1542 October 27, 1605) was the third Mughal
Emperor of India/Hindustan. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Humayun, and the
grandson of Babur who founded the dynasty. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal empire
covered most of Northern India.Akbar was only thirteen when his father died of an unfortunate
accident in the palace at Delhi.
Akbar "The Great" was one of the greatest rulers in Indian history. He was born when Humayun
and his first wife, Hamida Bano, were fugitives escaping towards Iran. It was during these
wanderings that Akbar was born in Umerkot, Sindh, on November 23, 1542. Legend has it that
Humayun prophesied a bright future for his son, and thus accordingly, named him Akbar.
Akbar was raised in the rugged country of Afghanistan rather than amongst the splendor of the
Delhi court. He spent his youth learning to hunt, run, and fight and never found time to read or
write. He was the only great Mughal ruler who was illiterate.
41

Akbar was lucky to have bairam Khan as regent in those early teenage years.During the first
five years of his rule, Akbar was assisted and advised by Bahram Khan in running the affairs of
the country. Bahram Khan was, however, removed and for a few years Akbar ruled under the
influence of his nurse Maham Anga. After 1562, Akbar freed himself from external influences
and ruled supreme.
During his reign, Akbar managed to subdue almost all of India, with the remaining areas
becoming tributary states. Along with his military conquests, he introduced a series of reforms to
consolidate his power. Akbar practiced tolerance aimed at Hindu-Muslim unification through the
introduction of a new religion known as Din-i-Ilahi. He appointed nobles and mansabdars
without any religious prejudice.
His court had numerous scholars of the day who are well known as"Nauratan". Akbar had three
sons Prince Salim, Murad and Daniyal. Prince Murad and Daniyal died in their prime during
their father's lifetime.Akbar faced problems with Prince Salim and the last four years of Akbar's
life were consumed in crushing Salim's rebellion. Akbar fell ill and died of slow poisoning on
October 27, 1605. With him ended the most glorious period in Indian history.Abul Fazal written
akbarnama ..

Akbar Main Achievement in Life Time

1.Panipat second Battle
2.Haldhighati Battle
3. Din-e-ilahi
4.Mansabdari system
5.Zizya Tax

Panipat second Battle

Date

November 5, 1556

Location

Result

Decisive Mughal victory

Belligerents
Mughal Empire

Hindus

Commanders

42

Panipat

Bairam Khan

Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya

Second Battle of Panipat occurred in November 5,1556. Emperor Akbar, who was crowned in
the same year after his father`s death defeatedMuhammad Adil Shah Suri of Suri dynasty and
his Prime minister Hemu (Hemchandra). This defeat of Muhammad Adil Shah and
Hemuinitiated Akbar`s reign. Humayun, the second Mughal emperor died suddenly on 24th
January, 1556 as he slipped from the steps of his library. That time his son Akbar was
only thirteen years old boy.Many Mughal Generals advised Akbar and Bairam Khan to
retreat to Kabul as Mughal forces may not face Hemu's might and new awareness among Hindus
to librate their country, but Bairam Khan decided in favour of war. Akbar's army marched
towards Delhi. On November 5, both armies met at the historic battlefield of Panipat,
where, thirty years earlier, Akbar's grandfather Babur had defeated Ibrahim Lodi in what is
now known as the First Battle of Panipat. The Mughal forces were charged repeatedly by
elephants to break their lines. Hemu was himself commanding his forces from atop an elephant.
It seemed Hemu was on a winning track and Akbar's army will run away. However, Bairam
Khan,the veteran of many a wars and an able general had planned otherwise. With a much
smaller army ,his plan was clear. The warriors of that time, including Hemu wore armour
completely covering their body specially the vulnerable organs except the eyes. After repeated
attempts a stray arrow could find Hemu's eye. Hemu, struck in the eye by an arrow was knocked
down senseless, almost dead in his Ohda on the elephant. Not seeing Hemu in his Ohda, Hemus
army was in disarray and defeated in the ensuing confusion. Almost dead Hemu was captured
by Shah QuliKhan and brought to Akbars tent in the camp located at villageSaudhapur in
Panipat. General Bairam Khan was desirous that Akbar should slay General Hemu himself
and should establish his right to the title of Ghazi (Champion of Faith or war veteran). But
Akbar,who still was a child, refused to strike a dead enemy, just to be called a Ghazi. Bairam
Khan irritated by Akbars scruples beheaded Hemu himself.
The victory of Akbar at the Battle of Panipat in 1556 was the real restoration of the Mughal
Dynasty to Power in India. It took Akbar 8 years to capture the territory which was occupied
by Hemu Vikramaditya. It marked the fulfillment of the destiny of Mughals in India as rulers.

Battle of Haldighati
43

Battle of Haldighati
Part of Mughal conquests
Date
Location
Result
Belligerents

June 21, 1576

Haldighati,Rajasthan,India
Decisive Mughal victory.

Mewar
Mughal Empire
Commanders
Raja Man Singh
Maharana Pratap Singh
Casualties and losses
Low
Very High
The Battle of Haldighati was fought between the Mughal Empire and the forces of Mewar
on June 21, 1576 at Haldighati in Rajasthan,India.It was a decisive victory for the Mughal
Emperor Jalal ud-Din Muhammad Akbar's general Raja Maan Singh against theMaharana
Pratap Singh of Mewar,Haldighati, is a small village in the Aravalli Hills about 44 km north of
Udaipur .Haldighati, Battle of (June 18, 1576), a four-hour confrontation between the Imperial
forces of Mughal Emperor AKBAR and Maharana PRATAP SINGH I (1572-1597) of Mewar.
Despite it being an indecisive battle - an inglorious success of sorts for the Mughals and "a
glorious defeat" for Mewar - it has entered the annals as one of the kingdom's most memorable
episodes.
Raja Man Singh marched with his Mughal forces from Ajmer on April 3, 1576. On June 21, 1576
(June 18 in other texts), the two armies met atHaldighati, near the town of Gogunda in presentday Rajasthan. While accounts vary as to the exact strength of the two armies, all sources concur
that the Mughal forces greatly outnumbered Pratap's men. Thebattle of Haldighati, lasted only
four hours. Both sides fought bravely on the field. Folklore has it that Pratap personally attacked
Man Singh: his horse Chetak placed its front feet on the trunk of Man Singh's elephant and
Pratap threw his lance; Man Singh ducked, and themahout or Elephant rider was killed.
However, the numerical superiority of the Mughal army and their artillery began to tell. Seeing
that the battle was lost, Pratap's generals prevailed upon him to flee the field so as to be able to
fight another day. To facilitate Pratap's escape, one of his lieutenants, a member of the Jhala clan,
donned Pratap's distinctive garments and took his place in the battlefield. He was soon killed.
Meanwhile, riding his trusty steed Chetak, Pratap made good his escape to the hills.Maharana
Pratap's son, Amar Singh, fought 17 wars with the Mughals but he conditionally accepted them
44

as rulers. At this time, a large chunk of Maharana Pratap's band of loyal Rajputs became
disillusioned and left Rajasthan. This group included Rathores, Deora Chauhans, Pariharas,
Tomaras, Kacchwaha and Jhalas. They are called "Rors" and settled mostly in Haryana, with
some in Uttar Pradesh and Pakistan.

Din-i-Ilahi
The Dn-i Ilh (" Divine Faith"), was a syncretic religious doctrine propounded by
the Mughal emperor Jallu d-Dn Muh a mmad Akbar ("Akbar the Great"), who ruled the Indian
subcontinent from 1556 to 1605.
From the discussions he led there in 1575, Akbar concluded that no single religion could claim
the monopoly of truth. This inspired him to create the Dn-i Ilh in 1581. Various Muslim
clerics, among them the Qadi of Bengal and the seminal Sufi personality Shaykh Ahmad
Sirhindi, responded by declaring this to be blasphemy.
Akbar not only tolerated religions other than Islam, he encouraged interfaith discussion and
debate. After listening to many religious scholars from the prominent religions of his empire (i.e.,
Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and, to a lesser extent Jainism, Christianity and Judaism) he
decided that no one faith was entirely and exclusively true; he developed a syncretic religion
which he called Din-i Ilahi, "the Divine Faith" and encouraged his subjects to follow it. It
combined elements primarily from Islam and Hinduism, but also from Zoroastrianism, Jainism
and Christianity. While it never gained a real following, it promoted many universal values found
in these religions, including compassion, piety, abstinence and prudence. It forbade celibacy and
animal slaughter.

THE MANSABDARI SYSTEM

Every official in the Mughal empire, high or low, had a rank or a mansab.Their status, duties, pay
and importance were graded accordingly. Technically, all mansabdars had to maintain a military
contingent for which they were paid. All other officials were paid in cash. During Akbars time
the official bearing a decimal rank of 500 were ranked as a noble
nor umara. But by the end of the seventeenth century the mansabdarswith 1000 rank were
accorded the status of a umara.
45

All mansabdars had dual ranks and they were remunerated on that basis. The successful
regulation of the mansabs and the salary assignment (jagirdari system) can be truly termed as a
Mughal phenomenon
All Mughal officials received a dual rank when they joined the Mughal imperial service. That
was zat (personal salary) and sawar (payment for the military contingent). For example
the mansab of Prince Salim (Jahangir) was 5000 zat/5000 sawar. What does it mean: Prince
Salims personal salary was based on his mansab of 5000 zat and for 5000sawar, he had to
maintain a military contingent.
During Akbars reign the ratio was one horsemen and two horses and amansabdar of 5000 sawar
had to maintain a contingent of 5000 horsemen. The mansabdars zat rank never exceeded
his sawar rank (either it used to be equal 5000/5000 or 3000/ 4000 or less than thesawar rank).
The zat numerals were always used to be stated first.
The highest rank (mansab) was 7000/7000 which was awarded to the officials/royalty

CHANGES IN THE MANSABDARI.

After the reign of Akbar when the highest

ranking mansabdars who had reached the maximum limit in their mansab had nothing to aspire
for. For this reason there were some changes in the mansabdari system.
The quota of the contingent which each mansabdar had to maintain was lowered and there were
further reductions in the contingent if the mansabdars were posted on the frontiers or far away
places.

Changes in the mansabdari system:

Du-aspa and sih-aspa categories: For example the mansab of Ali Mardan Khan (1628) was
7000/7000 du-aspa (His personal rank was 7000 but for his 7000 contingent he had to maintain
only 66% of troops)
If the sih-aspa category was added then the mansabdar had to maintain 33% of his contingent.

Zizya Tax
46

From the point of view of the Muslim rulers, jizya was a material proof of the non-Muslims'
acceptance of subjection to the state and its laws, "just as for the inhabitants it was a concrete
continuation of the taxes paid to earlier regimes.
In return, non-Muslim citizens were permitted to practice their faith, to enjoy a measure of
communal autonomy, to be entitled to Muslim state's protection from outside aggression, to be
exempted from military service and the Zakat as obligatory upon Muslim citizens.
Jizya was applied to every free adult male member of the People of the Book. Slaves, women,
children, the old, the sick, monks, hermits and the poor, were all exempt from the tax, unless any
of them was independent and wealthy.some Muslim rulers also collected jizya from Hindus and
Sikhs (other monotheistic religion) under their rule. The collection of the tax was sometimes the
duty of the elders of those communities, but often it was collected directly from individuals, in
accordance with specific payment rituals described in the writings of Muslim jurists..
In India, Islamic rulers imposed jizya starting in the 11th century. It was abolished by Akbar.
However, Aurangzeb, the last prominent Mughal Emperor, levied jizya on his mostly Hindu
subjects in 1679. Reasons for this are cited to be financial stringency and personal inclination on
the part of the emperor, and a petition by the ulema. His subjects were taxed in accordance with
the property they owned. Government servants were exempt, as were the blind, the paralyzed,
and the indigent. Its introduction encountered much opposition, which was, however, overborne.
Certain historians are of the view that the tax was aimed at forcibly converting Hindus to Islam..

AKBARS RELIGIOUS POLICY

INTRODUCTION:
Akbar was born on October 15, 1542, in Umarkot in Sindh. Akbar was proclaimed emperor in
1556 under the tutelage of his fathers (Humayun) trusted military commander, Bairam Khan. By
1560, Akbar took the complete reign of the empire into his own hands. Akbars was an
apotheosis of rule in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. The British who came few decades later found
Akbars system of administration as their precursor. His religious policies, however, is the
subject

of

controversies

among

the

AKBARS RELIGIOUS POLICY:

47

historians

of

the

Mughal

rule.

Diversity of sects and creeds was the source of strife in his kingdom. As a ruler, Akbar needed
goodwill of his subjects across the board, in order for him to consolidate the empire. In this
regard, he shaped his policies on the principle of religious tolerance known as Sulh-i Kull(Peace
with all). This policy of religious tolerance was basically aimed at proper functioning of political
and administrative machinery of the Empire.
Nevertheless, Akbar was not the first Muslim ruler in the sub-continent who showed religious
tolerance towards his subjects. Muhammad bin Qasim had also adopted such policy of tolerance.
Further, Zain al-Abidin introduced similar measures in Kashmir. In fact, Akbar formulated
religious policies which not only caused uproars in the circles of orthodox Muslims, but his
Muslim subjects considered him as an apostate to Islam. Most controversial policies of Akbar
include abolition of jizya, immunity given to Hindu pandits and European Jesuits at the Ibadat
Khana, prohibition of cow-slaughter, marriage reforms, discipleship, etc.
Perhaps, the most abhorred was the Akbars promulgation in 1582 of the Din-i Ilahi (The Divine
Faith). Akbars so-called Din-i Ilahi was an amalgam of Sufism, Hinduism and Zoroastrianism.
Many among Muslims took Akbars Din-i Ilahi with a pinch of salt and considered that he had
actually abandoned Islam. Vincent Smith and other European historian argue that Akbar had
deserted the cause of Islam. On the other hand, Hindu writers, like Sri Ram Sharma in
his Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperor, and Makhan Lal Roychoudhry in his Din-i- Ilahi,
have generally held that although he followed a tolerant policy, he lived and died a Muslim.
The foundation for the misunderstanding of Akbar's religious history was laid by Blochmann in
the introduction to his translation of Abul Fazl's Ain-i-Akbari; here he set the pattern for relying
on Badauni, Akbar's enemy, rather than Abul Fazl, his friend, for studying Akbar's religious
history. The crucial question about Akbar's religious activity is whether he established a new
religion or a new spiritual order. The expressions used by both Abul Fazl and Badauni in this
connection, however, are iradat or muridi (discipleship) but Blochmann habitually translates
these expressions as divine faith, thus converting a religious order (or even a bond of loyalty)
into a new religion.
Almost every historian including Badauni, the worst enemy of Akbar, unanimously concur on the
fact that in his early period of reign Akbar was an orthodox Muslim. S.M. Ikram remarks:

48

There is every indication that he began his rule as a devout, orthodox Muslim. He said all
the five prayers in the congregation, often recited the call for prayers, and occasionally swept
out the palace mosque himself.
He showed great respect for the two leading religious leaders at the court, Makhdum-ul-Mulk
and Shaikh Abdul Nabi. About the emperors respect for Shaikh Abdul Nabi, Badauni in
his Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh that:
For some time the Emperor had so great faith in him as a religious leader that he would
bring him his shoes and place them before his feet.
Moreover, Akbar showed his devotion to Khwaja Muin-ud-din, the great Chishti saint. He used
to routinely visit the tomb of the saint with great devotion. He always entered Ajmer on foot as a
show of respect for the saint. In addition, he built the Ibadat Khana, the House of Worship, which
he set apart for religious discussions. The assemblies in the Ibadat Khana had been arranged by
Akbar out of sincere religious zeal.
CAUSES OF AKBARS RELIGIOUS POLICIES:
1. Squabbles among Theologians at the Ibadat Khana
The Muslim theologians were at daggers drawn among each on petty religious issues. Each tried
to display his own scholarship and reveal the inabilities of the others. The two great theologians
of the court, Makhdum-ul-Mulk and Shaikh Abdul Nabi attacked each other so mercilessly that
Akbar lost confidence in both of them. His disillusionment extended to the orthodoxy they
represented.
2. The Reformation Movement (15171648) in Europe
At the time of Akbars rule, the Western Europe was engaged in scuffle for dominium
mundi between the church and the state. It followed by the movement of reformation enticed by
Martin Luther. The movement ultimately curtailed the ecclesiastical power in Rome.
Consequently the theory of caesaropapism came into being according to which the institution of
king was made an ultimate authority. Some historians are of the opinion that this development
must have influenced ambitious Akbar too who always appreciated new ideas. During his reign,
laws pertaining to religious matters were entrusted to theologians who were next in position to
the ruler.
3. The Scuffle between a Brahman and Qazi

49

In 1577, a case was brought before His Majesty Akbar in which a qazi blamed a Brahman of
having confiscated a building earmarked for mosque. Further, the qazi blamed that the Brahman
had also disregarded the Prophet of Islam and Muslims. The question of suitable punishment for
the Brahman was discussed before the emperor, but, perplexed by conflicting considerations, he
gave no decision. The Brahman languished in prison for a long time. After some time, the ulama
decreed the execution of the offender and he was eventually put to death. This led to a fierce
outcry. Akbar was troubled not only by this incident but by the general legal position which gave
so much power to the ulama that he was at their mercy on such vital issues.
4. Akbars Policy of Toleration
Due to Akbars ambition for mutual tolerance among different faiths, Hindu pandits, Parsis,
Jains, and Jesuits, among Muslim scholars, were invited to the religious discussions at the Ibadat
Khana. They did not confine themselves to the exposition of their own beliefs, but reviled Islam
and the Prophet in unrestrained language.
Mullah Muhammad Yazdi, the Shia qazi of Jaunpur severely criticized Akbars religious policies.
Some of his courtiers like Qutb-ud-din Khan Koka and Shahbaz Khan Kamboh criticized the
emperor in the court. There was an open rebellion broke out in 1581. Conspiracies were hatched
to dethrone Akbar and place his brother Mirza Muhammad Hakim, ruler of Kabul, on the throne.
CONCLUSION:
Akbars policy of religious tolerance was based on the precedents of the philosophy of Sufi
saints. For all of his innovations, Islamic texts or precedents, genuine or spurious, were cited by
his courtiers. Although Akbar did not claim to be a prophet or to establish a new religion, Islam
lost its privileged position.
According to S.M. Ikram, religious policy of Akbar was largely aimed at securing goodwill of
the masses. He writes:
For this policy of religious tolerance and of giving an adequate share in the administration
to all classes there can be nothing but praise, and it became a part of the Mughal political
code.
His attempt to set himself up as a jagat guru, the spiritual leader of the people, was a political
mistake. In a nutshell, Akbars policy ofSulh-i Kull completely collapsed which affected the very
fabric of the Mughal society. Vincent Smith rightly remarked that Akbars religious policy
50

was the outcome of ridiculous vanity, a monstrous growth of unrestrained autocracy, a

moment of Akbars folly, and not of his wisdom
Dr. Qanungo in his Sher Shah said:
If Akbar had stopped with the remission of jiza, the prohibition of cow-slaughter, the partial
Hinduisation of administration. History would have exalted him to the rank of the greatest
statesman and nation-builder of the world.

Nur-ud-din Mohammad Salim Jahangir

Nur-ud-din Mohammad Salim, known by his imperial name Jahangir (30 August 1569 7
November 1627), was the fourth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1605 until his death in 1627.
Jahangir was the eldest surviving son of Mughal Emperor Akbar and was declared successor to
his father from an early age. Impatient for power, however, he revolted in 1599 while Akbar was
engaged in the Deccan. Jahangir was defeated, but ultimately succeeded his father as Emperor in
1605 due to the immense support and efforts of the ladies in Akbar's harem likeRuqaiya Sultan
Begum, Salima Sultan Begum and his grandmother Maryam Makani. The ladies wielded
considerable influence over Akbar and favoured Jahangir as his successor.[1] The first year of
Jahangir's reign saw a rebellion organized by his eldest son Khusrau Mirza. The rebellion was
soon put down; Khusrau was brought before his father in chains. After subduing and executing
nearly 2000 members of the rebellion, Jahangir blinded his renegade son.
Jahangir built on his father's foundations of excellent administration, and his reign was
characterized by political stability, a strong economy and impressive cultural achievements. The
imperial frontiers continued to move forwardinBengal, Mewar, Ahmadnagar and the Deccan.
The only major reversal to the expansion came in 1622 when Shah Abbas, the Safavid Emperor
ofIran(Persia),

captured Kandahar while

Jahangir

was

battling

his

rebellious

son,Khusrau in Hindustan. The rebellion of Khurram absorbed Jahangir's attention, so in the

spring of 1623 he negotiated a diplomatic end to the conflict. Much of India was politically
pacified; Jahangir's dealings with the Hindu rulers ofRajputana were particularly successful, and
he

settled

the

conflicts

inherited

from

his

father.

The

Hindu

rulers

all

accepted Mughal supremacy and in return were given high ranks in the Mughal aristocracy.
Jahangir was fascinated with art, science and, architecture. From a young age he showed a
leaning towards painting and had an atelier of his own. His interest in portraiture led to much
development in this artform. The art ofMughal painting reached great heights under Jahangir's
51

reign. His interest in painting also served his scientific interests in nature. The painter Ustad
Mansurbecame one of the best artists to document the animals and plants which Jahangir either
encountered on his military exhibitions or received as donations from emissaries of other
countries. Jahangir maintained a huge aviary and a large zoo, kept a record of every specimen
and

organised

experiments.

Jahangir

patronized

the European and Persian arts.

He

promoted Persian culture throughout his empire. This was especially so during the period when
he came under the influence of his Persian Empress, Nur Jahan, and her relatives, who from 1611
had dominated Mughal politics. Amongst the most highly regarded Mughal architecture dating
from Jahangir's reign is the famousShalimar Gardens in Kashmir. The world's first
seamless celestial globe was built by Mughal scientists under the patronage of Jahangir.
Jahangir, like his father, was a proper Sunni Muslim with tolerance; he allowed, for example, the
continuation of his

father's

tradition

of public

debate

between

different religions.

The Jesuits were allowed to dispute publicly with Muslimulema (theologians) and to make
converts. Jahangir specifically warned his nobles that they "should not force Islam on
anyone. Jizya was not imposed by Jahangir. Edward Terry, an English chaplain in India at the
time, saw a ruler under which "all Religions are tolerated and their Priests [held] in good
esteem." Jahangir enjoyed debating theological subtleties with Brahmins, especially about the
possible existence of avatars. Both Sunnis and Shias were welcome at court, and members of
both sects gained high office. Sir Thomas Roe, England's first ambassador to the Mughal court,
went as far as labelling Jahangir, who was sympathetic to Christianity, an atheist.[citation needed]
Jahangir was not without his vices. He set the precedent for sons rebelling against their emperor
fathers and was much criticised for his addiction to alcohol, opium, and women. He was thought
of allowing his wife, Nur Jahan, too much power and her continuous plotting at court is
considered to have destabilized the imperium in the final years of his rule. The situation
developed into open crisis when Jahangir's son, Khurram, fearing to be excluded from the throne,
rebelled in 1622. Jahangir's forces chased Khurram and his troops fromFatehpur Sikri to the
Deccan, to Bengal and back to the Deccan, until Khurram surrendered unconditionally in 1626.
The rebellion and court intrigues that followed took a heavy toll on Jahangir's health. He died in
1627 and was succeeded by Khurram, who took the imperial throne of Hindustan as the
Emperor Shah Jahan. Jahangir is considered one of the greatest Mughal Emperors by scholars
and the fourth of the Grand Mughals in Indian historiography. Much romance has gathered
52

around his name, and the tale of his illicit relationship with the Mughal courtesan, Anarkali, has
been widely adapted into the literature, art and cinema of India.

Early Life
Prince Salim forcefully succeeded to the throne on Thursday, 21st Jumadi II, 1014 AH/ 3
November 1605, eight days after his father's death. Salim ascended to the throne with the title of
Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir Badshah Ghazi, and thus began his 22-year reign at the age of
36. Jahangir soon after had to fend off his own son, Prince Khusrau Mirza, when the latter
attempted to claim the throne based on Akbar's will to become his next heir. Khusrau Mirza was
defeated in 1606 and confined in the fort of Agra. As punishment Khusrau Mirza was blinded.
Jahangir considered his third son Prince Khurram (future Shah Jahan), his favourite. In 1622,
Khurram murdered his blinded elder brother Khusrau in order to eliminate all possible
contenders to the throne.
Rana of Mewar and Prince Khurram had a standoff that resulted in a treaty acceptable to both
parties. Khurram was kept busy with several campaigns in Bengaland Kashmir. Jahangir claimed
the victories of Khurram Shah Jahan as his own. Taking advantage of this internal conflict, the
Persians seized the city of Kandaharand as a result of this loss, the Mughals lost control over the
trade routes to Afghanistan, Persian and Central Asia and also exposed India to invasions from
the north-west.
Jahangir's rule was characterized by the same religious tolerance as his father Akbar, with the
exception of his hostility with the Sikhs, which was forged so early on in his rule. In 1606,
Jahangir ordered the Sikh Guru Arjan Dev (the fifth Sikh guru) to be tortured and sentenced to
death after he refused to remove all Islamic and Hindu references from the Holy book.[2] He was
made to sit on a burning hot sheet while hot sand was poured over his body. After enduring five
days of unrelenting torture Guru Arjan was taken for a bath in the Ravi river. As thousands
watched he entered the river never to be seen again.[3]

Reign
53

An aesthete, Jahangir decided to start his reign with a grand display of "Justice", as he saw it. To
this end, he enacted Twelve Decrees that are remarkable for their liberalism and foresight.
During his reign, there was a significant increase in the size of the Mughal Empire, half a dozen
rebellions were crushed, prisoners of war were released, and the work of his father, Akbar,
continued to flourish. Much like his father, Jahangir was dedicated to the expansion of Mughal
held territory through conquest. During this regime he would target the peoples of Assam near
the eastern frontier and bring a series of territories controlled by independent rajas in the
Himalayan foothills from Kashmir to Bengal. Jahangir would challenge the hegemonic claim
over Afghanistan by the Safavid rulers with an eye on Kabul, Peshawar andKandahar which
were important centers of the central Asian trade system that northern India operated within. In
1622,

Jahangir

would

send

his

son Prince

Khurramagainst

the

combined

forces

of Ahmednagar, Bijapur and Golconda. After his victory Khurram would turn against his father
and make a bid for power. As with the insurrection of his eldest son Khusraw, Jahangir was able
to defeat the challenge from within his family and retain power.
Jahangir promised to protect Islam and granted general amnesty to his opponents. He was also
notable for his patronage of the arts, especially of painting. During his reign the distinctive style
of Mughal painting expanded and blossomed. Jahangir supported a flourishing culture of court
painters.
Jahangir is most famous for his golden "chain of justice." The chain was set up as a link between
his people and Jahangir himself. Standing outside the castle of Agra with sixty bells, anyone was
capable of pulling the chain and having a personal hearing from Jahangir himself.
Furthermore, Jahangir preserved the Mughal tradition of having a highly centralized form of
government. Jahangir made the precepts of Sunni Islam the cornerstone of his state policies. A
faithful Muslim, as evidenced by his memoirs, he expressed his gratitude to Allah for his many
victories. Jahangir, as a devout Muslim, did not let his personal beliefs dictate his state policies.
Sovereignty, according to Jahangir, was a "gift of God" not necessarily given to enforce God's
law but rather to "ensure the contentment of the world." In civil cases, Islamic law applied to
Muslims, Hindu law applied to Hindus, while criminal law was the same for both Muslims and
Hindus. In matters like marriage and inheritance, both communities had their own laws that
54

Jahangir respected. Thus Jahangir was able to deliver justice to people in accordance of their
beliefs, and also keep his hold on empire by unified criminal law. In the Mughal state, therefore,
defiance of imperial authority, whether coming from a prince or anyone else aspiring to political
power, or a Muslim or a Hindu, was crushed in the name of law and order.
Jahangir's relationship with other rulers of the time is one that was well documented by Sir
Thomas Roe, especially his relationship with the Persian King, Shah Abbas. Though conquest
was one of Jahangir's many goals, he was a naturalist and lover of the arts and did not have quite
the same warrior ambition of the Persian king. This led to a mutual enmity that, while
diplomatically hidden, was very clear to observers within Jahangir's court. Furthermore, Abbas
had, for many years, been trying to recover the city of Kandahar, which Jahangir was not keen to
part with, especially to this king whom he did not particularly care for, despite seeing him as an
equal. In this state, Jahangir was also open to the influence of his wives, a weakness exploited by
many. Because of this constant inebriated state, Nur Jahan, the favourite wife of Jahangir,
became the actual power behind the throne.

Conquests
In the year 1594 Jahangir was dispatched by his father, the Mughal Emperor Akbar,
alongside Abul Hasan Asaf Khan also known as Mirza Jaafar Beg son of Mirza Ghias Beg
Isfahani and brother of Nur Jehan and Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, to defeat the renegade Vir Singh
Deo of Bundela and capture the city of Orchha, which was considered the center of the revolt.
Jahangir arrived with a force of 12,000 after many ferocious encounters and finally subdued
the Bundela and ordered Vir Singh Deo to surrender. After tremendous casualties and the start of
negotiations between the two, Vir Singh Deo handed over 5000 Bundela infantry and 1000
cavalry but he feared Mughal retaliation and remained a fugitive until his death. The victorious
Jahangir Only 16 years of age, ordered the completion of the Jahangir Mahal a
famous Mughal citadel in Orchha to commemorate and honor his victory.[8]
Jahangir then gathered his forces under the command of Ali Kuli Khan and fought Lakshmi
Narayan of Koch Bihar. Lakshmi Narayan, then accepted the Mughals as his suzerains he was
given the title Nazir and later established a garrison at Atharokotha.

55

In 1613, the Portuguese seized the Mughal ship Rahimi, which had set out fromSurat on its way
with a large cargo of 100,000 rupees and Pilgrims, who were on their way
to Mecca and Medina in order to attend the annual Hajj. The Rahm was owned by Mariam-uzZamani, Jahangir's mother. She was referred as Queen mother of Hindustan during his
reign. Rahmwas the largest Indian ship sailing in the Red Sea and was known to the Europeans
as the "great pilgrimage ship". When the Portuguese officially refused to return the ship and the
passengers, the outcry at the Mughal court was quite unusually severe. The outrage was
compounded by the fact that the owner and the patron of the ship was none other than the
revered mother of the current emperor. Jahangir himself was outraged and ordered the seizure of
the Portuguese town Daman. He ordered the apprehension of all Portuguese within the Mughal
Empire, he further confiscated churches that belonged to the Jesuits. This episode is considered
to be an example of the struggle for wealth that would later ensue and lead to colonization of the
Indian sub-continent.[9][10]
Jahangir was responsible for ending a century long struggle with the state of Mewar. The
campaign against the Rajputs was pushed so extensively that the latter were made to submit and
that too with a great loss of life and property. Jahangir also thought of capturing Kangra Fort,
which Akbar had failed to do. Consequently a siege was laid, which lasted for fourteen months,
and the fort was taken in 1620.
The district of Kistwar, in the state of Kashmir, was also conquered.

Death
He was trying to restore it by visiting Kashmir and Kabul. He went from Kabul to Kashmir but
returned to Lahore on account of a severe cold.
Jahangir died on the way back from Kashmir near Sarai Saadabad in 1627. To preserve his body,
the entrails were removed and buried in the Baghsar Fort, Kashmir. The body was then
transferred to Lahore to be buried in Shahdara Bagh, a suburb of Lahore, Punjab. 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.

Jahangir Gains Territories And Erects Statues And Mosques

56

In pursuance of his father's policy of imperialism, Jahangir aimed at the conquest of the entire
country. In 1605, he sent his second son to reduce Rana Amar Singh, a Hindu ruler, to
submission. It was not easy to conquer the great fort of Chittor. In 1608, the Emperor sent
another force. Eventually a treaty of peace was signed in 1615. Because the Rana recognized the
suzerainty of Jahangir, the Mughal emperor restored all his territory, including Chittor. Jahangir's
treaty is a landmark in the history of the relations between Mewar and Delhi. No ruler of the
Sishodia dynasty had ever before openly professed allegiance to a Mughal ruler and a longdrawn struggle came to an end. Subsequently, Jahangir placed two lifesize marble statues of the
Rana and his son in the gardens of his palace at Agra. By granting generous terms and adopting a
conciliatory policy, Jahangir secured Mewar's loyalty for the empire which lasted until his
grandson's (Emperor Aurangzeb) policy alienated Rana Raj Singh.
Jahangir's Deccan policy was a continuation of that of Akbar's which, following ancient Hindu
traditions, treated the north and south as indivisible parts of one country. It was the emperor's
desire to annex Ahmadnagar and, if possible, the two remaining independent states of Bijapur
and Golkunda. Jahangir placed his son, Prince Khurram, in command of his army in 1613 and
ordered him to lead a number of campaigns against Rajput forces in Mewar and Kanga, and the
Deccani sultanates of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, and Golkonda. The long siege of Kanga was brought
to a successful end in 1629. This was the most notable military achievement of Jahangir's reign,
prompting him to visit the place of conquest and build mosques there.
The complete success of the Mughal army over the forces of Ahmadnagar was not possible,
however, owing in part to the strength of the Deccan kingdom and in part to the inferiority of
Mughal weapons. Not only did Ahmadnagar defy the Mughal advance, but successful opposition
came from an able Abyssinian named Malik Ambar, a former slave, who prepared for a war by
training the mountaineers of Maharasthra in guerrilla tactics (later perfected by the great Hindu
ruler Shivaji to the despair of Emperor Aurangzeb). When the Mughals had partial success in
1616, Prince Khurram was rewarded by Jahangir with the title of Shah Jahan ("King of the
World"). But the Deccan was far from conquered.

Wife And Son Vie For Power

The most important development in the first half of Jahangir's reign had been the rise of his
favorite wife Nur Jahan ("Light of the World") and the emergence of this third son Khurram
(whose mother was a Rajput princess). Nur Jahan was a lady of great energy and many talents.
57

Because of her, Persian poets and artists, architects, and musicians flocked to the Mughal court at
Agra. She became an effective political power in India. But Shah Jahan was the leading
contender for his father's mantle, and Nur Jahan resented his growing influence.
Nur Mahal's first step was simply to persuade the suggestible Jahangir that Shah Jahan should
leave court, get away from the center of affairs, and return to military service against rival kings
in the Deccan. Shah Jahan accepted the commission in ill grace, and took with him Khusrau,
who had remained popular despite his rebellion and had a strong claim to the throne. Hearing
that Jahangir's health was worsening and that his death was imminent, Shah Jahan's first act was
to kill this brother, who would otherwise have become the center of a rival faction.
In 1623, Shah Jahan marched in open rebellion toward Agra. At Nur Mahal's behest an imperial
army set out to track down Shah Jahan's forces, but the shrewd prince evaded his pursuers rather
than meet them at a military disadvantage. The rebellious Shah Jahan was chased around
southeast India for three years before finally agreeing to return to his father's fold.
Meanwhile, Jahangir held an impressive court. For one thing, he was fond of religious discourse.
Sir Thomas Roe of England would testify that the Emperor accorded equal welcome to
Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Once again, Hindu festivals like Rakhi, Dasahra, etc., were
allowed to be celebrated. Because of his father, Jahangir had come in contact with the Jesuits at
an early age and treated them with great courtesy. He was too good a Muslim and too proud a
Mughal, however, to convert to Christianity as they had hoped. The veneration he showed to the
paintings of Jesus and Mary was due to his passion for works of art. Though in the spirit of the
times there were incidents of fanaticism, for the most part Jahangir followed the policy of Akbar
in showing general tolerance for Christianity and contributing large sums for the erection of
churches.
Soon the Jesuit mission at the Mughal court assumed the character and functions of an embassy
with the intention of outplaying the English and furthering the interests of the Portuguese. But
Portuguese power, owing to its contempt for orientals, was already on the decline. The English
seized the opportunity and made a significant impression on Jahangir. English trade was then
secured.
In 1608, Captain William Hawkins arrived with a letter from James I of England. Though the
emperor was impressed, the Portuguese effectively prevented Hawkins from gaining any tangible
success from his mission. In 1615, came the aforementioned Sir Thomas Roe, England's first
58

official ambassador to India, who tried to secure from the Mughal ruler a trade agreement for the
young East India Company. The Portuguese had a head start in the lucrative business of
exporting calicoes and indigo from India, and the Dutch also were ahead of the English. Though
Roe failed to enter into any agreement with Jahangir, he secured some privileges for the English
trading company that made it a factor in Indian politics. Roe's accounts provide valuable insight
into the royal court.
A notable military success of Jahangir's reign was the capture of the strong fortress of Kangra in
the northeast Punjab on November 16, 1620. But this event, which Jahangir found cause for
exultation, was quickly followed by disasters and rebellions which continued until he died.
Alienated by the intrigues of his wife Nur Jahan, his son Shah Jahan rose in rebellion against
him. Facing Persian pressure from the northwest and the defection of Shah Jahan within the heart
of the empire, Jahangir's situation was grave. Though Shah Jahan's rebellion ended in futility, it
caused substantial damage to the empire.

Reign An Era Of Family Strife And Notable Architecture

Jahangir's reign was noted for architectural works. When his chief minister Itimad-ud-daulah
died in 1622, his daughter, the powerful Nur Jahan, commissioned the construction in white
marble of his exquisite tomb at Agra which was finished in 1628. Unlike the much larger Taj
Mahal, with which it ranked in quality, the appeal of the tomb depended on its decoration. It
looked like a brilliant casket, bejewelled with various styles of inlay. Its two major innovations
the extensive use of white marble as a material and inlay as a decorative motifwere to become
the distinguishing features of the greatest period of Mughal architecture.
The high quality of both paintings and coins during Jahangir's reign was a direct result of the
emperor's personal interest. Having grown up at Fatehpur-Sikri in the busy days of Akbar's
studio, he was a keen student of technique and claimed to be able to tell which master had
painted the eye and eyebrow in a face and which the rest of the portrait. In addition, he seems to
have invented and commissioned from his artists a new style of political allegory in art which,
however self-congratulatory and vain, provided some of the most magnificent paintings of the
period. One such picture claims to celebrate a new spirit of peace with his Persian neighbor,
Shah Abbas.
Toward the end of Jahangir's reign, Nur Jahan took a more active role in the government and
appointed her politically adroit brother, Asaf Khan, as the premier of the realm. In 1626, brother
59

and sister decided to attack the powerful Mahabat Khan. An Afghan by birth, Mahabat Khan
realized the precarious situation and so marched north with 5,000 Rajput troops toward the
imperial camp on the bank of the Jhelum. As Jahangir and Nur Jahan traveled to Kabul, Mahabat
Khan took the emperor prisoner. Though Jahangir managed to escape with the help of a clever
scheme by Nur Jahan, Mahabat Khan then joined forces with Shah Jahan. The prince was now
stronger than ever.
A shaken emperor turned north to the only place where he now found solace. For several years,
he had made an almost annual journey to Kashmir. There, he had found a natural paradise, but he
and his court had done much to make it an artificial one. The Mughal gardens, which are one of
the main glories of Srinagar, are the direct result of his enthusiasm. The Shalimar Bagh, built by
Jahangir, is distinguished by a series of pavilions on carved pillars, surrounded by pools with
seats which can only be reached by stepping stones.
When Jahangir died in October on 1627 in a village at the foot of the Kashmir hills, Asaf Khan
betrayed his sister by backing his son-in-law, Shah Jahan. Informed by Asaf's courier of his
father's death, Shah Jahan rushed north to claim his throne, reaching the capital in 1628. Nur
Jahan was pensioned off and went to live in solitude in Lahore until she died in 1645.
While some European historians consider Jahangir as a fickle-minded tyrant, Indian authors
regard him as a just and noble ruler. Most writers now agree that he was a highly educated and
cultured man. His autobiography is a testimony of his interest in subjects like botany and
zoology. Among the notable buildings renovated by him, Akbar's tomb at Sikandra is the most
remarkable. He altered its design and partly rebuilt it. Under his patronage, a great mosque was
built in Lahore; it rivals the grand mosque in Delhi, built by his son, Shah Jahan.
But he did not possess the high idealism and genius of Akbar. The administrative machinery of
his father was allowed to remain untouched. The vakil (chief minister) remained the highest
dignitary next to the emperor. A liberal ruler, he made no departure from his father's policy of
admitting Hindus to higher public services. On the whole, Jahangir was a successful ruler and his
people were well off. Agriculture, industries, and commerce flourished. Jahangir's diary is
brimming with his ideas for promoting social justice and administrative efficiency, and in most
cases he tried to follow or outdo the liberal ideas of his father, but he was less successful in
putting them into effect.

New Article
60

Akbars son Salim made his first marriage to his cousin Man Bai who gave birth to his first son,
Khusrau in 1585. The second son namely Parvez was born in 1589 from a Muslim mother. The
birth of the third son from Jodh Bai of Marwar (Jodhpur) in 5 January 1592 pleased the family
and especially was adored by the grandfather Akbar thanks to his birth moment was the same
with Timur according to the conjunctions of the planets and the month was the same with the
prophet Muhammad. He therefore named as Khurram Joyous and later the futures emperor
Shah Jahan.
Khurram customary started his education at four years, four months and four days. Besides his
talent in details and memory he had a particular interest in gems and clothes. Khurram went
hunting and fighting with his grandfather Akbar only at six years old. Akbar adored his grandson
like his own son which caused deep disappointment in Salim, Khurrams father. Akbars
insoluble negligence towards Salims led to the sons rebellion. He thought to give harm to his
fathers one of the closest advisors, Abul Fazl and offered to reward the one who kills. He was
then murdered by a local raja in 1602, which angered Akbar but he could not give any reaction to
his son in order to protect the Empires future. Akbars other son Murad died and Daniyal was
nearly dying because of alcohol and Khusrau was only a teenager, therefore, leaving no other
option but to reconcile. After the death of Daniyal in 1604, the eyes were on Salim and Khusrau.
Akbar prevented the rivalry which might cause the decline of the Empire by declaring Salim as
his heir leaving no question marks on the bed before his death in October 15, 1605 at the age of
sixty three.
Salim hold the throne at the age of thirty-six and took the name of Jahangir seizer of the world
or worldholder.
His rebellious son Khusrau was sent to the Red Fort at Agra in order to prevent any potential
disaster as the rival to his own father. Unfortunately it did not stop Khusrau and he rebelled in
April 1606. Jahangir interfered the rebels recklessly leaving his fourteen year-old son Khurram
to govern the council himself. Jahangirs tendency in torturing was notable. It was reported that
the guilty people were punished under the feet of the elephants.
His curiosity for science and nature are worth emphasising and he was interested in architecture
like his father Akbar. Although he lost time in suppressing Khusraus rebels, he continued to
finish his fathers four-minaret-mausoleum at Sikandra near Agra which was amongst the
masterpiece of elegance of the time.
61

When he controlled his rebelled son, Jahangir devoted himself to Khurram, the heir to the
Empire. Khurram was engaged in April 1607 with the grand daughter of Ghiyas Beg, Arjumand
Banu. On the other hand, Ghiyas beg who was awarded by Jahangir with the title of Itimad-uddaula (pillar of government) was then embarrassed to the loyal family with one of his sons
contribution to Khusraus revolts. He saved his sons life from execution and forced to pay huge
amounts to Jahangir for this disorder which was the reason of the delay of Arjumand Banus
wedding. Khurram married with a Persian girl of Shah Ismail Safavis descent in October 1610
and gave birth to his first child, in August 1611.
The selection of thirty-year-old Mehrunissa to Harem by the order of Jahangir was after her
husbands murder intentionally in Bengal. Mehrunissa took the name of Nur Mahal Light of the
Palace as Jahangirs last bride and, then, Nur Jahan Light of the world. The former problems
were gradually solved with Ghiyas Beg after the coming of the new bride.
It was also a good period for Arjumand Banu, who was lately able to marry with Khurram in 10
May 1612, a fortunate date which was well-chosen by the astrologers .
Jahangir also awarded Ghiyas begs son, Arjumand Banus father with the title of Asaf Khan in
1614.
After the marriage Khurram gave the title of Mumtaz Mahal Begum to elect from the other
women and to honour her.
During the times of their marriage, the capital Agra was huge enough with 750.000 habitants and
was welcoming visitors from Europe, Uzbek, Afghanistan easily with approximately ninety
lodging houses and eight hundred bath houses as a very lively city. Princess Hue al-Nisa, the
daughter of Mumtaz Mahal and Khurram, was born on 30 March 1613. The comfortable days of
Mumtaz was ended by Jahangirs calling his son Khurram to the military campaign in 1614.
Unlikely to his ancestors rules, Khurram preferred to take his wife wherever he goes which
caused Mumtaz Mahals twelve of fourteen childrens birth during the campaigns but she never
separated from her husband.
Khurram showed his skills both in military and diplomacy during his campaign to Mewar and
controlled the city where his father attempted twice before and could not succeed. Mumtaz gave
birth to their second daughter, Janahara on 2 April 1614 and the first son, Dara Shukoh on 30
March 1615 during the campaign to Mewar . Khurram was positioned for the Deccan campaign
on the southern in 1616 after a short period of peace time. Unfortunately Deccan campaign
62

caused a very tragic incident. The eldest daughter of Khurram and Mumtaz died of smallpox in
1616s summer which was mournful for the family. Mumtaz was eight-month pregnant for the
fourth child while deeply grieving for her daughter. The second son Shah Shuja was born and
Khurrams family started to prepare for the war against Deccani Kingdoms. The Mogul army
settled at Burhanpur through the Tapti River. Khurrams army of ten thousand soldiers and six
hundred elephants on 31 October 1616 and was followed by his father towards Deccan. Khurram
defeated Malik Ambar, the former Abyssinian slave struggling to gain lands and the sultan of
Bijapur. Khurram returned in October 1617 and his success was awarded and honoured by his
father Jahangir with the title of Shah Jahan the lord of the World. Jahangir also requested
Khurram to be seated next to his throne as the governor of Gujarat.
Mumtaz gave birth to their fifth child, a baby girl Raushanara. Shah Jahan had to take another
wife according to the request of his father Jahangir due to political reasons. In order to reward
the leading general of Jahangir, Khan Khanan Shah Jahan married with his grand daughter. She
gave birth to a son namely Sultan Afroz but not a favoured child as the children of Mumtaz and
an unfortunate son who died of an illness in 1620.
The third son of Mumtaz, Aurangzeb was born 3 November 1618 and only after three months
she was pregnant again.
Jahangir, Khurram, Nur and Mumtaz reached the vale of Kashmir in March 1620 after the five
month of dangerous and struggling journey from Agra. Mumtazs son Ummid Bakhsh was born
during the journey in December 1619.
Nur Jahan, advantaging from her husband Jahangirs great tendency in alcohol and his illness
determined to control the government business and signed the orders on behalf of her husband.
Shah Jahan was dealing with the military matters but indeed suspicious of Nur Jahans
intentions. Nur was planning to rule the Empire after her husbands death with a more
controllable emperor, rather than ambitious Shah Jahan. She also desired to strengthen her
relations with the court by trying to marry her daughter Ladli from his ex-husband Sher Afgan
with a Mogul Prince. The influence of Mumtaz on Shah Jahan was obvious, therefore, he was not
a suitable candidate. Khusrau was imprisoned and was not preferred by Ladli, who was strictly
against to live behind the cages. After long persistence Jahangir promised to marry his youngest
son Shahriyar with Ladli on December 1620. While the intrigues were continuing inside the
court, the Deccani sultans of Bijapur, Ahmednagar and allied Golconda rebelled against Moguls
63

again with an army of sixty thousand. Shah Jahan, the only powerful option between the sons
was again called for the war by Jahangir. Although it was the worst time to leave the court in the
hands of Nur, Shah Jahan had no option but to defend the country. He, at least prevented one of
the threat by taking the permission from his father to take Khusrau to the campaign with him.
Sorayya Bano, the eight child of Mumtaz was born during Deccan campaign in June 1621. Shah
Jahan, again, was successful to solve the conflicts and he defeated within six months.
The tragic dramas started with the marriage of Shahriyar and Ladli as the great project of Nur
Jahan while Shah Jahan was on the campaign. Jahangirs serious illness of asthma attacks got
worse and at the time of the worries about Jahangir, Nur lost his mother. Itimad-ud-daula, the
father of Nur was also fell sick with deep grieving after three months of his wifes death and died
in January 1622. The loss of Itmad-ud-daula was unfortunate for the court after his successful
duties over forty-four years. Also he was the only person capable to control Nurs interests. The
death of Khusrau during the campaign was also a question mark whether it was of colic or a
murder by Shah Jahan, mostly believed the second.
When the news arrived from Kandahar that the emperor of Persia Shah Abbas was advancing,
Jahangir settled on a campaign with a huge army in order to prevent Persia and a possible
Persian invasion. He also called Shah Jahan to join the army in March 1622 which turned with
various demands of Shah Jahan. He required to be the commander of the Kandahar campaign
and the governor of Punjap and also requested the Rajput fortress of Ranthambhor in Rajastan as
a secured place for his family. The demands were angered Jahangir and even was considered as
his sons disloyalty. After the deep disappointment, Jahangir decided to position Shahriyar as the
commander of Kandahar but resulted with the loss of the city. Shah Kahan apologised Jahangir
for his attitude but was not welcomed by his father. He rebelled against his father by taking their
former enemies to his side. Jahangir asked his son Parvez to command the army against Shah
Jahan but mostly trusting his general Mahabat Khan in May 1623. The long and tiring threeyears passed with father and son struggles. Shah Jahan, also tired of his illness, had no option but
to beg mercy from his father. Unlikely to his former merciless reaction to Khushrau, Jahangir
decided to forgive Shah Jahan, probably taking his wife, Nurs support who did not consider
Shah Jahan as a threat anymore in such a poor condition. Jahangir gave his son a diamondstudded mace and positioned him as the governor of Balaghat in Central India as the presents of

64

his mercy but requested Shah Jahans sons Dara Shukoh and Aurangzeb as the hostages in return.
He also asked to surrender the fortresses of Rohtas and Asir.
General Mahabat Khans success with Parvez was attracted Jahangir and rose the idea of a heir
supported by an ambitious general. As soon as Nur and his brother Asaf Khan discovered
Jahangirs intention, the intrigues and slanders against Mahabat Khan started. He was tried to be
driven to Bengal in the east as a governor. Therefore, Mahabat Khan had to defend himself on
Jahangirs presence before getting destroyed. When both Jahangir and Mahabat Khan met, the
general was supported by Rajput soldiers in any unexpected case. Jahangir listened to him and
offered hunting and riding as for showing their former friendship. However, generals Rajput
soldiers kidnapped the emperor and hidden in Mahabat Khans camp. An imperial troop was
arranged with the order of Nur and Asaf Khan to save the kidnapped emperor. But the Rajput
soldiers were successful and killed about two-thousand imperial soldiers also added Asaf Khan
among the hostages.
Shah Jahan and Mumtaz were following the events with worrying in their exile place in south.
He decided to help his father in June 1626 and confronted with Mahabat Khan. The general
defeated Shah Jahan. The seizure of the general became pointless with the death of Parvez in
October 1626 because of his tendency to alcohol and Mahabat Khan who clearly understood that
he would not escape from Nurs harm, joined forces with his once opponent, Shah Jahan.
Jahangir, seizer of the World died on 28 October 1627 at the age of fifty-eight leaving a stable
country but without any enlargement probably due to his two sons rebellion. With the death of
the Empire without declaring any successor, the eyes were on two princes: Shahriyar and Shah
Jahan. At this point Asaf Khan was in a very important position. He had to control his grieving
sister by putting a guard and send the news of Jahangirs death to his daughter Mumtaz and Shah
Jahan before Shahriyars announcement for the throne. He proposed Dawar Baksh on his side in
order to prevent any rebel with the absence of the two heirs.
Shahriyar, also suffering with his shameful illness of leprosy which causes hairlessness, was
notified earlier by Nur. He came with his army from Lahore but was defeated by Asaf Khan,
imprisoned and blinded. On the other side, the news came to Shah Jahan on 18 November 1627.
After four-days mourning together with Mahabat Khan he went to the north for the throne.
Before their arrival to Agra, Shah Jahan ordered Asaf Khan in Lahore to execute Dawar Bakshsh,

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Shahriyar, the two sons of Daniyal (Jahangirs dead brother), therefore, leaving no threat for the
empire inside the court as a trace of his self-preservation.
Shah Jahan came to the throne on 14 February 1628, the day of the 145th anniversary of Baburs
birth and 72nd anniversary of Akbars succession as the king of the world, meteor of the faith.
In early March, Mumtaz joyfully met his formerly hostage to sons and introduced them their new
brother born in exile Sultan Lutf Allah. The whole family started to live in the Red Fort of Agra
in full harmony. He customary started to make appearance to the public on the jharokha balcony.
However the unfortunate events started in April 1628 while Mumtaz was pregnant the seven-year
old Sorayya Bano died of smallpox and just after five days of the birth of baby boy Daulat Afza,
she lost little Lutf Allah, the grief of two lost children at a very short time.
Nur, abandoned her passions after her husbands death, speeded up to build his fathers tomb,
Itimad-ud-daula in Agra. As the symbol of the paradise white marble was the typical of the time
of Shah Jahan. The building is ornamented by geometrical and flower designs and is towered by
four minarets on four sides. She, then started to build a mausoleum for her husband Jahangir, and
herself next to him located at Dilkusha Garden outside Lahore where both once spent joyful
times. The mausoleum was totally reflecting Sunni belief of minimalism, without any
ornamentation and in an open space for the blessings of merciful rain.
Mumtaz, indeed was an influential character on Shah Jahan. Unlike Nur Jahan, she was not
controllable. She preferred to be a partner and an adviser next to her husband. She was even
allowed by her husband to give her own orders and appointments with her own seal.
Formerly fight against Shah Jahan under Jahangirs rule, Khan Jahan was the governor of
Deccan appointed by Jahangir. He was called by Shah Jahan to the court to make his obeisance
but was ordered to leave from his lands and dissolve his soldiers; which was not accepted by
Khan Jahan.
The armies of Khan Jahan with two thousand Afgans confronted Shah Jahans army on the banks
of Chambal River, forty miles from Agra in October 1629. After the death of Khan Jahans two
sons and two brothers, he took shelter in the kingdom of Ahmetnagar as an ally. Shah Jahan
campaigned to the south together with his pregnant wife with the determination to defeat not
only Khan Jahan but also Ahmetnagar in late 1629. They journeyed through Burhanpur palace
where the births of some children and deaths of Khusrau and Parvez took place. Mumtaz gave
birth to a baby girl, the thirteenth child in 23 April 1630, who died in a very short time after
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birth. The end of Khan Jahan came with Ahmetnagars leaving the alliance at the end of 1630.
He was caught shortly afterward and his head was presented to Shah Jahan.
Once again pregnant Mumtaz was determined to marry her son Dara Shukoh with Parvezs
daughter. The idea was welcomed both by his son and Shah Jahan. While the preparations for the
marriage were continuing, the labour of Mumtaz started and after long and dreadful struggles,
Gauharara, was born in June 1631. The birth of the new daughter was dramatically the end of the
beloved Mumtaz, the endless love of Shah Jahan. According to some historians the Mumtazs
last requests were not to have children by any other women and to build a paradise-like
mausoleum.
Mumtaz was buried temporarily in a garden on the opposite bank of the Tapti River in Burhanpur
according to the Muslim rules.
Mournful Shah Jahan left his interest in gems and eye-catching clothes and preferred to wear
pure white clothes in next two years after his wifes death and then continued to wear them on
every Wednesday. One-third of Mumtazs fortune rich with gems, gold and silver was given to
her eldest daughter, seventeen-year-old Janahara who was then promoted to her mothers
position by Shah Jahan, not the other wives. The rest of the fortune was split between other six
children.

Policy and Administration

In following his fathers example, Salim Jahangir did not allow religious views to affect his
policy as a ruler. The wise and enlightened policy if Akbar towards his non-Muslim subjects was
generally followed by Jahangir, but his son and successor, Shah Jahan, allowed religion to get the
better of politics and the unwisdom of this change made its influence felt in the reign of
Aurangzeb with disastrous consequences.
Jahangir adopted his fathers foreign policy both in Northern and Southern India. He completed
the subjugation of Mewar, against which Akbar had begun his attacks. In 1615, the Rana of
Mewar was forced to submit to the Emperor. Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (Jahangir) followed
a conciliatory policy and by terms of the treaty the Rana was to supply a contingent of cavalry
but was exempted from attending the imperial court in person. The Emperor followed the same
conciliatory policy towards the Afghan rebelts in Bengal, and prepared the ground for the
complete submission of the eastern province in the near future. However, Jahangir failed to add
to conquests affected by his father.
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Jahangir established direct relations between the Mughal Government and the East India
Company. In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe arrived as an accredited ambassador or James I to the
Mughal Court. He obtained for the English merchants of privileges for trade in Gujarat including
the right to set up factories at Agra and Ahmadabad.

News Article
Jehangir was born as Salim on 13 August 1569 in hermitage of Shaikh Salim Chisti. He was the
only surviving son of Akbar, Murad and Daniyal having died during Akbar's lifetime. He was
crowned King at age 36 at Agra and assumed the title of Jehangir. He was the son of Jodhabai.
Rebelled against father - Even during Akbar's lifetime Salim had rebelled against his father when
Akbar was away in the Deccan. Akbar took a lenient view of the revolt and appointed Salim as
governor of Bihar and Bengal. But this did not satisfy the young prince who was in a hurry to
become the emperor. Salim further annoyed his father by causing the death of Abul Fazl.
In the meanwhile a conspiracy was being hatched against Salim by Raja Mansingh who wanted
Salim's son Khusrau to succeed to the throne. The fear of being superseded by his son made
Salim realize his mistake and begged Akbar for forgiveness. A few days before Akbar's death,
Salim was nominated to the throne and he ascended the throne after the death of Akbar.
Soon after his accession Jehangir tried to win the hearts of his people by issuing a number of
orders which were in line with Akbar's policies. He reaffirmed his resolve to follow the liberal
policies of his father and issued 12 ordinances:
1. He prohibited the levies and cesses which were extorted by zamindars.
2. Jagirdars should make efforts to populate deserted areas near highways and build a serai and a
mosque.
3. The entire property of a deceased person should be allowed to his heirs.
4. Taking and selling of wine and other intoxicants was prohibited although the emperor himself
was addicted to it.
5. The forcible possession of people's houses and property by the government was disallowed.
6. In no case should noses and ears of criminals be cut off.
7. Slaughter of animals was prohibited on a certain number of days.
8. In all important towns, hospitals were to be established and physicians appointed.

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9. He not only confirmed all the mansabs and jagirs of Akbar's time but also elevated the ranks of
army officers.
10. He set free all prisoners long imprisoned in forts and other jails.
11. He prohibited officers of Khalsa lands and the jagirdars from taking the lands of the farmers
by force.
12. Respect to be paid to Sunday i.e. birthday of his father and Thursday the day of his accession
and no animal slaughter to be done on these two days.
Apart from issuing these ordinances he also set up a famous chain of justice with golden bells
which any oppressed could ring in order to obtain audience with the king.

Rebellion of KHUSRAU - The first year of Jehangir's reign was marred by the rebellion of
his son Prince Khusrau. Even before Salim came to power Khusrau was a serious candidate for
the throne. Disappointment at not becoming Emperor, Khusrau left Agra on the pretext of
visiting Akbar's tomb at Sikander and then marched into Lahore. He was immediately pursued by
the imperial army and defeated near Jalandar. Guru Arjun Dev had blessed Khusrau and gifted
him some money. So after Khusrau's defeat Arjun Dev was now asked to pay a fine of 2 lakhs to
Jehangir. On the Guru's refusal to pay the fine Jehangir tortured him to death.
This political decision may not be an act of religious persecution but it estranged the Sikhs from
the Moghuls and led to many revolts on their part during later Moghul rule. After his defeat
Khusrau was ordered to be blinded and imprisoned. Later on he was handed over to Prince
Khusrau who had his murdered in 1622.

Conquest of Mehwad - Jehangir's contemporary at Mewad was Rana Aman Singh the son
of Rana Pratap. In the very first year of his reign Jehangir sent an army to Mewad under Prince
Parwez and Asaf Khan. The operations had to be stopped because in the meanwhile Prince
Khusrau had rebelled against Jehangir. Later in 1608 the campaign was resumed under Mahabat
Khan with varying degrees of success. Later the war with Mewad continued till 1614 under
different commands of Abdullah Khan and a few others. In 1614 when Prince Khusrau was
placed in charge of the campaign, he captured many families of Rajput chiefs who finally
recognized Moghul supremacy. Rana Amar Singh asked for peace. According to the terms of the
Treaty 1000 horses and his son Prince Karan were to be under Moghul service as Manasabdar.
The Rana was exempted from personal attendance at the Mughal Darbar and Chittor was
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restored to the rana on the condition that he would never repair of fortify it. Thus the long drawn
out war between the two powers came to an end. Jehangir's treatment of the Rana was wise and
conciliatory and thus Mewad remained loyal to the Moghul crown till Aurangzeb's fanatical
policies drove them into open rebellion.

Taming of Bengal - Bengal was a problem to the Moghuls due to its distance from the
capital. Another reason was the large settlement of Afghanis who defied Moghul authority. Sher
Afghan was a Jagirdar of Bundwar had not submitted to Moghul rule. Raja Man Singh had been
the earlier governor of Bengal and was now replaced by Qutub-ud-din Khan. In a conflict both
Qutub ud din and Sher Afghan lost their lives in 1607.
The new Moghul governor Islam Khan subdued Pratapditya of Jersore and fortified Dacca /
Dhaka. He occupied Sonargaon and defeated the Afghans there. In 1613 he invaded Kamrupa
and annexed it. Dacca was renamed as Jehangir nagar. He was succeeded by his brother Qasim
Khan and was later replaced by Ibrahim Khan.
Submission of Kangra in 1620 - After the prolonged siege Rai Rayan Vikraiyat had subjugated
the fort of nagarkot. The fort of Kangra was thus captured by the Moghuls and is a great military
achievement of Jehangir's army. Jehangir himself visited the fort and had a mosque built there.

Conquest of Ahmednagar - The whole of Khandhesh and a port of ahmednagar had been
captured by Akbar. Jehangir wanted to conquer the rest of ahmednagar and Bijapur and
Golkonda if possible. The affairs in the Deccan were under Malik Amber an abyssianian
minister. Nur Jahan took interest in matters of state policy and could understand intricate
problems of government in an instant. Jehangir was impressed with her and made her a partner in
the administration. Coins were struck in her name and she sat in the Jharoka and in effect became
the real ruler of the country.
Nur Jahan's father Mirza Ghiyas Beg was given the title of Itmad-ud-daulah and appointed as
prime minister. Her brother Azaf Khan also held office as a Minister. Other members of the
family also benefitted from this alliance. Their mansabs were raised. Asaf Khans daughter was
married to Prince Khaurram that is Shah Jehan who was his father's favorite. She gave her
daughter in marriage to the youngest son of Jehangir Prince Shah Ryar.

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Shah Jahan's rebellion - Nur Jahan wanted to retain her control over the throne and
intended to install Prince Shah Ryar after Jehangir. Shah Jehan himself wanted to become
emperor. Jehangir died in 1627.
In order to get Shah Jehan out of the way Nur Jahan asked him to lead an expedition to Khandhar
which had been captured by the Shah of Persia. Shah Jehan refused to go realizing the necessity
of his presence in the capital. This was during the life time of Jehangir. Supported by Moghuls
like Mutamind Khan and the Khan I Kharam shah jahan marched towards Agra. Jehangir
persuaded Mahabat Khan to take command and Khuram was chased across the country.

Shah Jahan was defeated at Bilochpur (1623). He proceeded to the Deccan and then to
Bengal but unable to occupy Bihar he returned to the Deccan. This time he concluded an alliance
with Malik Amber against Mahabat Khan. But on finding that his resources were exhausted Shah
Jahan decided to submit to the emperor in 1665. As part of the agreement two of Shah Jahan's
sons Dara and Aurangzeb were sent to court as hostages and a tract in the Deccan was assigned
for Shah Jahan's expenses. The forts of Rohdas and Asrgarh were surrendered to Jehangir.
Thus ended the rebellion of shah jahan which had rocked the empire for three years, resulting in
a civil war with tremendous loss of life and property. The royal treasury was depleted and serious
law and order problems were created for the govt. Nur Jahan can be said to be responsible for
this rebellion.

Mahabat Khan's revolt (1626) - Nur Jahan was jealous of the rising power of Mahabat
Khan and his intimacy with Prince Parvez. She wanted to neutralize his power in determining his
succession to the throne. With this end in view he got orders issued for the transfer of Mahabat
khan to Bengal and even got changes of disobedience framed against him. He was asked to give
an account of the large sums of money collected from the jagirdars of Bihar and Bengal and to
return the elephants he had obtained there. Further he was asked to explain why his daughter was
married without the prior approval of the emperor.
The emperor was camping at the river Jhelum on his way to Kabul in March 1626 when Mahabat
Khan suddenly appeared with 4000 of his loyal Rajput soldiers. Most of the imperial army had
already crossed over and only a handful of persons including Jehangir and Nur Jehan were left
behind. Mahabat Khans soldiers imprisoned Jehangir. He had thus succeeded in his coup but had
forgotten to put Nur Jehan under arrest. Nur Jehan crossed over to the other side and launched an
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attack on Mahabat Khan which was unsuccessful, so she surrendered voluntarily and joined her
husband.
Mahabat Khan now became the virtual power behind the throne. But he was a soldier and not an
administrator. Nur Jehan was able to win many of the nobles over to her side. The emperor put
himself in charge of his personal army. Mahabat Khan abandoned Jehangir and fled from the
court. Sometime later he joined Shah Jehan who was biding his time. Before Nur Jehan could
take effective measures against this combination emperor Jehangir who was unwell for several
years died in 1627 at Bhimbar on the way back from Kashmir. The faith of the empire hung in
balance.
Nur jehan sent word to Shah Ryar to make a bid for the throne. Asaf Khan did his best to prevent
Shah Ryar. Shah Jehan made his state entry into the capital on 24th January 1628. Bereft of any
hope of power Nur Jahan retired from public life. Asaf Khan imprisoned Shah Ryar and blinded
him for which he was honored by shah jehan. Nur jehan spent her last days in sorrow at Lahore
in the company of her daughter the widow of shah Ryar. Nur jehan died in 1645 in the
mausoleum unworthy of the great queen opposite the grand mausoleum she had built for her
husband Jahangir at Shahdad in Lahore

Loss of Kandahar - Kandahar is a province of strategic importance since it is the gateway to

India from the northwest. The commercial importance of this place also cannot be exaggerated. It
was the main trading center of merchants of central Asia, turkey, Persia and India. The
commercial importance of this place was further increased because the Portuguese controlled the
seas and they were hostile towards Persia. Babar conquered Kandahar in 1522 from Persia and it
was retained by Humayun and Kamran. The Persian king got it back in 1558 after humayun's
death. But as soon as Akbar ascended the throne he made efforts to suppress the rebellious tribes
there. Todar Mal managed to recapture Kandahar for the Mughals under Akbar in 1594.
There was an internal rebellion in the Mughal Empire at the commencement of Jehangir's rule.
This gave an opportunity to the Shah of Persia to generate instability in Khandar. He finally took
it in 1622. Jehangir at once asked shah jehan to proceed to Kandahar but he refused and thus
Kandahar was lost to the empire which was a blow to its prestige.

An estimate of Jehangir - Jehangir was not devoid of courage and possessed some of the
qualities of his father. He had a reputation for impartial justice even when his near and dear ones
were involved. He was generally tender and humane but could be heartless and cruel when the
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security of his throne was threatened. These traits of his character have led some foreign
travelers to describe Jahangir as a mixture of opposites. His fame has been eclipsed by the glory
of his father and the splendor of his son. On the whole Jahangir followed the policy of tolerance
to all faiths. Though he did torture Guru Arjun Dev to death, this may be attributed to political
ravage since the Guru had sided with Khusrau. Jehangir is also accused of having persecuted the
Jains of Gujarat. This was mainly due to the fact that their temples and other buildings were
reported to have centers of disturbance.
Jehangir was a lover of art and took a keen interest in painting. He was a lover of nature and
ordered that unusual flowers rare birds and animals should be painted. Like Babur he took
delight in laying out gardens. He was well versed in Persian literature and his autobiography
Tuzuk-i-Jehangiri contains an objective record of his life. He could speak Turkish fluently and
took keen interest in Hindi poetry. The main weak effect in his character was his excessive
drinking and pursuit of pleasure which make him indifferent to the business of the state. The
result was that the peace of the empire was seriously disturbed and on more than one occasion no
decisive result could be achieved because of lack of interest on the emperor's part.

An estimate of Nur Jehan - Nur Jehan or light of the world was a highly attractive
personality. She left an indelible mark in the annals of Jahangir's reign. She possessed all that is
lovable and attractive in a woman. She possessed an intellectual caliber of a very high order and
could understand the most intricate problems of state to tackle them successfully.
Besides she was fond of poetry and wrote verses which are still admired. She set the fashions of
the age designed new varieties of silk and cotton fabrics and suggested new models of jewellery
hither to unknown to Hindustan.
Nur Jehan was endowed with a deeply generous heart and was deeply touched by the sufferings
of the poor. Nur Jehan's influence however was not all for the good of the state. The palace and
the court became centers of intrigue and it was her scheming that drove Prince Khusrav to rebel
and produced disorder in the country. On account of her position Persian's art and culture
acquired great prestige at the court. Nur Jehan was a constant companion to Jehangir and even
joined him on his hunting expeditions, since she was a good rider and a sure shot.
Some modern historians are of the opinion that along with her father and brother and in alliance
with Khurram, Nur Jehan formed a group 'Junta' which managed Jahangir and that this led to the
division of the court into two factions the Junta and its opponents. However some other
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historians do not agree with this view. They point out that till 1622 when Jahangir's health broke
down all the important political decisions were taken by Jahangir himself as his clear from his
autobiography.

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