Mughal Empire History Quiz

• The Mughal Empire was founded by Babur in 1526.
• Babur employed aid from the neighboring Safavid and Ottoman empires to defeat the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, in the First Battle of Panipat.
• The Mughal imperial structure lasted until 1720, until shortly after the death of the last major emperor, Aurangzeb.
• Reduced subsequently to the region in and around Old Delhi by 1760, the empire was formally dissolved by the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
• The Mughal dynasty was known as Gurkani and the empire was referred to as Hindustan.
• Babur was a Central Asian ruler who became the founder of the Mughal Empire in India.
• Ousted from his ancestral domains in Central Asia, Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions.
• He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass.
• Babur's forces defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of Panipat.
• Before the battle, Babur sought divine favour by abjuring liquor, breaking the wine vessels and pouring the wine down a well.
• However, by this time Lodi's empire was already crumbling, and it was actually the Rajput Confederacy which was the strongest power of Northern India under the capable rule of Rana Sanga of Mewar.
• He defeated Babar in the Battle of Bayana.
• However, in the decisive Battle of Khanwa which was fought near Agra, the Timurid forces of Babur defeated the Rajput army of Sanga.
• This battle was one of the most decisive and historic battles in Indian history, as it sealed the fate of Northern India for the next two centuries.
• After the battle, the centre of Mughal power became Agra instead of Kabul.
• The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India.
• The instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun (reigned 1530–1556), who was forced into exile in Persia by rebels.
• Humayun's exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing Persian cultural influence in the later restored Mughal Empire.
• Humayun's triumphant return from Persia in 1555 restored Mughal rule in some parts of India, but he died in an accident the next year.
• Akbar's son, Jahangir, succeeded him and distinguished himself from his father by making substantial efforts to gain the support of the Islamic religious establishment.
• Jahangir was addicted to opium, neglected the affairs of the state, and came under the influence of rival court cliques.
• Jahangir distinguished himself from his father by making substantial efforts to gain the support of the Islamic religious establishment.
• Jahangir left his son an internally stable state, which was in the midst of its golden age, but before long signs of political weakness would emerge.
• Akbar and Jahangir were the first Mughal emperors.
• Jahangir was more liberal than Akbar and granted more madad-i-ma'ash (tax-free personal land revenue grants given to religiously learned or spiritually worthy individuals).
• Shah Jahan was born to Jahangir and his wife Jagat Gosain, a Rajput princess.
• His reign ushered in the golden age of Mughal architecture.
• During the reign of Shah Jahan, the splendour of the Mughal court reached its peak, as exemplified by the Taj Mahal.
• The cost of maintaining the court, however, began to exceed the revenue coming in.
• His reign was called as "The Golden Age of Mughal Architecture".
• Shah Jahan extended the Mughal empire to the Deccan by ending the Nizam Shahi dynasty, and forced the Adil Shahis and Qutb Shahis to pay tribute.
• Shah Jahan's eldest son, the liberal Dara Shikoh, became regent in 1658, as a result of his father's illness.
• Dara championed a syncretistic Hindu-Muslim culture, emulating his great-grandfather Akbar.
• With the support of the Islamic orthodoxy, however, a younger son of Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707), seized the throne.
• Aurangzeb defeated Dara in 1659 and had him executed.
• Although Shah Jahan fully recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb kept Shah Jahan imprisoned until his death in 1666.
• Aurangzeb oversaw an increase in the Islamicization of the Mughal state.
• He encouraged conversion to Islam, reinstated the jizya on non-Muslims, and compiled the Fatawa 'Alamgiri, a collection of Islamic law.
• Aurangzeb also ordered the execution of the Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur, leading to the militarization of the Sikh community.
• From the imperial perspective, conversion to Islam integrated local elites into the king's vision of network of shared identity that would join disparate groups throughout the empire in obedience to the Mughal emperor.
• He expanded the empire to include almost the whole of South Asia, but at his death in 1707, "many parts of the empire were in open revolt".
• Aurangzeb is considered India's most controversial king, with some historians arguing his religious conservatism and intolerance undermined the stability of Mughal society, while other historians question this, noting that he built Hindu temples, employed significantly more Hindus in his imperial bureaucracy than his predecessors did, opposed bigotry against Hindus and Shia Muslims.

Akbar and Jahangir were the first Mughal emperors. Jahangir was more liberal than Akbar and granted more madad-i-ma'ash

• The Mughal Empire reached its peak in the 17th century, but began to decline rapidly after the execution of Emperor Farrukhsiyar in 1719.

• The main causes of the Empire's decline were fiscal problems, loss of authority, military defeats, and political feuds.

• British historians have emphasised the importance of economic and military factors, while Marxist historians have emphasised exploitation of the peasantry.

• There is currently little consensus on the main factors behind the Empire's decline.