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The Mughals (16th to 17th Century)

• Ruling a territory as large as the Indian subcontinent with diverse people and cultures was difficult in the Middle Ages.
• The Mughals created an empire and accomplished what seemed impossible for short periods.
• From the late 16th century, they expanded their kingdom from Agra and Delhi.
• By the 17th century, they controlled nearly the entire Indian subcontinent
• Structures of administration and governance were put in place, outlasting their rule.
• The Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on Independence Day from the Red Fort in Delhi, which was the residence of the Mughal emperors.

Who were the Mughals?

• Descendants of two great lineages of rulers.
• On their mother's side, they descended from Genghis Khan, the Mongol ruler who ruled over parts of China and Central Asia.
• From their father's side, they were the successors of Timur, who ruled Iran, Iraq, and modern-day Turkey.
• The Mughals disliked being called Mughal or Mongol because Genghis Khan's memory was associated with massacre and their Mongol competitors, the Uzbegs
• They were proud of their Timurid ancestry because their great ancestor captured Delhi in 1398.
• They pictorially celebrated their genealogy, each ruler getting a portrait made of Timur and himself

Mughal Military Campaigns

• Babur (1526-1530), the first Mughal emperor, succeeded to the throne of Ferghana in 1494 at age 12.
• He was forced to leave his ancestral throne due to the Uzbegs invasion.
• After years of wandering, he seized Kabul in 1504.
• In 1526, he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi, at Panipat and captured Delhi and Agra.

Mughal Traditions of Succession

• The Mughals did not follow primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited his father's estate
• Instead, they followed coparcenary inheritance, a division of the inheritance amongst all the sons

Mughal Relations with Other Rulers

• The Mughals constantly campaigned against rulers who refused to accept their authority.
• As the Mughals became powerful, many other rulers joined them voluntarily.
• The Rajputs are a good example of this, with many marrying their daughters into Mughal families and receiving high positions.
• However, many Rajputs also resisted Mughal authority

Mansabdars and Jagirdars

Mansabdars

• As the empire grew, Mughals recruited diverse people including Turkish nobles (Turanis), Iranians, Indian Muslims, Afghans, Rajputs, and Marathas.
• Those who joined Mughal service were enrolled as mansabdars.
• The term mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning position or rank.
• The Mughals used a grading system to fix rank, salary, and military responsibilities.
• Rank and salary were determined by a numerical value called zat.
• The higher the zat, the more prestigious the noble and the larger his salary.
• A mansabdar's military responsibilities required him to maintain a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen.
• The mansabdar brought his cavalrymen for review, had them and their horses registered, and then received money to pay them as salary. Jagirdars
• Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs, similar to iqtas.
• Unlike muqtis, most mansabdars did not reside in or administer their jagirs.
• They only had rights to the revenue of their assignments, collected by servants, while the mansabdars served elsewhere
• In Akbar's reign, jagirs were carefully assessed so that their revenues were roughly equal to the mansabdar's salary.
• By Aurangzeb's reign, actual revenue was often less than granted, with a huge increase in mansabdars, causing long waits for jagirs
• As a result, many jagirdars tried to extract as much revenue as possible while they had a jagir.
• Aurangzeb was unable to control these developments, and the peasantry suffered tremendously

Zabt and Zamindars

• The main source of income for Mughal rulers was tax on the produce of the peasantry.
• Peasants typically paid taxes through rural elites like headmen or local chieftains.
• The Mughals used the term zamindars to describe all intermediaries, whether local headmen or powerful chieftains
• Akbar's revenue minister, Todar Mal, carried out a careful crop yield and price survey over a 10-year period (1570-1580).
• Taxes were fixed on each crop in cash based on this data; each province was divided into revenue circles.
• This revenue system was known as zabt, prevalent in areas where Mughal administrators could survey land and keep accounts.
• Zabt wasn't possible in provinces like Gujarat and Bengal.
• In some areas, zamindars exercised great power, and exploitation by Mughal administrators could lead to rebellion.
• Sometimes zamindars and peasants of the same caste allied in rebelling against Mughal authority.
• These peasant revolts challenged Mughal Empire stability from the late 17th century

Akbar Nama and Ain-i Akbari

• Akbar ordered Abul Fazl to write a history of his reign.
• Abul Fazl wrote the Akbar Nama, a three-volume history of Akbar's reign.
• The first volume dealt with Akbar's ancestors, second recorded the events of Akbar's reign, and third, the Ain-i Akbari. Ain-i Akbari
• It deals with Akbar's administration, household, army, revenues, and the geography of his empire.
• Provides rich details about traditions, culture, and statistical details (crops, yields, prices, wages, revenues) of the people living in India

Sulh-i kul

• Jahangir, Akbar's son, described his father's policy of sulh-i kul, where there was room for all classes and creeds in his Imperial dominions.

Nur Jahan's influence in Jahangir's court

• Mehrunnisa married Emperor Jahangir in 1611 and received the title Nur Jahan.
• As a mark of honor, Jahangir struck silver coins with his titles on one side and "struck in the name of Queen Begum, Nur Jahan" on the other
• A document (farman) of Nur Jahan states "Command of her most Sublime and Elevated Majesty Nur Jahan Padshah Begum" with another seal stating Nur Jahan as the lady of the age.

The Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century and After

• The administrative and military of efficiency of the Mughal Empire led to great economic and commercial prosperity.
• International travelers described it as a fabled land of wealth with poverty.
• In the 20th year of Shah Jahan's reign, the highest-ranking mansabdars were 445 of 8,000, receiving 61.5% of the empire's revenue as salaries.
• Mughal emperors and mansabdars spent income on salaries and goods, benefiting artisans and peasantry.
• The scale of revenue collection left little for primary producers and the wealthiest profited in this system.
• The enormous resources commanded by the Mughal elite made them an extremely powerful group of people in the late seventeenth century.
• As the Mughal emperor's authority declined, servants emerged as powerful, forming new dynasties and held command of provinces.
• By the eighteenth century, provinces consolidated their independent identities, still recognizing the Mughal emperor in Delhi.

Eighteenth-Century Political Formations:

• The boundaries of the Mughal Empire were reshaped by the emergence of independent kingdoms.
• By 1765, the British had successfully grabbed major chunks of territory in eastern India

Crisis of the Empire and the Later Mughals:

• The Mughal Empire reached its height and started facing crises towards the late 17th century due to various factors.
• Emperor Aurangzeb depleted military and financial resources by prolonged warfare in the Deccan

Sisodiya Rajputs:

• Refused to accept Mughal authority for a long time.
• Once defeated, they were honorably treated and given their lands (watan) back as assignments (watan jagir.)

Nadir Shah Attacks Delhi:

• In 1739, Nadir Shah sacked and plundered Delhi, taking immense wealth.
• Wealth looted from the Mughal treasury included sixty lakhs of rupees, gold coins, gold-ware, jewels, and the Peacock Throne

Successors of Aurangzeb:

• Imperial administration broke down under weaker successors, making it difficult to control powerful mansabdars
• Nobles appointed subadars controlled offices of revenue and military administration (diwani and faujdari.)
• This gave them extraordinary political, economic, and military powers.
• As governors consolidated control, periodic remission of revenue to the capital declined

Peasant and Zamindari Rebellions:

• Revolts in northern and western India were sometimes caused by mounting taxes or attempts by chieftains to consolidate positions.
• Mughal authority was challenged, and rebellious groups seized resources, shifting political and economic authority to provincial governors and local chieftains

The Rajputs

• Ruling families of Amber and Jodhpur served under the Mughals, enjoying autonomy in their watan jagirs
• In the 18th century, they tried to extend control over adjacent regions
• Influential families claimed subadari (governorship) of Gujarat and Malwa
• Ajit Singh held governorship of Gujarat, and Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Amber was the governor of Malwa
• They seized portions of imperial territories neighboring their watans
• Sawai Raja Jai Singh founded Jaipur and received subadari of Agra
• Maratha campaigns created pressure, checking expansion

Seizing Independence (The Sikhs):

• Organization of Sikhs into a political community during the 17th century aided regional state-building in the Punjab.
• Guru Gobind Singh fought battles against Rajput and Mughal rulers.
• After Guru Gobind Singh's death in 1708, Khalsa rose in revolt under Banda Bahadur, declaring sovereign rule
• They established their own administration between Sutlej and the Jamuna
• Banda Bahadur was captured in 1715 and executed in 1716
• In the 18th century, the Sikhs formed bands called jathas, combined as the grand army (dal khalsa.)
• They met at Amritsar during Baisakhi and Diwali to take collective decisions known as "resolutions of the Guru (gurmatas.)"
• A system called rakhi was introduced, offering protection to cultivators on the payment of a tax of 20% of the produce.
• Guru Gobind Singh inspired the Khalsa with the belief that they were destined to rule (raj karega khalsa.)
• The Sikhs resisted Mughal governors and Ahmad Shah Abdali
• Khalsa declared sovereign rule by striking their own coin again in 1765 with the same inscription as the one ordered by Banda Bahadur

The Marathas

• The Maratha kingdom was established by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (1630).
• Shivaji (1630–1680) carved out a stable kingdom with powerful warrior families (deshmukhs).
• Mobile peasant-pastoralists (kunbis) provided the infantry. Shivaji challenged Mughals in the peninsula.

Shivaji Successors

• Effective power rested in the hands of Chitpavan Brahmanas who served Shivaji's successors as Peshwa (principal minister).
• Poona become capital of the Maratha kingdom.
• Under the Peshwas, Marathas utilized military
• They created and expanded the Maratha empire.
• Bypassing the Mughal areas by quickly attacking individual cities and Mughal armies.

Chauth

• Collection of revenue from zamindars by Marathas of 25%.

Sardeshmukhi

• Collection of revenue from head revenue collectors by the Marathas of 9 - 10%.

Maratha Empire

• The Maratha empire was expanded and the authority of the Mughal Empire was decreased.
• Malwa and Gujarat were seized from Mughals during the 1720's.
• The Maratha King was recognised as an overlord of the entire Deccan peninsula by the 1730's.
• Possessed right to levy chauth and sardeshmukhi in the entire region