Class 8 History Revision Lesson 1: Chapter 3a: Mughal Empire

Class 8 History Revision
Lesson 1
Chapter 3a: Mughal Empire
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Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire in South Asia.
For some two centuries, the empire stretched from the outer
fringes of the Indus basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in
the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of
present-day Assam and Bangladesh in the east, and the
uplands of the Deccan plateau in south India.
The Mughal empire is conventionally said to have been
founded in 1526 by Babur, however, the empire got stability in
1600, by Babur's grandson, Akbar. This imperial structure lasted
until 1720, until shortly after the death of the last major
emperor, Aurengzeb, during whose reign the empire also
achieved its maximum geographical extent. Reduced
subsequently, especially during the East India Company rule in
India, to the region in and around Old Delhi, the empire was
formally dissolved by the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion
of 1857.
The very first Mughal emperor and the founder of the Mughal
empire Babur brought gunpowder to India.
He is known for defeating:
• Ibrahim Lodhi in the First Battle of Panipat (AD 1526)
1. Babur (AD • Rana Sanga (Sangram Singh) at battle of Khanwa
• Medini Rai of Chenderi at Battle of Chanderi (AD 1528)
1526-1530) • Mahmud Lodi at Battle of Ghagra (AD 1529)
The first Mughal emperor declared Jehad and adopted the title
Ghazi.
Babur died in 1530 and was buried at Aram Bagh (Agra). Late, his
body was taken to Bagh-e-Babun (Kabul).
• Babur’s son, Humayun, built Dinpanah at Delhi as his second
capital.
• Humayun fought two battles with Sher Shah Suri and was
ultimately defeated:
2. Humayun • Battle of Chausa (AD 1539)
• Battle of Kannauj (AD 1540)
(AD 1530-1556) • The second great Mughal emperor passed 15 years in exile and
again invaded India in 1555 with the help of his officer Bairam
Khan.
• Humayun died in AD 1556 falling from the stairs of his library
building.
3. Akbar (AD 1556-1605)
• Humayun’s officer Bairam Khan crowned 13-year-old Akbar as the third
Mughal emperor.
• He defeated Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat (AD 1556) with the
help of Bairam Khan.
• Akbar conquered: Malwa (AD 1561) after defeating Baz Bahadur
followed by Garh-Katanga (ruled by Rani Durgawati), Chittor (AD 1568),
Ranthambhor and Kalinjar (AD 1569), Gujarat (AD 1672), Mewar (AD
1576) in the Battle of Haldighati after defeating Rana Pratap, Kashmir
(AD 1586), Sindh (AD 1593)
• Akbar discouraged the practice of Sati and encouraged widow remarriage.
• Ralph Fitch was the first Englishman to visit Akbar’s court in AD 1585.
• The third Mughal emperor introduced a land revenue system, wherein the
classification of land and fixation of rent was introduced
• He also introduced the Mansabdari System or the rank-holder system to organise the
3. Akbar (AD 1556-1605)
nobility and army.
• Akbar allowed freedom of religion at his court and attempted to resolve socio-
political and cultural differences in his empire by establishing a new religion, Din-i-
Ilahi, with strong characteristics of a ruler cult.
4. Jahangir (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627)
• Salim 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.
• Jahangir was responsible for ending a century long struggle with the state of Mewar. The
campaign against the Rajputs was pushed so extensively that they were made to submit with
great loss of life and property.
• Jahangir posted Islam Khan I to subdue Musa Khan, an Afghan rebel in Bengal, in 1608.
• James I sent Sir Thomas Roe to the court of the Mughal Emperor, Jahangir, and he gained for
the British the right to establish a factory at Surat. In return, the Company offered to provide
European goods to the Imperial Court. Gradually the EIC flourished under the good graces of
the Mughal Empire, trading in silk, indigo, cotton and saltpetre.
• Jahangir considered his third son, Prince Khurram (future Shah Jahan), his favourite. In 1622,
Khurram murdered his blind older brother, Khusrau Mirza, in order to smooth his own path
to the throne.
5. Shah Jahan (AD 1628-1658)
• Jahangir’s son, Shah Jahan annexed Ahmednagar while Bijapur and

Golconda accepted him as their overlord.
• Apart from the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan also built the Moti Mahal in
Agra, and the Red Fort and Jama Masjid in Delhi
• Shah Jahan’s reign is considered the Golden Age of the Mughal
empire
• Shah Jahan’s son and the last seriously notable Mughal
emperor Aurangzeb secured the Mughal throne after a brutal
war of succession with his brothers Dara, Shuja and Murad.
• Shah Jahan's eldest son, the liberal Dara Shikoh, became
6. Aurangzeb regent in 1658, as a result of his father's illness. Dara
(AD 1658-1707) championed a syncretistic Hindu-Muslim culture. With the
support of the Islamic orthodoxy, however, a younger son of
Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb (reigned 1658–1707), seized the
throne. Aurangzeb defeated Dara in 1659 and had him
executed. Although Shah Jahan fully recovered from his illness,
Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and had him
imprisoned.
Remarkable Roles:
• The Mughal empire conquests reached a climax during his rule.
Aurangzeb’s empire stretched from Kashmir in the north to Jinji in the
south, and from the Hindukush in the west to Chittagong in the east
• Aurangzeb issued a Royal Firman against Sati (in AD 1664 or 1666)
and also gave a death penalty to those forcing widows to be burnt.
• Aurangzeb built Biwi ka Makbara at Aurangbad, Moti Mahal within
Red Fort at Delhi, and the Jami or Badshahi Mosque at Lahore
Aurangzeb’s Controversial Roles:
reign: • He faced several rebellions during his rule, namely from the Jat
Peasantry at Mathura, the Satnami Peasantry in Punjab, and the
Bundelas in Bundelkhand
• The annexation of Marwar in AD 1658 led to a serious rift between
Rajput and Mughals after the death of Raja Jaswant Singh
• Aurangzen conquered Bijapur (AD 1686) and Golconda (AD 1687) and
re-imposed Jaziya in AD 1679
• Aurangzeb executed the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur in AD
1675
Activity: (Marks act as guidance)
1. Who was Babur? (1)
2. How did Babur take advantage of the political vacuum in India? (5)
3. How and where did Sher Shah defeat Mahmud Shah? (5)
Answer:
1. Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire and first Emperor of the Mughal dynasty
( r . 1526–1530) in the Indian subcontinent.
2. He was a very ambitious man and tried to establish an empire in Central Asia. But he was
unsuccessful and instead turned to India to set up his empire. Taking advantage of a power
vacuum in India The circumstances in India were ideal for Babur's ambitious mind. With
the decline of the last strong Sultans of Tughlaq dynasty, central power in Delhi was not
strong. Then the invasion of Delhi in 1398 by Timurlane had brought further instability. The
Sultans of the Sayyid and Lodi dynasty had tried to maintain the political power of Delhi
but faced great difficulties. The Lodis, racially Afghans, had extended their political
influence in India considerably, but there was little stability as the Afghan Lodi rulers of
different regions often fought with each other for supremacy. Babur stepped in India
amidst this situation. Between 1519 and 1520, he conquered Vira, Sialkot and Saidpur. He
conquered Kandahar in 1522 and Punjab in 1525. Then in the battle of Panipat (1526), he
defeated Ibrahim Lodi, Sultan of Delhi, and began to establish the Mughal dynastic rule in
India. The battle of Panipat not only paved the way for Babur's rise to supremacy in
northern India, but also in Bengal.
3. On the death of Bahar Khan, Sher Khan, as the regent of the sultan's
minor son Jalal Khan, became the virtual master of Bihar. Through
marriage he gained the strategic fortress of Chunar. At the growth of
his power other courtiers of Jalal Khan got jealous of Sher Khan. Being
persuaded by their evil design Jalal Khan sought the help of
Ghiyasuddin Mahmud shah, Sultan of Bengal, to free him from the
tutelage of Sher Khan. Mahmud sent an army under Ibrahim Khan to
attack Bihar on behalf of Jalal Khan Lohani. But Sher Khan defeated the
combined forces of Mahmud Shah and Jalal Khan at the battle of
Surajgarh (1534). This led Jalal to fall back on Mahmud and paved the
way for Sher Khan's ascendancy in Bihar. In 1538 Sher Khan invaded
Bengal and defeated Sultan Mahmud Shah.
Supplementary Questions:
1. Who was Prince Suja and what did he achieve for Bengal? (3)
2. Who was Shaista Khan and what reforms did he bring to Bengal? (3)

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Class 8 History Revision

Open your books to Page (Pg. 75-87 )

• Take necessary notes.

• Jahangir’s son, Shah Jahan annexed Ahmednagar while Bijapur and

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