Question

explain the statement the mughals floweed the trimurid tradition of succesion

Answer 1

Two great lineages of rulers were the ancestors of the Mughals. From their maternal side they were the descendants of Genghis Khan (who died in 1227) who ruled the Mongol tribes, China and Central Asia. From their paternal side they were the descendants of Timur who ruled Iraq, Iran and modern-day Turkey. Timur died in the year 1404. They did not like to be called Mughal or Mongol. The reason for this is that Genghis Khan’s memory was associated with the massacre of innumerable people. It was also associated with Uzbegs, their Mongol competitors. However, they were proud to be in the lineage of Timur; to some extent because of his capture of Delhi in 1398. They celebrated their genealogy pictorially; with each ruler getting a picture made of Timur and himself.

The military campaign of the Mughals

Babar (1526 – 1530) was the first Mughal emperor. He succeeded the throne of Ferghana in 1494; at the age of 12. But another Mongol group (the Uzbegs) attacked and forced him to leave the ancestral throne. He wandered for many years and then seized Kabul in 1504.

Succession traditions of the Mughals:The succession tradition of Mughals was not that of primogeniture. Instead, they followed the Mughal and Timurid custom of coparcenary inheritance. In primogeniture, the eldest son inherits his father’s estate. In coparcenary, the inheritance is divided amongst all the sons.