who were the Mughals? (class 7 chapter 4 )
Answers
Answer:
The Mughal Empire (Persian: )[9] or Mogul Empire, self-designated as meaning “son-in-law”),[10] was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries.[11] 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
Explanation:
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire or Mogul Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries.[11] 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.[12]
Mughal Empire
1526–1540
1555–1857
Mughal
The empire at its greatest extent, in c. 1700
Status
Empire
Capital
Agra (1526–1540; 1555–1571; 1598–1648)
Fatehpur Sikri (1571–1585)
Lahore (May 1586 – 1598)
Shahjahanabad, Delhi (1648–1857)
Common languages
Persian (official and court language)[1]
Zaban e Urdu e Mua'lla (language of the ruling classes, later given official status)[2]
Hindavi (Lingua franca)
Arabic (for religious ceremonies)
Chagatai Turkic (only initially)
Other South Asian languages
Religion
Sunni Islam (Hanafi) (1526–1857)
Din-i Ilahi (1582–1605)
Government
Absolute monarchy,
unitary state with federal structure,
centralized autocracy
Islamic sharia[3](1526–1719)
Oligarchy with a restricted monarch figurehead (1719–1857)
Emperor[a]
• 1526–1530
Babur (first)
• 1837–1857
Bahadur Shah II (last)
Historical era
Early modern
• First Battle of Panipat
21 April 1526
• Empire interrupted by Sur Empire
1540–1555
• Mughal–Maratha Wars
1680–1707
• Death of Aurangzeb
3 March 1707
• Battle of Karnal
24 February 1739
• Carnatic Wars
1746–1763
• Battle of Plassey
1757
• Bengal War
1759–1765
• Siege of Delhi
21 September 1857
Area
1690[5][6]
4,000,000 km2 (1,500,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1700[7]
158,400,000
Currency
Rupee, Taka, dam[8]:73–74
Preceded by Succeeded by
Delhi Sultanate
Bengal Sultanate
Rajput states
Chero dynasty
Deccan sultanates
Bengal Subah
Durrani Empire
Maratha Empire
Sikh Empire
Company rule in India
British Raj
Today part of
India
Pakistan
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
The Mughal empire is conventionally said to have been founded in 1526 by Babur, a warrior chieftain from what today is Uzbekistan, who employed aid from the neighboring Safavid and Ottoman empires,[13] to defeat the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodhi, in the First Battle of Panipat, and to sweep down the plains of Upper India. The Mughal imperial structure, however, is sometimes dated to 1600, to the rule of Babur's grandson, Akbar.[14] This imperial structure lasted until 1720, until shortly after the death of the last major emperor, Aurangzeb,[15][16] 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.
Although the Mughal empire was created and sustained by military warfare,[17][18][19] it did not vigorously suppress the cultures and peoples it came to rule; rather it equalized and placated them through new administrative practices,[20][21] and diverse ruling elites, leading to more efficient, centralised, and standardized rule.[22] The base of the empire's collective wealth was agricultural taxes, instituted by the third Mughal emperor, Akbar.[23][24] These taxes, which amounted to well over half the output of a peasant cultivator,[25] were paid in the well-regulated silver currency,[22] and caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.[26]
The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion.[27] Burgeoning European presence in the Indian Ocean, and its increasing demand for Indian raw and finished products, created still greater wealth in the Mughal courts.[28] There was more conspicuous consumption among the Mughal elite,[29] resulting in greater patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture, especially during the reign of Shah Jahan.[30] Among the Mughal UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Asia are: Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Lahore Fort, Shalamar Gardens and the Taj Mahal, which is described as "the jewel of Muslim art in India, and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."[31]