User:HE YIYUE

AT THE ONSET OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, INDIA PRESENTED A POLITICAL DISUNITY AND FRAGEMENTATION. AFTER THE DECLINE OF DELHI SULTANATE, TWO NEW KINGDOMS VIJAYNAGARA AND BAHMANI WERE FORMED WHICH ALSO DISINTREGRATED WITHIN A SHORT TIME. THE ABSENCE OF ANY CENTRAL AUTHORITY AND THE CONSTANT WAR AMONG THE SMALL KINGDOMS OFFERED A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR ZAHIRUDDIN MUHAMMAD BABUR TO INVADE AND CONSOLIDATE INDIA. HE THUS BEGAN THE JOURNEY TO LAY DOWN THE FOUNDATION OF MUGHAL EMPIRE IN INDIA. FOUNDATION OF MUGHAL DYNASTY THE MUGHALS ESTABLISHED A MIGHTY EMPIRE IN THE SUBCONTINENT THAT LASTED FOR OVER THREE HUNDRED YEARS. THE MUGHALS WERE PEOPLE OF GREAT MARTIAL LINEAGE. THE WERE DESCENDANTS OF MONGOLS OF CENTRAL ASIA AND TIMUR, OF THE TIMURID CLAN. MUGHAL IS THE PERSIAN WORD FOR MONGOL. BABUR ESTABLISHED THE MUGHAL RULE IN INDIA, WHIGH REIGNED FOR MORE THAN THREE CENTURIES. THE MOST NOTABLE RULERS OF MUGHAL DYNASTY ARE : BABUR ( 1526 – 1530 ce ) IN THE STARTING, BABUR BECAME THE RULER OF A SMALL PRINCIPALTY , FARGHANA IN CENTRAL ASIA AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 11. HE LATER OCCUPIED SAMARKAND. HOWEVER IN THREE YEARS, BABUR LOST BOTH FARGHANA AND SAMARKAND. IN 1504 CE HE BECAME THE RULER OF KABUL IN AFGANISTAN. BABUR FOUGHT FOUR WARS TO CAPTURE THE THRONE OF INDIA AND EXPAND HIS EMPIRE. WHEN BABUR DIED IN 1530 CE, HE WAS THE RULER OF PUNJAB , DELHI AND THE ENTIRE GANGETIC VALLEY AS FAR AS BIHAR. BABUR WAS SUCCEEDED BY HUMAYUN. HUMAYUN (1530-1540 and 1555-1556 ) AFTER THE DEATH OF BABUR, HIS ELDEST SON , NASIRUDDIN MUHAMMAD HUMAYUN ASCENDED THE THRONE. HE INHERITED A KINGDOM THAT WAS WEAK, UNSTABLE AND WITH A CONFUSED STATE OF ADMINISTRATION. HE FACED CONSTANT THREATS FROM THE AFGHANS AND RAJPUTS. THE WEAK AFGANS HAD AMBITION OF SETTING THEIR INDEPENDENT PRINCIPALITIES. THE MOST THREATING AMONG THEM WAS SHER SHAH SURI, A POWERFUL AFGAN .ANOTHER LURKING THREATS WERE HUMAYUN’S HALF-BROTHERS. DESPITE RECEIVING EQUAL DIVISIONS OF EMPIRE IN  ACCORDANCE WITH BABUR’S WILL, THEY WERE HOSTILE TOWARDS HIM  AND CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM. THEN THERE WAS BAHADUR SHAH, THE RULER OF GUJARAT WHO CONTROLLED MALWA REGION AND WANTED EXTEND HIS DOMINANCE OVER RAJASTHAN.

IN 1539 CE, SHER KHAN SURI DEFEATED HUMAYUN IN BATTLE OF CHAUSA AND LATER AGAIN IN 1540 CE IN BATTLE OF KANNAUJ. THE VAST MUGHAL EMPIRE CRUMPLED TO THE AFGHANS DUE TO WEAK LEADERSHIP. SHER KHAN ASSUMED THE TITLE OF SHER SHAH AND HUMAYUN WAS FORCED TO LIVE IN EXILE. THE DEATH OF SHER SHAH SURI GREATLY WEAKENED THE AFGHAN EMPIRE AND HUMAYUN SAW A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO REGAIN HIS LOST KINGDOM. HE RECAPTURE THE THRONE OF DELHI. BEFORE HE COULD CONSOLIDATE HIS POSITION, HE DIED AFTER FALLING FROM THE STAIRS OF HIS LIBRARY IN 1556 CE. HUMAYUN WAS SUCCEEDED BY AKBAR IN 1556 CE. AKBAR ( 1556-1605 CE ) AKBAR WAS BORN AS ABU’L-FATH JALAL UD-DIN MUHAMMAD ON OCTOBER 15, 1542 CE AT THE RAJPUT FORTESS OF UMERKOT IN SINDH. HE RULED THE MUGHAL EMPIRE FOR ALMOST 50 YRS. HE IS CONSIDEREDAS THE GREATEST MUGHAL EMPEROR. AKBAR FOLLOWED THE POLICIES OF TOLERANCE, UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD ,POLITICAL UNITY AND LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF A SECULAR STATE. UNDER THE RULE OF AKBAR, THE MUGHAL RULE IN INDIA STARTED FLORISHING AND EVENTUALLY REACHED GREAT HEIGHTS OF GLORY AND EXCELLENCE. AFTER THE DEATH OF HUMAYUN, AKBAR WAS PROCLAIMED THE MUGHAL EMPEROR AT THE AGE OF THIRTEEN. BAIRAM KHAN, WHO WAS HUMAYUN’S FAITHFUL AND EXPERIENCED GENERAL , BECAME AKBAR’S REGENT AND MANAGED THE AFFAIRS OF THE GOVERNMENT ON THE BEHALF OF AKBAR. KABUL WAS OCCUPIED BY AKBAR’S HALF-BROTHER MIRZA HAKIM. IN 1560 CE, AT THE AGE OF 18 YRS , AKBAR TOOK CHARGE OF THE STATE AFFAIRS. HIS REIGN WAS MARKED BY A LONG PERIOD OF EMPIRE BUILDING AND POLITICAL CONSOLIDATION. THROUGHOUT HIS REIGN, AKBAR EXPANDED THE MUGHAL EMPIRE USING A COMBINATION OF DIPLOMACY , MARRIAGE ALLIANCES AND MILITARY CONQUESTS. AKBAR CONQUERED MALWA IN 1561 CE AND GANDWANA IN 1564 CE. GUJARAT WAS ANNEXED IN 1572 CE. AKBAR ALSO OCCUPIED THE PHOSPEROUS REIGN OF BENGAL IN 1576 CE. BETWEEN 1585 AND 1595 CE, AKBAR CONQUERED IMPORTANT REGIONS IN THE NORTH – WEST. HE SEIZED KABUL AND ANNEXED KASHMIR AND SINDH. AKBAR USED DIPLOMATIC STRATEGIES TO MAKE THE RULERS OF DECCAN ACCEPT MUGHAL SOVEREIGNTY AND CONQUERED AREAS LIKE BERAR ,AHMADNAGAR, BURHAPUR , KHANDESH ETC., IN THE EARLY PERIOD OF HIS RULE, AKBAR FOCUSSED ON THE EXPANSION OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE. HE REALISED THAT THE CONQUEST OF RAJPUTANA WAS IMPORTANT FOR SECURITY OF HIS IMPERIAL RULE. SO HE INITIATED EFFORTS TO SECURE THE FREINDSHIP AND SUPPORT OF RAJPUTS. IN THE BATTLE OF HALDIGHATI, THE RAJPUTS WERE DEFEATED BY THE MUGHAL FORCES. AKBAR EXPRESSED A GREAT DESIRE TO UNITE DIVERSE RACES UNDER HIS EMPIRE. HE ADOPTED A LIBERAL OUTLOOK WHILE OUTLOOK WHILE  DRAFTING POLICIES TO ENSURE THE TRANSITION OF THE ISLAMIC  MUGHAL STATE INTO  A  SECURE ONE. AKBAR ESTABLISHED A STABLE AND PEOPLE – FRIENDLY EMPIRE. HE MADE SEVERAL CHANGES IN THE EXISTING POLICIES TO FORM AN EFFICIENT AND PRODUCTIVE ADMINISTRATIVE  SYSTEM. AFTER AN IMPRESSIVE REIGN OF FORTY-NINE YEARS , EMPEROR AKBAR DIED IN 1605 CE. DURING HIS FINAL YEAR, HIS SON SALIM (JAHANGIR) REBELLED AGAINST HIS FATHER AND WAS CAPTURED. HOWEVER, AKBAR FORGAVE HIM AND DECLARED  HIM THE RIGHTFUL HEIR  TO HIS THRONE. JAHANGIR THEN CARRIED FORWARD THE LEGACY OF THE MUGHALS. AFTER THE DEATH OF AKBAR, JAHANGIR , SHAH JAHAN AND AURENZEB WERE THE  LAST MOST NOTABLE RULERS  OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE …………. Made by. Kavyansha Pradhan