The Mughal Empire | ICSE Class 7 History & Civics Notes

The Mughal Empire: origins, Babur and Humayun, Sher Shah Suri, Akbar’s conquests and government, revenue and religious policies, Jahangir and Nur Jahan, Shah Jahan’s buildings, Aurangzeb’s Deccan campaigns, social groups, historical sources and the empire’s decline and legacy.

What were the Mughal origins, and why did Babur succeed?

An empire is a large territory containing different peoples and regions under a ruler’s authority. Imperial means relating to an empire or its emperor. The Mughals built theirs around Agra and Delhi and expanded it greatly from the later sixteenth century. In the seventeenth century, they controlled nearly all of the Indian subcontinent.

A dynasty is a succession of rulers from the same family. The Mughals traced their ancestry to Genghis Khan on their mother’s side and Timur on their father’s side. They were especially proud of their Timurid ancestry, meaning their descent from Timur.

They disliked the association with Genghis Khan’s massacres and with their Mongol competitors, the Uzbegs. Timur’s capture of Delhi in 1398 strengthened the prestige of their Timurid connection. Mughal rulers celebrated this ancestry through pictures connecting themselves with Timur.

How did Babur establish his rule?

Babur inherited the throne of Ferghana in 1494 when he was twelve. Uzbeg invasions forced him from his ancestral kingdom. After years of wandering, he captured Kabul in 1504. His Mughal reign in India lasted from 1526 to 1530.

In the First Battle of Panipat, 1526, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi, and captured Delhi and Agra. A sultan was a ruler. This victory established the foundation of Mughal power in northern India.

Babur’s effective use of cannons, large guns that fired heavy projectiles, contributed to his success. His battle organisation combined gunfire with moving troops around the enemy’s sides. Divisions among Ibrahim Lodi’s nobles, powerful men attached to his court, also weakened the opposition he faced.

Babur strengthened his position by defeating Rana Sanga at Khanua in 1527 and Medini Rai at Chanderi in 1528. These campaigns show that taking Delhi and Agra was followed by further fighting against regional opponents.

The painting shows soldiers beside wheeled cannons, with mounted figures nearby. It illustrates the presence of gunpowder weapons in warfare; it is a painting, not a photograph of the battle.

See Fig. 3 in your NCERT textbook

What does the timeline show about Mughal rule?

A timeline arranges events in the order in which they happened. The Mughal story includes conquest, loss of territory, restoration and further expansion. Babur’s victory did not immediately produce the vast empire ruled by later emperors.

Revenue is government income, including taxes. The Deccan is the plateau region of peninsular India south of the Narmada. These terms help connect territorial expansion with the resources needed to govern.

Follow the distinction between a ruler’s reign and an individual event. A reign is the period during which someone rules. Humayun’s rule was interrupted, whereas the dates for Akbar show a continuous reign. The Sur period explains the interruption in Mughal power.

Conquest in the Deccan enlarged the empire, but territory and strength were not the same thing. Long campaigns could increase the area claimed by an emperor while using up soldiers and money.

How did Humayun’s difficulties and Sher Shah’s reforms shape the empire?

Humayun ruled from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 to 1556. His interrupted reign shows how insecure the early Mughal position could be. Babur’s victories had established a kingdom, but his successor still faced rivals capable of taking it away.

Sher Khan, later known as Sher Shah Suri, defeated Humayun at Chausa in 1539 and Kanauj in 1540. Humayun went into exile, meaning enforced residence away from his kingdom. He later obtained Persian help and recovered Delhi in 1555.

Why is Sher Shah remembered as an administrator?

Sher Shah began by managing a small territory for his uncle in Bihar. He eventually captured Delhi and founded the Sur dynasty. His own reign lasted from 1540 to 1545; the dynasty lasted until 1555. These are different periods.

Administration means the organisation and management of government. Sher Shah borrowed features from Alauddin Khalji’s government and made them more efficient. His administrative arrangements became a model for Akbar’s later consolidation, or strengthening, of the Mughal Empire.

• Land revenue: Agricultural land was measured, and assessment considered the crops grown. Revenue means income received by the government, including taxes.
• Communication: He improved roads and established sarais, or roadside inns, which assisted travellers and the movement of information.
• Currency: His silver rupiya helped provide a standard coin for payments and exchange.
• Military supervision: Horse branding and descriptive records of soldiers helped officials check the troops maintained for service.

Sher Shah’s importance therefore extended beyond defeating Humayun. His government connected military power with revenue, transport and supervision. Akbar’s later achievements drew on earlier administrative experience as well as on changes developed during his own reign.

How did Akbar expand the empire and manage relations with other rulers?

Akbar ruled from 1556 to 1605. His reign combined military conquest with efforts to win cooperation. Expansion brought more land under Mughal authority; consolidation required rulers and officials who could help govern that land.

In 1556, Mughal forces under Bairam Khan defeated Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat. This strengthened Akbar’s position after Humayun’s death. Later campaigns extended Mughal power into regions including Gujarat, Bengal and the north-west.

How did cooperation and resistance differ?

The Mughals campaigned against rulers who rejected their authority, but many rulers also joined them voluntarily as Mughal strength grew. The Rajputs were ruling and warrior lineages. Many Rajput families formed marriage alliances with the Mughals and received high positions. Many Rajputs resisted as well.

Rana Pratap of Mewar refused to accept Mughal authority. Mughal forces fought him at Haldighati in 1576. The conflict illustrates the limits of alliance-making: the Rajputs did not all follow one policy towards the empire.

The Sisodiya Rajputs of Mewar resisted for a long time. Once defeated, they were treated honourably and received their ancestral lands back as revenue assignments. Such arrangements helped extend Mughal influence without humiliating defeated rulers, although this balance was difficult to maintain all the time.

What was the purpose of foreign policy?

Foreign policy concerns relations with powers beyond a ruler’s territory. Akbar’s north-western policy involved relations with Persia and the Uzbegs. Kabul and Qandahar mattered because they connected the empire with Central Asia and Persia through strategic routes.

He sought a secure frontier, meaning a border region, while extending Mughal influence. Within India, military pressure and cooperation worked together. Explaining his success therefore requires attention to both armies and the recruitment of former rivals into imperial service.

How did Mughal administration link rank, salary and military service?

Akbar’s government divided the empire into subas, or provinces. A subadar was a provincial governor, while a diwan supervised revenue and financial matters. The emperor depended on officials to turn decisions at court into action across a large territory.

A mansab was a rank or position, and its holder was a mansabdar. The system connected an official’s standing, salary and military responsibilities. It helped organise the service of people recruited from different regions and social backgrounds.

What did zat and sawar mean?

Zat was the numerical value determining a mansabdar’s rank and salary. A higher zat meant a more prestigious court position and a larger salary. A sawar was a cavalryman, or soldier who fought on horseback.

A mansabdar had to maintain a specified number of cavalrymen. He presented them for review, had them registered and their horses branded, and then received money for their salaries. These checks connected a noble’s position with actual military obligations.

How did a jagir differ from direct government?

A jagir gave rights to collect revenue from an assigned area as salary. Most mansabdars did not actually live in or administer their jagirs. Their servants collected the revenue while they served elsewhere in the empire.

During Akbar’s reign, jagirs were carefully assessed so their revenues were roughly equal to the mansabdar’s salary. Under Aurangzeb, actual collections were often less than the granted sum. This difference became important when more officials competed for available assignments.

How did land revenue connect the emperor with village society?

Tax on agricultural produce was the main source of Mughal income. The government therefore depended heavily on cultivators, or peasants, who worked the land. Collecting revenue connected imperial officials with local society, even where the emperor or his officers did not deal directly with each peasant.

In most places, peasants paid through rural elites, including village headmen and local chieftains. The Mughals called these intermediaries zamindars. An intermediary stands between other parties; here, zamindars stood between cultivators and the revenue authorities.

How did Todar Mal organise assessment?

Akbar’s revenue minister, Todar Mal, surveyed crop yields, prices and cultivated areas over the ten-year period described as 1570 to 1580. A crop’s yield is the amount harvested. These records provided a basis for deciding the cash tax on different crops.

1. Officials collected information about the area cultivated and the crops produced.
2. They examined crop yields and prices over the survey period.
3. They used this information to fix cash revenue rates for each crop.
4. Revenue circles, or assessment areas, had their own schedules of crop rates.

This system was called zabt. It operated where officials could survey land and maintain careful accounts. Such assessment was not possible in provinces such as Gujarat and Bengal. Zabt should therefore not be described as a uniform arrangement throughout the empire.

Why could revenue collection produce conflict?

In some areas, zamindars exercised considerable power. Exploitation by Mughal administrators could drive them to rebellion. Sometimes zamindars and peasants of the same caste joined in resistance. These revolts challenged the empire’s stability from the end of the seventeenth century.

Revenue supported government and the army, but demands on producers also affected their ability to survive and invest. A successful assessment system required information and collection machinery. Heavy extraction could weaken the very agricultural society on which imperial income depended.

Why did Akbar develop a policy of religious accommodation?

The empire contained people of different religions, cultures and castes. Religious accommodation means making room for such differences rather than requiring all subjects to share one belief. Akbar’s policies addressed the practical problem of governing this diverse population.

In 1575, he established the ibadat khana, or house of worship, at Fatehpur Sikri for religious discussions. Participants eventually included people from different faiths. These exchanges encouraged him to question religious intolerance and consider principles that could apply across communities.

What was sulh-i kul?

Sulh-i kul means universal peace. It expressed the idea that people following different religions could have a place under the same ruler. Jahangir later described Akbar’s government as allowing room for different beliefs and closing the road to intolerance.

Akbar’s religious policy also included ending the pilgrimage tax in 1563 and abolishing jizya, a tax levied on non-Muslims, in 1564. These measures reduced religious distinctions in taxation. They formed part of his wider effort to secure cooperation from varied communities.

How was Din-e-Ilahi different?

Din-e-Ilahi, associated with Akbar from 1582, was a small spiritual fellowship, a group sharing spiritual aims, centred on loyalty to the emperor and ethical conduct. It drew on ideas from different religious traditions. It did not become a mass religion imposed on the population.

These terms describe connected but distinct aspects of Akbar’s thinking. A building for discussion, a principle of government and a spiritual fellowship are not interchangeable. His recruitment of people from varied backgrounds gave religious accommodation an administrative significance as well.

How did Jahangir, Nur Jahan and Shah Jahan support art and architecture?

Jahangir ruled from 1605 to 1627, following Akbar. In 1611, he married Mehrunnisa, who received the title Nur Jahan. She remained extremely loyal and supportive to him and held an influential position at court.

Jahangir honoured her by issuing silver coins with his titles on one side and her name on the other. Her surviving farman, meaning an order, also shows her public authority. Coins and orders make her role visible alongside the accounts of emperors.

What limits did their campaigns reveal?

During Jahangir’s reign, Mewar accepted Mughal authority in 1615, ending a long period of resistance. However, the empire lost Qandahar to Persia in 1622. His reign therefore included both an important settlement within India and a setback on the north-western frontier.

Under Shah Jahan, campaigns towards Balkh in Central Asia failed to establish lasting control. Qandahar was lost again to Persia in 1649, and attempts to recover it failed. These difficulties show that wealth and powerful armies did not guarantee success beyond the empire’s established territories.

What did artistic patronage involve?

A patron supports artists or commissions their work. Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan patronised skilled painters who primarily illustrated manuscripts, or handwritten books, containing history and poetry. Miniatures are small paintings, generally made in water colour on cloth or paper.

These paintings generally used brilliant colours. They portrayed court life, battles, hunting and other social activities. They were often exchanged as gifts and viewed only by an exclusive circle of the emperor and his close associates.

Which buildings illustrate Mughal patronage?

Under Jahangir, work on Akbar’s tomb at Sikandra was completed. Nur Jahan commissioned the tomb of her father, Itimad-ud-Daulah, at Agra. A tomb is a building containing or commemorating a burial. Such projects linked family remembrance with architecture.

Shah Jahan, who ruled from 1628 to 1658, commissioned the Taj Mahal at Agra in memory of Mumtaz Mahal. His other major projects included Delhi’s Red Fort and Jama Masjid. A masjid is a mosque, a Muslim place of worship.

The Taj Mahal’s white marble, balanced design and decorative inlay illustrate the skill invested in royal buildings. Inlay means setting pieces of decorative material into a surface. Such monuments required trained workers, materials and the substantial resources available to imperial patrons.

Artistic influence continued beyond the court. As Mughal power declined, many painters moved to regional courts. Mughal tastes influenced those patrons, while regional painting traditions also retained and developed distinctive features of their own.

How did Aurangzeb’s Deccan policy create both expansion and strain?

Aurangzeb ruled from 1658 to 1707. His reign brought further territorial expansion, but also increasing pressure on imperial resources. His Deccan policy sought to extend Mughal authority over southern states and overcome resistance to Mughal rule.

He annexed Bijapur in 1686 and Golconda in 1687. To annex means to add territory to one’s own state. These victories removed independent kingdoms, but did not bring an end to warfare in the region.

Why was resistance difficult to overcome?

The Marathas emerged as a major regional power under Shivaji. Their resistance continued beyond his lifetime. Mughal victories over individual places or rulers did not automatically establish lasting control over every surrounding area.

Aurangzeb’s long Deccan war depleted the empire’s military and financial resources. Depleted means greatly reduced or used up. Armies needed payment and supplies over extended campaigns, making prolonged warfare a serious burden on imperial government.

At the same time, more mansabdars needed revenue assignments. Many waited a long time for a jagir, and actual revenue was often below the assigned amount. Many tried to extract as much as possible while they held an assignment, causing tremendous suffering among peasants.

How should his reign be assessed?

Territorial gains and administrative strength must be considered separately. Bijapur and Golconda enlarged the empire, while war costs, revenue pressures and regional resistance weakened its capacity to govern. Expansion could therefore accompany growing instability.

Aurangzeb also reimposed jizya in 1679, reversing Akbar’s earlier abolition. Religious tensions formed part of the period’s difficulties, but decline cannot be explained through religion alone. Military, financial and political problems reinforced one another.

How did different social groups participate in Mughal society?

The empire depended on people with very different occupations, wealth and relationships to power. Its history includes service, cooperation and resistance. Neither all nobles nor all peasants experienced imperial government in the same way.

How did nobles and regional rulers participate?

From an early core of Turkish nobles, known as Turanis, Mughal recruitment widened to include Iranians, Indian Muslims, Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas and other groups. Bringing such people into service helped connect the court with different regions.

Many regional rulers accepted high office, while others resisted. Rajput marriage alliances were one route to cooperation. The mothers of Jahangir and Shah Jahan came respectively from the ruling families of Amber and Marwar, illustrating these family connections.

How did peasants and zamindars participate?

Peasants, the people cultivating the land, supplied the agricultural produce on which taxation depended. Zamindars helped mediate revenue collection, but some also led resistance. Sometimes peasants and zamindars of the same caste acted together against Mughal authority.

The poorest producers lived from hand to mouth. They had little left to buy tools or supplies that might increase production. Wealthier peasants and artisans, skilled producers of goods, profited in this economy, so producers should not all be treated as equally poor.

How did artisans and painters participate?

Artisans are skilled producers of goods. Imperial and noble spending supported those supplying goods and agricultural produce. Painters received court patronage, and major buildings required skilled labour. Yet prosperity at court coexisted with severe inequalities elsewhere.

These connections explain why government, war and culture belonged to the same wider economy. Taxes financed salaries and expenditure; expenditure supported producers; heavy collection could restrict the producers’ own resources. Looking at several groups reveals both the empire’s achievements and its social tensions.

What sources help us understand Mughal government and society?

Historical sources are surviving records or objects used to investigate the past. Written histories, administrative information, coins, orders, paintings and buildings reveal different aspects of Mughal life. Comparing them helps distinguish official claims from other kinds of evidence.

What do written accounts reveal?

Akbar asked his friend and courtier Abul Fazl to write the Akbar Nama, a three-volume history. A courtier is someone attached to a ruler’s court. Its first volume concerns Akbar’s ancestors, and its second records events of his reign.

The third volume, the Ain-i Akbari, describes administration, the royal household, army, revenue and geography. It also discusses people’s traditions and culture. Its statistical information includes crop yields, prices, wages and revenues.

For studying revenue assessment in 1570 to 1580, information about land, crops and prices is particularly useful. Written administrative details help explain how assessment worked. They should also be considered alongside evidence about the effects of collection on cultivators.

What do objects and images reveal?

Nur Jahan’s marriage in 1611 provides context for studying her influence. Coins naming her and the order issued in her name provide evidence of recognition and authority. A coin and a written history answer different kinds of questions.

The reproduced document shows writing and two prominent seals, one square and one round. It is a historical document, not a portrait. Its seals help identify the authority behind the order.

See Fig. 7 in your NCERT textbook

The battle painting associated with Babur’s victory in 1526 illustrates cannons and soldiers. A painting can show how warfare was represented, but cannot by itself prove every detail of a battle. Likewise, an imperial building reveals patronage without describing every subject’s living conditions.

Note: A court history records the past from a position close to the ruler. Use it together with other evidence. Magnificent buildings and richly illustrated books do not prove that everyone in the empire was prosperous.

Why did Mughal power decline, and what was its legacy?

Decline here means weakening central authority, not the sudden disappearance of every Mughal institution. Problems developed during Aurangzeb’s later years and continued after his death in 1707. Several pressures combined to make control more difficult.

Which causes reinforced one another?

• Long wars: Deccan campaigns reduced the military and financial resources available to the empire.
• Revenue difficulties: Shortages of jagirs and pressure to collect revenue increased hardship among cultivators.
• Rebellions: Peasant and zamindar revolts challenged imperial authority. Their causes included tax pressures and the ambitions of local chiefs.
• Powerful governors: Provincial officials gained control over regional resources, while less revenue reached the imperial capital.
• Competition among nobles: Rival groups struggled for influence, weakening later emperors’ ability to control their own officials.

The Mughals did not follow primogeniture, inheritance by the eldest son. Their tradition was coparcenary inheritance, division among sons. The lack of an automatic eldest-son succession also provided a setting for struggles among princes over imperial power.

What were the consequences?

Regional powers became increasingly independent. Former imperial servants established ruling houses in areas such as Hyderabad and Awadh. They could still recognise the emperor in Delhi as their master while consolidating independent political identities.

Recognition of the emperor therefore did not necessarily mean effective control by him. The shift of resources and authority towards provincial rulers changed the political structure of the subcontinent. Mughal power weakened gradually and unevenly across regions.

What survived as a legacy?

A legacy is an influence or inheritance that continues after its creators. Mughal administrative arrangements and ideas of government outlasted their rule. Later rulers had to work with the political structures and regional relationships developed under the empire.

Buildings, painting traditions and records also survived. Artists carried Mughal influences to regional courts, where they combined with distinctive local traditions. The period’s legacy includes both celebrated cultural achievements and lessons about the strains of governing a vast, unequal empire.

Glossary

• Dynasty — A succession of rulers belonging to the same family across different generations.
• Administration — The organisation and management of government through officials, rules and working arrangements.
• Mansab — A position or rank held by a person enrolled in Mughal imperial service.
• Mansabdar — An imperial official holding a mansab, with salary and specified military responsibilities.
• Zat — The numerical value determining a mansabdar’s rank, court standing and salary.
• Sawar — A cavalryman maintained by a mansabdar as part of his military obligations.
• Jagir — An assignment of revenue used to provide the salary of an imperial official.
• Zamindar — A revenue intermediary, ranging from a village headman to a powerful local chieftain.
• Zabt — A revenue assessment system using surveys and crop rates where careful accounting was possible.
• Sulh-i kul — Universal peace, a principle allowing people of different religions room under the same ruler.
• Din-e-Ilahi — A small spiritual fellowship associated with Akbar, distinct from his broader principle of universal peace.
• Farman — An order issued under recognised authority, such as the surviving order of Nur Jahan.
• Miniature — A small painting, generally produced in water colour on cloth or paper.
• Primogeniture — A system of inheritance in which the eldest son inherits his father’s estate.
• Coparcenary inheritance — The division of a father’s inheritance among all his sons rather than the eldest alone.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: Babur founded Mughal rule in 1556. Correct: He defeated Ibrahim Lodi in 1526. Akbar’s reign began in 1556.
• Misconception: Humayun ruled continuously from 1530 to 1556. Correct: His rule was interrupted between 1540 and 1555 by the Sur dynasty.
• Misconception: Sher Shah ruled until 1555. Correct: His reign ended in 1545; the Sur dynasty continued until 1555.
• Misconception: All Rajputs opposed the Mughals. Correct: Many formed alliances and entered imperial service, while many others resisted.
• Misconception: Every mansabdar directly governed his jagir. Correct: Most did not reside in or administer it; servants collected its revenue while they served elsewhere.
• Misconception: Zabt operated uniformly throughout the empire. Correct: It depended on surveys and careful accounts, which were not possible in provinces such as Gujarat and Bengal.
• Misconception: Sulh-i kul and Din-e-Ilahi were identical. Correct: Universal peace was a broad governing principle; Din-e-Ilahi was a small spiritual fellowship.
• Misconception: Territorial expansion proved the empire was becoming stronger in every way. Correct: Aurangzeb’s gains coexisted with costly wars, revenue difficulties and resistance.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526 and captured Delhi and Agra. Identify the defeated ruler and state the territorial result. [2 marks]

1. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the ruler named in the account of the battle.
2. The victory brought the two cities of Delhi and Agra under Babur’s control.

Q2. Sher Shah measured agricultural land for revenue assessment, improved roads and roadside inns, and used horse branding and soldiers’ records. Explain three ways these measures strengthened administration. [3 marks]

1. Measuring agricultural land gave officials information needed to assess revenue, linking tax demands with the land from which agricultural income came.
2. Improved roads and roadside inns assisted travel and communication, helping people and information move between different places within the ruler’s territory.
3. Horse branding and soldiers’ records made it easier to inspect military service and check the troops maintained for the government.

Q3. A mansab was a rank in Mughal service; zat was a numerical value determining standing and salary; a sawar was a cavalryman maintained by a mansabdar for service; a jagir supplied assigned revenue as salary. Distinguish these four terms. [4 marks]

1. Mansab described an official position or rank within imperial service, placing its holder within the Mughal administrative and military organisation.
2. Zat was the numerical value that determined the official’s standing and salary, rather than the name of a revenue assignment.
3. Sawar meant a cavalryman who formed part of the mounted force that a mansabdar was required to maintain for service.
4. Jagir meant a revenue assignment from which a mansabdar received income as salary; it described the means of payment.

Q4. Todar Mal surveyed crop yields, prices and cultivated areas during 1570 to 1580. Cash crop rates were fixed, and revenue circles had their own schedules. Zabt required surveys and careful accounts; these were not possible in Gujarat and Bengal. Explain five features or limits of this system. [5 marks]

1. The assessment rested on information collected over the stated period, 1570 to 1580, giving officials a body of records to use when fixing demands.
2. The survey considered yields, prices and cultivated areas together, connecting the amount harvested and its value with the area producing the crop.
3. Tax was fixed in cash for each crop, so the assessment converted information about agricultural production into a money demand.
4. Revenue circles had separate schedules of crop rates, making the circle an important unit within the organisation of revenue assessment.
5. Zabt depended on reliable surveys and careful accounts. Since these were not possible in Gujarat and Bengal, the system was not universal.

Q5. Akbar’s ibadat khana hosted religious discussions; sulh-i kul meant universal peace. He ended the pilgrimage tax in 1563 and jizya, a tax on non-Muslims, in 1564. Din-e-Ilahi was a small spiritual fellowship associated with him from 1582. Explain five distinct aspects of his religious policy. [5 marks]

1. The ibadat khana provided a place for religious discussions, allowing Akbar to engage with differing beliefs and consider questions about religious life.
2. Sulh-i kul expressed universal peace, offering a broad principle for accommodating religious difference among people living under the same imperial ruler.
3. Ending the pilgrimage tax in 1563 removed the specified tax connected with pilgrimage, forming one practical measure within his approach to religion.
4. Abolishing jizya in 1564 ended the stated tax on non-Muslims, reducing that particular religious distinction in the taxation of his subjects.
5. Din-e-Ilahi was the small spiritual fellowship associated with Akbar from 1582. Its limited circle distinguished it from the wider governing principle of sulh-i kul.

Q6. Jahangir honoured Nur Jahan through coins bearing her name, and an order issued in her name survives. Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan supported painters who illustrated history and poetry manuscripts. Explain three conclusions supported by these facts. [3 marks]

1. The coins show that Nur Jahan received public recognition through an object bearing her name, linking her position with the emperor’s honour.
2. The surviving order provides evidence of authority exercised in her name, adding a written administrative object to the evidence supplied by coins.
3. The support given to manuscript painters shows that imperial patronage sustained artistic work connected with historical writing and poetry at the court.

Q7. Aurangzeb annexed Bijapur in 1686 and Golconda in 1687. Long Deccan wars depleted soldiers and money; jagirs supplied officials’ salaries, and shortages increased revenue pressure; peasants and zamindars rebelled; provincial governors strengthened their own positions. Explain five points showing how expansion could accompany decline. [5 marks]

1. The annexations of Bijapur in 1686 and Golconda in 1687 expanded imperial territory, providing evidence that Mughal conquest continued during Aurangzeb’s reign.
2. The long Deccan wars reduced military and financial resources, so gaining territory could occur while the means needed to govern it became weaker.
3. Shortages of jagirs increased pressure to obtain revenue, connecting problems within the system of official payment with heavier demands on producers.
4. Rebellions by peasants and zamindars challenged authority from within local society, making control more difficult despite the empire’s wider territorial reach.
5. Provincial governors strengthened their own positions, shifting effective power towards the regions and away from the emperor who claimed authority over them.

Key takeaways

• Babur’s victory over Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526 gave the Mughals control of Delhi and Agra.
• Humayun lost and recovered his kingdom; Sher Shah’s administrative experience helped shape Akbar’s later government.
• Akbar combined conquest with cooperation, recruiting people from different backgrounds and building relationships with many regional rulers.
• Mansab, zat, sawar and jagir connected an official’s position, salary, military responsibilities and access to revenue.
• Zabt relied on crop information and careful accounts; its use was limited by the possibility of conducting reliable surveys.
• Sulh-i kul expressed universal peace, while Din-e-Ilahi was a small fellowship associated with Akbar.
• Mughal painting and architecture depended on patronage, skilled workers and resources, while wealth existed alongside serious poverty.
• Long wars, revenue pressures, rebellions and powerful governors weakened central authority, although Mughal cultural and administrative influences survived.

Test yourself

Why did the Mughals take particular pride in their Timurid ancestry?

Timur was a prestigious ancestor who had captured Delhi. They also disliked associations with Genghis Khan’s massacres and their Uzbeg competitors.

Why must Sher Shah’s reign and the Sur dynasty’s duration be distinguished?

Sher Shah ruled from 1540 to 1545, while the dynasty he founded continued until 1555.

Did every Rajput ruler respond to Mughal power in the same way?

No. Many formed alliances and entered imperial service, while many others resisted Mughal authority.

Did most mansabdars administer their jagirs directly?

No. Most served elsewhere, while servants collected the assigned revenue on their behalf.

What was the main source of income for Mughal rulers?

Tax on agricultural produce was their main income source, linking imperial government closely with cultivators.

What evidence helps establish Nur Jahan’s influence?

Coins bearing her name and an order issued in her name provide evidence of recognition and authority.

Why did conquering the Deccan not guarantee greater imperial strength?

Long wars depleted soldiers and money, while revenue problems and resistance made effective control difficult.

How could regional rulers recognise the emperor yet act independently?

They could acknowledge him as their master while controlling their own provincial resources and consolidating separate political identities.