MEDIEVAL INDIA

THE ARABCONQUEST OF SIND The Arab conquest of Sind was

a part of the Mohammadeninvasion for the spread ofIslam.

Arabs captured Sindh in 712AD.

During the period of theKhaliphate of Omar, Arabforces made a fertile attempt toget Bombay.

The Arabs conquest ofMakran Baluchistan openedtheir way to Sind.

The Ruler of Sind was Dahir. In 710 a small Arab trading

vessel from Basra arrived at themouth of the Indus and waspromptly seized by the localHindu authorities.

The Pirates of Debal, a part inSind, plundered a ship carryingMuslim pilgrims and presentsto the Caliph Walid fromCeylon.

Al-Hajaj, the Caliph’s governorof Iraq demanded compen-sations from Dahir, which thelatter rejected.

In 712 Arabs attacked andcaptured Sind, under thecommand of Muhammad Bin-Kassim, Debal fell in April 712.

Kassim killed Dahir at Rawarand took the capital Alor inJune.

The Arabs lost control over

Sind in 779. But was split intotwo independent kingdomsMultan and Mansurah.

Turkish Invasions Ghazni in Afghanistan was ruled

by a Turkish family called Gaminiof Ghaznavid dynasty.

Mahmud Ghazni was the firstTurkish conqueror of North In-dia.

Mahmud’s father wasSubuktigin.

He attacked India only for wantof wealth.

He attacked India seventeentimes between 1000 and 1027AD. He made all the raids in theguise of Jihad.

First invasion was in 1001 AD. He defeated Jaipal and

Anandpal of Shahi dynasty in1001 and 1009 respectively.

The most important raid ofMahmud was the Somanath ex-pedition. It was in 1025. He com-pletely destroyed the temple.Somanath Temple was on thesea coast of Gujarat.

Muhammed Ghazni died in 30thApril 1030.

Later his son Masud attackedIndia and captured Kashmir.

The famous Persian poetFirdausi who wrote ‘Shahnama’(The Book of Kings) lived in hiscourt.

Alberuni, an Arab Historian,who wrote Tarikh-ul-Hind(Reality of Hindustan), accompa-nied Muhammed Ghazni to India.

Al-Firdausi is known as ‘IndianHomer’, ‘Persian Homer’, or‘The Immortal Homer of theEast’.

Muhammad of Ghori attackedIndia betwen 1175 and 1206 AD.

Muhammad Ghori made his firstexpedition to India and capturedMultan in 1175 AD.

In 1193 Muhamad Ghori at-tacked Jaichand, father - in - lawof Prithviraj . III at Kanauj,Jaichand was defeated.

In 1195-96 Muhammad Ghorioccupied Bayana and Gwaliar. In1197 he defeated Bhinadeva IIof Gujarat.

The Battles of Tarain, also knownas the Battles of Taraori, were fought in 1191 and

1192 near the town of Tarain near Thanesar in present-day Haryana. In the First Battle of Tarain in 1191 (near

Taneswar), Muhammad Ghori was defeated by the Rajput forcesunder Prithviraj Chauhan III. In the Second Battle of Tarain

(1192 AD) Muhammad Ghori assisted by Qutub -ud-din Aibek (a slave), defeated Prithviraj

Chauhan III and killed him.

Muhammed Ghori returned fromIndia by entrusting his territo-ries in India in the hands ofQutub-Uddin Aibak.

After the death of Ghori in 1206,Aibek founded the Slave Dy-nasty.

Muhammad Ghori’s Indian inva-sion resulted in the foundationof Islamic rule in India.

DELHI SULTANATE The five dynasties which

founded subsequently after theTurkish invasion were collec-tively known as Delhi sultanate.They are:

Slave Dynasty .......... 1206 - 1290Khilji Dynasty .......... 1290 - 1320Tughlaq Dynasty ...... 1320 - 1412Sayyid Dynasty ........ 1414 - 1451Lodi Dynasty ............ 1451 - 1526

SLAVE DYNASTY Slave Dynasty was also called

Ilbari Dynasty, Yamini Dynastyor Mamluk Dynasty.

Qutub-ud-din Aibak was a slaveof Muhammad Ghori and hefounded the Slave Dynasty in1206 AD.

Aibak was the first Muslim rulerof India.

The capital of Qutub-ud-dinAibak was at Lahore

He was known as ‘Lakh Baksh’or ‘giver of lakhs’ or ‘giver offavours’ for his magnanimity.

Hasan Nizami was a famoushistorian in the court of theAibek.

Qutub-ud-din Aibak started theconstruction of Qutub Minar in

THE DELHI SULTANTESlave DynastyQutb-ud-din Aibak.................................................... 1206-10 ADAram Shah ............................................................... 1211 ADShamsuddin Iltutmish ............................................... 1211-36 ADRuknuddin Feroz ...................................................... 1236 ADRazia Sultana ............................................................ 1236-40 ADMuizuddin Behram ................................................... 1242 ADAlaudin Masud ........................................................ 1246 ADNaseeruddin Mahmud .............................................. 1246-66 ADGhiyasuddin Balban ................................................. 1266-86 ADMuizuddin Kaikubad ................................................ 1290 ADKaimur ..................................................................... 1290 ADKhalji DynastyJalaluddn Khalji ........................................................ 1290-96 ADAlauddin Khalji ........................................................ 1296-1316 ADShihabuddin Omar .................................................... 1316 ADMubarak Khalji ......................................................... 1316-20 ADKhusro Khan ........................................................... 1320 ADTughlaq DynastyGhiyasuddin Tughlaq ............................................... 1320-24 ADMuhammad Tughlaq ................................................ 1324-51 ADFiroz Shah Tughlaq .................................................. 1351-88 ADMohammad Khan ..................................................... 1388 ADGhiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah II ................................... 1388 ADAbu Baqr ................................................................. 1389-90 ADNasiruddin Muhammad ............................................ 1390-94 ADHamayun ................................................................. 1394-95 ADNasiruddin Mahmud ................................................. 1395-1412 ADSayyid DynastyKhizr Khan ............................................................... 1414-20 ADMubarak Shah .......................................................... 1421-33 ADMuhammad Shah ...................................................... 1434-43 ADAlauddin Alam Shah ................................................. 1443-51 ADLodhi DynastyBahlul Lodhi ............................................................. 1451-89 ADSikander Lodhi ......................................................... 1489-1517 ADIbrahim Lodhi ........................................................... 1517-1526 ADMughal Empire ........................................... 1526 - 1540, 1555-1857Babar ...................................................................... 1526 - 1530 ADHumayun ................................................. 1530-1540, 1555-1556 ADAkbar ...................................................................... 1556 - 1605 ADJahangir .................................................................. 1605 - 1627 ADShahjahan ................................................................. 1628-1658 ADAurangazeb ............................................................ 1658 - 1707 ADBahadurshah II ........................................................ 1837 - 1857 AD

1199 in Delhi in memory of theSufi saint Quaja Qutub - ud-dinBhaktiar Kaki. Its constructionwas completed by Iltutmish. Itis a five storied building.

He constructed two mosques.Quat-ual Islam at Delhi and AlhaiDin Ka Jhopara at Ajmer.

Aibak was a great patron oflearning and patronized writerslike Hasan- un - Nizami, authorof Taj-ul-Massir and Fakhr-ud-Din, author of Tarikh- i- MubarakShahi.

Qutub-ud-din Aibak died in 1210AD by falling from horsebackwhile playing Polo.

After the death of Qutubuddin,Aram Shah ascended thethrone but he was deposed byIlthumish and crowned himselfthe Sulthan.

During the period of Iltumish(1210-1236) Chengizkhan, theMongol conqueror attacked In-dia (1221).

He saved Delhi Sultanate fromthe wrath of Chengiz Khan - theMongol leader by refusingshelter to Khwarizm Shah, whomChengiz was chasing.

Iltumish is considered as thereal founder of Delhi Sulthanate

Iltumish was the first Sultan ofDelhi to get recognition of theKhalif of Bagdad.

Iltutmish was the third MuslimTurkish sultan of the Sultanateof Delhi and the third ruler ofthe Mamluk dynasty. He was aslave of Qutub-ud-din-Aybak.

Iltumish was also the first Sul-tan who made Delhi his capitalin place of lahore.

He issued a purely Arabic coin-age of Silver and was the first todo so.

Coins introdued by Iltumish,‘Silver Thanka’ and ‘CopperJital’ were the two basic coinsof the Sultanate period.

He issued the silver tanka for thefirst time. He organized the Iqtasystem and introduced reformsin civil administration and army,which was now centrally paidand recruited.

He organised the ‘Chalisa’ orthe famous Turkish Forty tohelp him in the administration.

Iltumish completed the con-struction of Qutub Minar.

He set up an official nobility ofslaves known as Chahalgani(group of forty).

He patronized Minaj-us-siraj,author of Tabaqat-i-nasiri.

The revenue system of the Sul-tanate ‘Iqta system’, was intro-duced by Iltumish.

Iltumish was succeeded by hisson Ruknuddin Firoz Shah. Buthe was later executed and Raziabecame the sultan (daughter ofIltumish).

Sulthana Raziya, the onlywomen ruler of, the Sultanatecame to power in 1236 andreigned till 1240.

Razia Sultana Iltutmish had nominated his

daughter Razia as the successor,the nobles placed Rukn-ud-dinFiroz on the throne. However,Razia got rid of Rukn-ud-din andascended the throne. Razia waspopular among the people butshe was not acceptable to thenobles and theologians. Shefurther offended the nobles byher preference for anAbyssinian slave-Yakut.

Sulthana Raziya rejected the

Pardah, she adorned the maledress and held open courts.

In October 14, 1240 both Raziyaand Altunia who earlier raisedarms against Raziya but laterjoined with her were, beheadedat Kaithal.

After Raziya, Behran Shah(1240-42) Allaud-din-Masudshah (1242-46) andNaziruddin Muhammad (1246 -1266) ruled and Balban, thefounder of the second Ilbari dy-nasty, became the Sultan.

Ghiasuddin Balban ‘a slave wa-ter carrier, huntsman, noble,statesman became the Sultan ofDelhi.

Ghiyas-ud-din Balban Ghiyasuddin Balban (1200 –

1287) was a Turkish ruler of theDelhi Sultanate during theMamluk dynasty (or Slavedynasty) from 1266 to 1287.

Balban ascended the throne in1265 AD.

He broke the power ofchahalgani and restored theprestige of the crown. That washis greatest contributiontowards the stability of theSultanate.

To keep himself well-informedBalban appointed spies.

He created a strong centralisedarmy to deal with internaldisturbances and to checkMongols who were posing aserious danger to DelhiSultanate.

The Persian court modelinfluenced Balban’s conceptionof kingship.

He introduced Sijda (prostration before the monarch) andPaibos (kissing the feet of

monarch) as the normal forms ofsalutation.

He destoryed Mewati Rajputbrigandage in the doab, whereforests were cut and forts built.

Balban is considered as thefounder of Second Ilbari Dy-nasty.

Balban described himself as‘Shadow of God’ or the ‘Viceregent of God on Earth’ (Zil-i-illahi)

Balban because of his autocraticrule is considered as a ‘typicaloriental despot’.

He created a strong centralisedarmy to deal with internal dis-turbances and to checkMongols who were posing aserious danger to Delhi Sultan-ate.

He established the Military de-partment - Diwan - i - Arz.

The Chalisa or forty establishedby Iltumish was abolished byBalban.

His policies are considered to be‘Draconian’.

He started the Iranian system ofSijda and Paibos.

He was a patron of men of let-ters and showed special favourto the poet Amir Khusru.

After Balban’s death in 1286,Kayqubad (1287 -90) became theSultan.

Madhavacharya of the DwaitaPhilosophy got help fromBalban.

Balban’s Tomb is situated inDelhi. It was constructed byBalban himself.

Kayqubad was the last SlaveSultan. (Kayumars who ruled fora term of three months was ac-tually the last Slave Sultan. Hewas killed by Jalaluddin Khilji)

and founded the Khilji Dy-nasty.

KHILJI DYNASTY Khilji dynasty was founded by

Malik Firoz in 1290 and assumedthe title Jalaluddin Khilji (1290-96)

In 1292, the Mongols underAbdulla accepted defeat fromJalaluddin Khilji.

Alauddin Khilji, the nephew ofJalaluddin Khilji, killed him afterhis victory on Devagiri in 1296.

Alauddin Khilji’s early name wasAli Gurushas.

He became the Sultan in 1296AD and ruled till 1316 AD.

He was the first Turkish Sultanof Delhi who separated religionfrom politics. He proclaimed -“Kingship knows no Kinship”.

In 1303, Alauddin Khilji at-tacked Chittor, the capital ofMewar, to marry Padmini thewife of Chittor king Ratan Singh.

But Padmini and other Rajputwomen committed Jauhar(Jauhar is a mass suicide byjumping into fire, committed byRajput women to escape frombeing polluted by others)

Padmavat is a historical kavyaabout Padmini episode writtenby Malik Muhammed Jayasi.

Malik Muhammed Jayasi was thecourt poet of Shersha Suri.

Alauddin Khilji was the firstMuslim ruler to attack South In-dia.

Malik Kafur was AlauddinKhilji’s commander who at-tacked South India.

Alauddin Khilji was the mostfamous ruler of the Khilji Dy-nasty.

Alauddin was the Sultan ofDelhi who banned the use of li-quor.

Alauddin had a dream of aWorld Conquest so he assumedthe title ‘Sikhandar-i-sani’ orSecond Alexander.

Demitrius, a Bactrian ruler ispopularly known as SecondAlexander.

Alauddin abolished theZamindari System and imposedtax on cattle.

He was the first muslim ruler ofDelhi to introduce measurementof land for tax assessment.

His market regulations were toget goods at controlled price tothe people of Delhi.

He controlled and regulated theprices of essential goods.

Diwan -i-riya sat and Shahna -i-Mandi were appointed to regu-late the market and prices.

The revenue administration wasmade under Diwan-i-Mustakhrq.

He introduced the Dagh andChahra systems.

Alauddin Khilji was the firstSultan of Delhi who separatedreligion from politics.

He was also the first to proclaim‘‘I am the Khalifa’’.

Alauddin constructed AlaiDarwaza the gate way of QutubMinar.

He built the city of Siri, the sec-ond of the seven cities of Delhi,near Qutub Minar.

The first marriage between aMuslim ruler and a Hindu prin-cess was between Alauddin andKamala Devi, the widow of theruler of Gujarat.

Alauddin Khilji was killed by hiscommander Malik Kafur by poi-soning.

Amir Khusru was the courtpoet of Alauddin

Amir Khusru is known as the‘Parrot of India’

He is considered as the fatherof Urdu language and the inven-tor of Sitar.

Laila Majnu and Tughlaq Namaare the famous works of AmirKhusru.

Alauddin Khilji was the firstSultan to maintain a permanentstanding army.

Alauddin Khilji was responsiblefor the introduction of postalsystem in medieval India.

Alauddin annexed Gujarat (1298AD), Ranthambhor (1301 AD),Mewar (1303 AD), Malwa (1305AD), Jalor (1311 AD). In Deccan,Alauddin’s army led by MalikKafur defeated Yadavas ofDevagiri, Kakatiyas ofWarrangal, Hoysalas ofDwarsamudra and Pandyas ofMadurai.

Mubarak Shah Khilji was thelast ruler of the khilji Dynasty.

Khilji dynasty came to an endwhen the Mubarak Shah Khiljiwas killed by Khusru Khan.

Some historians considerKhusrau Khan as the last KhiljiSultan.

TUGHLAQ DYNASTY Tughlaq Dynasty was founded

by Ghiasuddin Tughlaq. His realname was Ghazi Malik.

Ghiasuddin Tughlaq foundedthe dynasty after killing KhusruKhan in 1320.

Ghiasuddin Tughlak created acivil-administration code basedon Koran.

Reduced the land tax to 1/11 ofthe produce.

Ghiazuddin died by the collapseof a pavilion.

He built the Tughlaqabad Fortin Delhi the third city of Delhi tothe east of Qutub complex.

Ghiasudhin Tughlaq was thefirst Sultan to start irrigationworks.

GhiasuddinTughlaq was suc-ceeded by his son Jauna Khan,popularly known as MuhammedBin Tughlaq.

Muhammed Bin Tughlaq is con-sidered as the most responsibleperson for the decline of DelhiSultanate.

Muhammed Bin Tughlaq wasknown as a Mixture of opposites,Wisest fool, Pagal padushah,unfortunate idealogue and thePredecessor of Akbar in intel-lectual and religious matters.

Ibn Batuta called him ‘‘anillstarred idealist’’.

He shifted his capital from Delhito Devagiri (Daulatabad) in 1327.

In 1330, he introduced tokencurrency of bronze and copper.

The Sultan created a new De-partment of Agriculture calledDiwan-i-Kohi.

The main object of this Depart-ment was to bring more landunder cultivation by giving di-

rect help to peasants. Moroccan Traveller Ibn Batuta

visited India during his period. Edward Thanas described him

as ‘Prince of moneyers’. Muhammed Bin Tughlaq was

succeeded by his elderlycousin, Firoz Shah Tughlaq.

He was a Muslim ruler of theTughlaq Dynasty, who reignover Sultanate of Delhi from1351 to 1388.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq was the firstSultan of Delhi to imposeJaziya. It was a religious tax forthe freedom of worship. He im-posed it only upon Brahmins.

He extended the principle of he-redity to the army. Soldiers wereallowed to rest in peace and tosend in their place their sons.

The soldiers were not paid incash but by assignments onland revenue of villages.

He built the city of Firozbad inDelhi. The Firoz shah Kotla wasalso built by him. The gate wayof Firozshah Kotla is KhooniDarwaza, or blood stained gate.It was constructed by ShershahSuri.

He transplanted two Ashoka Pil-lars to Firozabad.

He is the author of Fatuhat -i-Firozshahi

After Firozshah TughlaqMuhammed Shah Tughlaq orNaziruddin Muhammed came tothe throne.

It was during the period of hisreign that Timur the Lame orTamerlain, a Turkish conquerorof Tartar tribe from Samarkhandattacked India in 1398.

Timur appointed Khizr Khan, thegovernor of Multan his author-ity in India.

SAYYID DYNASTY

Sayyid Dynasty wasfounded by Khizr Khan in1414.

They ruled over Delhi andsurrounding districts forabout 37 years.

Last Sayyid Sultan wasAlauddin Alamshah or ShahAlam I. He was killed byBahalol Lodhi in 1451.

LODHI DYNASTY Lodhi dynasty was founded

by Bahlol Lodhi in 1451.The dynasty lasted upto1526.

Lodhi dynasty was the firstAfghan dynasty or firstPathan dynasty in India.

Sikhandar Lodhi, who ruledfrom 1489 to 1517 shifted thecapital from Delhi to Agra.

Sikhandar Lodhi is consid-ered as the Maker of AgraCity.

He introduced the Gaz-i-Sikandori (Sikandar Syard)of 32 digits for measuring

The Qutab Minar, now a World Heri-tage Site in New Delhi, India, was builtduring his time.

cultivated fields. Sikander Lodhi conquered Bihar

and Tirhut. Sikander Shah wasa fanatical Muslim and he brokethe sacred images of theJawalamukhi Temple at Nagarkotand ordered the temples ofMathura to be destroyed. Hetook a keen interest in thedevelopment of agriculture.

Ibrahim Lodhi asserted the ab-solute power of the Sultan. As aresult, some of the nobles turnedagainst him. At last Daulat KhanLodhi, the Governor of Punjabinvited Babur to overthrowIbrahim.

Babur accepted the offer and in-flicted a crushing defeat onIbrahim in the first battle ofPanipat in 1526, April 21 A.D.Ibrahim was killed in the battleand with him ended the DelhiSultanate.

The title Sultan was started bythe Turkish rulers. MahmudGhazni was the first to assumethe title Sultan.

The official language of theDelhi Sultanate was Persian.

Logo of Vijayanagara

BAHMANI & VIJAYA-NAGAR KINGDOMS

The decline of the Sultanate ofDelhi gave birth to two mightystates in South India - theBahmani Kingdom of Gulbaragaand the Vijayanagara Empire.

The Bahmanis were Muslim rul-ers, while the rulers of theVijayanagar were Hindus.

The Bahmani kingdom wasfounded by Zafar Khan(Hassan) who took the titleAlauddin Bahman Shah. He se-lected Gulbaraga as its capitaland renamed it Ahsanabad.

There were total eighteen Sul-tans and they ruled from 1347 to1527.

Mahmud Gawan was the famousPrime Minister of Bahmani king(Muhammad Shah III).

The last prince of the BahmaniKingdom was Kalimullah.

Vijayanagar Empire The founders of Vijayanagar

Empire were Harihara I and

By 1527, the Bahmani king-dom was split up into five in-dependent principalities.

The Adil Shahis of Bijapur -founder - Yusuf Adilshah(1489 - 90)

The Nizam Shahis ofAhamadnagar - founder -Malik Ahmad (1499)

The Imadshahis of Berar -founder -Fateh UllaImadshanti (1490)

The Qutubshahi kingdom ofGolconda - founder -Qutabshah (1512)

The Baridshahis of Bidar -founder - Amir Ali Barid(1527).

Vijayanagar kingdom lasted for 230 years and produced

four dynasties.

1) Sangama (1336 - 1485) - Harihara I and Bukka I

2) Saluva - (1485 - 1505) - Saluva Narsimha

3) Tuluva (1505 - 1565) - Veer Narsimha

4) Aravidu (1565 - 1672) - Tirumala

the Grand Father of Telugu po-etry.

‘Ashtadiggajas’ was the famousScholastic Assembly in the courtof Krishna Deva Raya.

Vijayanagar Empire was visitedby many foreign travellers.

Nicolo Conti - Venitian traveller,visited during the reign ofDevaraya I.

Abdur Razzak : Ambassador ofSultan ShahRukh to the court ofDevaraya II.

Damingos Paes : He visitedKrishna Devaraya’s court.

Ferona Nuniz : A Portuguesewho visited during AchyutaRaya’s reign.

Durate Barbosa : A portuguesewho visited KrishnadevaRaya’s court.

Athenasius Nikitin (1415) : Hewas a Russian, who visited dur-

Bukka, the revenue officers ofthe Kakatiya ruler Pratap RudraDeva II of Warrangal.

They founded the dynasty in1336 with the capital asVijayanagar on the banks ofTungabhadra river with the helpof Saint Vidyaranya.

Krishna Deva Raya (1509 - 1529)belonged to the Tuluva dy-nasty. The Italian travellerNicolocont visited his court.

Krishnadeva Raya is known as‘Andhra Bhoja’

He wrote Ushaparinayam andAmuktamalyada

Allasani Peddanna, a Telugupoet was a courtier of KrishnaDeva Raya. He is considered asthe ‘‘Andra Kavita Pitamaha’’ –

ing Deva Raya I’s period. Hewrote, ‘Voyage to India’.

The Vijayanagar rulers issuedgold coins called Varahas,Kopeki (pertab) and Fanam.

Famous Travellers to Vijayanagar Kingdom Abu Abdullah / Ibn Batuta: A Moroccan traveller, left account of Harihara I’s reign in his book Rehla also

called Tuhfatun-Nuzzar fi Gharaib-ul-Amsar Wa Ajaib-ul-Assar.

Nicolo de Conti: Italian traveller who visited during the time of Deva Raya I. Left an account in Travels ofNicolo Conti.

Abdur Razzak: Ambassador of Shah Rukh of Samarqand at the Court of the Zamorin of Calicut. He gives anaccount of the reign of Devaraya II, in his Matla us Sadain Wa Majma ul Bahrain.

Athanasius Nikitin: A Russian merchant who described the conditions of the Bahamani kingdom underMuhammad III in his Voyage to India.

Ludvico de Vorthema: An Italian merchant who visited India in 1502-1508 and left his memoirs in Travels inEgypt, India, Syria etc.

Duarte Barbosa (1500-1516): A Portugese He has given a vivid account of the Vijayanagar governmentunder Krishna Deva Raya in his famous book - An Account of Countries bordering the Indian Ocean andtheir inhabitants.

Dominigos Paes: Portugese who spent a number of years at Krishna Deva’s court has given a glowingaccount of his personality.

Fernao Nuniz: A Portugese writer of 16th century spent three years in Vijayanagar (1535-37).

The Mughals were originallyTurks.

They belonged to the Chaghtaibranch of the Turkish race.

Period of the Mughal empire isknown as Second ClassicalAge. First Classical Age is thePeriod of Guptas.

Mughal Empire is also known asTimurid Empire because of itsrelation to Amir Timur.

Mughal Emperors are 20 in num-ber. They ruled India from 1526to 1857. Only six are consideredgreat. They are:

Babur (1526 - 1530), Humayun(1530 - 40 & 1555 - 1556), Akbar- (1556 - 1605), Jahangir (1605 -1627), Shah Jahan (1628 -1658,Aurangazeb (1658 - 1707).

THE MUGHAL EMPIRE The name Mughal is de-rived from the originalhomelands of theTimurids, the CentralAsian steppes once con-quered by Chenghis Khanand hence known asMoghulistan, “Land ofMongols”. Although earlyMughals spoke theChagatai language andmaintained Turko-Mongolpractices, they were es-sentially Persianized. Theytransferred the Persian lit-erature and culture to In-dia, thus forming the basefor the Indo-Persian cul-ture.

Mughal painting is a particularstyle of South Asian painting,generally confined to minia-tures with Indian Hindu, Jain,and Buddhist influences.

Urdu was the spoken languagethe Mughals.

Following 1725, the empire de-clined rapidly, weakened bywars of succession, agrariancrises, fueling local revolts, thegrowth of religious intolerance,the rise of the Maratha, Durrani,and Sikh empires and finallyBritish colonialism.

The last king, Bahadur ZafarShah II, whose rule was re-stricted to the city of Delhi, wasimprisoned and exiled by theBritish after the Indian Rebel-lion of 1857.

Babur, the founder of the MughalEmpire, was the fifth descendantof Timur on father’s side and thefourteenth descendant ofChengizkhan on mothers side.

Babur was born in Farghana inTurkey on 14 Feb., 1483 as the sonof Umer Sheik Mirza ad QulikNigarkhanum.

Babur’s father Umershiek Mirzawas the grand son of Amir Timurand the ruler of Farghana.

Babur became the ruler ofSamarkhand at the age of 11.

He captured Kabul in 1504. Then Babur attacked India 5 times for want of

wealth. Babur’s first attack of India was in 1519 Bhera

was the first place captured by Babur. In 1524, Daulatkhan, Ibrahim Lodhi’s brother in-

vited Babur to India. On 21 April 1526 Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi,

the last Lodhi Sultan in the First Battle of Panipat. On 16 March 1527, he defeated Rana Sangha of

Mewar, in the Battle of Khanwa. The Rajputs in 1528 under Medini

Rai of Malwa fought against Baburin the Battle of Chanderi, but weredefeated.

In 1529, the Afghans underMuhammed Lodhi fought againstBabur in the Battle of Ghaghra butwere defeated.

In 1530 December 26, Babur diedand was cremated at Kabul.

Babur was the first to use Artilleryin India.

The memoirs of Babur ‘Tuzuk-i-Baburi or Baburnama was written in Turkishlanguage, Babur’s mothertongue by him.

It was translated into Persian by Abdur RahimKhan-i-Khana.

Babur said ‘‘I dont like India and Indians’’. Babur was the first Mughal ruler to keep in hand

the Kohinoor Diamond. Babur was a contemporary of Krishnadeva Raya

of Vijayanagar Empire.

BABUR

Humayun succeeded Babur in Dec 1530 at theage of 13.

Mahim Sultana was Humayun’s mother. Kamran, Askari and Hindal were his brothers. The greatest weakness of Humayun was his

generosity. He divided the empire . i.e. Kabul and Qandhar

to Kamran ; Sambhal to Askari and Mewat toHindal.

In 1531 Humayun invaded Kalinjor ofPrataprudra Deo but retreated from there due toMahmud Lodhi’s advance to Jaunpur,.

In the Battle of Dhuria Humayun defeatedMahamud Lodhi.

In 1532 Humayun attacked the fort of Chunarwhich was under Sherkhan’s control.

1n1533 Humayun built the city of Dinpannah on

HUMAYUNthe site of “Purana Quila” against Bahadurshah,Gujarat.

Humayun failed in giving help to Karna Vathi,the Rajamatha of Mewar who sent a Rakhi toHumayun.

In 1539 and 1540 Sherkhan defeated Humayun inthe Battle of Chausa and in the Battle of Kanauj orBilgram.

From 1540 top 1555 Humayun was in exile. In1541 Humayun married Hamida Begum, the

daughter of a Persian Shiya Maulavi, Ali AkbarJami or Mir Baba Dost.

The Mughal army under Bairamkhan defeatedthe Afghan forces in the Battle of Machhiwara.

Humayun occupied Delhi on July 1555. Humayun slipped on the staircase of the Library

at Din- Panch or Sher Mandal and died.

Original name - Farid Birth place - Hissar Firosa, Delhi district His Grand father - Ibrahim Khan Sur. His father - Hassan Khan The family came to India from Afghanistan Hassan Khan entered the service of Ummar

Khan, the councillor and courtier of SultanBahlol lodi.

Under Jamal Khan - the master of Hassan Khanduring the region of Sikandar Lodi, Farid learnedthe Sikandar Nama, the Qulistan etc at Jaunpur.

Farid got the Parganas Sasaram and Khawaspur. Faird who, lost the favour of his father, moved

to Agra and became the right hand man of BaharKhan.

Bahar Khan Lohani of Bihar gave farid the title‘Sher Khan’.

In 1527- Sher Khan with the help of Junaid Balas,governor of Jaunpur, became a member of theMughal Court of Babur. He was with Babur for15 months from April 1527 to June 1528 andparticipated in the battle of Chanderi againstMedini Rai.

Sher khan became the tutor of Jalalkhan and theadministrator of Saith, Bihar.

In 1530 he captured the Fort of Chunar andmarried Lad Malika the widow of Tajkhan, thegovernor.

The Battle of Surajgarh - 1534 made Sherkhanthe master of Bihar and Bengal.

In the Battle of Chausa Sherkhan defeatedHumayun. After this he assumed the title SherShah

SHERSHAH In 1540 the battle of Bilgram or Kanauj Shershah

expelled Humayun. He got the Fort of Rohtas and became the first

muslim conqueror of the Fort. From 1541 to 1545 Shershah conquered the

Gakkhars, Malwa, Raisin, Multan, Sind, Jodhpurand Mewar and Kalinjor

Shersha defeated the Rajastanis in the battle ofSamel

He imprisoned the governor of Bengal Khizrkhanwho declared himself the independent ruler ofBengal.

While directing the operations of his artillery atKalanjar against the ruler of Bundelkhand Raja KiratSingh, Shershah was seriously wounded by asudden fire in the ammunition and died on May 22,1545.

Shershah constructed the Grand Trunk Road,now National High Way no-2.

He established the 6th Delhi capital cityShergarh.

Shershahsuri celebrated his coronation in thecity of Gaur (Bengal)

He constructed a tomb for himself at Sasaram. He introduced a Silver Coin- Rupee. He is called as the “Father of Indian Rupee” His Revenue System was excellent and hence

Akbar adopted it. The last Sur ruler was Sikandar Sur who was

defeated by Humayun in 1555.

A major Mughal contribution to the Indian Subcontinent was

their unique architecture. UNESCO World Heritage Site Taj

Mahal, is known to be one of the finer examples of Mughal

architecture. Other World Heritage Sites includes the

Humayun’s Tomb, Fatehpur Sikri, Red Fort, Agra Fort and

Lahore Fort.The palaces, tombs and forts built by the dynasty stands to-

day in Delhi, Aurangabad, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Jaipur, Lahore,

Kabul, Sheikhupura and many other cities of India, Pakistan,

Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The Red Fort in Delhi was the main palace

of the empire during the reign of ShahJahan.

Father - Humayun Mother - Hamida Bhanu Begum Step mother - Magam Anaga Guardian - Bairam Khan First Guardian - Munim Khan Akbar was born at Amarkot in

Sindh in 23 Nov. 1542. He came to the throne on Feb-

ruary 14, 1556 at the age of 14 atKalanur.

Hemu the Hindu Prime Ministerof Muhammed Adilshah ofBihar occupied Agra and ac-cepted the title MaharajaVikramaditya.

Akbar killed Hemu in the Sec-ond Battle of Panipat in 1556November 2.

After this Akbar got the title‘Ghazi’

Akbar became an independentruler at the age of 18 in 1560, af-ter dismissing Bairam Khan.

Later he married Bairam Khan’swidow Salima Begum.

In 1561 he defeated the musicianSultan of Malwa - Baz Bahadur.

In 1562 Akbar married JodhaBhai, the daughter of RajaBharmal of Amber.

Akbar abolished the practice ofenslavement of war prisoners.

In 1564, he abolished the reli-gious tax Jaziya. Jaziya was im-posed for the first time byFirozshah Tughlaq.

In 1572 he captured Gujarat andin memory of that he built a newcapital city Fathepur Sikri (Cityof Victory) near Agra.

The early name of Fathepur Sikriwas City of Sikri.

Buland Darwaza is the gate wayof Fathepur Sikri, built by Akbar.

In 1575, Akbar constructed a

AKBAR THE GREATprayer house in Fathepur Sikriknown as Ibadatkhana.

In 1579, he issued the Infallibil-ity Decree by which he madehimself the supreme head in re-ligious matters.

In 1580, the first Jesuit mission-aries arrived at the court ofAkbar.

In 1585, Ralph Fitch the firstEnglish man to reach India, dur-ing Akbar’s reign.

Ralph Fitch is known as pioneerEnglish man or torch bearerEnglishman.

In 1582, Akbar founded a newreligion for universal peace andmonotheism known as ‘DinIlahi’ means Divine Faith.

In 1583, he started a new Calen-dar called Ilahi Calendar.

In 1576, Akbar defeatedMaharana Pratap of Mewar inthe Battle of Haldighat .Haldighat is a mountain pass inthe Aravally hills in Rajasthan.

The Portuguese introduced to-bacco for the first time in Indiain the court of Akbar in 1604.

Akbar was the Mughal Emperorwhen the English East IndiaCompany was being founded in1600 December 31.

Akbar died in 1605. His tomb is situated at Sikandra

near Agra. Akbar was an illiterate person,

but he was a patron of men ofeminence. He maintained aScholastic Assembly in hiscourt. They included the follow-ing personalities.

Abul Fazal: Akbar’s court his-torian who wrote Akbar’s bio-graphical works Ain-i-Akbari

and Akbar Namah. Abul Faizi : Persian poet and

brother of Abul Fazal. He trans-lated Mahabharata into Persianin name ‘Razam Namah’ andBhaskaracharya’s mathematicalwork Leelavati into Persian.

Mian Tansen : His original namewas Ram Thanu Pande. He wasthe court Musician of Akbar. Hecomposed a Raga, Rajdarbari inhonour of Akbar.

Birbal : His real name wasMahesh Das. He is the courtjester of Akbar.

Raja Todarmal : RajaTodarmalwas Akbar’s finance or revenueminister. He formulated Akbar’srevenue system Zabti andDashala systems. RajaTodarmal also translatedBhagavatapurana into Persian.

Maharaja Mansingh : Akbar’smilitary commander.

Badauni : A historian who trans-lated Ramayana into Persian -Tarjuma -1-Ramayan.

Tulasidas: Hindi poet who wroteRamacharitamanas.

Akbar’s military system wasknown as Mansabdari system.

Akbar was also responsible forthe introduction of Persian asthe official language ofMughals.

He divided the Mughal Empireinto 12 Sabha (provinces).

Akbar was also the first ruler toorganise Hajj. Pilgrimage at thegovernment expense. The PortCambay in Gujarat is known asthe ‘Gate way to Mecca fromMughal India’.

Akbar was an accomplished Si-tar player.

Early name of Jahangir was Salim. Akbar calledhim Sheika Baba.

Jahangir came to the throne in 1605. Jahangir was the son of Akbar and Jodhabai. He married Mehrunnisa, an Afghan widow in

1611. Later he gave her the titles, Noor Mahal(light of the palace) Noor Jahan (light of theworld) and Padusha Begum.

In 1606, Jahangir executed fifth Sikh Guru GuruArjun Dev, because he helped Jahangir’s sonPrince Khusru to rebel against him.

In 1609, Jahangir received William Hawkins, anenvoy of King James I of England, who reachedIndia to obtain trade concession.

In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe reached the court ofJahangir as the first ambassador of James I ofEngland. As a result of his efforts, first Englishfactory was established at Surat in Gujarat.

JAHANGIR Period of Jahangir is considered as the Golden

Age of Mughal Painting. Jahangir himself was apainter. Ustad Mansur and Abul Hassan werefamous painters in the court of Jahangir.

Jahangir built Shalimar and Nishant Gardens inSrinagar.

Jahangir banned slaughter of animals on Sundayand Thursday.

Jahangir suspended a chain of Justice known asZndiri Adal infront of his court.

Anarkali was Jahangair’s lover.’ Mughal-i-Asam’directed by K. Asif is a famous film which tellsthe love story of Jahangir and Anarkali.

Jahangir wrote his autobiography Tuzukh -i-Jahangiri in Persian language.

Jahangir died in 1627 and was cremated atShahdhara in Lahore.

SHAHJAHAN

Shahjahan was born on 5thJanuary 1592 at Lahore.

His mother was Jagat Gosainand his childhood name wasKhurram.

He married Arjum and BanuBegum, daughter of Asaf Khan,brother of Noorjahan. She latercame to be known as MumtazMahal which means beloved ofthe Palace.

Shahjahan destroyed the Portu-guese settlements at Hoogly.

Shahjahan’s period is consid-ered as the Golden Age ofMughal Architecture and ShahJahan is known as the Prince ofBuilders.

In 1631, he started the construc-tion of Tajmahal in memory ofhis wife and completed in 1653.It is situated on the banks ofYamuna river in Uttar Pradesh.Utad Iza, a Turkish/ Persian was

its architect. British administra-tor Furgurson called it ‘a lovein marble’. Now Sulphur Diox-ide, emitted by oil refinaries inMadhura after mixing with mois-ture in the atmosphere formsSulphuric Acid and is damagingthe marble of Tajmahal.

In 1638, Shah Jahan built hisnew capital Shah Jahanabad inDelhi and shifted the capitalfrom Agra to there.

In 1639 he started the construc-tion of Red fort in Delhi on themodel of Agra Fort built byAkbar. Its construction wascompleted in 1648. The Diwan-i-Am, Diwan-i-Khas and theMoti Masjid are situated insidethe Red fort. The Moti Masjidin Agra was constructed byShahjahan.

The INA Trial in 1945 was con-ducted at the Red Fort.

The Gateway of Redfort is theLahore Gate. It is here at theLahore Gate that the Prime Min-ister of India hoists the NationalFlag and addresses the nationon the independence day.

In 1656, Shahjahan constructedthe Juma Masjid in Delhi. It isthe biggest masjid in India. FirstMasjid in India was constructedat Kodungallur in Kerala(Cheraman Palli) in 644 AD byMalik Ibn Dinar.

The Portuguese introduced Eu-

ropean painting in India duringthe reign of Shahjahan

In 1658 Shahjahan was impris-oned by his son Aurangazeb andhe died in 1666, after eight years.His daughter Jahan Ara was alsokept in prison along with him atthe Agra fort.

Shahjahan’s son Dara Shukohwas a famous scholar. He trans-lated Bhagavat Gita and SixtyUpanishads into Persian. He alsowrote a book titled Mujm-ul-Behrain (Mingling of theOceans) He also translated

Atharva Veda into Persian. Shahjahan was a famous lyri-

cist. He wrote lyrics in Hindi. The famous Peacock Throne

was built by Shah Jahan. It wasabducted from here byNadirshah in 1739 during hisIndian invasion (Persian con-queror). Now it is kept at theLondon Tower Museum, Britain.

French travellers Bernier andTavernier and Italian travellerManucci visited India duringShahjahan’s period.

Aurangazeb imprisoned his fa-ther and made himself thePadushah in 1658. But his ac-tual coronation was conductedin 1659.

Alamgir (conqueror of theworld) was the name adopted byAurangazeb when he becamethe Padusha.

Aurangazeb is known as ‘ZindaPir’ or living saint because ofhis simple life.

He banned music and dance. He discontinued the system of

“Jharokha darshan” and thesystem of weighing the emperorin Gold.

Astronomers and astrologerswere dismissed and he forbadedthe inscription of Kalma on thecoins.

He ended the celebration ofNavroz festival.

He ousted all the artists from hiscourt. At the same time he wasan accomplished Veena player.

Aurangazeb was the last greatMughal Emperor.

In 1675 he executed 9th Sikh GuruGuru Teg Bahadur because of hisreluctance to accept Islam.

Teg Bahadur was executed atChandini Chauk.

In 1679 Aurangazeb constructedthe tomb of his only wife RubiadDaurani at Aurangabad inMaharashtra. It is known as Bibika Makabara. It is otherwiseknown as Mini Tajmahal as itwas the blind imitation ofTajmahal. In the same year hereimpossed Jaziya upon all thenon muslims, which was earlierabolished by Akbar.

Aurangazeb called Shivaji a‘mountain rat’ and gave him thetitle Raja because of his guerillatactics.

In 1660, he entrustedShaisthakhan to defeat Shivaji.

Later in 1665 the Treaty ofPurandar was signed betweenMaharaja Jaisingh of Amber andShivaji Jaisingh was deputed byAurangazeb.

The Mughal - Rajput relation be-

came worse during the period ofAurangazeb.

Aurangazeb was the onlyMughal Emperor who was not adrunkard.

Aurangazeb is considered reli-giously fanatic. He was also atemple breaker. He persecutedthe Hindus and imposed prohi-bition against the free exerciseof Holi and Diwali.

Aurangazeb died in 1707 Febru-ary 20, at Ahmednagar. Auran-gazeb’s tomb is situated atDaulatabad in Maharashtra.

LATER MUGHALS Bahadurshah I came to the

throne after the death ofAurangazeb. His real name wasMuassam.

In 1739, Nadirshah Quli thePersian conqueror attacked In-dia during the period of theMughal Emperor MuhammedShah or Rustan Khan (1719-1748) and took awayShahJahan’s famous PeacockThrone and Kohinoor Diamond.

He was a pleasure loving kingand was nicknamed Rangeela.

Ahmedshah’s (1748 -1754) pe-riod saw the mighty invasion ofAhmed Shah Abdali of Afghani-stan.

Shah Alam II (1759-1866) - Thebattle of Buxar (1764) wasfought during his reign.

Akbar Shah II (1806 - 1837) con-ferred the title ‘‘Raja’’ upon RamMohan Roy.

During his reign, Lord Hastingsceased to accept the sover-eignty of Mughals and claimedan equal status.

AURANGAZEB

BAHADURSHAH II(837-1862)

He was the last Mughal em-peror. On 17th May 1857,Bahadurshah II was declaredthe independent emperor of In-dia by the mutineers. He wassurrendered to LtW.S.R.Hodson at Humayun’s Tomb inDelhi. In 1859, he was deportedto Rangoon in December wherehe expired on Nov. 7, 1862. TheTomb of Bahadurshah II is inPyinmana, the capital ofMyanmar.

Bahadurshah II was also a fa-mous Urdu Poet.

Bahadurshah II was also knownas Bahadurshah Zafar. Zafarmeans gifted poet.

The MughalAdministration

The Mughals believed inDivine Right concept ofKingship.

It was a mixture of CentralAsian and Timurial traditionsin Indian settings.

The chief officials whoassisted the king in centraladministration were the Wakil,Wazir, Diwan - Khan -i-Shama,Mir-Bakshi, Sadr-us-Sadar andchief Qazi.

Under Akbar the Mughalempire had 18 provinces orSubas but there were 21 underAurangazeb.

The head of the Suba wasSubadar or Sipahsalar.

The head of the Sarkar orDistrict was under Fauzdar andPargana under Shiqdar andvillage under village headman.

The Revenue system under theMughals had various features

MUGHAL STATE AND ADMINISTRATIONProvincial Administration Mughal empire was divided into subas which was further

subdivided into sarkar, parganas and villages. However, it also hadother territorial units as ‘Khalisa’, (royal land), Jagirs (autonomousrajas) and Inams (gifted lands, mainly waste lands).

There were 15 territorial units (subas) during Akbar’s reign, whichlater increased to 20 under Aurangzeb’s reign.

Province (Suba) Sipahsalar - The Head Executive (under Akbar and later he was

known Nizam or Subedar) Diwan- Incharge of revenue department. Bakshi-Incharge of military dept. Mir Saman: Incharge of Imperial household and Karkhanas. Mir Munshi : Incharge of royal correspondence Sadr us Sadr: Incharge of charitable and religious endowments Qazi ul Quzat: Head the Judiciary department Muhtasib: Censor of Public Morals.District / Sarakar Fauzdar - Administrative head Amal/Amalguzar-Revenue collection Kotwal-Maintenance of law and order, trial of criminal cases and

price regulation.Pargana Shiqdar - Administrative head combined in himself the duties of

‘fauzdar and kotwal’. Amin, Qanungo - Revenue officialsVillage Muqaddam - Headman Patwari- Accountant Chowkidar - Watchman

Important literary works of the Mughal periodHumayun Namah - Gulbadan BeegumAin-i-Akbari - Abul FazalAkbar Namah - Abul FazalTwarikh-i-Alfi - Mulla DaudTabakhat-i-Akbari - Nizamudin AhamadTuzuk-i-Jahangiri - JahangirShahjahannama - Inayat khan and also by Muhamad SalihSakinet-ul-Aulia - Dara ShukohRaqqat-i-Alamgiri - AurangazebPadshahnama - Abdul Hamid- Lahori and Mohamad WarishAlamgir namah - Mirza Muhamad Kazim

such as Zabti System, BatakNasaq, Kankut, Karoris andDashala systems.

The Mansabdari system ofAkbar made the nobility and thearmy rolled into one. Its basiswas Mongol’s decimalorganisation of the army. Theranks of the officers weredivided into Zat and Sawar.

Jahangir introduced theDuaspa-Sih-aspa system.

The administrative classification of land were Khalsa orcrown land, Jagir land in whichthe nobles collected the land taxand Sayurgai land or lendgranted on free tenure.

The instrument used for themeasuring land was calledZarib or Tanab (Earlier it wasmade of rope but later are madeof bamboo sticks joined by ironrings.

Bigha was a standard unit ofarea which measured 60 x 60yards or 3600 square yards.

The gold coins issued by Akbarwere of twenty six varieties.

Jahangir was the first Mughalruler to put his portrait oncoins. One of his coins bore hisfigure with a cup in his righthand.

The silver rupee under Akbarhad a weight of 175 grams andone rupee was equal to 40dams.

Jalali was a square rupee issuedby Akbar.

The Mughal emperors weremulti-talented Babur was adistinguished author,Calligrapher and composer.

Humayun a mathematician,astronomer, astrologer, poetand an inventor.

Kamran, brother of Humayunwas a poet.

Akbar was a philosopher,skilled in art, architecture andmusic.

Jahangir an ardent naturalist,and landscaper, and anauthority on painting.Shahjahan excelled inarchitecture and was anauthority of gems and jewelry,devoted to music and danceand a proficient vocalist.

Darashukoh was an eminentscholar and author.

Aurangazeb was an accom-plished veena player and pro-moted the creation of classicalIndian music in Persian lan-guages. Zebunnissa, hisdaughter was a zelous patronof learning and culture. Shewrote books of odes and qua-trains under the pen name Ma-khfi “the concealed one”.

The last Mughal ruler Bahadur-sha II or “ Zafar” was an emi-nent Urdu poet.

There was no official censorshipof writers in Mughal India.

Mughal royal memoirists -Babur, Jahangir and Gulbadan- were candid about themselvesand their families, open abouttheir failings.

The Mughal rulers valuedbooks and maintained hugelibraries. Royal ladies likeSalima, Jahanara andZebunnisa had their ownlibraries.

Bairam Khan was known as apoet, Todar mal was a literaryfigure in eminence, Hetranslated Bhagavata Puranainto Persian.

Under the Mughals, Persian

became a common language ofdiplomacy.

Urdu emerged as a commonlanguage of India.

According to Abul Fazl eightstyles of calligraphy were invogue in India during Akbar’srule.

Akbar favoured the Nastaliqschool of calligraphy. The bestexponent of it was MuhamadHussain of Kashmir, who hadthe title Zarrin - Kalam or‘Golden Pen’.

The renowned Hinducalligraphists under Aurangazeb were Pandit Lakshmi Ram,Lala Sukh Ram and MunshiMahbub Rai.

Humayun and Akbar learnedpainting lessons from thePersian painters Mir Sayyid Aliand Aullah Abdus Samad.

Akbar’s artists main work wasto illustrate manuscripts.

Daswanth was a celebrated art-ist in Akbar’s court. He illustrat-ed Razinnama, a Persian trans-lation of Mahabharatha.

Mughal paintings witnessed arapid change under Jahangir.The main feature was the de-cline of Persian influence andthe growth of Indian influence.

The best examples of land-scapes - in Jahangir’s time wereYar-i-Danish and Anwar-i- Su-haili

Mughal painting reached itsclimax under Jahangir. Minia-ture painting developed underhim

Ustad Mansur specialised inAnimals and Bishandas pro-duced portraits.

Jahangir favoured individual

paintings and manuscript illus-trations.

In pictorial motifs a majorcontribution of Christian art toMughal art was the halo. (thehalo was first used in ancientIndia to depict the aura ofBudha.)

Aurangazeb turned his back topaintings. He erased thepaintings at Bijapur thatviolated Koranic law.

The term ‘Urdu’ (Hindustan) isderived from the Turki wordOrdu meaning military camp.

Another Indo- Persian dialect,Dakhini has evolved in theDeccan; a mixture of Persianand local languages especiallyMarathi.

The Mughal period was rich inHindi poetry. Surdas was asinger in Akbar ’s court.Tulsidas was a contemporaryof Akbar and of Shakespeare.

Gandhiji described theRamacharitha manasa of

Tulsidas the greatest book inall devotional literature.

The Mughal paintings was anoffshoot of Persian paintingwhich was an offshoot ofChinese paintings.

The rigid formation is theshortcoming of the Mughalstyle.

Regional schools developedduring the period ofAurangazeb. The best was theRajastani school which createdthe Ragamalika (musicalmodes) and Krishna Leela(frolics of Krishna) Paintings.

The Mughal artists mainly dealtwith subjects of imperial pomp,Rajput ar tist depictedtraditional Hindu religioussubjects.

The Mughals madecontr ibutions in jewellerymaking. Some styles areattributed to Noorjahan; forexample, the Karanphool-jhumka or the ear ornament.

Lapidary work was not

favoured by the Mughals ; theypreferred to keep gems uncut,valuing size over brilliance.

Except Aurangazeb the Mughalrulers were all keen patrons ofmusic.

The dying wish of Sag SheikhSalim Chishti; according toJahangir, was to hear TansenSing.

‘Mian Tansen Kalawaut’ wasAkbar’s court musician.

The Mughal emperors wereopen- handed to musicians.Example- Jahangir gave goldcoins who composed an ode inJahangir’s name. Shahjahanweighed musician Jagannathagainst gold. Akbar rewardedTansen with 200,000 rupees fora performance.

The Hindu and Muslim musicaltraditions have produced newmusical modes such asQawwali, Thumri and Khayal.

Amir Khusrau, the greatestpoetic and musical genius of theage, made a conscious effort tofuse Hindu and Persian music.

Mughal architecture

A mosque at Kabulibagh at Panipat and the Jama-i-Masjid at Sambhal under Akbar.

The Din-Panah- Delhi, and the Mosques at Falehabad and Agra under Humayun.

Humayun’s tomb at Delhi built by his widow Haji (or Bega) Beg who introduced a distinctive

Persian style in India. It was also India’s first garden tomb.

The Agra Fort, The Diwani-Aam, Diwani-Khas, Panch Mahal, Jodhabai’s palace, Birbal’s palace,

The House of Mariam, the Hathi-Pol and Buland Darwasah were built in Akbar’s period.

Akbar built the Agra fort after demolishing the old Lodhi Fort.

The Buland Darwaza, the lofty gateway of Juma Masjid Sikri, had a height of 53.6 meters and it is the

finest edifics of its kind anywhere in the world.

Akbar’s tomb at Sikandara, Itimad ud-daula’s tomb at Agra and Mausoleum of Jahangir at Lahore

were contruded under Jahangir.

The Itimad-ud-daula’s tomb (Nurjahan built this mausoleum of her father Itimad-ud-daula). It was

the first of the Mughal structures built entirely of white marble.

The Taj Mahal, Shish Mahal, Anguri Bagh, Moti Masjid and Jama Masjid at Agra and Hira Mahal,

Moli Reng Mahal and Red Fort at Delhi were built by Shajahan.

Gwalior, under Raja Man Singh(1450-1528) became the nest ofmusicians and produced the“Man kautuhal” (the rulersgoverning ragas).

Tansen was a native of Gwalior.He was taken to the court ofAkbar from the court of Raja ofRewa in 1563.

Bas Bahadur, the former rulerof Malwa, was musician inAkbar’s Court whom Abul Fazldescribed as “a singer withoutrival”.

Shauqi, the mandolin player,(the wonder of the age) was inJahangir’s court.

Ram Das a second MiyanTansen was in the court ofAkbar.

Shahjahan laid the foundationof the city Shahjahanabad in1638.

The Jamamasjid at Delhi ofShahjahan was the largestmosque in India.

The Chief architect of the Tajwas Ustad Ahamad Lahori orAhamad Mimar, who wassupervised by Abdul Karim andMakramatkhan, imperialofficers. It is estimated thatsome 20,000 workmen labouredfor about twenty two years inthe Taj Complex. The plot forthe construction of Taj waspurchased from Raja Jai Singh,grand -son of Raja Man Singh,South of Agra City, for917,00000 rupees.

The Moti Masjid in Red Fortand Badshahi Mosque atLahore were built byAurangazeb.

THE MARATHAS The first great leader of the

Marathas was ChatrapathiShivaji.

The Marathas became promi-nent in the later half of the 17thcentury.

Shivaji belonged to the Bhonsleclan of the Marathas.

Shaji Bhonsle and Jija Bai werethe Parents of Shivaji.

He was born in 1627 February19 at the fort of Shivner nearJunnar.

His father was a military com-mander under the Nizam Shahirulers of Ahmedanagar and laterof Bijapur.

Shivaji’s tutor was DadajiKondadev.

Shivaji received the help ofMalavi tribe to capture the terri-tories of Bijapur Sultan.

Torna was the first place capturedby Shivaji in 1646.

Shivaji came to conflict with theMughals for the first time in1657, during the period ofShahjahan.

In 1659, Bijapur Sulthan AliAdilshah sent Afzal Khan to killShivaji. But he killed Afzal Khan.

In 1660, Aurangazeb deputed hisviceroy of Deccan,Shaisthakhan to kill Shivaji.

In 1665, Shivaji signed theTreaty of Purandar with Raja JaiSingh of Amber, who was de-puted by Aurangazeb.

In 1666 Shivaji visitedAurangazeb in his court at Agra.But he and his son Sambaji wereimprisoned by Aurangazeb in theJaipur Bhavan, but escaped in1666.

On 16th June 1674, Shivajicrowned himself an independentHindu king became theChatrapathi and assumed thetitle ‘Haindavadharmodharak’.

Shivaji died in 1680 at the age of53.

Shahu became the Chatrapathiin 1708 and his period witnessedthe rise of Peshwaship.

Balaji Vishwanath (1712 - 1720)Baji Rao (1720 - 40) Balaji

Anglo-Maratha war

The first, second, and third Anglo-Maratha wars were fought

between the army of the British East India Company and the Maratha

Empire. The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817 - 1818) was a final and

decisive conflict between the British and the Maratha Empire in

India, which left the U.K. in control of most of India.

The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-1782)

The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805)

BajiRao I (1740 - 61) and MadhavRao I (1761 - 1772) were thePeshwas who ruledMaharashtra.

Baji Rao popularised the idea ofHindu Padpadshahi or HinduEmpire.

Balaji Baji Rao’s period wit-nessed the Third Battle ofPanipat in 1761. In this battleAhmed Shah Abdali of Afghani-stan defeated the Marathas.

Madhava Rao was the last greatPeshwa.

Last Peshwa was Baji Rao II. Madhava Rao’s period witnessed

the disintegration of the Marathapower and the formation of inde-pendent kingdoms - Holkar ofIndore, Bhonsle of Nagpur,Sindhya of Gwalior and Gaekwadof Baroda.

Peshwa was the Maratha ChiefMinister.

Chauth and sardeshmukhi weretwo special taxes collected bythe Marathas.

The first Maratha war (1775 -82) Swami Madhav Rao VsRaghunath Rao with Englishsupport.

Second Maratha war 1803 - 05. Third Maratha war 1816 - 19. The last great soldier and states-

man of Maratha was NanaPhadanis (1800)

The Maratha script was calledModiscript.

Peshwaship was abolished in1818

Baji Rao was the ablest of thePeshwas.

Shivaji did not allow women inhis military camp.

The Marathas were equippedwith an efficient naval systemunder Shivaji.

GURUNANAKAND THE SIKHS

‘Sikh’ is a sanskrit word whichmeans ‘disciple’

Sikh religion was founded byGuruNanak.

Guru Nanak was born at Talwandiin Lahore, belonged to the KhatriCaste (Mercantile Community).

Nanak called his creed asGurumat or Guru’s wisdom.

GuruNanak was born in 1469and died in 1538.

He was the first Guru of theSikhs.

His followers called themselvesSikhs which meant disciple.

Nanak preached only in Punjabi. Nanak nominated Guru Angad

as his successor. Guru Angad introduced

Gurumukhi Script. He also com-piled Guru Nanak’s biographyJanam Sakis.

Langar or free community din-ing was also introduced by GuruAngad.

Third Sikh Guru was Amar Das.He started the Manji system ie,branches for the propagation ofSikhs. He made Gurushiphereditory.

Guru Ramdas was the fourthSikh Guru. He founded the cityof Amritsar. The place for thecity was donated by Akbar.

Under the fifth Sikh Guru, GuruArjun Dev, Sikhism became anorganised religion. He compiledthe ‘Adi Grandh’ the sacredbook of the Sikhs. He built atemple at Amritsar , (later theGolden Temple) Har MandirSahib. He helped Jahangir’s sonPrince Khusru to rebel againstthe Emperor. So he was ex-ecuted by Jahangir at Lahore in1606 AD.

The sixth Guru Hargovind, cre-ated a Sikh army and turnedagainst Shahjahan. He foundeda palace opposite to Har MandirSahib known as ‘Akalitakht’.He also adopted the title SachaPadusha, which means true ruler.The title was not adopted byTeg Bahadur).

Sikh GuruGuru Nanak ................ 1469 - 1538Guru Angad ................ 1538 - 1552Guru Amardas............. 1552 - 1574Guru Ramdas .............. 1574 - 1581Guru Arjundev ............ 1581 - 1606Guru Hargovind .......... 1606 - 1645Guru Har Rai ............... 1645 - 1661Guru Har Kishan ......... 1661 - 1664Guru Teg Bahadur ....... 1664 - 1675Guru Govind Singh ..... 1675 - 1708

Shivaji’s Council of Ministerswas known as Ashtapradhan.They were Peshwa, PanditRao, Sumant, Sachiva,Senapathi, Amatya, Mantri andNyayadhyaksha.

Renjith Singh (1780 - 1836) The Sikhs then rose to power like phoenix under Renjith Singh of Punjab. On the

eve of Renjith’s birth Punjab was invaded by the Durrani king Shah Zamman,Grandson of Ahamad Shah Abdali. To avaid his threat the British sought RenjithSingh’s help by 1797 he became the defacto ruler of Punjab and in 1799 he gotcontrol over Lahore and in 1801 he assumed the tittle of Maharaja.

Renjith Singh, as a part of administrative convenience, i.e.. established the Mohal-ladari system. i.e., Each Mohalla under the charge of one of its members, possess-ing more influence than the rest. In 1806 Renjith Singh signed a friendly treaty withthe British. i.e., Sikhs were not enter to an alliance with any anti-British power; theBritish got a chance to expand southwards.

In 1809 the British and Renjith Singh made the Treaty of Amritsar. The British recognised the authority ofRenjith Singh over 45 parganas. Sutlej was recognised as Renjith’s boundary.

On 26th June 1838 a tripartite agreement was signed between English East India Company, Shah Jahan andRenjith Singh to let pass the British troops through Lahore. Renjith died on 27th June 1839.

Renjith Singh’s established Fauj- i- khas as the model troop, He adopted the Batai System and then theKankut system. His army was trained by French officers like Allard and Ventura. The French travellerVictor Jacque Mont visited his court.

The Siks fought two wars against the English - the Anglo - wars. Ist Anglo - Sikh war (1845 - 1846) Thesikhs were defeated in 1846 June 28 near Aliwal. IInd Anglo - Sikh war (1848 - 1849). Lord Dalhousieannexed Punjab to the company administration.

Seventh Guru was Har Rai. Hewas succeeded by Guru HarKishan. Har Kishan became theGuru at the age of five, hence heis the youngest Sikh Guru.

The 10th and the last Guru,Govind Singh formed the Khalsaor the Sikh brotherhood.

He introduced ‘Panchkakar’ ofSikhism ie, Kesh (long hair),Kanga (Comb), Kripan (Sword),Kachha (Underwear) and Kara(Iron bang).

He introduced baptism andwanted every Sikh to bear com-munity surname ‘Singh’ or lion.

His aim was the establishmentof a Sikh State after overthrow-ing the Mughals. In 1708 he waskilled by an Afghan.

‘Vichithra Natak’ is the autobi-ography of Guru Govind Singh.

Kartarpur Dabir is the rootform of Guru Grandh Sahib.

Govind Singh proclaimed the

Grandh Sahib as the eternalGuru.

RELIGIOUSMOVEMENTS OFMEDIEVAL AGE

Adi Sankaracharya

The period after Guptas is marked by revival and expansion of

Hinduism and continued decline of Jainism and Buddhism. At the

intellectual level the most serious challenge to Buddhism and

Jainism was posed by Sankara who revived Hinduism. He is called

Aquinas of Hinduism. He propounded the doctrine of Advaita (non-

dualism). According to this philosophy, there are various levels to

truth. On a lower level, the world is a creation of Brahma. But on the

highest level, the whole universe is Maya (illusion). The only

ultimate reality was Brahma, the impersonal world soul. Creation is

his lila (eternal play). He is imminent and omniscient. According to

Sankara. God and the created world were one. He wrote excellent

commentaries on Bhagwadgita and Upanishads. After his death 4

mathas were established in Sringeri (Karnataka), Dwaraka (Gujarat),

Puri (Orissa) and Badrinath in the Himalayas.

Important Bhakti saints(South India)

In South, the Bhakti movementwas led by a series of popularsaints called Nayanars andAlvars. The chief object of theirworship was Shiva and Vishnurespectively. They spoke andwrote in Tamil and Telugu.

Ramanuja a Vaishnuvite, 12thCenturyAD was born atSripreumbathur and foundedSrivaishnava sect.

Ramanuja tried to assimilateBhakti to the tradition ofVedas. He argued that grace ofGod was more important thanknowledge about him in orderto attain salvation. Thetradition established byRamanuja was followed by anumber of thinkers such asMadhavacharya, Ramananda,Vallabhacharya and others.

Nimbarkar promoted theDvaitadvaita philosophy andfounded the Sankadisampradaya.

Madhavacharya founded theDvaitadvaita philosophy andSankadi Sampradaya.

Vallabhacharya promoted thephilosophy of Pushtimarga andhe founded the Rudra Sampra-daya. He is the creator ofSudhavaita, The doctrine ofgrace, the ideal of self- dedica-tion and sublimation of humanlife are the major features of histeachings.

Sankaracharya born at Kaladiin Kerala, was the founder ofthe Advaitha philosophy. Hewrote commentary onBrahmasutra and Upanishad.He founded four Mutts Sringeri,Dwaraka, Puri and Badrinath.

In North India the Bhakthimovement was promoted bytwo schools of thought - theSaguna and Nirguna schools.

The Nirguna school believed ina God without any formRamananda was the primeteacher of it.

The Saguna school believed inthe manifold forms of god.

Ramananda (1360-1470) born atPrayag preached Vaishnavism.He was a follower of Ramanujaand included disciples from allcastes . He used Hindi to propa-gate his teachings. Example :Raidasa the Cobbler, Kabir theweaver , Dhanna, the farmer,Sena, the barber and Pipa theRajput. He created a new sect -Ramandi sect.

Kabir (1398-1458) a nirguna

born near Benaras, brought upby a weaver Niru, married to Loiand had two children.

He was influenced by Ra-mananda and the Muslim saintPir Taqi. He promoted equalitybetween Hinduism and Islam.His followers started the “Ka-birpanthis”.

Dadu Dayal (1544- 1603) aNirguna born in Ahmedabad,not believed in the authority ofScriptures but in the value ofself- realisation. His verseswere collected into a book formknown as ‘Bani’. His followerswere called ‘Dadu Panthis’.

Rai Dasa followed the path ofRamananda and his songs areincluded in Guru Granth Saheb,the Sikh Bible.

Surdasa (1483-1513 AD) - Hebelongs to Saguna School. Hewas a disciple of famousreligious teacherVallabhacharya. He sang theglory of Krishna’s childhoodand youth in his Sursagar.

Tulasi Dasa (1532-1623) aSaguna, was born in Brahmin

family became a worshipper ofRama and composedRamacharithamanasa in Hindiand some other works such asVinay Pitaka, Kavitavali andGitavali.

Mirabai (1498-1569) a Rajputprinces hailed from theSisodiya dynasty of Chittoor,was a devotee of Lord Krishna.Her lyrics, full of passion andspiritual ecstacy, were writtenin Brijbhasha and in Rajastani.

Sankaradeva (1463-1568) ofAssam Promoted monotheismknown as “Ekasarana Dharma”.He rejected ritualism and idolworship, caste system. Hiscreed came to be known as “Mahapurshiya dharma” and heinsisted “Nishkama Bhakti”.

Krishnananda , Brahmanandagiri, Kavirajnana and Purnandawere Saivite Saints.

The Bhakti movement inMaharashtra came to be knownas Maharashtra Dharma.

Jnandeva (1275-96 AD) - Hewas progenitor of Bhaktimovement in Maharashtra.

Namdeva (1270-1350 AD) - Hewas a Nirguna Upasaka. Someof his abhangas are included inGuru Granth Sahib.

Ekanath (1548 AD) - He wasopposed to caste distinctionand evinced greatestsympathy for men of low caste.

Tukaram - He was a farmer’sson and a great devotee ofVitthal.

Samarth Ramdas, the spiritualguide of Shivaji combined spiri-tual and practical life and tookinterest in politics. His monu-mental work ‘Dasabodha’ is a

combination of knowledge onvarious sciences and arts withthe synthesising concept ofspiritual life.

Gurunanak (1469-1539 AD) -He was a mystique of NirgunaSchool. But his followersbranched off from Hinduismand founded a separatereligious system. He became awandering preacher of acasteless, universal, ethical,anti-ritualistic and monotheistic and highly spiritualreligion.

Islamic Movements Islam has two basic sects - Shiah

and Sunni. This schism arose ofpolitical rather than religiousdispute.

Shiahs wanted the Caliphate tobe hereditary through Ali, theprophet’s son-in-law but theSunnis wanted it to be elective(later their religious traditionalso diverged)

The most remarkable Islamicmovement in Mughal India wasthe Mahdawi Cult. Theybelieved that at the end of thefirst millennium of Islam, asaviour, Imam Mahdi, the Lordof the Age, would appear tostop crime and restore pureshining faith. Founder of it wasSayed Muhammad Mahdi ofJaunpur.

“Ranshaniyah’ by MiyanBayazid Ansari, ‘Rishi’ byShiekh Nurudin of Kashmir, and‘Taghallub’ by Shiek AhammadSirstrindi were other IslamicMovements.

Sufi Movement The Sufis were an ecstatic

mystical sect and an elitist andintellectual movement.

The term ‘Sufi’ is derived fromthe Arabic word ‘Suf’ meantwool.

The Sufi movement first cameto India in the wake of MahmudGhazni’s invasion in the 11thCentury.

Sufism was organised amonastic basis in orders orSilsilahs

There are two main orders - Be-Shara ; not bound by Islam andBa- Shara bound by Islamic law.

The early Sufists accepted theprophethood of Mohamad andthe authority of the Quran butlater they absorbed a variety ofpractices and ideas fromChristianity, Neo - Platonism,Zorastrianism. Budhism andHindu Philosophical systems -Vedanta and Yoga.

The teacher, disciple (Pir andmusical) relation was essentialfor Sufism.

Chisthi Silsilah (12th Centuryand 13th Century) founded inIndia by Khawaja MuinuddinChisthi of Ajmir. The twoprominent disciples of him wereShaikh Hamidudi Nagauri ofNagpur and Sheik QutubudinBhaktyar Kaki. The Chisthislaid much stress upon serviceto mankind. They lived oncharity and had a musicalrecitation called ‘Sama’.

Suhravardi Sisilah (13thCentury) founded by ShaikhShihabuddin Shuhruvardi. InIndia it was founded by Shaik

Baha Uddiu Zakaria of Multan.The slave ruler Iltumish calledhim Sheikh-us-Islam.

Firdasusi Silsilah (13thCentury) First established inDelhi by BadaruddinSamarqandi but later moved toBihar Sharafuddin AhamadYahya Manari of Patna.

Qadrissilsilah (12th Century)was founded by Shaikh AbdurQuadir Jilani of Bagdad and inIndia the leader were ShahNizamatullah and NassirudinMuhammad Jilani. Prince DaraShikoh was an ardent followerof it.

Shah Abdulla Shatari foundedthe Shattari Silsilah but becameprominent in India under ShaikMuhammad Ghauth of Gwalior.Tansen was a follower of it.

The Naqshbandiya order - Itdeveloped as an orthodoxmovement which stood againstheresy as reform. The Promoterof it was Sheik Ahamad Sirhindia contemporary of Akbar.Jahangir imprisoned him andeven Aurangazeb was forced toban his teachings.

Raushaniyah Silsilah wasfounded by Miyan BayazidAnsari of Jallandhar. He

stressed internalization ofreligious rites.

Nizamia Silsila, which facedhardship under Mubarka andGhyaruddin Khalji was foundedby Nizamuddin Aulia.Jamaludin Hanavi founded theJamalia order and AllauddinSabari inaugurated the Sabariaorder.

Sufism declined in the late 17thCentury.

Qulandars, were another groupof Muslim ascetics, differentfrom Sufis, did not give respectto Shahiah but had a greatreputation as miracle - workers.