General Awareness Mughal Empire

Introduction

1. The Mughal Empire in India lasted from 1526 to 1858. The Mughal dynasty was established by able Muslim rulers who came from the present day Uzbekistan.

2. The Mughal rule in India saw the country being united as one single unit and being administered under one single powerful ruler. During the Mughal period, art and architecture flourished and many beautiful monuments were constructed.

3. The rulers were skillful warriors and admirers of art as well.

Some Famous Mughal Rulers

1. Babur - He has been known as the founder of Mughal Empire in India. He was born on 14th February, 1483 at a town called Andijan that is located in the present day Uzbekistan. He belonged to the Mongol tribe that also embraced Turkish and Persian.

2. Humayun - He was the second Mughal emperor who ruled India. He was named Nasiruddin Humayun and was born on 6th March, 1508. He was declared emperor in the year 1530 and ascended the throne at the age of 22. Emperor Humayun lost the kingdom as soon as he gained it as he was inexperienced in handling a large empire.

3. Jahangir - He strengthened the Mughal Empire in India after his father Akbar. Jahangir was born on 31st August, 1569 and was named Nuruddin Salim Jahangir. Nuruddin has been derived from Arabic which means "light of faith". Jahangir is a Persian word which means "world conqueror".

4. Shah Jahan - He was the fifth Mughal ruler of India. He was born on 5th January, 1592 and it is said that during the reign of Shah Jahan, the Mughal Empire prospered greatly like never before. The name Shah Jahan has been derived from Persian and it means "Emperor of the World".

5. Akbar the Great - One of the greatest Mughal emperors to have ruled India was Akbar. He was popularly known as Akbar the Great because of his ability to rule efficiently and skillfully. Akbar was born on 23rd November, 1542 when his father Humayun and mother Hamida Bano were wandering in Iran.

6. Aurangzeb - The sixth ruler of Mughal Empire was Emperor Aurangzeb. He was the son of emperor Shah Jahan had his wife Mumtaz Mahal. He was born on 3rd November, 1618. A devout Muslim, he strictly adhered to Islam and made sure that his kingdom followed the same.

Education

1. All the Mughal emperors were great patrons of learning and gave their full encouragement to the spread of education in their dominions.

2. Babur was himself a great scholar and public works department (Shuhrat-i-Am) established by him, which, also continued to exist under later Mughal emperors, was on trusted along with other responsibilities to that of building the schools and colleges.

3. His son, Humayan had great love for study of books especially in astronomy and geography. He constructed a Madarsa at Delhi and converted the pleasure-house built by Sher Shah in Qila Kohana also called Purana Qila into a library.

4. Jahangir was himself a great scholar of Turki and Persian and had written his memories known as the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri.

5. Shah Jahan had great fascination for study of the Turkish language and had a regular habit of study at night for a short while. He repaired an old institution called Dar-ul-Boqa (Abode of Eternity) and found a new college at Delhi.

6. Aurangzeb encouraged the education of the Muslims and founded colleges and schools.

7. Education was thus in Mughal India a private affair, a hand-made of religion and if the Mughals took interest in it, it was to earn religious merit and not to advance the welfare of the people.

8. The public made their own arrangements for the education of their children and considering the age and circumstances of the time, the arrangements were fairly satisfactory.

Fine Arts

Major Schools of Painting:

Mughal period was the golden period for the development of painting in India. This period practiced the arts of different schools of painting which are as follows:

1. School of Old Tradition:

Here old tradition is referred to the ancient style of painting which was flourished in India before sultanate period.

2. Mughal Painting (School from Persian Influence):

This school had been developed during the period of Akbar. Jaswantand Dasawan were two of the famous painters of Akbar's court. The school developed centre of production. Apart from illustrating Persian books of fables, the painters were soon assigned the task of illustrating the Persian text of the Mahabharata, the historical work Akbar Nama and others.

3. European Painting:

Under Akbar, European painting was introduced at the court by the Portuguese priests. Under their influence, the principles of fore-shortening, whereby near and distant people and things could be placed in perspective was quietly adopted.

4. Rajasthan School of Painting:

The Rajasthan style of painting combined the themes and earlier traditions of western India or Jain school of painting with Mughal forms and styles. Thus, in addition to hunting and court scenes, it had paintings on mythological themes, such as the dalliance of Krishna with Radha, or the Barah-masa, that is, the seasons, Ragas (melodies).

5. Pahari School of Painting:

The Pahari School continued the Rajasthani styles and played an important role in its development.

Music

1. During Mughal Period music was the sole medium of Hindu-Muslim unity. Akbar patronized Tansen of Gwalior who is credited with composing many new melodies (ragas). Jahangir and Shah Jahan as well as many Mughal nobles followed this example.

2. Recent research shows that Aurangzeb banished singing from his court, but not playing of musical instruments. In fact, Aurangzeb himself was an accomplished veena player. Music in all forms continued to be patronised by Aurangzeb's queens in the harem and by the nobles.

Architectural Developments during Mughal Era

1. Mughal period was the period of glory in the field of architecture. They also laid out many formal gardens with running water. In fact, use of running water even in their palaces and pleasure resorts was a special feature of the Mughals.

2. Although all the Mughal rulers except Aurangzeb took great interest in architecture, yet Shah Jahan surpasses all in the field of architecture.

3. There is no doubt that architecture reached the pinnacle of its glory during the period of Shah Jahan.

4. The period of Shah Jahan (1627-1658) witnessed a glorious outburst of activity in the development of architecture.

5. The Mughal rulers built magnificent gates, forts, mausoleums, mosques, palaces, public buildings and tombs etc.

6. The specimens of architecture created under the Mughals have become the common heritage of both the Hindus and the Muslims. It is a happy blend of Hindu and Muslim architecture.

7. A common characteristic of the Mughal buildings is the pronounced domes, the slender turrets at the corners, the palace halls supported on pillars and the broad/gateways.

8. The Mughal emperors in general but Shah Jahan in particular decorated his buildings with costly articles. One of the important distinguishing features of the Mughal buildings is their ornamentation as compared with the simple buildings of the previous Muslim rulers of India.

9. During the Mughal period, buildings were constructed mostly of red sandstone and white marble.

Economy

1. Economy in Mughal Empire was dependent on agriculture, trade and other industries.

2. According to historians, since time immemorial agriculture has always been the backbone of economy of the country. Thus, in the Mughal era also agriculture was actually the biggest source of income.

3. The major crops that were grown during the Mughal era included millets, oilseeds, cereals, hemp, chilli, sugarcane, cotton, indigo, betel and other cash crops. Indigo cultivation was popular at that time in places various places like Agra and Gujarat.

4. Further, during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir, Portuguese introduced the cultivation of tobacco and potato in India. Mughal emperor Babur introduced the cultivation of several other central Asian fruits in the country.

5. During the Mughal era, trade both inside the country and outside grew tremendously. One of the main reasons cited by the historians for such development is the economic and political merger of India.

6. Rapid development of trade and commerce was also supported by the improved transport and communications systems.

7. Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore and Agra were the chief centres of silk weaving whereas Cambay, Broach and Surat in Gujarat were the major ports for foreign trade and business.

8. Urbanisation and fixed markets also helped in expanding economy in Mughal Empire. Initially, the weekly market concept was popular. Eventually several trade centres in prosperous cities with the growth of the economy.

9. Besides the metalled highways, river transport system was also considered significant for navigation throughout the year. Such initiatives by the rulers were vital contributing factors in the developed economy of the era.

 
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