Mughal empire

In this edition, Sofia Shehana Basheer interviews Dr. Manjeet S. Pardesi on his recent work on South Asian international history. The paper titled “Mughal Hegemony and the Emergence of South Asia as a “Region” for Regional Order-building” was published in the European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 25(1) in 2019. Regions have become a focal point in the study of international relations since the Cold War. In this paper, Dr. Manjeet Pardesi tracks the emergence of South Asia as a region to the practices under the Mughal state. By bringing Asian perspectives to the scholarship of early modern international history, the paper counters the belief that ‘South Asia’ emerged as a product of colonization and decolonization and locates the process to the Mughal system, thus opening new debates into the origin and crystallization of “regions”. Dr. Pardesi’s argument relies on the examination of various aspects of the Mughal rule that produced a hierarchical order in South Asia that was embedded and emulated in the later histories of the region. Mughal territory under Aurangzeb in the 17th century. Source: ‘Historical Atlas of the Muslim Peoples’, by R. Roolvink (Harvard University Press, 1957, pp. 32-33), Retrieved from Columbia University. • Your recent article [1] locates South Asia’s emergence as a region under the Mughal rule. What implications does it have on our understanding of South Asia’s role in the global order after the 16th century? There were three “internati...

The Mughal Empire has captivated Europeans for centuries, and the massive turnout at the British Library's magnificent exhibition demonstrates that it continues to pique our curiosity. From 1526 to 1757, the Mughal Emperors ruled India with enormous strength. They grew up in a world of extraordinary affluence, built magnificent architecture, and cultivated arts and culture. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan was under their dominion. The Empire lasted another hundred years in a diluted form until 1858, when the British arrived, and the Mughal Empire was subsumed into the Raj. Even though the Mughals and their rulers descended from deadly invading predecessors like Genghis Khan and Amir Timur (also known as Timberlaine in the West), they strongly committed to their reign's arts and aesthetic concepts. It was an important aspect of their personality. Their magnificent citadels were a sign of strength and prestige. There was no shortage of wealth in India, with jewels, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and diamonds aplenty. Culture The Mughal Empire dominated South Asian history in the early modern and modern periods, leaving cultural legacies in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, including: • South Asia's lesser polities were consolidated under centralized imperial power. • The blending of Persian and Indian art and literature. • The Badshahi Mosque is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. • Mughlai cuisine arose from a fusion of South Asian, Iranian, and Cent...

Bābur was a descendant of the Bābur, (Persian: “Tiger”) also spelled Bābar or Bāber, original name Ẓahīr al-Dīn Muḥammad, (born February 15, 1483, principality of Fergana [now in Uzbekistan]—died December 26, 1530, Agra [India]), Early years Bābur came from the Barlas tribe of Mongol origin, but isolated members of the tribe considered themselves Turks in language and customs through long residence in Turkish regions. Hence, Bābur, though called a Mughal, drew most of his support from Turks, and the empire he founded was Turkish in character. His family had become members of the ʿUmar Shaykh Mīrzā, ruled the small principality of India: Bābur For 10 years (1494–1504) Bābur sought to recover Samarkand and twice occupied it briefly (in 1497 and 1501). But in When Bābur made his first raid into India in 1519, the Punjab region (now divided between the Indian Dawlat Khan Lodī, resented Ibrāhīm’s attempts to diminish his authority. By 1524 Bābur had invaded the Punjab three more times but was unable to master the tangled course of Punjab and Delhi politics sufficiently enough to achieve a firm foothold. Yet it was clear that the Major successes Victories in India Setting out in November 1525, Bābur met Ibrāhīm at Ram Bagh, by the That brilliant success must have seemed at the time to be of little difference from one of his former forays on Samarkand. His small force, burdened by the oppressive weather and located 800 miles (1,300 km) from their base at Kabul, was surrounded by ...

Now that you’ve skimmed the article, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the article. Keep in mind that when you read the article, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you see in the article that is unfamiliar to you. • Looking at the map, what do you notice about the changing shape and size of the Mughal Empire in the years leading up to 1750? • What groups or classes of people were the most important supporters of Mughal rule? • Like other empires, the Mughal Empire had lots of different communities. How did it successfully rule all of these groups until the mid-eighteenth century? • According to the article, what was the role of the Mughal Empire in the global economy? • What internal challenges did the Mughal emperors face in 1750? • What external challenges did the Mughal emperors face in 1750? • Based on the evidence in this article, what aspects of the Mughal Empire in 1750 seem unique or distinctive, and what aspects seem to be part of a wider global pattern? • If you could ask the author for one more piece of information about the Mughal Empire—that isn’t included in this article—what would it be? The South Asian subcontinent—modern India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan— is part of the Eurasian landmass. Like Europe, it has a long history of big empires and small states. In 1750, it was mostly governed through a lo...

• Known For: Mughal ruler famed for his religious tolerance, empire-building, and patronage of the arts • Also Known As: Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, Akbar I • Born: Oct. 15, 1542 in Umerkot, Rajputana (present-day Sindh, Pakistan) • Parents: Humayun, Hamida Banu Begum • Died: Oct. 27, 1605 in Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Mughal Empire (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) • Spouse(s): Salima Sultan Begum, Mariam-uz-Zamani, Qasima Banu Begum, Bibi Daulat Shad, Bhakkari Begu, Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum • Notable Quote: "As most men are fettered by bonds of tradition, and by imitating ways followed by their fathers...everyone continues, without investigating their arguments and reasons, to follow the religion in which he was born and educated, thus excluding himself from the possibility of ascertaining the truth, which is the noblest aim of the human intellect. Therefore we associate at convenient seasons with learned men of all religions, thus deriving profit from their exquisite discourses and exalted aspirations." Early Life Akbar was born to the second Mughal Emperor Humayun and his teenaged bride Hamida Banu Begum on Oct. 14, 1542, in Sindh, now part of With his parents in exile in Persia, little Akbar was raised by an uncle in Afghanistan, with help from a series of nursemaids. He practiced key skills like hunting but never learned to read (possibly due to a learning disability). Nonetheless, throughout his life, Akbar had texts on philosophy, history, religion, science, a...

FROM MONGOLS TO MUGHALS FROM MONGOLS TO MUGHALS: RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN INDIA 9 TH-18 TH CENTURIES By Nicholas F. Gier Presented at the Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting American Academy of Religion, Gonzaga University, May, 2006 Introduction The term "Mughal" comes from a mispronunciation of the word "Mongol," but the Mughals of India were mostly ethnic Turks not Mongolians. However, Barbur (1483-1530), the first Mughal emperor, could trace his blood line back to Chinggis Khan. The Muslims of Central Asia had good reason to hate the Mongols because they destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate when they sacked Baghdad in 1258. During the 300 years after the death of Chinggis, the Mongol Empire had split into four parts: the Golden Horde of Russia (1242-1359), the Ilkhanate of Iran and Iraq (1256-1353), the Chinese Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) ruled by Kublai Khan, and finally the Mughal Empire of India (1527-1707). It was the Timur the Lame (known in the Europe as Tamerlane), whose "descent from Chinggis Khan," as Jack Weatherford says, was based "flimsy evidence," [1] who gave the Mongols the bad reputation that has come down to us. Virtually nothing good can be said of Timur's conquests, and this fact has obscured the contributions of the Mongol Empire. While Timur tortured unmercifully and sacked cities indiscriminately, Chinggis Khan abolished torture and formed alliances with people who did not resist him. As an orthodox Muslim, Timur thought that the Delhi Sultans had been very ...

• v • t • e Mughlai cuisine consists of dishes developed or popularised in the The tastes of Mughlai cuisine vary from extremely mild to spicy, and are often associated with a distinctive History [ ] Although the ruling class and administrative elite of the Mughal Empire could variously identify themselves as Turani ( Irani ( Shaikhzada ( One example was the seekh (skewered meat and fish), ), as well as western and southern Indian dishes, such as karhi (yogurt broth mixed with chickpea flour), piccha and khandvi. From the Mughal period itself, one popular culinary work was the Nuskha-i-Shahjahani, a record of the dishes believed to be prepared for the court of Emperor Shahjahan (r.1627-1658). This Persian manuscript features ten chapters, on āsh-hā (pottages), qalīyas and bhartas, zerbiryāns (a kind of layered rice-based dish), kabābs, harīsas (savoury porridge), shishrangas and ḵẖāgīnas (omelette), and khichṛī; the final chapter involves murabbā (jams), achār (pickles), fhīrīnī (sweets), Another famous textbook was Ḵẖulāṣat-i Mākūlāt u Mashrūbāt, perhaps dating to the era of the emperor Alwān-i Niʿmat, a work dedicated solely to sweetmeats. Divya Narayanan writes: These include varieties of sweet breads such as nān ḵẖatā̤ʾī (crisp bread, like a biscuit), sweet pūrīs, sweet samosas (or saṃbosas), laḍḍū and ḥalwā. The cookbook introduces each recipe with a line of praise: for instance saṃbosa-i yak tuhī dam dāda ( samosa with a pocket cooked on dam) is declared as being ‘am...

Bābur was a descendant of the Bābur, (Persian: “Tiger”) also spelled Bābar or Bāber, original name Ẓahīr al-Dīn Muḥammad, (born February 15, 1483, principality of Fergana [now in Uzbekistan]—died December 26, 1530, Agra [India]), Early years Bābur came from the Barlas tribe of Mongol origin, but isolated members of the tribe considered themselves Turks in language and customs through long residence in Turkish regions. Hence, Bābur, though called a Mughal, drew most of his support from Turks, and the empire he founded was Turkish in character. His family had become members of the ʿUmar Shaykh Mīrzā, ruled the small principality of India: Bābur For 10 years (1494–1504) Bābur sought to recover Samarkand and twice occupied it briefly (in 1497 and 1501). But in When Bābur made his first raid into India in 1519, the Punjab region (now divided between the Indian Dawlat Khan Lodī, resented Ibrāhīm’s attempts to diminish his authority. By 1524 Bābur had invaded the Punjab three more times but was unable to master the tangled course of Punjab and Delhi politics sufficiently enough to achieve a firm foothold. Yet it was clear that the Major successes Victories in India Setting out in November 1525, Bābur met Ibrāhīm at Ram Bagh, by the That brilliant success must have seemed at the time to be of little difference from one of his former forays on Samarkand. His small force, burdened by the oppressive weather and located 800 miles (1,300 km) from their base at Kabul, was surrounded by ...

Now that you’ve skimmed the article, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the article. Keep in mind that when you read the article, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you see in the article that is unfamiliar to you. • Looking at the map, what do you notice about the changing shape and size of the Mughal Empire in the years leading up to 1750? • What groups or classes of people were the most important supporters of Mughal rule? • Like other empires, the Mughal Empire had lots of different communities. How did it successfully rule all of these groups until the mid-eighteenth century? • According to the article, what was the role of the Mughal Empire in the global economy? • What internal challenges did the Mughal emperors face in 1750? • What external challenges did the Mughal emperors face in 1750? • Based on the evidence in this article, what aspects of the Mughal Empire in 1750 seem unique or distinctive, and what aspects seem to be part of a wider global pattern? • If you could ask the author for one more piece of information about the Mughal Empire—that isn’t included in this article—what would it be? The South Asian subcontinent—modern India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan— is part of the Eurasian landmass. Like Europe, it has a long history of big empires and small states. In 1750, it was mostly governed through a lo...

• Known For: Mughal ruler famed for his religious tolerance, empire-building, and patronage of the arts • Also Known As: Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, Akbar I • Born: Oct. 15, 1542 in Umerkot, Rajputana (present-day Sindh, Pakistan) • Parents: Humayun, Hamida Banu Begum • Died: Oct. 27, 1605 in Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Mughal Empire (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) • Spouse(s): Salima Sultan Begum, Mariam-uz-Zamani, Qasima Banu Begum, Bibi Daulat Shad, Bhakkari Begu, Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum • Notable Quote: "As most men are fettered by bonds of tradition, and by imitating ways followed by their fathers...everyone continues, without investigating their arguments and reasons, to follow the religion in which he was born and educated, thus excluding himself from the possibility of ascertaining the truth, which is the noblest aim of the human intellect. Therefore we associate at convenient seasons with learned men of all religions, thus deriving profit from their exquisite discourses and exalted aspirations." Early Life Akbar was born to the second Mughal Emperor Humayun and his teenaged bride Hamida Banu Begum on Oct. 14, 1542, in Sindh, now part of With his parents in exile in Persia, little Akbar was raised by an uncle in Afghanistan, with help from a series of nursemaids. He practiced key skills like hunting but never learned to read (possibly due to a learning disability). Nonetheless, throughout his life, Akbar had texts on philosophy, history, religion, science, a...