Islamic Rulers In Sub-Continent

[KingKash]

Islamic Rulers In Sub-Continent

Delhi Sultanate
During the last quarter of the twelfth century, Muhammad of Ghor invaded the Indo-Gangetic plain, conquering in succession Ghazni, Multan, Sindh, Lahore, and Delhi. Qutb-ud-din Aybak, one of his generals proclaimed himself Sultan of Delhi.
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In the 13th century, Shams ud din Iltumish (1211 - 1236), a former slave-warrior, established a Turkic kingdom in Delhi, which enabled future sultans to push in every direction; within the next 100 years, the Delhi Sultanate extended its way east to Bengal and south to the Deccan, while the sultanate itself experienced repeated threats from the northwest and internal revolts from displeased, independent-minded nobles. The sultanate was in constant flux as five dynasties rose and fell: the Slave dynasty (1206-90), Khalji dynasty (1290-1320), Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1413), Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and Lodi dynasty (1451-1526). The Khilji dynasty, under Ala ud din (1296 - 1316), succeeded in bringing most of South India under its control for a time, although conquered areas broke away quickly. Power in Delhi was often gained by violence—nineteen of the thirty-five sultans were assassinated—and was legitimized by reward for tribal loyalty. Factional rivalries and court intrigues were as numerous as they were treacherous; territories controlled by the sultan expanded and shrank depending on his personality and fortunes.

Both the Qur'an and sharia (Islamic law) provided the basis for enforcing Islamic administration over the independent Hindu rulers, but the sultanate made only fitful progress in the beginning, when many campaigns were undertaken for plunder and temporary reduction of fortresses. The effective rule of a sultan depended largely on his ability to control the strategic places that dominated the military highways and trade routes, extract the annual land tax, and maintain personal authority over military and provincial governors. Sultan 'Ala ud-Din made an attempt to reassess, systematize, and unify land revenues and urban taxes and to institute a highly centralized system of administration over his realm, but his efforts were abortive. Although agriculture in North India improved as a result of new canal construction and irrigation methods, including what came to be known as the Persian wheel, prolonged political instability and parasitic methods of tax collection brutalized the peasantry. Yet trade and a market economy, encouraged by the free-spending habits of the aristocracy, acquired new impetus both inland and overseas. Experts in metalwork, stonework, and textile manufacture responded to the new patronage with enthusiasm. In this period Persian language and many Persian cultural aspects became dominant in the centers of power in India.

Southern Dynasties
The sultans' failure to hold securely the Deccan and South India resulted in the rise of competing southern dynasties: the Muslim Bahmani Sultanate (1347-1527) and the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire (1336-1565). Zafar Khan, a former provincial governor under the Tughluqs, revolted against his Turkic overlord and proclaimed himself sultan, taking the title Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah in 1347. The Bahmani Sultanate, located in the northern Deccan, lasted for almost two centuries, until it fragmented into five smaller states, known as the Deccan sultanates (Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmednagar, Berar, and Bidar) in 1527. The Bahmani Sultanate adopted the patterns established by the Delhi overlords in tax collection and administration, but its downfall was caused in large measure by the competition and hatred between deccani (domiciled Muslim immigrants and local converts) and paradesi (foreigners or officials in temporary service). The Bahmani Sultanate initiated a process of cultural synthesis visible in Hyderabad where cultural flowering is still expressed in vigorous schools of deccani architecture and painting.

Founded in 1336, the Vijayanagara Empire (named for its capital Vijayanagara (Vijayanagar), "City of Victory," in present-day Karnataka) expanded rapidly toward Madurai in the south and Goa in the west and exerted intermittent control over the east coast and the extreme southwest. Vijayanagara rulers closely followed Chola precedents, especially in collecting agricultural and trade revenues, in giving encouragement to commercial guilds, and in honoring temples with lavish endowments. Added revenue needed for waging war against the Bahmani sultans was raised by introducing a set of taxes on commercial enterprises, professions, and industries. Political rivalry between the Bahmani and the Vijayanagara rulers involved control over the Krishna-Tungabhadra river basin, which shifted hands depending on whose military was superior at any given time. The Vijayanagar rulers' capacity for gaining victory over their enemies was contingent on ensuring a constant supply of horses—initially through Arab traders but later through the Portuguese—and maintaining internal roads and communication networks. Merchant guilds enjoyed a wide sphere of operation and were able to offset the power of landlords and Brahmans in court politics. Commerce and shipping eventually passed largely into the hands of foreigners, and special facilities and tax concessions were provided for them by the ruler.

The city of Vijayanagara itself contained numerous temples with rich ornamentation, especially the gateways, and a cluster of shrines for the deities. Most prominent among the temples was the one dedicated to Virupaksha, a manifestation of Shiva, the patron-deity of the Vijayanagar rulers. Temples continued to be the nuclei of diverse cultural and intellectual activities, but these activities were based more on tradition than on contemporary political realities. When the rulers of the five Deccan sultanates combined their forces and attacked Vijayanagara in 1565, the empire crumbled at the Battle of Talikot. Most muslim rulers of south India were Shia muslims

Mughal Era
The Mughal Empire (Persian: ??? ??????) was an empire that at its greatest territorial extent ruled most of the Indian subcontinent between 1526 and 1707. The empire was founded by the Turco-Mongol leader Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last Pashtun King of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. The word "Mughal" is the Persian version of Mongol. Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb were prominent rulers of Mughal empire.
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The Mughal Empire' (Persian: ????? ???? Sh?h?n-e Mo?ul; self-designation: ??????? - G?rk?n?, Turkish: Bab?r ?mparatorlu?u)[1][2]), (or Mogul Empire in former English usage), was an Islamic imperial power that ruled the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, invaded and ruled most of Hindustan (South Asia) by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century.[3] The Mughal Emperors were descendants of the Timurids, and at the height of their power around 1700, they controlled most of the Indian Subcontinent—extending from Bengal in the east to Balochistan in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri basin in the south.[4] Its population at that time has been estimated as between 110 and 130 million, over a territory of over 4 million sq.km. (1.5 million sq.mi.)
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The "classic period" of the Empire started with the accession of Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, better known as Akbar the Great, in 1556.
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It ended with the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707,[6][7] although the Empire continued for another 150 years. During this period, the Empire was marked by a highly centralized administration connecting the different regions. All the significant monuments of the Mughals, their most visible legacy, date to this period which was characterised by the expansion of Persian cultural influence in the Indian subcontinent, with brilliant literary, artistic and architectural results.

Following 1725 the empire declined rapidly, weakened by wars of succession, agrarian crises fueling local revolts, the growth of religious intolerance, the rise of Maratha Empire as well as Durrani Empire and Sikh Empire, and finally British colonialism. The last king, Bahadur Zafar Shah II, whose rule was restricted to the city of Delhi, was imprisoned and exiled by the British after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

The name Mughal is derived from the original homelands of the Timurids, the Central Asian steppes once conquered by Genghis Khan and hence known as Moghulistan, "Land of Mongols". Although early Mughals spoke the Chagatai language and maintained Turko-Mongol practices, they were essentially Persianized.[8] They transferred the Persian literature and culture[8] to India, thus forming the base for the Indo-Persian culture.

Early History
The foundation for the empire was established around the early 1500s by the Timurid prince Babur, when he took control of the Doab and eastern regions of Khorasan, which controlled the fertile Sindh region and the lower valley of the Indus River.[9] In 1526, Babur defeated the last of the Delhi Sultans, Ibrahim Shah Lodi, at the First Battle of Panipat. To secure his newly founded kingdom, Babur then had to face the formidable Rajput confederacy led by Rana Sanga of Chittor, at the Battle of Khanwa. Rana Sanga offered stiff resistance but was defeated due to treachery within his own ranks.
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Babur's son Humayun succeeded him in 1530 but suffered major reversals at the hands of the Pashtun Sher Shah Suri and effectively lost most of the fledgling empire before it could grow beyond a minor regional state. From 1540 Humayun became a ruler in exile, reaching the court of the Safavid rule in 1554 while his force still controlled some fortresses and small regions. But when the Pashtuns fell into disarray with the death of Sher Shah Suri, Humayun returned with a mixed army, raised more troops and managed to reconquer Delhi in 1555.
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The Agra Fort in Agra, India was the official residence of the Mughal Emperors until the collapse of the empire.Humayun crossed the rough terrain of the Makran people with his wife, but left behind their infant son Jalaluddin to spare him the rigours of the journey. Akbar, as Jalaluddin would be better known in his later years, was born in the town of Sindh in where he was raised by his uncle Askari. There he became an excellent outdoorsman, horseman, and hunter, and learned the arts of war. The resurgent Humayun then conquered the central plateau around Delhi, but months later died in an accident, leaving the realm unsettled and in war.

Akbar succeeded his father on 14 February, 1556, while in the midst of a war against Sikandar Shah Suri for the throne of Delhi. He soon won his eighteenth victory at age 21 or 22. He became known as Akbar, as he was a wise ruler, set fair but steep taxes. He was born in a Hindu Rajput household. He was a more inclusive in his approach to the non-Muslim subjects of the Empire. He investigated the production in a certain area and taxed inhabitants one-fifth of their agricultural produce. He also set up an efficient bureaucracy and was tolerant of religious differences which softened the resistance by the locals. He made alliances with Rajputs and appointed Hindu generals and administrators. Later in life, he also came up with his own brand of religion based on tolerance and inspired by views from both Hinduism and Islam. However, after his death this religion did not catch on but is still remembered for its noble intentions of bringing people and minds together.

Jahangir, son of Emperor Akbar, ruled the empire from 1605–1627. In October 1627, Shah Jahan, son of Emperor Jahangir succeeded to the throne, where he inherited a vast and rich empire. At mid-century this was perhaps the greatest empire in the world. Shah Jahan commissioned the famous Taj Mahal (1630–1653) in Agra which was built by the Persian architect Ustad Ahmad Lahauri as a tomb for Shah Jahan's wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. By 1700 the empire reached its peak under the leadership of Aurangzeb Alamgir with major parts of present day India, Pakistan and most of Afghanistan under its domain. Aurangzeb was the last of what are now referred to as the Great Mughal kings.

Mughal Dynasty
The Mughal Empire was the dominant power in the Indian subcontinent between the mid-16th century and the early 18th century. Founded in 1526, it officially survived until 1858, when it was supplanted by the British Raj. The dynasty is sometimes referred to as the Timurid dynasty as Babur was descended from Timur.

The Mughal dynasty was founded when Babur, hailing from Ferghana (Modern Uzbekistan), invaded parts of northern India and defeated Ibrahim Shah Lodhi, the ruler of Delhi, at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526. The Mughal Empire superseded the Delhi Sultanate as rulers of northern India. In time, the state thus founded by Babur far exceeded the bounds of the Delhi Sultanate, eventually encompassing a major portion of India and earning the appellation of Empire. A brief interregnum (1540-1555) during the reign of Babur's son, Humayun, saw the rise of the Afghan Suri Dynasty under Sher Shah Suri, a competent and efficient ruler in his own right. However, Sher Shah's untimely death and the military incompetence of his successors enabled Humayun to regain his throne in 1555. However, Humayun died a few months later, and was succeeded by his son, the 13-year-old Akbar the Great.


Extent of Mughal empire under Akbar the Great.The greatest portions of Mughal expansion was accomplished during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605). The empire was maintained as the dominant force of the present-day Indian subcontinent for a hundred years further by his successors Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb. The first six emperors, who enjoyed power both ‘’de jure’’ and ‘’de facto’’, are usually referred to by just one name, a title adopted upon his accession by each Emperor. The relevant title is bolded in the list below.

Akbar the Great initiated certain important policies, such as religious liberalism (abolition of the jizya tax), inclusion of Hindus in the affairs of the empire, and political alliance/marriage with the Hindu Rajput caste, that were innovative for his milieu; he also adopted some policies of Sher Shah Suri, such as the division of the empire into sarkars, in his administration of the empire. These policies, which undoubtedly served to maintain the power and stability of the empire, as the Hindu populace had shown resistance to the Islamic conquest in its years in the Indian subcontinent. These were preserved by his two immediate successors but were discarded by Aurangzeb, who followed a more strict interpretation of Islam and followed a stricter policy of intolerance to the practice of religions than his own. Furthermore, Aurangzeb spent nearly his entire career seeking to expand his realm into the Deccan and south India, Assam in the east; this venture sapped the resources of the empire while provoking strong resistance from the Marathas, Sikhs of Punjab, Ahoms of Assam and some elements within Hindu Rajputs. Ahoms in Assam successfully resisted the Mughal invasions, the last battle being the Battle of Saraighat. It is interesting to note in this regard that while the Mughals ruled India for a nearly three hundred years they never really ruled the complete geographical extent of the subcontinent that is known as India in the modern day context. The power was mostly centered around Delhi which was for historical reasons considered a strategic stronghold but there always existed strong independent Hindu kingdoms which maintained their sovereignty and offered stiff resistance to Mughal expansion.

Decline
Sikh and Maratha states gained territory after Mughal empire's decline. Map showing territories in 1700 and 1792After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the empire fell into decline. Beginning with Bahadur Shah I, the Mughal Emperors progressively declined in power and became figureheads, being initially controlled by sundry courtiers and later by various rising warlords. In the 18th century, the Empire suffered the depredations of invaders like Nadir Shah of Persia and Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan, who repeatedly sacked Delhi, the Mughal capital. The greater portion of the empire's territories in India passed to the Marathas, who sacked Delhi, reducing the once powerful and mighty empire to just lone city before falling to the British. Other adversaries included Sikh Empire and Hyderabad Nizams. In 1804, the blind and powerless Shah Alam II formally accepted the protection of the British East India Company. The British had already begun to refer to the weakened Emperor as "King of Delhi," rather than "Emperor of India." The once glorious and mighty Mughal army was disbanded in 1805 by the British; only the guards of the Red Fort were spared to serve with the King Of Delhi, which avoided the uncomfortable implication that British sovereignty was outranked by the Indian monarch. Nonetheless, for a few decades afterward, the BEIC continued to rule the areas under its control as the nominal servants of the emperor, and in his name. In 1827, even these courtesies were disposed. After some rebels in the Sepoy Rebellion declared their allegiance to Shah Alam's descendant, Bahadur Shah Zafar (mostly symbolically, as he was just a figurehead for the purpose of rebellion), the British decided to abolish the institution altogether. They deposed the last Mughal Emperor in 1857 and exiled him to Burma, where he died in 1862. Thus the Mughal dynasty came to an end, which formed a momentous chapter in the history of India.

There are still many Mughals living in the Indian Subcontinent. The term Mughal in the current socio-political context also does not have decisive meaning as the blood lines of the original Mughals are now mixed with the local population and have South-Asian identities which are stronger than any original Turkic or Mongoloid origins. The language spoken by the Mughals also slowly adapted itself to a form of Hindustani known as Urdu. Though a script was invented for it close to Arabic (known as Nastaliq) the basic vocabulary is mostly Sanskrit based and it is very similar in form and content to modern day Hindi.

Influence on the Indian Subcontinent

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan
The Red Fort in Delhi was the main palace of the empire during the reign of Shah Jahan.

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The Alamgiri Gate is the main entrance to the Lahore Fort built during the reign of Aurangzeb.A major Mughal contribution to the Indian Subcontinent was their unique architecture. Many monuments were built by the Muslim emperors, especially Shahjahan, during the Mughal era including the UNESCO World Heritage Site Taj Mahal, which 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 today in Delhi, Aurangabad, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Jaipur, Lahore, Kabul, Sheikhupura and many other cities of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.[10] With few memories of Central Asia, Babur's descendents absorbed traits and customs of the Indian Subcontinent[11], and became more or less naturalised. The Mughal period would be the first to witness the blending of Indian, Iranian and Central Asian customs and traditions.

Contributions such as:
Centralised, imperialistic government which brought together many smaller kingdoms.[13]
Persian art and culture amalgamated with Indian art and culture.[14]
New trade routes to Arab and Turkic lands.
The development of Mughlai cuisine.[15]
The Urdu language developed from the Hindi language by borrowing heavily from Persian as well as Arabic and Chaghatai Turkic. Urdu developed as a result of the fusion of the Indian and Islamic cultures during the Mughal period. Modern Hindi which uses Sanskrit-based vocabulary along with loan words from Persian and Arabic, is mutually intelligible with Urdu.[16]
Mughal Architecture found its way into local Indian architecture, most conspicuously in the palaces built by Rajputs and Sikh rulers.
Landscape gardening
Although the land the Mughals once ruled has separated into what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan their influence can still be seen widely today. Tombs of the emperors are spread throughout India, Afghanistan[17] and Pakistan. There are 16 million descendants spread throughout the Subcontinent and possibly the world.[18][19]

Mughal Society
The Indian economy remained as prosperous under the Mughals as it was, because of the creation of a road system and a uniform currency, together with the unification of the country. Manufactured goods and peasant-grown cash crops were sold throughout the world. Key industries included shipbuilding (the Indian shipbuilding industry was as advanced as the European, and Indians sold ships to European firms), textiles, and steel. The Mughals maintained a small fleet, which merely carried pilgrims to Mecca, imported a few Arab horses, transported soldiers over rivers, and fought pirates; however, the Siddis of Janjira and the Marathas sent ships to China, and the eastern limits of Africa, together with some Mughal subjects carrying out private-sector trade. Cities and towns boomed under the Mughals; however, for the most part, they were military and political centres, not manufacturing or commerce centres. Only those guilds which produced goods for the bureaucracy made goods in the towns; most industry was based in rural areas.

The nobility was a heterogeneous body; while it primarily consisted of Rajput aristocrats and foreigners from Muslim countries, people of all castes and nationalities could gain a title from the emperor. The middle class of openly affluent traders consisted of a few wealthy merchants living in the coastal towns; the bulk of the merchants pretended to be poor to avoid taxation. The bulk of the people were poor. The standard of living of the poor was as low as, or somewhat higher than, the standard of living of the Indian poor under the British Raj; whatever benefits the British brought with canals and modern industry were neutralized by rising population growth, high taxes, and the collapse of traditional industry in the nineteenth century.

Science and technology
Astronomy
In the Mughal Empire, the 16th and 17th centuries saw a synthesis between Islamic astronomy and Indian astronomy, where Islamic observational techniques and instruments were combined with Hindu computational techniques. While there appears to have been little concern for theoretical astronomy, Muslim and Hindu astronomers in India continued to make advances in observational astronomy and produced nearly a hundred Zij treatises. Humayun built a personal observatory near Delhi, while Jahangir and Shah Jahan were also intending to build observatories but were unable to do so. The instruments and observational techniques used at the Mughal observatories were mainly derived from the Islamic tradition, and the computational techniqes from the Hindu tradition.[20][21] In particular, one of the most remarkable astronomical instruments invented in Mughal India is the seamless celestial globe (see Technology below).

Technology
Fathullah Shirazi (c. 1582), a Persian-Indian polymath and mechanical engineer who worked for Akbar the Great in the Mughal Empire, invented the autocannon, the earliest multi-shot gun. As opposed to the polybolos and repeating crossbows used earlier in ancient Greece and China, respectively, Shirazi's rapid-firing gun had multiple gun barrels that fired hand cannons loaded with gunpowder.

The first prefabricated homes and movable structures were invented in 16th century Mughal India by Akbar the Great. These structures were reported by Arif Qandahari in 1579.

Considered one of the most remarkable feats in metallurgy, the seamless globe and celestial globe were invented in Kashmir by Ali Kashmiri ibn Luqman in 998 AH (1589-90 CE), and twenty other such globes were later produced in Lahore and Kashmir during the Mughal Empire. Before they were rediscovered in the 1980s, it was believed by modern metallurgists to be technically impossible to produce metal globes without any seams, even with modern technology. Another famous series of seamless celestial globes was produced using a lost-wax casting method in the Mughal Empire in 1070 AH (1659-1960 CE) by Muhammad Salih Tahtawi (from Thatta, Sind) with Arabic and Persian inscriptions. It is considered a major feat in metallurgy. These Mughal metallurgists pioneered the method of wax casting while producing these seamless globes.[24]

Tipu Sultan of Mysore (r.1783-1799), the Nawab in the south of India, an experimenter with war rockets, invents iron-cased and metal-cylinder rocket artillery. He successfully uses them against British East India Company forces during Anglo-Mysore Wars.

Babur

Zahir ud-din Muhammad Babur (February 23 [O.S. February 14] 1483 — January 5 [O.S. December 26 1530] 1531) was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of India.
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He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother.[1] Babur identified his lineage as Timurid and Chaghatay-Turkic, while his origin, milieu, training, and culture were steeped in Persian culture and so he was largely responsible for the fostering of this culture by his descendants, and for the expansion of Persian cultural influence in the Indian subcontinent, with brilliant literary, artistic, and historiographical results.
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Humayun

Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun (full title: Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram, Jam-i-Sultanat-i-haqiqi wa Majazi, Sayyid al-Salatin, Abu'l Muzaffar Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun Padshah Ghazi, Zillu'llah ) (Persian: ????????? ??????) (March 17, 1508– March 4, 1556) (OS March 7, 1508-OS February 22, 1556) was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one. On the eve of his death in 1556, the Mughal empire spanned almost one million square kilometers.
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He succeeded his father in India in 1530, while his half-brother Kamran Mirza, who was to become a rather bitter rival, obtained the sovereignty of Kabul and Lahore, the more northern parts of their father's empire. He originally ascended the throne at the age of 22 and was somewhat inexperienced when he came to power.

Humayun lost his Indian territories to the Pashtun (Afghan) noble, Sher Shah Suri, and, with Persian aid, regained them fifteen years later. Humayun's return from Persia, accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen, signaled an important change in Mughal court culture, as the Central Asian origins of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian art, architecture, language and literature.

Subsequently, in a very short time, Humayun was able to expand the Empire further, leaving a substantial legacy for his son, Akbar.

Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri (1486 - May 22, 1545) (Pashto: ??? ??? ???? - ??r ??h S?r?), also known as Sher Khan (The Lion King), was a powerful Afghan (Pashtun)[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] conqueror in medieval Delhi, India.
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He first served in the army of Mughal leader Babur until becoming the governor of Bihar. In 1537, when the new Mughal leader Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Shah Suri overran Bengal and became the new emperor after establishing the Suri Empire.
A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself a gifted administrator as well as an able general. His reorganization of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar, son of Humayun.[8] During his short five year rule from 1540 to 1545, he set up a new template for civic and military administration, issued the first Rupiya in use till 20th century, a precursor for the modern Rupee. He further developed Humayun's Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh, also founded Shergarh (modern day Pakistan), revived the city of Azimabad, abandoned since 7th century CE, as Patna[9]. He is also famously rememered for killing a fully-grown tiger with his bare hands in the jungle of India

Akbar the Great
Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar (???? ????? ???? ???? Jal?l ud-D?n Muhammad Akbar), also known as Akbar the Great (November 23, 1542 – October 27, 1605) [1][2][4] was the third Mughal Emperor of India. He was of Timurid descent[5]; the son of Humayun, and the grandson of Babur who founded the dynasty. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal empire covered most of Northern India.[6]
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Akbar, widely considered the greatest of the Mughal emperors,[citation needed] was thirteen years old when he ascended the throne in Delhi, following the death of his father Humayun.[7] During his reign, he eliminated military threats from the Pashtun descendants of Sher Shah Suri, and at the Second Battle of Panipat he defeated the Hindu king Hemu.
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It took him nearly two more decades to consolidate his power and bring parts of northern and central India into his realm. The emperor solidified his rule by pursuing diplomacy with the powerful Rajput caste, and by admitting Rajput princesses in his harem.
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Akbar's reign significantly influenced art and culture in the region.[11] Akbar took a great interest in painting, and had the walls of his palaces adorned with murals. Besides encouraging the development of the Mughal school, he also patronised the European style of painting. He was fond of literature, and had several Sanskrit works translated into Persian, apart from getting many Persian works illustrated by painters from his court.
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He also commissioned many major buildings, and invented the first prefabricated homes.[12] Akbar began a series of religious debates where Muslim scholars would debate religious matters with Sikhs, Hindus, C?rv?ka atheists and Portuguese Roman Catholic Jesuits. He founded a religious cult, the Din-i-Ilahi (Divine Faith), but it amounted only to a form of personality cult for Akbar, and quickly dissolved after his death

JahangirNur-ud-din Salim Jahangir(Persian: ???????? ???? ???????) (full title: Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram, Khushru-i-Giti Panah, Abu'l-Fath Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir Padshah Ghazi [Jannat-Makaani]) (September 20, 1569 – November 8, 1627) (OS August 31, 1569 – NS November 8, 1627) was the ruler of the Mogul Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian ???????, meaning "Conqueror of the World". Nur-ud-din or Nur al-Din is an Arabic name which means " Light of the Faith."
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Born as Prince Muhammad Salim, he was the third and eldest surviving son of Mogul Emperor Akbar. Akbar's twin sons, Hasan and Hussain, died in infancy. His mother was the Rajput Princess of Amber, Jodhabai (born Rajkumari Hira Kunwari, eldest daughter of Raja Bihar Mal or Bharmal, Raja of Amber, India).[2]
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Jahangir was a child of many prayers.[3] It is said to be by the blessing of Shaikh Salim Chishti (one of the revered sages of his times) that Akbar's first surviving child, the future Jahangir, was born.
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He was born at the dargah of the Shaikh Salim Chishti, within the fortress at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. The child was named Salim after the darvesh and was affectionately addressed by Akbar as Sheikhu Baba.
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Akbar developed an emotional attachment with the village Sikri (abode of Chishti). Therefore, he developed the town of Sikri and shifted his imperial court and residence from Agra to Sikri, later renamed as Fatehpur Sikri. Shaikh Salim Chishti's daughter was appointed Jahangir's foster mother as a mark of respect to the Shaikh. Jahangir's foster brother Nawab Kutb-ud-din Khan was private secretary to the emperor Jahangir and afterwards governor of Bengal. Nawab Kutb-ud-din Khan's son Nawab Mohtashim. Khan was granted by Jahangir 4,000 bigas of land in Badaun District (United Provinces) where he built a small fort named Sheikhupur, Badaun after Jahangir, who was caned Sheikhu-baba in his childhood.

Shah Jahan
Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I (full title: Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram,
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Abu'l-Muzaffar Shihab ud-din Muhammad, Sahib-i-Qiran-i-Sani, Shah Jahan I Padshah Ghazi Zillu'llah [Firdaus-Ashiyani]) (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, Urdu: ??? ?????, Persian: ??? ???? (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666) was the ruler of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent from 1628 until 1658. The name Shah Jahan comes from Persian meaning "king of the world." He was the fifth Mughal ruler after Babur, Humayun, Akbar, and Jahangir. While young, he was a favourite of Akbar.
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Even while very young, he could be pointed out to be the successor to the Mughal throne after the death of Jahangir. He succeeded to the throne upon his father's death in 1627. He is considered to be one of the greatest Mughals and his reign has been called the Golden Age of Mughals. Like Akbar, he was eager to expand his empire. The chief events of his reign were the destruction of the kingdom of Ahmadnagar (1636), the loss of Kandahar to the Persians (1653), and a second war against the Deccan princes (1655). In 1658 he fell ill, and was confined by his son Aurangzeb in the citadel of Agra until his death in 1666. On the eve of his death in 1666, the Mughal Empire spanned almost 750,000,000 acres (3,000,000 km2), about 2/10 the size of modern India.
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The period of his reign was the golden age of Mughal architecture. Shah Jahan erected many splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra built as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal (birth name Arjumand Banu Begum). The Pearl Mosque at Agra , the palace and great mosque at Delhi also commemorate him. The celebrated Peacock Throne, said to be worth millions of dollars by modern estimates, also dates from his reign. He was the founder of Shahjahanabad, now known as 'Old Delhi'. The important buildings of Shah Jahan were the Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas in the fort of Delhi, the Jama Masjid, the Moti Masjid and the Taj. It is pointed out that the Palace of Delhi is the most magnificent in the East

Aurangzeb
Muhi ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, more commonly known as Aurangzeb (Persian: ????????? (full title: Al-Sultan al-Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram Abul Muzaffar Muhi ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, Badshah Ghazi)
Attachment 80744

(4 November, 1618 – 3 March 1707), also known by his chosen imperial title Alamgir I (Conqueror of the World) (Persian: ???????), was the 6th Mughal Emperor whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707. Aurangzeb's reign as the Mughal monarch was marked by many wars of expansion.

Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly half a century, was the second longest reigning Mughal emperor after Akbar. In this period he successfully brought a larger area, notably in southern India, under Mughal rule than ever before.[3] A devout Muslim, Aurangzeb tried to encourage all his people to follow the doctrines of Islam. He destroyed many works of art because he feared that they might be worshipped as idols.[1]
Attachment 80745
After his death, the Mughal Empire gradually shrunk. Aurangzeb's successors, the "Later Mughals", lacked his strong hand and the great fortunes amassed by his predecessors.

Bahadur Shah IIAbu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar (Urdu: ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ???), also known as Bahadur Shah or Bahadur Shah II (Urdu: ????? ??? ???) (October 1775 – 7 November 1862) was the last of the Mughal emperors in India, as well as the last ruler of the Timurid Dynasty.
Attachment 80747

He was the son of Akbar Shah II and Lalbai, who was a Hindu Rajput. He became the Mughal Emperor upon his father's death on 28 September 1837. Zafar ( Urdu: ??? ), meaning “victory”[1] was his nom de plume (takhallus) as an Urdu poet.
Attachment 80748
Even in defeat it is traditionally believed that he said[2]

“ ?????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??
??? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ??
”
“ Gh?zio? m?? b? rahegi jab talak im?n ki; Takht-e-London tak chalegi t?gh Hindustan ki ”
“ As long as there remains the scent of faith in the hearts of our heroes, so long shall the sword of Hindustan flash before the throne of London ”

Zafar's father, Akbar Shah Saani II, ruled over a rapidly disintegrating empire between 1806 to 1837. It was during his time that the East India Company dispensed with even the fig leaf of ruling in the name of the Mughal monarch and removed his name from the Persian texts that appeared on the coins struck by the company in the areas under their control.

Bahadur Shah Zafar who succeeded him was not Akbar Shah Saani’s choice as his successor. Akbar Shah was, in fact, under great pressure by one of his queens, Mumtaz Begum to declare her son Mirza Jahangir as the successor. Akbar Shah would have probably accepted this demand but Mirza Jahangir had fallen afoul of the British and they would have none of this.

Epitaph
Zafar was an accomplished Urdu poet and calligrapher[13]. While he was denied paper and pen in captivity, he was known to have written on the walls of his room with a burnt stick. He wrote the following Ghazal (Video search) as his own epitaph.


Original Urdu Devanagari transliteration Roman transliteration English Translation
???? ???? ?? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???
?? ?? ??? ?? ????? ????????? ???

?????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???
???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???

??? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????
???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ???

??? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ??????
????? ????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???

???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???
?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ???

??? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ?????
????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???

???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ???
?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???? ??? ???



[14]
???? ???? ?? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???
????? ??? ?? ????-?-????????? ???

?????? ?? ?????? ?? ? ????? ?? ????
??????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????-?-???? ???

?? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?? ?? ????
???? ??? ???? ?? ???-?-??????? ???

?? ????-?-??? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ??????
????? ???? ???? ??? ???-?-???????? ???

????-?-????? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ???
?? ?????? ??? ?? ??, ?? ???????? ???

??? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ?? ??
???? ?? ???? ?????? ????-?-????? ???

????? ?? ?????? “?????? ????? ?? ???
?? ??? ????? ?? ? ???? ??-?-??? ???


lagt? nah?? h? j? m?r? ?ja?'? day?r m??
kisk? ban? h? ?lam-e-n?-p?yed?r m??

b?lb?l ko p?sb?? se na saiyy?d se gil?
qismet m?? qaid likh? tth? fasl-e-bah?r m??

kaeh do in hassreto? se kah?? aur j? bas'??
itn? jageh kah?? h? dil-e-d?Ghd?r m??

ik sh?Kh-e-g?l pe baiTh ke b?lb?l h? sh?dm??
k?nTe bich? diye h?? dil-e-l?l?z?r m??

umr-e-dar?z m??g ke l?ye tthe ch?r din
do ?rz? m?? kaT gay? do intez?r m??

din zindag? ke Khatm hu? sh?m ho gay?
p'hail? ke p?o? soye?-ge k??j-e-mazaar m??

kitn? h? bad-naseeb zafar dafn ke liye
do gaz zam?n bh? na mil? k?-e-y?r m??

My heart has no repose in this despoiled land
Who has ever felt fulfilled in this futile world?

The nightingale complains about neither the sentinel nor the hunter
Fate had decreed imprisonment as the harvest of spring

Tell these longings to go dwell elsewhere
What space is there for them in this besmirched heart?

Sitting on a branch of flowers, the nightingale rejoices
I have strewn thorns in the garden of my heart

I asked for a long life, I received four days
Two passed in desire, two in waiting.

The days of life are over, evening has fallen
I shall sleep, legs outstretched, in my tomb

How unlucky is Zafar! For his burial
Not even two yards of land were to be had, in the land of his beloved.




In his book, The Last Mughal, William Dalrymple states that, according to Lahore scholar Imran Khan, the verse beginning umr-e-dar?z m??g ke ("I asked for a long life") is probably not by Zafar, and does not appear in any of the works published during Zafar's lifetime. The verse appears to be by Simab Akbarabadi[



Hyderabad Nizam
Nizam (Urdu: ?????), a shortened version of Nizam-ul-Mulk (Urdu: ??????????), meaning Administrator of the Realm, was the title of the native sovereigns of Hyderabad State, India, since 1719, belonging to the Asaf Jah dynasty.
Attachment 80742

The dynasty was founded by Mir Qamar-ud-Din Siddiqi, a viceroy of the Deccan under the Mughal emperors from 1713 to 1721 and who intermittently ruled under the title Asaf Jah in 1724, and After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the Mughal Empire crumbled and the viceroy in Hyderabad, the young Asaf Jah, declared himself independent.
Attachment 80732
By the middle of 18th century, the scions, known as The Nizams, had quickly surpassed the Mughals ruling a vast dominion of about 125,000,000 acres (510,000 km2) in south India. They were among the wealthiest people in the world. Seven Nizams ruled Hyderabad for two centuries until Indian independence in 1947.

The Asaf Jahi rulers were great patrons of literature, art, architecture, culture, jewelry collection and rich food. The Nizams ruled the state until its integration into the Indian Union in September 1948 after independence from the British.

The Asif Jahis were lineal descendants of the first Khalifa of Islam Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddiq (R.A) and they were fourteenth in direct male descent from Shaikh Shihab ud-din Suhrawardy a acclaimed sufi from Kurdistan. Even though they were staunch sunnis, they had a very liberal approach towards shia muslims and non-muslims.

Family Origins
The Asaf Jahi dynasty originated in the region around Samarkand, but the family came to India from Baghdad in the late 17th century. Shaikh Mir Ismail (Alam Shaikh Siddiqi) Alam ul-Ulema,son of Ayub younus Salim, son of Abdul Rehman Shaikh Azizan Siddiqi, fourteenth in direct decent from Sheikh Shihab-ud-din Siddiqi Suhrawardy, of Suharwada in Kurdistan, a celebrated [Sufi] mystic, or dervish, maternal (first), a lady of the family of Mir Hamadan (a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed)(SW), a distinguished Sayyid of Samarkand.

Origin of the Nizam Title
Niz?m-ul-mulk was a title first used in Urdu around 1600 to mean Governor of the realm or Deputy for the Whole Empire. The word is derived from the Arabic word, niz?m (????), meaning order, arrangement. The Nizam was referred to as Ala Hadrat /Ala Hazrat or Nizam Sarkar, meaning His Exalted Highness (The last Nizam was awarded this title. It is a heredity title).

Rise of the Nizams
The first Nizams ruled on behalf of the Mughal emperors. But, after the death of Aurangazeb, the Nizams split away from the Mughals to form their kingdom. When the British achieved paramountcy over India, the Nizams were allowed to continue to rule their princely states. The Nizams retained power over Hyderabad State until September 1948 when it was integrated into the Indian Union.

The Asaf Jah dynasty had only seven rulers; however there was a period of 13 years after the rule of the first Nizam when three of his sons (Nasir Jung, Muzafar Jung and Salabath Jung) ruled. They were not officially recognized as the rulers.

A legend about the first Nizam states that, on one of his hunting trips he was offered some kulchas (an Indian bread) by a holy man and was asked to eat as many as he could. The Nizam could eat seven kulchas and the holy man then prophesied that seven generations of his family would rule the state.

The Nizams, by an honoured Hyderabad tradition that no Nizam has ever left India no matter how good a reason might exist for doing so, they believed, "the Sovereign is too precious to his people ever to leave India.".

Ever since Hyderabad stood aloof from the great first war of Indian Independence of 1857 while betraying many Indians and also at time acting against those who opposed the British such as Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, its Royal Family had been accorded by British Royalty special honours and the Nizam was given the official status of Faithful Ally.


Other Islamic rulersNawab of Awadh ruled parts of current day Uttara Pradesh. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were in power in Mysore kingdom.

[Edifier]

informative

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