List of Mughal emperors
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The Mughal Empire was the dominant power in the Indian subcontinent between the mid-16th century and the end of the 17th century. Founded in 1526, it survived nominally until 1857, when it was supplanted by the British Raj. The dynasty is sometimes referred to as the Timurid dynasty as Babur was descended from Timur.
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[edit] Mughal dynasty
The Mughal dynasty was founded when Babur, a Muslim Timurid warlord hailing from Ferghana, 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 The Mughal Empire superseded the Delhi Sultanate as rulers of northern India.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 of the silliest 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 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 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, were preserved by his two immediate successors but were discarded by Aurangzeb, who pursued a policy where religious tolerance had little space. Furthermore, Aurangzeb spent nearly his entire career seeking to expand his realm into the Deccan and south India; this venture sapped the resources of the empire while provoking strong resistance from the Marathas, Sikhs, and Rajputs.
After Aurangzeb's reign, 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 before falling to the British. In 1803, 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 Mughal as "King of Delhi" rather than "Emperor of India", a usage, formalized in 1803, which avoided the uncomfortable implication that the British sovereign was outranked by the Indian monarch. Nonetheless, for a few decades afterwards, 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 dispensed with. After some rebels in the Sepoy Rebellion declared their allegiance to Shah Alam's descendant, Bahadur Shah II, 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 came to an end the Mughal dynasty, which had contributed a momentous chapter to the history of India and Pakistan.
[edit] List of Mughal Emperors
Certain important particulars regarding the Mughal Emperors is tabulated below:
| Emperor | Birth | Reign Period | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zahiruddin Mohammed Babur | February 14, 1483 | 1526-1530 | December 26, 1530 | Founder of the Mughal Dynasty. |
| Nasiruddin Mohammed Humayun | March 6, 1508 | 1530-1540 | January 1556 | Reign interrupted by Suri Dynasty. Youth and inexperience at ascension led to his being regarded as a less effective ruler than usurper, Sher Shah Suri. |
| Sher Shah Suri | 1472 | 1540-1545 | May 1545 | Deposed Humayun and led the Suri Dynasty; introduced tight, effective administration policies that would later be adopted by Akbar. |
| Islam Shah Suri | c.1500 | 1545-1554 | 1554 | 2nd and last ruler of the Suri Dynasty, with less control of the empire than his father; claims of sons Sikandar and Adil Shah were eliminated by Humayun's restoration. |
| Humayun (restored) | March 6, 1508 | 1555-1556 | January 1556 | Restored rule was more unified and effective than initial reign of 1530-1540; left unified empire for his son, Akbar. |
| Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar | November 14, 1542 | 1556-1605 | October 27, 1605 | Akbar added the most territory to the Empire and is regarded as the most illustrious ruler of the Mughal Dynasty; he married Jodhaa,a princess, from Rajputana like him, Jodhaa was a Hindu and many opposed at first, but under him, harmonic Muslim/Hindu relations were at their highest. |
| Nuruddin Mohammed Jahangir | October 1569 | 1605-1627 | 1627 | Jahangir set the precedent for sons rebelling against their Emperor fathers. Opened first relations with the British East India Company. Reportedly was an alcoholic and his wife Empress Nur Jahan became the real power behind the throne and competently ruled in his place. |
| Shahabuddin Mohammed Shah Jahan | January 5, 1592 | 1627-1658 | 1666 | Under him, Mughal art and architecture reached their zenith; constructed the Taj Mahal, Jahangir mausoleum and Shalimar Gardens in Lahore. Deposed and imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb. |
| Moinuddin Mohammed Aurangzeb Alamgir | October 21, 1618 | 1658-1707 | March 3, 1707 | Much less extravagant or tolerant of Hinduism/Sikhism than his predecessors; brought the empire to its greatest physical extent and imposed Islamic Sharia on the Mughal Empire. Extreme policies left many enemies to undermine the empire after his death. |
| Bahadur Shah I a.k.a Shah Alaam I |
October 14, 1643 | 1707-1712 | February 1712 | First of the Mughal emperors to preside over a steady and severe decline in the empire's control and power. During and after his reign, the emperor became a progressively insignificant figurehead. |
| Jahandar Shah | 1664 | 1712-1713 | February 1713 | |
| Furrukhsiyar | 1683 | 1713-1719 | 1719 | In 1717 he granted a firman to the English East India Company granting them duty free trading rights for Bengal, and confirmed their position in India. |
| Rafi Ul-Darjat | Unknown | 1719 | 1719 | |
| Rafi Ud-Daulat a.k.a Shah Jahan II |
Unknown | 1719 | 1719 | |
| Nikusiyar | Unknown | 1719 | 1743 | |
| Mohammed Ibrahim | Unknown | 1720 | 1744 | |
| Mohammed Shah | 1702 | 1719-1720, 1720-1748 | 1748 | Suffered the invasion of Nadir-Shah of Persia in 1739. |
| Ahmad Shah Bahadur | 1725 | 1748-54 | 1754 | |
| Alamgir II | 1699 | 1754-1759 | 1759 | |
| Shah Jahan III | Unknown | Briefly in 1759 | 1770s | |
| Shah Alaam II | 1728 | 1759-1806 | 1806 | Suffered the invasion of Ahmed-Shah-Abdali in 1761; granted the 'Nizami' of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the BEIC in 1765, formally accepted the protection of the BEIC in 1803. |
| Akbar Shah II | 1760 | 1806-1837 | 1837 | titular figurehead under British protection |
| Bahadur Shah II | 1775 | 1837-1857 | 1862 | Deposed by the British and exiled to Burma following the Great Mutiny. |
[edit] See also
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