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Near the gardens of Taj Mahal stands the important 16th-century Mughal monument known as the Red Fort of Agra. This powerful fortress of red sandstone encompasses within its 2.5-km-long enclosure walls, the imperial city of the Mughal rulers. The forbidding exteriors of this fort hide an inner paradise. There are a number of exquisite buildings like Moti Masjid - a white marble mosque akin to a perfect pearl; Diwan-E-Am, Diwan-E-Khaas, Musamman Burj - where Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan died in 1666 A.D., Jahangir's Palace, Khaas Mahal and Sheesh Mahal. Agra Fort, an excellent example of Mughal architecture, is one of the few UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. The construction of the Agra fort was started around 1565, when the initial structures were built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and subsequently taken over by his grandson Shah Jahan, who added most of the marble creations to the fort. The fort is crescent shaped, flattened on the east with a long, nearly straight wall facing t

 Akbar's Successors [Medieval History Of India ] Akbar's Successors: Jahangir (1605-1627), Shah Jahan (1627-1658), Aurangazeb (1658-1707) Jahangir (1605-1627) In 1605, Prince Salim succeeded with the title Jahangir (Conqueror of World) after the death of Akbar. He defeated and imprisoned his son, Khusrau Mirza.   He also beheaded Guru Arjun, the 5 th  Sikh Guru and one of the supporters of Khusrau Mirza. Nur Jahan In 1611, Jahangir married Mehrunnisa who was known as Nur Jahan (Light of World). Asaf Khan elder brother of Nur Jahan was appointed as Khan-i-Saman, a post reserved for the nobles. In 1612, Asaf Khan’s daughter, Arjumand Banu Begum (later known as Mumtaj), married Jahangir’s third son, Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan). Shah Jahan (1628-1658) Shah Jahan launched a continued war in the northwest frontier to recover Kandahar and other ancestral lands. His Deccan policy was more successful. He defeated the forces of Ahmadnagar and seized it. Both Bijapur and Golconda si

INDIA UNDER THE MUGHALS Economic and Social Life The socio-economic conditions of India are mentioned by many European Travellers and trader who came to India and their accounts contain a mine of information. Generally, most of the accounts describe the wealth and prosperity of India and also the lavish life of the nobles. There are accounts of foreigners as well that give information about the poverty and sufferings of ordinary people such as peasants and artisans. Mughal Nobility The Mughals were nobles and most of them were foreigners like Turks and Afghans and formed a privileged class. The Mughal nobles were paid high salaries but their expenses were also the same. Each noble had a large number of servants, horses, elephants etc. Wealthy people dressed in silk and cotton clothes and the poor people dressed minimally. One of the foreigners Nikitin mentions that the people in the Deccan were bare-footed indicating the high cost of leather. The common people food was pulses, millets

Bahadur Shah Zafar Sentenced to Deportation -[ March 9, 1858] This Day in History What happened? On 9 March, 1858, on the concluding day of the trial of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, he was sentenced to be deported on account of his involvement in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Bahadur Shah Zafar History Bahadur Shah II, better known as Bahadur Shah Zafar, was crowned the emperor of Delhi on 28 September 1837. His reign largely was centred on Delhi as the once-mighty Mughal Empire had weakened and disintegrated. The Sepoy Mutiny broke out in 1857 and the sepoys rallied around the emperor. He was practically powerless, but the mutineers were fighting in the name of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the Emperor of India. He was just a figurehead and could do nothing in the face of the sepoys’ determination and powers. Of course, he did give public consent to the revolt. He did not have much choice. When it became clear that the East India Company was gaining an upper hand in Delhi, he fled from his pa

Birth of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb - [November 3, 1618] This Day in History What happened? On 3 November 1618, Aurangzeb was born in Dahod, Gujarat to Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Biography Aurangzeb was the third son of Shah Jahan. He had three brothers and two sisters. His birth name was Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad. He was the sixth Mughal Emperor and according to many, the last effective one. He assumed the title of Aurangzeb Alamgir after he took the Mughal throne. In 1636, Aurangzeb was appointed the Viceroy of the Deccan. He had successful military campaigns there for his father. He was also appointed the governor of Gujarat, and later of Balkh, Multan and Sindh. Shah Jahan had designated his eldest son Dara Shikoh as his heir, and so there was a rivalry between Dara and Aurangzeb who also nurtured dreams of becoming the emperor. There was no system of primogeniture among the Mughals and it was customary for sons to fight for the throne after the father’s death. W

Birth of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan - [January 5, 1592] This Day in History On 5 January 1592, Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram, later known as Shah Jahan was born to Mughal Emperor Jahangir and his wife Jagat Gosaini. Early Life of Shah Jahan Shah Jahan was born in Lahore, Pakistan to Prince Salim (who later became Emperor Jahangir) and his Rajput wife from Marwar Princess Jagat Gosaini. Her official Mughal name was Bilqis Makani. Shah Jahan’s grandfather was Mughal Emperor Akbar. Although initially named Prince Khurram, he assumed the regnal name Shah Jahan later. He was Jahangir’s third son and considered the ablest and competent to be king. After Jahangir’s death, he overthrew his rivals to the throne and emerged victoriously. He was crowned on 14 February 1628 in Agra. He was educated in martial arts and a variety of fine arts. He was brought up chiefly by Akbar’s first wife, the childless Empress Ruqaiya Sultan Begum. Reign as the Emperor of the Mughal Empire Shah Jahan was an able

Akbar -The Great (1556-1605) AKBAR (1556-1605) Akbar’s position was in dangerous when he succeeded his father Humayun as Delhi was seized by the Afghans. In 1556, in the second battle of Panipat, Akabar defeated Hemu and the army of Hemu fled which made the victory of Mughal decisive. During the first 5 years of Akbar’s reign, Bairam Khan acted as his regent. Later, Akbar removed Bairam Khan and sent him to Mecca but Bairam Khan was killed by an Afghan on his way. The military conquests of Akbar were extensive. Akbar’s Relation with Rajputs Akbar married the Rajput Princess, the daughter of Raja Bharmal. For four-generation, the Rajputs served the Mughals and many served in the positions of military generals as well. Akbar appointed Raja Man Singh and Raja Bhagawan Das in the senior position of the Mughal Administration. Though the majority of the Rajput states surrendered to Akbar, the Ranas of Mewar continued to confront even though they were defeated several times. In 1576, the Mugh

Humayun - Mughal Empire MUGHAL EMPIRE - HUMAYUN (1530-1540, 1555-1556) Humayun was the eldest son of Babur. Humayun means “fortune” but he remained the most unfortunate ruler of the Mughal Empire. Six months after his succession,  Humayun  besieged the fortress of  Kalinjar  in Bundelkhand, gained a decisive victory over Afghans at  Douhrua  and drove out  Sultan Mahmood Lodhi  from  Jaunpur,  and even defeated  Bahadur Shah  of Gujarat. His victories, however, were short-lived due to the weakness of his character. Humayun had three brothers, Kamran, Askari and Hindal Humayun divided the empire among his brothers but this proved to be a great blunder on his part. Kamran was given Kabul and Kandahar. Sambhal and Alwar were given to Askari and Hindal respectively. Humayun captured Gujarat from Bahadur Shah and appointed Askari as its governor But soon Bahadur Shah recovered Gujarat from Askari who fled from there. In the east, Sher Khan became powerful. Humayun marched against him and in

Babur - Founder of Mughal Empire Who were Mughals and Who was Babur? Mughals belonged to a branch of the Turks called Chagatai, which is named after the second son of Genghis Khan, the famous Mongol Leader. The Foundation of the Mughal Empire in India was laid by Babur, who was a Chagatai Turk. Babur – Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur (1526-1530) Babur is the founder of the Mughal Empire in India. He was a descendant of Timur (on his father’s side) and Genghis Khan (on his Mother’s side). His original name was Zahiruddin Muhammad. In 1494 at the age of 11, Babur became the ruler of Farghana (at present in Chinese Turkistan) succeeding Umar Shaikh Mirza, his father. Daulat Khan,  the most powerful noble of Punjab, who was discontented with Ibrahim Lodhi, invited  Babur  to invade India. He undertook four expeditions to India in order to conquer it between the years 1519 and 1523.   Babur’s Military Conquests In 1504, Babur occupied Kabul. In 1524, Babur occupied Lahore but had to retreat to Ka

The Mughal reign was a crucial phase in Indian History. This article throws light on the Mughal era in India like Economic & Social Life, Agriculture, Trade Growth, etc. INDIA UNDER THE MUGHALS Economic and Social Life The socio-economic conditions of India are mentioned by many European Travellers and trader who came to India and their accounts contain a mine of information. Generally, most of the accounts describe the wealth and prosperity of India and also the lavish life of the nobles. There are accounts of foreigners as well that give information about the poverty and sufferings of ordinary people such as peasants and artisans. Mughal Nobility The Mughals were nobles and most of them were foreigners like Turks and Afghans and formed a privileged class. The Mughal nobles were paid high salaries but their expenses were also the same. Each noble had a large number of servants, horses, elephants etc. Wealthy people dressed in silk and cotton clothes and the poor people dressed min