36 Facts About Mughal Empire

1.

Mughal Empire was an Islamic early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries.

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2.

Mughal Empire is conventionally said to have been founded in 1526 by Babur, a warrior chieftain from what is today Uzbekistan, who employed aid from the neighboring Safavid and Ottoman empires, to defeat the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodhi, in the First Battle of Panipat, and to sweep down the plains of Upper India.

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3.

Mughal Empire was founded by Babur, a Central Asian ruler who was descended from the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur (the founder of the Timurid Empire) on his father's side, and from Genghis Khan on his mother's side.

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4.

Mughal Empire established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass.

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5.

Mughal Empire created a new ruling elite loyal to him, implemented a modern administration, and encouraged cultural developments.

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6.

Mughal Empire left his son an internally stable state, which was in the midst of its golden age, but before long signs of political weakness would emerge.

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7.

Mughal Empire "was addicted to opium, neglected the affairs of the state, and came under the influence of rival court cliques".

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8.

Mughal Empire's reign ushered in the golden age of Mughal architecture.

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9.

Mughal Empire's reign was called as "The Golden Age of Mughal Architecture".

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10.

Mughal Empire encouraged conversion to Islam, reinstated the jizya on non-Muslims, and compiled the Fatawa al-Alamgir, a collection of Islamic law.

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11.

Mughal Empire expanded the empire to include almost the whole of South Asia, but at his death in 1707, "many parts of the empire were in open revolt".

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12.

But, according to Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, the Mughal Empire Emperor continued to be the highest manifestation of sovereignty.

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13.

Meanwhile, some regional polities within the increasingly fragmented Mughal Empire, involved themselves and the state in global conflicts, leading only to defeat and loss of territory during the Carnatic Wars and the Bengal War.

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14.

Mughal Empire'storians have offered numerous explanations for the rapid collapse of the Mughal Empire between 1707 and 1720, after a century of growth and prosperity.

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15.

Finally, other scholars argue that the very prosperity of the Mughal Empire inspired the provinces to achieve a high degree of independence, thus weakening the imperial court.

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16.

Mughal Empire had a highly centralised, bureaucratic government, most of which was instituted during the rule of the third Mughal emperor Akbar.

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17.

Mughal Empire was divided into suba, each of which were headed by a provincial governor called a subadar.

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18.

The Mughal Empire Emperors spent a significant portion of their ruling period within these camps.

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19.

Particularly, this meant that the Mughal Empire emperor was considered the supreme authority on legal affairs.

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20.

The Mughal Empire qadi was responsible for dispensing justice; this included settling disputes, judging people for crimes, and dealing with inheritances and orphans.

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21.

Subjects of the Mughal Empire took their grievances to the courts of superior officials who held more authority and punitive power than the local qadi.

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22.

In Mughal Empire India, there was a generally tolerant attitude towards manual labourers, with some religious cults in northern India proudly asserting a high status for manual labour.

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23.

Mughal Empire administration emphasised agrarian reform, which began under the non-Mughal Empire emperor Sher Shah Suri, the work of which Akbar adopted and furthered with more reforms.

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24.

The Mughal government funded the building of irrigation systems across the empire, which produced much higher crop yields and increased the net revenue base, leading to increased agricultural production.

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25.

Major Mughal Empire reform introduced by Akbar was a new land revenue system called zabt.

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26.

Mughal Empire replaced the tribute system, previously common in India and used by Tokugawa Japan at the time, with a monetary tax system based on a uniform currency.

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27.

The expansion of agriculture and cultivation continued under later Mughal emperors including Aurangzeb, whose 1665 firman edict stated: "the entire elevated attention and desires of the Emperor are devoted to the increase in the population and cultivation of the Empire and the welfare of the whole peasantry and the entire people.

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28.

Mughal Empire agriculture was in some ways advanced compared to European agriculture at the time, exemplified by the common use of the seed drill among Indian peasants before its adoption in Europe.

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29.

Largest manufacturing industry in the Mughal Empire was textile manufacturing, particularly cotton textile manufacturing, which included the production of piece goods, calicos, and muslins, available unbleached and in a variety of colours.

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30.

Mughal Empire India had a large shipbuilding industry, which was largely centred in the Bengal province.

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31.

Mughal Empire assesses ship repairing as very advanced in Bengal.

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32.

Mughal Empire was definitive in the early-modern and modern periods of South Asian history, with its legacy in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan seen in cultural contributions such as:.

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33.

Later, the Mysorean rockets were upgraded versions of Mughal Empire rockets used during the Siege of Jinji by the progeny of the Nawab of Arcot.

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34.

The astronomical instruments and observational techniques used at the Mughal Empire observatories were mainly derived from Islamic astronomy.

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35.

Mughal Empire was a notable writer who described the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and the cities of Allahabad and Delhi in rich detail and made note of the glories of the Mughal Empire.

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36.

One of the most remarkable astronomical instruments invented in Mughal Empire India is the lost-wax cast, hollow, seamless, celestial globe.

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