Chapter 4 THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

Who Were The Mughals

The Mughals were descendants of two prominent ruling lineages: from their mother's side, they were related to Genghis Khan (Mongol ruler of China and Central Asia), and from their father's side, they were successors to Timur (ruler of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey). Despite this ancestry, the Mughals preferred to emphasize their Timurid lineage, as Genghis Khan's name was associated with massacres, and they were rivals of the Uzbegs, another Mongol group. Their great ancestor, Timur, had captured Delhi in 1398, and the Mughals celebrated this heritage pictorially.

Mughal Military Campaigns

Babur, the first Mughal emperor (1526-1530), ascended the throne of Ferghana at the age of 12. After being forced to leave his homeland due to Uzbeg invasions, he captured Kabul in 1504. In 1526, he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi, at the Battle of Panipat, thereby capturing Delhi and Agra. Subsequent emperors, like Akbar and Aurangzeb, engaged in numerous military campaigns to expand and consolidate the empire. These campaigns involved conflicts with Afghan groups, Rajput rulers, and kingdoms in Malwa, Gondwana, and the Deccan, as well as incursions into the north-west and Southeast Asia.

Mughal warfare in the 16th century was significantly influenced by the introduction of gunpowder technology, with cannons playing a crucial role, as seen in Babur's victory at Panipat.

Mughal Traditions Of Succession

The Mughals did not follow the practice of primogeniture (inheritance by the eldest son). Instead, they adhered to the Mughal and Timurid custom of coparcenary inheritance, which involved dividing the inheritance among all the sons. This practice, however, often led to rebellions and conflicts among the princes for succession.

Mughal Relations With Other Rulers

Mughal rulers engaged in constant military campaigns against rulers who resisted their authority. However, as the Mughals gained power, many rulers voluntarily joined them. The Rajputs exemplify this, with many marrying their daughters into Mughal families and receiving high positions in return. Despite this, some, like the Sisodiya Rajputs of Mewar, resisted Mughal authority for a long time. After being defeated, they were treated with respect and granted their lands back. This balanced approach of defeating but not humiliating opponents allowed the Mughals to extend their influence.

However, maintaining this balance was not always easy. An instance of this imbalance was Aurangzeb's insult to Shivaji, which led to Shivaji's rebellion and resumption of campaigns against the Mughals.

Mansabdars And Jagirdars

As the empire expanded, the Mughals recruited a diverse group of people into their service, including Turks, Irani Muslims, Afghans, Rajputs, and Marathas. These individuals were enrolled as mansabdars, holding a position or rank (mansab). The mansab system was a grading hierarchy that determined rank, salary, and military responsibilities, based on a numerical value called zat. A higher zat indicated a more prestigious position and a larger salary.

Mansabdars were also responsible for maintaining a specified number of cavalrymen (sawar). They received their salaries in the form of revenue assignments called jagirs, which were similar to the iqtas of the Delhi Sultanate. However, most mansabdars did not administer their jagirs directly; instead, their revenue was collected by servants, while the mansabdars served elsewhere in the empire.

During Akbar's reign, jagirs were assessed to roughly match the mansabdar's salary. By Aurangzeb's reign, however, the actual revenue collected was often less than the granted sum. The significant increase in the number of mansabdars led to a shortage of jagirs and a longer waiting period for assignment, prompting many jagirdars to extract maximum revenue from their jagirs. This exploitation, coupled with Aurangzeb's inability to control these developments, caused immense suffering to the peasantry.

Zabt And Zamindars

The primary source of income for the Mughal rulers was taxation on the agricultural produce of the peasantry. Taxes were typically paid through rural elites, such as village headmen or local chieftains, collectively referred to by the Mughals as zamindars.

Akbar's revenue minister, Todar Mal, conducted a detailed survey of crop yields, prices, and cultivated areas from 1570 to 1580. Based on this data, taxes were fixed for each crop in cash. Each province was divided into revenue circles with specific revenue rates for individual crops, a system known as zabt. This system was effectively implemented in areas where Mughal administrators could survey land and maintain accurate records, but not in provinces like Gujarat and Bengal.

Zamindars wielded considerable power in certain regions. Exploitation by Mughal administrators sometimes led them to rebel, and they occasionally allied with peasants of the same caste against Mughal authority. These peasant revolts posed a significant challenge to the stability of the Mughal Empire from the late 17th century onwards.

A Closer Look: Akbar’s Policies

Administration Structure

The fundamental structure of Mughal administration was established by Akbar and meticulously detailed by his courtier, Abul Fazl, in the Akbar Nama, particularly its final volume, the Ain-i-Akbari. The empire was divided into provinces called subas, each governed by a subadar responsible for both political and military affairs. Each suba also had a financial officer, the diwan. Supporting the subadar in maintaining peace and order were other officials like the military paymaster (bakhshi), the minister for religious and charitable patronage (sadr), military commanders (faujdars), and the town police commander (kotwal).

The nobles, including the mansabdars, commanded vast armies and controlled significant revenues. While their loyalty ensured efficient functioning of the empire, by the end of the 17th century, many nobles had developed independent networks, and their loyalty was often compromised by self-interest.

Religious Discussions And Sulh-I Kul

Akbar initiated discussions on religion with scholars from various faiths, including the ulama, Brahmanas, Jesuit priests, and Zoroastrians, in the ibadat khana. He was interested in understanding different religions and customs. These interactions revealed to Akbar that religious scholars focused on ritual and dogma were often bigots, creating divisions among his subjects. This realization led Akbar to formulate the concept of sulh-i kul, meaning "universal peace." This principle promoted tolerance and focused on a system of ethics—honesty, justice, and peace—that was universally applicable, transcending religious differences. Jahangir and Shah Jahan continued to follow this principle of governance.

Akbar also commissioned the translation of numerous Sanskrit works into Persian through a translation bureau established at Fatehpur Sikri, including the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Lilavati, and Yogavashisht. The Persian translation of the Mahabharata, the Razmnamah, was richly illustrated.

The Mughal Empire In The Seventeenth Century And After

Economic And Social Conditions

The Mughal Empire achieved significant economic and commercial prosperity in the 17th century, attracting international attention for its wealth. However, this prosperity coexisted with stark inequalities, with a small percentage of the elite mansabdars receiving a disproportionately large share of the empire's revenue. The wealth generated was largely spent on salaries and goods, benefiting artisans and peasants who supplied these necessities. However, the extensive revenue collection left minimal resources for the primary producers (peasants and artisans) to invest in improving productivity. Wealthier sections of society, merchants, and bankers benefited the most from this economic system.

Decline Of The Empire And Rise Of Regional Powers

By the end of the 17th century, the central authority of the Mughal emperor began to weaken. Mughal officials, who held significant power and resources, emerged as independent centers of authority in various regions. This led to the establishment of new dynasties in provinces like Hyderabad and Awadh. While these regional powers continued to acknowledge the Mughal emperor in Delhi, by the 18th century, they had consolidated their independent political identities.