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Mughal Empire

• Invasion of India• India had been

through a time of turmoil

• Hindus and Muslims fighting over territory

• Turkish invaders: Hindus treated like conquered peoples

Leadership

• Babur: 11 year old• Tiny kingdom• Effective military

leadership • Poet, artist• Incompetent son takes

over: lost most of the territory gained

Golden Age

• Akbar (1556-1605)• Muslim leader• Defended religious

tolerance• Fair taxation• Importance of cultural

blending

Military

• Military power root of success

• Heavy artillery• Potential enemies as

military leaders• United over 100

million people

Social Reform

• Akbar pushed for social changes, going beyond mere public works projects.

• Improved calendar, built living quarters for large population of beggars and vagabounds.

• Regulated the consumption of alcohol.

Gender Reform

• Ahead of his time involving thoughts about position of women.

• Encouraged widow remarriage.

• Discouraged child marriages.

• Relief for women trapped in purdah (seclusion)- market days for women only.

Culture• Many cultures welcomed• Persian language• Common person spoke

Hindi• Arts flourished• Drew from western

influence • Literature• Libraries• Architecture: Akbar period

Decline

• Ended in a patchwork of independent states

• Trade with Europeans: India’s next conquerors

• Rajputs rebel!• Outbreak of wars with

Sikhs and Rajputs• War takes money =

taxes• No loyalty to leader• Weakened central state,

power of local lords grew