MUGHAL PERIOD
Total Questions: 50
He was the seventh Mughal emperor of India, who ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712.
Born as Muazzam, Shah was the third son of Muslim Rajput "Nawab Bai" and the grandson of Shah Jahan".
Reign: 1658–1707.
Territorial Expansion:
The Mughal Empire reached its greatest territorial extent during Aurangzeb's rule.
The empire stretched from the Deccan Plateau in the south to the northwest regions (present-day Afghanistan).
Key Achievements:
Aurangzeb was a strong and ambitious ruler.
Expanded the empire’s borders through military campaigns.
Challenges:
Religious Intolerance: Policies against non-Muslims led to revolts and alienation among various communities.
Deccan Campaigns: Continuous wars in the Deccan drained the empire’s resources and weakened it over time.
Decline After His Death:
After Aurangzeb’s death in 1707, the Mughal Empire began to weaken.
Successors were unable to maintain the empire’s vastness.
The empire started losing control to regional powers and external invasions.
Significance:
Considered the last powerful Mughal emperor.
His reign marks the peak of Mughal territorial dominance, but also the beginning of its decline.
Babur (1526–1530)
Founder of the Mughal Empire in India after his victory at the Battle of Panipat (1526).
Humayun (1530–1540, 1555–1556)
The second Mughal emperor who briefly lost the empire to Sher Shah Suri but later regained it in 1555.
Akbar (1556–1605)
One of the greatest Mughal emperors, known for his military conquests, administrative reforms, and religious tolerance.
Jahangir (1605–1627)
Akbar’s son, known for his love of art and nature, and for maintaining the empire’s stability.
Shah Jahan (1628–1658)
Known for architectural masterpieces like the Taj Mahal and expanding the empire’s territory, but his later years were marked by internal family conflict.
Aurangzeb (1658–1707)
The last powerful Mughal ruler, known for his territorial expansion, but his reign also led to the empire’s gradual decline after his death.
Bahadur Shah I (1707–1712)
Aurangzeb’s successor, whose reign marked the beginning of the empire’s decline. He struggled with internal strife and regional revolts.
Jahandar Shah (1712–1713)
His reign was short and marked by court conspiracies, ultimately ending with his defeat by his son, Rafi ud-Darajat.
Rafi ud-Darajat (1713)
Brief reign after Jahandar Shah, lasting only a few months before his death.
Shah Alam II (1713–1719)
A puppet ruler under the influence of the powerful court nobility and regional kingdoms.
Muhammad Shah (1719–1748)
Known for his indulgence in pleasures, his reign saw the empire losing its grip on the subcontinent. The Persian invasion by Nader Shah occurred during his rule.
Ahmad Shah Bahadur (1748–1754)
His reign marked further decline of Mughal power as the empire fragmented into regional states.
Alamgir II (1754–1759)
A puppet ruler under the influence of the powerful Marathas and British.
Akbar Shah II (1806–1837)
The Mughal Empire was largely reduced to a ceremonial figurehead by the time of his reign, with the British East India Company controlling most of India.
Bahadur Shah II (1837–1857)
The last Mughal emperor, who ruled during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After the rebellion, he was deposed by the British, marking the official end of the Mughal Empire.
Sher Shah Suri was the founder of the Sur empire in North India, with its capital in Delhi.
Kamran Mirza was the second son of Babur and hence he too belonged to the Mughal Dynasty along with Humayan and Akbar.
Akbarnama is in 3 volumes. Its third section is known as Ain-i-Akbari. It contains the history of Akbar's reign.
