The Mogul Empire

The Age of Invasions The Great Gupta Empire ruled India from about 300 to 500 C.E. However the empire began to weaken and was being repeatedly invaded by outside forces.

In fact there were so many invasions that the period from C.E. became known as the Age of Invasions.

The first to invade the Gupta Empire were the Huns. They came from the north and conquered all of northern India. However, their rule did not last.

In the early 700’s, the Muslims entered India. By about 1200, they had conquered the land. The Muslims treated the Hindu peoples of India harshly. They killed many Hindus and took over India. They introduced things such as paper and gunpowder. They also adopted many Indian ideas, like Arabic numerals. Eventually the Muslims were conquered too.

The Mogul Empire Babur the Tiger was a fierce Muslim warrior, and ruler of a small kingdom in central Asia. In 1526 at the Battle of Panipat, he defeated the Muslims who ruled India, and set himself up as Emperor creating the Mogul Empire.

The name Mogul is really just a different way of saying Mongol. As you know the Mongols were the nomadic tribes of central Asia who united under Genghis Khan.

In fact Babur was said to be related to Genghis Khan who lived 300 years before him. Babur the Tiger died in 1530, just four years after his rule began. However within 200 years his empire stretched across almost all of India.

Hindus and Muslims in the Mogul Empire Even though Babur the Tiger was Muslim, and he captured northern India from Muslim rulers, most of India at the time was Hindu. Hindus worship many gods, and follow a rigid social class system called castes. Muslims do not believe these things.

The differences in religion often lead to conflict between Muslims and Hindus. Many Hindus were either killed or forced to convert to Islam to avoid persecution.

One man who helped change the fate of Hindus in India was a Muslim named Akbar. He was the greatest of the Mogul emperors. His rule lasted nearly 50 years.

Akbar new that peace and prosperity depended on harmony among the different religions in India. To Promote such harmony, he repealed the special tax that non-Muslims had been forced to pay. He even married a Hindu woman.

Akbar had an interest in all religions. He invited members of many religions to discuss and debate religious ideas with him. Akbar also strengthened his empire by expanding Mogul rule east, west, and south, in addition to making the government stronger.

Shah Jahan and the Taj Mahal Shah Jahan Followed Akbar as the next great ruler of the Mogul Empire. He ruled from 1628 to His rule is remembered as being a time of peace and prosperity.

Shah Jahan is best remembered for building the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is universally recognized as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It was build as a tomb for one of Shah Jahan’s wives.

The Taj Mahal has many elements of design from both Muslim and Hindu backgrounds. It took 20,000 workers about 20 years to build it. The dome is 120 feet tall. It was built using white marble, that teams of elephants dragged from as far as 100 miles away.