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Who founded the Mughal Empire, and in what year?
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All Flashcards in Topic 20.4
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20.4.112 cards
Who founded the Mughal Empire, and in what year?
Babur, a Timurid/Chingizid prince from Ferghana, founded it in 1526 after defeating Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat.
Battle of Panipat (1526) — who fought whom, and what was the result?
Babur's smaller Mughal army defeated Ibrahim Lodi's much larger Delhi Sultanate army; Ibrahim Lodi was killed and the Lodi dynasty ended.
What is the tulughma tactic?
A flanking manoeuvre where cavalry attacked the enemy's sides and rear while a fortified, gun-defended centre (carts chained together) blocked a frontal charge.
Why was the Battle of Khanwa (1527) important?
Babur defeated a large Rajput coalition led by Rana Sanga, proving the Mughals intended permanent rule in India, not just a raid.
Who was Sher Shah Suri?
An Afghan rival who defeated Humayun at Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540), forcing him into exile, and founded the Suri Empire (1540–1555).
What happened to Humayun after losing Kannauj in 1540?
He fled India through the Sindh desert, his son Akbar was born in exile in 1542, and he eventually sought refuge at the Safavid Persian court.
How did Humayun's Persian exile shape later Mughal culture?
Exposure to Safavid Persian art, architecture and court culture at Shah Tahmasp's court left a lasting Persian influence on later Mughal painting and building style.
How did Humayun regain the Mughal throne?
After Sher Shah Suri's death (1545) split the Suri Empire into rival factions, Humayun used Safavid-backed troops to retake Kabul, then Delhi and Agra in 1555.
How and when did Humayun die?
He died in 1556 after falling down the stone stairs of his library at Purana Qila in Delhi, shortly after regaining the throne.
What administrative model did later Mughals (especially Akbar) borrow from Sher Shah Suri?
Currency reform (the silver rupiya), the Grand Trunk Road, and an efficient land revenue and postal system.
Compare: what had Babur and Humayun achieved by 1556 versus what was still missing?
Achieved: military conquest, dynastic claim, Persian cultural exposure. Missing: stable bureaucracy, elite legitimacy, secure succession, secure borders.
Why does 'origins and rise' (1526–1556) matter for understanding Akbar's later reign?
Because Akbar inherited a militarily won but institutionally fragile empire — explaining why his administrative, religious and military reforms were so necessary and significant.
20.4.212 cards
What did Akbar abolish in 1564 to win Hindu support?
The jizya (tax on non-Muslims).
Din-i-Ilahi
A syncretic court faith created by Akbar in 1582, blending Islamic, Hindu, and other ideas to bind nobles to him personally.
What did Aurangzeb do in 1679 that reversed Akbar's religious policy?
He reimposed the jizya tax on non-Muslims.
Why did the Sikh community become militarised against the Mughals?
Aurangzeb executed Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675 for refusing to convert to Islam, pushing the Sikhs under Guru Gobind Singh towards armed resistance.
Who led Maratha resistance against the Mughals from the Deccan?
Shivaji, who declared himself an independent king in 1674 and used guerrilla tactics against Mughal territory.
Mansabdari system
The Mughal administrative system that ranked nobles by military and administrative duty, used to organise both the army and tax collection.
What major monument did Shah Jahan complete in 1653?
The Taj Mahal, built as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Process: how did religious policy affect the Rajput alliance over time?
Akbar's marriages and mansabdar ranks won Rajput loyalty → Aurangzeb's temple destruction and jizya reversed this → Rajputs of Marwar rebelled from 1679.
Name two internal forces of Mughal decline by 1712.
Costly Deccan wars draining the treasury, and succession wars with no fixed rule of inheritance.
Name two external forces contributing to Mughal decline.
Growing European trading company presence (British and French East India Companies) and expanding Maratha power.
Compare Akbar's and Aurangzeb's approach to Hindu subjects.
Akbar: cooperation — abolished jizya, married Rajput princesses, created Din-i-Ilahi. Aurangzeb: orthodoxy — restored jizya, destroyed some temples, alienated former allies.
How did Aurangzeb come to power in 1658?
He imprisoned his own father, Shah Jahan, and defeated his brothers in a war of succession, showing the empire's lack of a fixed inheritance rule.
Topic 20.4 study notes
Full notes & explanations for The rise and fall of the Mughal Empire (1526–1712)
History exam skills
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