Within a few months of Humayun’s death, his governors lost several important cities and regions, including Delhi itself, to Hemu, a Hindu minister who had claimed the throne for himself. Humayun’s son Akbar (reigned 1556–1605), under the guidance of the regent Bayram Khan, defeated Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat (1556), which commanded the route to Delhi, and thereby turned the tide in Hindustan to the Mughal dynasty’s favor.
Although Akbar inherited an empire in shambles, he proved an extremely capable ruler. His expansion and absorption of vast territories established an empire across northern and parts of central India; at his death in 1605 the empire extended from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal and southward to what is now Gujarat state and the northern Deccan region (peninsular India). The political, administrative, and military structures that he created to govern the empire were the chief factor behind its continued survival for another century and a half.
One of the notable features of Akbar’s government was the extent of Hindu, and particularly Rajput, participation. Rajput princes attained the highest ranks, as generals and as provincial governors, in the Mughal service. Discrimination against non-Muslims was reduced by abolishing the taxation of pilgrims and the tax payable by non-Muslims (jizyah) in lieu of military service. Yet Akbar was far more successful than any previous Muslim ruler in winning the cooperation of Hindus at all levels in his administration. The further expansion of his territories gave them fresh opportunities.
The incorporation of the zealously independent Hindu Rajputs inhabiting the rugged hilly Rajputana region came about through a policy of conciliation and conquest. When in 1562 Raja Bihari Mal of Amber (now Jaipur), threatened by a succession dispute, offered Akbar his daughter in marriage, Akbar accepted. The raja acknowledged Akbar’s suzerainty, and his sons prospered in Akbar’s service. Akbar followed the same feudal policy toward the other Rajput chiefs. They were allowed to hold their ancestral territories, provided that they acknowledged Akbar as emperor, paid tribute, supplied troops when required, and concluded a marriage alliance with him. The emperor’s service was also opened to them and their sons, which offered financial rewards as well as honor. However, Akbar showed no mercy to those who refused to acknowledge his supremacy; after protracted fighting in Mewar, Akbar captured the historic fortress of Chitor (now Chittaurgarh) in 1568 and massacred its inhabitants.
Meanwhile, Akbar needed a way to maintain his status as a Muslim ruler while eliciting active support from his now predominantly non-Muslim subjects. In addition to annulling the jizyah, he abolished the practice of forcibly converting prisoners of war to Islam and encouraged Hindus as his principal confidants and policymakers. To legitimize his nonsectarian policies, he issued in 1579 a public edict (maḥẓar) declaring his right to be the supreme arbiter in Muslim religious matters—above the body of Muslim religious scholars and jurists, whom Akbar had come to consider as shallow. He had by then also undertaken a number of stern measures to reform the administration of religious grants, which were now available to learned and pious men of all religions, including Hindu pandits, Jain and Christian missionaries, and Parsi priests. The emperor created a new order commonly called the Din-e Ilahi (“Divine Faith”), which was modeled on the Muslim mystical Sufi brotherhood but was devised with the object of forging the diverse groups in the service of the state into one cohesive political community.
Other notable features of Akbar’s government included the streamlining of both military and civil administration. He consolidated military ranks into a standard system under his authority, and regular checks on rank holders (mansabdars) ensured a reasonable correlation between their obligations and their income. He also seems to have instituted more efficient revenue assessment and collection in an effort to safeguard the peasants from excessive demands and the state from loss of money.
Toward the end of his reign, Akbar embarked on a fresh round of conquests. The Kashmir region was subjugated in 1586, Sindh in 1591, and Kandahār (Afghanistan) in 1595. Mughal troops now moved south of the Vindhya Range into the Deccan. By 1601 Khandesh, Berar, and part of Ahmadnagar (Ahilyanagar) had been added to Akbar’s empire. His last years were troubled by the rebellious behavior of his son Prince Salim (later the emperor Jahangir), who was eager for power.
Jahangir and Nur Jahan
Akbar’s son Jahangir (reigned 1605–27) continued both his father’s administrative system and his tolerant policy toward Hinduism. His most significant achievement in his own right was the cessation of the conflict with Mewar, a Rajput principality that had eluded Akbar’s subjugation. Its rana accepted Jahangir as suzerain but retained greater independence than the other principalities.
In 1611 he married Mehr al-Nesaʾ, who was afterward known as Nur Jahan. His third son, Prince Khurram (later the emperor Shah Jahan), married her niece Arjumand Banu Begum (Mumtaz Mahal) the following year. When Jahangir left Agra in 1613 for several years to pursue campaigns in the south, Nur Jahan—along with her father, Iʿtimad al-Dawlah (Mirza Ghiyas Beg); her brother Asaf Khan (Arjumand’s father); and her niece’s husband, Prince Khurram—became heavily influential, if not decisive, in the royal court. After Jahangir’s return, his health deteriorated. Nur Jahan took charge of many of the ruler’s duties and even issued farmans (sovereign mandates) in her name. But, after her attempt to arrange her son-in-law as Jahangir’s successor, she stoked the ire of Prince Khurram and Asaf Khan. Upon Jahangir’s death, she was held in confinement for the remainder of her life.
Shah Jahan
Prince Khurram succeeded in attaining the throne and took on the regnal name Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–58). His reign was notable for successes against the Deccan states. By 1636 Ahmadnagar had been annexed and Golconda and Bijapur (Vijayapura) forced to become tributaries. Mughal power was also temporarily extended in the northwest. In 1638 the Persian governor of Kandahār, ʿAli Mardan Khan, surrendered that fortress to the Mughals. In 1646 Mughal forces occupied Badakhshān and Balkh, but in 1647 Balkh was relinquished, and attempts to reconquer it in 1649, 1652, and 1653 failed. The Persians reconquered Kandahār in 1649. Shah Jahan transferred his capital from Agra to Delhi in 1648, creating the new city of Shahjahanabad there.
Shah Jahan had an almost insatiable passion for building (see Shah Jahan period architecture). At his first capital, Agra, he undertook the building of two great mosques, the Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) and the Jamiʿ Masjid (Great Mosque) of Agra. The Taj Mahal, also in Agra, is the masterpiece of his reign and was erected in memory of his wife Arjumand (Mumtaz Mahal). At Delhi, Shah Jahan built a huge fortress-palace complex called the Red Fort as well as another Jami Masjid, which is among the finest mosques in India. Shah Jahan’s reign was also a period of great literary activity, and the arts of painting and calligraphy were not neglected. His court was one of great pomp and splendor, and his collection of jewels was probably the most magnificent in the world. But his expeditions against Balkh and Badakhshan and his attempts to recover Kandahār brought the empire to the verge of bankruptcy.
Aurangzeb
When Shah Jahan fell ill in September 1657, his sons Dara, Shuja, Aurangzeb, and Murad each sought the throne. A protracted war of succession left Aurangzeb the sole victor and one of his brothers dead; the other two were executed.
Aurangzeb (reigned 1658–1707) expanded the empire to its greatest extent, particularly after annexing the Muslim Deccan kingdoms of Bijapur (1686) and Golconda (1687), but his political and religious intolerance also laid the seeds of its decline. In the first decades of his long reign, Aurangzeb continued his predecessors’ recipe for conquest: Defeat one’s enemies, reconcile them, and place them in imperial service. Thus, the Maratha chief Shivaji was compelled into vassalage upon his defeat in 1666. Later that year, however, he escaped the Mughal court and challenged the Mughal Empire anew. His elaborate coronation in 1674, complete with Hindu religious consecration (abhisheka), rallied many Hindus to his cause; his successful rise also gained the attention and cooperation of Muslim sultans in the Deccan.
Aside from this already formidable challenge, the Mughals faced several rebellions, and Aurangzeb’s attitude and policy began to harden. He excluded Hindus from public office and destroyed their schools and temples, while his persecution of the Sikhs of the Punjab turned that sect against Muslim rule (most notably under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh) and roused rebellions among the Rajputs, Sikhs, and Marathas. The heavy taxes levied by Aurangzeb (including the reimposition of the jizyah) steadily impoverished the farming population, the abundant commissioning of mansabdars far outstripped the empire’s growth in area or revenues, and a steady decay in the quality of Mughal government was thus matched by a corresponding economic decline. When Aurangzeb died in 1707, he had failed to crush the Marathas of the Deccan, his authority was disputed throughout his dominions, and Mughal governance was collapsing under its own weight.
Decline of the Mughal Empire
Aurangzeb’s successors were plagued by instability and financial woes. Rebellions and external challenges continued under Bahadur Shah I (1707–12), whose poor fiscal management resembled that of Aurangzeb. Farrukh-Siyar (1713–19) acceded to the throne after a war of succession, assisted by two highly influential governors; his reign ended after those same agents, now his vizier and chief military commander, conspired with the ruler of Jodhpur to assassinate him.
| ruler | reign |
|---|---|
| Bahadur Shah I | 1707–12 |
| Jahandar Shah | 1712–13 |
| Muhammad Farrukhsiyar | 1713–19 |
| Rafi-ud Darajat | February 28–June 4, 1719 |
| Shah Jahan II | June 6–September 17, 1719 |
| Muhammad Shah | 1719–48 |
| Ahmad Shah | 1748–54 |
| Alamgir II | 1754–59 |
| Shah Alam II | 1759–1806 |
| Akbar II | 1806–37 |
| Bahadur Shah II | 1837–57 |
The dynastic center found itself more and more vulnerable, and the court was increasingly dependent on revenue and support from its governors. During the reign of Muhammad Shah (1719–48), the empire began to break up, a process hastened by dynastic warfare, factional rivalries, and the Iranian conqueror Nādir Shah’s brief but disruptive invasion of northern India in 1739. After the death of Muhammad Shah in 1748, the Marathas overran almost all of northern India. Mughal rule was reduced to only a small area around Delhi, which passed under Maratha (1785) and then British (1803) control.
The last Mughal
Bahadur Shah II (reigned 1837–57) was the last Mughal emperor of India. He ascended the Mughal throne at the age of 62. At the time of his enthronement, the once-thriving Mughal Empire was a remnant of what it had been in its heyday, restricted to a small territory surrounding Delhi. India was politically and commercially controlled by the British East India Company, essentially reducing Bahadur Shah to a titular ruler who was dependent on pensions. He was a poet, musician, and calligrapher, more an aesthete than a political leader. Bahadur Shah figured briefly, and reluctantly, in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The mutiny was led by Indian sepoys (soldiers) in response to the introduction of Enfield rifles, which required them to bite into cartridges rumored to be coated with fats derived from pigs and cows (proscribed food items according to Islam and Hinduism, respectively). Bahadur Shah resignedly associated himself with the uprising and was exiled to Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Rangoon, Burma).
Administration and governance
- The jagirdar system was a form of land tenancy developed in India during the time of Muslim rule (beginning in the early 13th century) in which the collection of the revenues of an estate and the power of governing it were bestowed on an official of the state. The term was derived by combining two Persian words: jagir (“holding land”) and dar (“official”).
- A mansabdar was a member of the imperial bureaucracy of the Mughal Empire in India. The mansabdars governed the empire and commanded its armies in the emperor’s name.
- The zabt system was a standardized system of land revenue assessment and collection. Especially prominent in northern India, zabt involved detailed measurement of land (bigha), crop classification, and price estimation. A fixed cash rate was imposed based on productivity, typically set at one-third of the average produce, converted to a cash value. This method replaced arbitrary levies and enabled fiscal centralization.
The Mughal rulers maintained a centralized and bureaucratic administration. Much of this system took shape under the emperor Akbar, whose reforms established institutions and procedures that governed the empire for more than a century. The empire’s administration was divided into provinces (subas)—eventually numbering about 23 during the reign of Aurangzeb—each under a governor (subadar) who was appointed by the emperor.
The central authority lay with the emperor, who appointed senior officials to manage the various branches of state governance. Among these, the most influential was the diwan-i-ala, the head of revenue and finance who supervised the assessment and collection of land revenue, managed state expenditure, and oversaw provincial financial officers. The diwan-i-ala fixed revenue estimates, which formed the basis for allocating revenue assignments, or jagirs, to officials, and was responsible for all expenditure. He also supervised his subordinates who were called diwans. The mir-bakhshi handled military administration, supervising the army and managing intelligence. Judicial appointments were under the authority of the sadrul sudur, who handled charitable grants and the appointment of judges called qadis.
A notable feature of Mughal governance was the mansabdari system, which regulated both civil and military service. All senior officials were assigned a numerical rank, or mansab, granted solely by the emperor. This rank determined an officer’s personal status, salary, and the number of troops he was required to maintain. Since mansabs were positions that were neither hereditary nor permanent, advancement and demotion depended entirely on imperial favor. Most mansabdars were paid not in cash but through temporary revenue assignments known as jagirs, making them jagirdars entitled to collect specified revenues from designated territories in lieu of a salary.
Jagirs were often transferred to prevent the jagirdars from developing local authority and to ensure their continued dependence on the emperor. The estimated revenue of each territorial unit was carefully calculated so that it matched exactly the salary which was due to the jagirdar. The jagirdars were permitted to collect only those taxes that were sanctioned by the state and were required to follow imperial regulations in doing so. Administrative control over land and people remained with the state, and jagirdars exercised no ownership rights. Revenue collection was carried out through the agents of the state, and from the 17th century onward many resorted to revenue farming (a system in which the right to collect land revenue from a specific area was auctioned to the highest bidder), a practice that often placed heavy burdens on cultivators. While the Mughal revenue system underpinned the empire’s economic strength and administrative reach, its extractive pressures—especially through practices such as revenue farming and heavy cash taxes—often strained cultivators and local elites, contributing to social tensions and undermining stability over time.
| level | administrative unit | key officials | function |
|---|---|---|---|
| province | suba | subadar (governor) | Subadars oversaw civil and military affairs, justice, revenue, and law enforcement. |
| district | sarkar | faujdar and amalguzar | Faujdars enforced law and order, whereas amalguzars supervised revenue assessment and collection. |
| sub-district | pargana | qazi, qanungo, and chaudhuri | Qanungos undertook land tax assessment, whereas chaudhuris ensured land tax collection. |
| village | gram | muqaddam and patwari | Muqaddams were the village headmen, and patwaris were recordkeepers for land and harvest. |
| urban areas | city/municipality | kotwal | Kotwals were the chiefs of police and urban regulation who managed markets and law and order. |
Economy and trade
The economy during the Mughal period was largely agrarian, and more than 75 percent of the population lived in rural areas. The cultivators followed simple agricultural techniques. Major crops grown were food grains, poppy, sugarcane, indigo, and fibers.
During the Mughal period India’s internal and overseas trade remained largely unchanged from earlier periods. India primarily imported high-value luxury and novelty items such as velvet fabrics, woolens, silks, alcohol, glassware, mirrors, along with precious metals—especially gold and silver—and semiprecious metals such as mercury, copper, zinc, tin, and lead. Cotton textiles were major Indian exports, with great quantities of finished cloth—especially decorative fabrics, calicoes, and muslins. Spices were second in importance, led mainly by pepper. Cardamom, turmeric, ginger, and medicinal substances were exported in much smaller amounts. Other export items included pearls, diamonds, lac, and indigo, which became some of the most valuable trade commodities for India. Under the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir, trade with foreign countries developed to a great extent.
The maritime trade of India in the early 17th century rested on a dense network of ports on the western and eastern coasts. Each of these ports was linked to specific export items and regional markets. Ports in Sindh, Gujarat, Konkan, Malabar, the Coromandel Coast, and Bengal dispatched cotton textiles, indigo, pepper, rice, sugar, and muslin across the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Southeast Asia, Eastern Africa, and Europe, often through intermediary hubs such as Goa and Malacca. Gujarat’s ports, especially Surat, played a central role in long-distance maritime exchange, while Bengal’s ports in Hooghly, Pipli, Balasore, and Chittagong supplied food items and fine textiles to both coastal and overseas markets. Although a significant volume of goods also moved overland through the northwestern routes into Central Asia, the expansion of European maritime trade gradually reduced the importance of these land corridors.
Architecture, art, and culture
Much of the Mughal art and architecture that remains today is a mix of Indian and Perso-Islamic traditions. Many architectural structures constructed under the patronage of the Mughal emperors still stand in India. Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi blends Persian and other styles of architecture. Jama Masjid, commissioned by Akbar in the fortress-palace complex Fatehpur Sikri, is one of the finest mosques of the Mughal period. Under Shah Jahan’s reign Mughal architecture reached its peak. He founded Shahjahanabad (what is now called Old Delhi), with monuments such as Red Fort and Jama Masjid. The heart of this city was Chandni Chowk, which is one of India’s busiest markets in contemporary times. The Taj Mahal, a white marble mausoleum complex built in memory of Shah Jahan’s late wife Mumtaz Mahal, is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Aurangzeb, the last major ruler of the Mughals, commissioned the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore (now in Pakistan).
(Read Britannica’s article on Mughal architecture.)
The school of miniature painting, which emerged from the Persian school and blended Indian and European influences during the Mughal era, is considered one of the great traditions of Indian painting. Mughal miniatures existed not only as individual paintings collected in albums (called muraqqas) but also as illustrated books such as historical chronicles, anthologies of poetry, and mythological accounts. Illustrated books were often exchanged on special occasions and were given as presents during this time. They were regarded as valuable goods seized during wars. The Fitzwilliam Album, which is one of the earliest known muraqqas, can be attributed to the reign of Humayun. Tutinama (“Tales of a Parrot”), an illustrated anthology of short stories, is among the earliest recorded manuscripts of Akbar’s reign. While many Mughal rulers were patrons of art, the best artistic works of the Mughal era were produced during the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan. An important work of Akbar’s reign is Hamzanama (“Tales of Amir Hamza”). It recounts the legendary exploits of Amir Hamza—traditionally identified as an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad. Akbar also commissioned the Persian translation of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata (Razmnama in Persian). Some renowned painters of this era are Basavan, Mansur, Abu al-Hasan, and Bichitr.
Under Jahangir, who initially set up court in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), painting transformed into a new style. Unlike the highly individualized portraits of Akbar’s reign, artists in Allahabad created idealized works, often accompanied by poetic lines comparing the subject’s beauty to a divine presence. Artists such as Mansur and Abu al-Hasan often depicted court scenes, battles, hunting expeditions, and allegorical portraits of the emperors.
(Read Britannica’s article on Mughal painting.)
Persian was the official court language, which eased the entry of many poets, historians, and scholars from Iran and Central Asia into the Mughal courts. A blend of local customs with Persian culture resulted in a distinct Indo-Persian literary culture. Among the learned rulers were those who penned autobiographies, such as Babur, who wrote Baburnama in Chagatai Turkish, and Jahangir, author of the Persian memoir Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri. One of the prominent writers in Akbar’s court was Abuʾl-Fazl, who composed the Akbarnama (“History of Akbar”), a narrative based on Akbar’s life in three volumes.
Music and the performing arts also thrived under the empire. Akbar’s legendary court musician Tansen is credited with innovations in North Indian classical music (Hindustani classical music) that endure to this day. One of his many renowned compositions in the raga (a musical form intended to invoke emotion or nature) Megh Malhar is said to invoke rain.
Influential women of the Mughal court
Although women were often pushed to the background in the Mughal era, several played pivotal roles in shaping the empire’s political, cultural, and social landscape. Many royal women did not stay confined to the harem (zenana) but participated in politics and governance.
One of the early influential women in the Mughal Empire was Aisan Daulat Begum, Babur’s grandmother. She served as his chief adviser in his early conquests. Babur’s mother, Qutlugh Nigar Khanum, took active part in politics and administration. During the emperor Akbar’s reign, his foster mother, Maham Anaga, wielded considerable power and authority in the early part of his rule—a period that Irish historian Vincent Smith later dubbed the “petticoat government.” Similarly, Akbar’s mother, Hamida Banu Begum, remained influential across three generations of Mughal rulers: Humayun, Akbar, and Jahangir.
The most powerful Mughal woman was Nur Jahan, who became the de facto ruler of India during the later years of the reign of her husband, Jahangir. During Shah Jahan’s reign the center of female power was his daughter Jahanara Begum, who was designated padshah begum (first lady) after her mother, Mumtaz Mahal, died. She was well-educated, engaged in the arts, and possessed a sharp administrative acumen.
