Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

LURE - THRU THE AGES

various areas between Delhi and Kanauj. He settled down in Agra, preparing schemes for further Conquests and supervising the casting of mortars. He spent his leisure hours organizing the laying out of gardens, digging of wells and planting of fruit trees from Kabul in Indian soil. The most powerful menace to the new born Mughal empire was Rana Sanga, the Rajput ruler of Mewar. A large number of Rajput chiefs joined him to fight the Mughals. The Rana marched to expel Babur from India. On 17 March 1527 the final battle between the Mughals and the Rajputs was fought at Kanwah near Sikhri. The Rajput army out- numbered Babur's army many times. By the end of the day, Babur had gained a decisive victory. This victory secured Babur the Indian throne. He assigned his son Humayun the control of Kabul and Badakhshan. In 1529 Babur met the Afghans of Bihar and Bengal in a battle at Goga in Bihar and inflicted a crushing defeat on them. By now Babur's health had been shattered by the long and strenuous campaigns he had fought and the hot Indian climate. He died on 26 Dec. 1530. Several years later his dead body was taken to Kabul and buried in the terrace of a beautiful garden. Babur was also a great writer of poetry and prose in Chaghatay-Turk, his mother tongue; his memoir Tuzuk-e-Babur frankly confesses his own failures. Always welcom- ing the company of scholars and poets, he en- joyed many erudite discussions with them. Strengths * As a military leader Babur had no equal in his day. His indomitable courage won him the confidence of his commanders and troops. As a soldier he was dauntless, never giving way to panic or despair. Nothing could shake his belief in his own ultimate success with divine help. * He was very creative, frequently intro- ducing innovations when building monu- ments, laying out gardens and orchards and casting new types of guns and match- locks. Weakness * He was a great drinker and at wine par- ties he drank without restraint. * He spent too much wealth in offering presents and gifts to his followers and re- mitted certain duties for the Muslims. Owing to his pre-occupation with wars he

could not build a sound financial and administrative system. . Achievements * Babur laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire in India. * The Mughal Empire provided a sense of cohesiveness, unity and continuity that had not been witnessed in the Indian sub- continent for a thousand years that had elapsed since the decline of the Gupta empire. * During the Mughal rule India became the richest and one of the most powerful countries of the world. Persia, Tran- soxania and Turkey recognised India's position as a great power. European nations such as Portugal, England, France and Holland displayed eagerness to trade with India. Humayun (b. 1508 - d.1556; reigned 1530-40 and 1555-56) Babur was succeeded by his eldest son Humayun at the age of twenty-three. His three brothers, Kamran, Hindal and Askari also coveted the throne. His cousins Muham- mad Zaman and Muhammad Sultan were also pretenders to the throne. His father had net left behind him a consolidated and well-knit empire. The Afghan nobles and Rajputs had only temporarily been subdued. The growing power of Bahadur Shah in Gujarat was also a serious threat. Humayun began badly by invading the Hindu principality of Kalinjar in Bundelkhand, which he failed to subdue. In 1532 he besieged the fortress of Chinar unsuccessfully. Thereafter he conquered Malwa and Gujarat, but he could not hold them. He then proceeded to Bengal to assist Sultan Mahmud of that province against Sher Khan. In 1539 he fought a battle at Chausa against Sher Khan in which Humayun was defeated. In 1540 in another battle at Kanauj Humayun was defeated by Sher Khan who now assumed the title Sher Shah. Humayun retreated and fled to Lahore and from there to Sindh, Rajputana and back to Sindh again. In 1543 he fled to Iran to seek military assistance from its ruler Shah Tahmasp. In 1545 Sher Shah died. He was succeded by Islam Shah who ruled upto 1553. He was succeeded by Muhammad Adil Shah who left the government in the hands of his minister Hemu. His power was challenged by Ibrahim Shah and Sikandar Shah. Their mutual feuds

broke up the Sun empire. Humayun who was waiting for such an opportunity invaded India. In 1554 Humayun captured Lahore. He occupied Sirhind and captured Delhi and Agra in 1555. He thus regained the throne of Delhi after an interval of 15 years. In 1556 Humayun died as a result of an accident in Delhi. Akbar, The Great (b. 1542-d. 1605; reigned 1556-1605) On Humayun's death, Akbar was pro- claimed emperor by his guardian Byram Khan. Delhi which was suffering from a terrible famine had been seized by Himu. On 5 Nov. 1556 Himu's army met Akbar at Panipat in a fierce battle. The Mughals were about to be defeated when Himu was struck in the eye by an arrow and fell unconscious on his elephant. His army was seized with panic and fled in all directions. The Mughals were victorious. Himu was later killed. Akbar entered Delhi in triumph, his rule was established from Kabul to Jaunpur and from the Punjab hills to Ajmir. In 1560 Akbar or- dered Byram Khan to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. In 1561 Byram was assassinated by an Afghan at Pataa in Gujarat on his way to Mecca. By 1561 Akbar had become old enough to make his own decisions. In 1561 he con- quered Malwa. The most important event of 1562 was Akbar's marriage with a Rajput princess, daughter of Raja Bihammal of Amber and the conquest of Malwa in Rajast- han. The marriage led to a firm alliance between the Mughals and the Rajputs. The princess became the mother of Akbar's fu- ture heir and successor Jehangir. In 1562 Akbar abolished the enslavement of the prisoners of war and of their forcible conversion and their women and children to Islam. By 1562 Akbar freed himself com- pletely from the influence of the harem. The harem party, headed by Maham Anaga, her son Adham Khan and some courtiers mur- dered the new Prime Minister Atgah Khan. Akbar killed Adham Khan. Akbar embarked on a policy of conquest, establishing control over Jodhpur, Bhatha (modem Rewa) and the Gokkhar country be- tween the Indus and the Beas in the Punjab. Next he conquered the region of Gondwana in modern Madhya Pradesh. In 1563 he removed the pilgrimage tax on Hindus. In 1564 the Jizyah (poll tax on non-Muslims) was abolished. In 1569 a son was born to