The Mughals: From 300 soldiers to 300 years of rule

By Aryaman Singh (Year 12)

At the height of its power the Mughal empire ruled an estimated ¼ of the Earth’s economy. It’s massive population of over 150 million people was over double that of the European continent at the time and yet not many have heard about just how far the influences of this Empire lay or how it’s rise from the scarce remnants of the lost Timurid Empire is a true underdog story...

One year after Christopher Columbus found the new world, an 11-year-old fugitive by the name of Zihar Al Din, or as he would later be known, Babur (The Tiger) had just inherited his father’s tiny kingdom of Ferghana. But, as soon as he came to power, both his maternal and paternal uncles raised armies in the hopes of seizing his kingdom from him. On his father’s side, Babur was a descendant of the once vast Timurid Empire, but on his mother’s side he was in fact descendent of the Great Genghis Khan.

Throughout his teen years, Babur repeatedly gained and lost control of the old Timurid capital of Samarkand and his home of Ferghana. Eventually, after years of his disunited family butchering each other, the weakened remnants of the once mighty Timurid Empire were swept aside by the Turks and Iranians.

After suffering a series of defeats, Babur was thus left homeless and surrounded by enemies yet again. Accompanied with his mother, a few disloyal mercenaries and just 300 of his dead father’s men, Babur took refuge in the Afghan mountains (it is believed that the travel company had just 1 tent between them, which Babur’s mother used), slowly building up his forces and eventually capturing the strategic city of Kabul in 1504.

Throughout his teen years, Babur repeatedly gained and lost control of the old Timurid capital of Samarkand and his home of Ferghana. Eventually, after years of his disunited family butchering each other, the weakened remnants of the once mighty Timurid Empire were swept aside by the Turks and Iranians.

After suffering a series of defeats, Babur was thus left homeless and surrounded by enemies yet again. Accompanied with his mother, a few disloyal mercenaries and just 300 of his dead father’s men, Babur took refuge in the Afghan mountains (it is believed that the travel company had just 1 tent between them, which Babur’s mother used), slowly building up his forces and eventually capturing the strategic city of Kabul in 1504.

This city was crucial in Southeast Asia at the time as it was a hub for the trade of weapons, war horses and other resources and a point of connection between the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In a rapid shift of luck, Uzbek attacks across the remaining Timurid Empire had now left Babur as the last ruling Timurid prince. With all the deposed princes in his support, Babur took up the role of Badshah: the supreme ruler. However, after failing to retake Samarkand or secure Kabul, Babur now turned his attention to the declining but still incredibly wealthy Delhi Sultanate. Unlike others before him, his motivations were not to plunder, but to rather rule a vast kingdom in the area.

Babur’s use of advanced canons and cavalry at the battle of Panipat in 1523 saw him defeat a much larger traditional Indian army with over 1000 war elephants and overrun the Sultanate. In the years to come, Babur solidified control over Northern India by defeating a confederation of Rajput states. He embraced Delhi, guaranteeing its safety and not looting its people. But Babur did not get to enjoy his dreams of a vast Empire for very long as he died of suspected poisoning at the age of just 47...

Babur’s death was followed by an intense power struggle between his successor, Humayun, and his brothers. Humayun was ultimately defeated and driven out by his own general. This in fact led to a very brief new Suri Empire being established in Northeast India from 1540-55. Humayun became a fugitive just like his father, by which time the once vast Mughal army had been whittled down to just 40 men. And yet, the Mughal Dynasty refused to come to an end... In return for converting to a Shia Muslim, Humayun was granted 12,000 men by the Shah of Iran, ultimately retaking both Kabul and Northern India in one of history's most remarkable comebacks, in 1555. Humayun died a year later after falling down some stairs.

But it would be under his son Akbar that the Mughal Empire would truly rise to glory. During his nearly half a century reign from 1556-1605, he greatly expanded the Mughal Empire. In true Mongol fashion, he is known for dealing with any threats or dissent against his rule extremely severely. And yet, Akbar's progressive religious tolerance make him an exceptional leader for the time. He encouraged peaceful religious debate, outlawing forced conversions and granting non-Muslims the same rights as Muslims.

His heir, Jahangir was in fact a son whom he had had with a practicing Hindu wife. Much like his father, Jahangir reign was largely peaceful, lasting 22 years, and he also in fact married a Hindu Rajput wife. However, his execution of a Sikh Guru near the end of his reign was a sharp contrast from his father’s religious tolerance, eventually resulting in a civil war and famine that killed 2 million people.

His only surviving son, Shah Jaha, took up the throne. It was during his rule that the Taaj Mahal was constructed as a tomb for his deceased wife. Shah Jaha's reign is widely considered the peak of Mogul prestige, internal stability and prosperity, the foundations for which the 4 generations before him had laid out. But, as was often the case, his death spiralled into yet another power vacuum and conflict for the throne between his sons.

His eventual heir, Aurungzeb, took the Empire to its territorial zenith, however, this came at a great cost as he cut funding for courts, art religion and academics and basically everything that wasn’t to do with military and nature conservation Many unpopular taxes were introduced, including a tax on all non-Muslims called the Jisiah; this was a poor tactical decision by the Emperor as the Muslims were in fact a minority within India- evidenced by their overdependence on military action to establish and maintain their control- and thus such taxes turned most of his subjects against him. His policies significantly encouraged rebellion from Sikhs, Marathas and Rajput's. Aurungzeb's campaigns to end these conflicts again resulted in widespread famine and destruction and his eventual death caused yet another costly civil war.

In the years to come, Mughal efforts to reclaim the lost land from the Sikhs in turn resulted in the separation of the prosperous region of Bengal from the Empire in 1717. This was the start of huge political uncertainty within the Empire. In 1 year alone (1719), 4 different Emperors sat on the throne.

As costly wars continued with the Sikhs and Marathas, the distracted Mughal capital in Delhi eventually fell to a force from Persia in March 1739, which saw the enemy slaughter civilians and plunder the cities riches. This truly marked the beginning of the end for the Mughal Empire, with further attacks from the French in the south leading to the death of the last secure Mughal emperor, Muhammad Kahn.

As costly wars continued with the Sikhs and Marathas, the distracted Mughal capital in Delhi eventually fell to a force from Persia in March 1739, which saw the enemy slaughter civilians and plunder the cities riches. This truly marked the beginning of the end for the Mughal Empire, with further attacks from the French in the south leading to the death of the last secure Mughal emperor, Muhammad Khan.

Bengal was also eventually annexed by the British East India Company in 1757 and became a base for their conquest against the Maratha Empire, whom by now were a much more powerful force within India and had already taken the south of what was left of the Mughals. The Northern parts of the Empire would also eventually fall at the hands of the Afghan Dirani Empire.

The remaining fragments of the Empire petitioned for Afghan support against the Marathas, but even in the conflict that followed where many men from both sides were killed, this only caused new problems for the Mughals as an old enemy in the Sikhs regained land by pushing back both the Afghans and Marathas. Eventually the Marathas captured Delhi in 1771, declaring themselves the

The last gasp of Mughal relevance came during the Indian rebellion of 1857 where many nobles and commoners alike declared the Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as the legitimate ruler of India. In the aftermath, Zafar was exiled to Burma and his sons were executed by the British. After his death in 1865, Queen Victoria became Empress of India and the British Raj began, ending the Mughal dynasty once and for all.

None the less, the Mughal dynasty certainly had a profound impact on shaping the modern-day Indian subcontinent. It was the first collective force to nearly bring the entirety of India under one banner, significantly increasing India’s overland and sea trade routes and providing the area with an entirely new level of economic autonomy. Under Akbar, the Empire also introduced one of the earliest forms of ”universal toleration” with open discussions between different religions and philosophies and paving the way for a modern, secular India. They also substantially increased the representation of Islam as a religion within India (now making up 15% of India’s religious demography), although they were not the first Muslims within India. They also helped establish a well-defined system of bureaucracy and taxation within India, the likes of which had never been seen before. This also links to their creation of the Rupee coin, which still functions as the main currency in that part of the world. The transport routes they created (such as the Grand Trunk Road in what is now New Delhi) still function as central components of the current transport network. Lastly, contrary to popular opinion and patterns associated with large empires, the Mughals in fact increased India’s GDP from 22% of the world to 24% (placing it as the world’s largest economy). This was much unlike the subsequent British Raj, which reduced the GDP to just 2% by 1947. Thus, the Mughal underdog rise to control certainly helped the catalyse immense change within India, most of which was for the better...