Been doing a Mughal campaign in Europa Universalis recently, and been reading on them on the side. Pretty interesting guys
- Founded by Afghan Warlord Zahid-ud-Din Muhammad Babur Gurkani in 1526. He was the Paternal Great x2 Grandson of Tamerlane (Uzbek Warlord, founder of the Timurid Empire), and the Maternal Great x12 Grandson of Genghis Khan (As most of you'll know - Mongol Warlord, founder of the Mongol Empire)
- Babur actually lost all his titles in 1501. He went on to conquer Kabul (Capital of modern Afghanistan) three years later though, and allied with the Ottomans and Safavid Persians to invade the Delhi Sultanate (under the Lodi Dynasty at the time), after which he declared the new Empire
- The Rajputs under Rana Sanga invaded the new empire in the following year, with a 2:1 numeric advantage, only to get his ass handed to him at Khanwa. The Mughal capital was moved from Kabul to Agra (near Delhi, location of the Taj Mahal) afterwards.
- Babur's son - Humayan, was deposed for a while by one of his generals, Sher Shah Suri, and his son, Islam, between 1538 and 1555, as they established the Sur Empire in it's place. Humayan's exile in Safavid Persia actually helped strengthen diplomatic ties, and Persian influence within the empire when he restored it.
- His son, Emperor Akbar, reformed the legal and economic systems in order to reduce reliance on loot from conquests. That being said though, Akbar had everything north of Deccan under his posession by the end of his reign. Akbar strengthened relations with European colonists, and attempted to diefy himself in order to unify the disparate religious groups within the empire.
- His son, Jahangir, was a total crackhead with opiate issues, and revoked his father's religious reforms, leading to opposition from the Sikh community.
- His son, Shah Jahan, built the Taj Mahal to honour his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal - mother of future Emperor Aurangazeb. He also went on to conquer Deccan.
- His eldest, Dara Shikoh, became regent due to his father's illnesss, and attempted to mend relations between Muslims and Hindus, but was promptly deposed by Aurangazeb, who had support of the more fundamentalist muslim authorities.
- Aurangazeb executed his brother, and kept his brother imprisoned until his death. He went on to transform the empire into the most powerful economy on the planet, and attempted to convert citizens to Islam
- Aurangazeb's empire consisted of most of the subcontinent by the time of his death, but most of it was in open revolt due to his religious reforms. Whilst he is considered controversial as a result, it should be noted he personally employed more Hindus than any of his predecessors, and opposed bigotry against the Hindus and Shiite Muslims.
- The Emperors that followed Aurangazeb had to deal with constant interfighting, the rise of local Empires, like the Marathas.
- By the rule of Shah Alam II (1759-1806), the empire was in steep decline, and effectively a puppet state of Afghanistan
- Their protection transferred to the British East India Company, following the Second Anglo-Maratha War in 1805.
- The British continuously annexed territory until Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar rebelled in 1857, and was defeated and exiled to British Burma until his death.
- Twenty Years later, Queen Victoria of Great Britain took on the title Empress of India, formally ending the Mughal Empire. British monarchs held this title until 1947, when George VI dissolved it, becoming King of India instead until it's independence in 1950.
yes I looked all this up again whilst typing it, I only remembered the outline lol