Category 6 · Medieval History

Mughal Period

33 micro topics in Medieval History for UPSC Prelims, in book order: Struggle Between Ibrahim Lodi and Babur; First Battle of Panipat (1526) – Babur's Victory Over Ibrahim Lodi; and 31 more.

6.1

Struggle Between Ibrahim Lodi and Babur

Babur, a Timurid prince driven from Samarqand by the Uzbeks, took Kabul in 1504 and turned to India for wealth, a base against the Uzbeks and old Timurid claims in the Punjab. Ibrahim Lodi's quarrels with…
6.2

First Battle of Panipat (1526) – Babur's Victory Over Ibrahim Lodi

At the First Battle of Panipat on 20 April 1526, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, who was killed with some 15,000 of his men. Babur's strong defensive position of carts and breastworks, his Ottoman gunners Ustad Ali…
6.3

Babur's Problems After the Battle of Panipat

After Panipat, Babur faced homesick begs, a hostile countryside, the threat of Rana Sanga and unreconciled Afghan chiefs in the east. He solved the first by declaring he would stay in India and allowing the unwilling…
6.4

Battle of Khanwa (1527) – Babur's Struggle with Rana Sanga

At the Battle of Khanwa in 1527, about 40 km from Agra, Babur defeated Rana Sanga of Mewar, who led a Rajput and Afghan coalition. Babur called the war a jihad, gave up wine to steady…
6.5

Babur's Contribution and the Significance of His Advent into India

Babur's advent joined Kabul and Qandhar to an empire based in north India for the first time since the Kushans, which gave India security from outside invasion for almost 200 years and strengthened trade. He broke…
6.6

Humayun's Reign and Conflict with the Afghans

Humayun succeeded Babur in December 1530 at 23 with an unconsolidated administration, precarious finances, unsubdued Afghans and the Timurid habit of dividing the realm among brothers. He gave the Punjab and Multan to Kamran, defeated the…
6.7

Humayun's Gujarat Campaign Against Bahadur Shah

Humayun invaded Malwa and Gujarat to end the threat from Bahadur Shah, who had conquered Malwa, besieged Chittor twice and backed Tatar Khan against Agra. He took Mandu and Champaner and drove Bahadur Shah to Kathiawar,…
6.8

Humayun's Bengal Campaign and Struggle with Sher Khan (Sher Shah Suri)

Sher Khan, master of Chunar and Bihar, outmanoeuvred Humayun by capturing Rohtas and Gaur while the Mughals took six months to win Chunar. Humayun refused Sher Khan's offer, marched to Bengal, was cut off from Agra…
6.9

Sher Shah Suri and the Sur Empire (1540–1556)

Born Farid and given the title Sher Khan, Sher Shah Suri became ruler of Delhi after Kanauj (1540) at about 54 and built the mightiest north Indian empire since Muhammad bin Tughlaq, from Bengal to the…
6.10

Sher Shah's Administrative Reforms (Currency System, Roads, Sarais, Land Revenue Settlement)

Within five years Sher Shah restored law and order, issued uniform gold, silver and copper coins with a silver rupee that lasted centuries, restored the Grand Trunk Road and linked it with other roads and about…
6.11

Sher Shah's Contribution to Architecture (Rohtas Fort, His Mausoleum at Sasaram)

Sher Shah built the tomb at Sasaram, an octagonal sandstone mausoleum with a large dome rising from an artificial lake, which is regarded as a masterpiece that culminates the earlier style and starts a new one.…
6.12

Second Battle of Panipat (1556) – Akbar's Victory over Hemu

At the Second Battle of Panipat on 5 November 1556, the Mughal army under Bairam Khan, serving the 13-year-old Akbar, defeated Hemu, the Afghan wazir who had taken Agra and Delhi. Hemu's artillery had been captured,…
6.13

Akbar's Regency Under Bairam Khan and the Revolt of Uzbek Nobles

Bairam Khan ruled for almost four years, controlled the nobles and extended the empire from Kabul to Jaunpur and Ajmer. As Akbar matured, Bairam's arrogance led to his dismissal, a six-month rebellion and his assassination on…
6.14

Akbar's Early Territorial Expansion (Malwa, Garh-Katanga, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Eastern India)

Between 1560 and 1576 Akbar took Malwa from Baz Bahadur, overran Garh-Katanga after Rani Durgavati's last stand, captured Chittor in 1568 and Ranthambhor, entered Ahmedabad in 1572, put down the Gujarat revolts in a nine-day dash…
6.15

Akbar's Relations with the Rajputs and the Growth of a Composite Ruling Class

Akbar won over the Rajputs by marriage alliances, high ranks such as 5000 for Bhagwant Das and 7000 for Man Singh, religious freedom, abolition of the pilgrim tax and the jizyah in 1564, and autonomy in…
6.16

Akbar's Central and Provincial Administration

Akbar built on the Delhi Sultanat structure but divided power among departments with checks and balances: a decorative wakil, a revenue diwan, a mir bakhshi for the army and intelligence, a mir saman for the household…
6.17

Mansabdari System and the Dahsala (Land Revenue) System Under Akbar

Under the mansabdari system every officer held a numerical rank from 10 to 5000 (later 7000 for two premier nobles), later split into zat and sawar, with dagh and chehra checks and pay by jagir. The…
6.18

Akbar's Religious Policy – the Ibadat Khana Debates

Akbar began as an orthodox Muslim, was drawn to mysticism, abolished the pilgrim tax and the jizyah and built the Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri in 1575. Debates first among Muslims and then among all faiths…
6.19

Din-i-Ilahi and Akbar's Policy of Religious Toleration (Sulh-i-Kul)

The so-called Din-i-Ilahi, called tauhid-i-Ilahi by Abul Fazl and Badayuni, was a Sufi-type order of disciples loyal to Akbar and not a new religion: it had no scripture, priests or rituals beyond initiation. Behind it stood…
6.20

Mughal Conquest of the Deccan Sultanates (Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, Golconda)

Akbar's Deccan policy began with a diplomatic offensive in 1591, a siege of Ahmadnagar that gave the Mughals Berar in 1596, the fall of Ahmadnagar in 1600 and Khandesh with Asirgarh in 1601. Malik Ambar then…
6.21

Malik Ambar's Resistance to Mughal Expansion in the Deccan

Malik Ambar, an Abyssinian-born slave who became Peshwa of Ahmadnagar, used Maratha guerrilla cavalry and Bijapur's support to drive the Mughals out of Berar, Balaghat and Ahmadnagar by 1610. Defeated by Abdur Rahim and Prince Khurram…
6.22

Mughal Foreign Policy – Relations with the Uzbeks and Safavid Iran (the Qandahar Issue)

Mughal foreign policy was built on defending India's northwest along the Hindukush, with Qandahar as the outer bastion. Akbar accepted a Hindukush boundary with the Uzbeks and took Qandahar from Iran in 1595. Jahangir lost it…
6.23

Jahangir's Reign and Territorial Consolidation (Mewar, Kangra)

Jahangir succeeded Akbar in 1605, crushed his son Khusrau's rebellion, pacified Bengal through Islam Khan from 1608, ended the four-decade Mewar conflict by a settlement after 1613 in which Prince Karan Singh received a rank of…
6.24

Nur Jahan and Her Political Influence at Jahangir's Court

Nur Jahan married Jahangir in 1611 and rose to the unusual title of Badshah Begum, with coins issued in her name, while her father Itimaduddaula and brother Asaf Khan held high posts. Historians dispute whether a…
6.25

Shah Jahan's Reign – Consolidation and Expansion of the Empire

Shah Jahan (1628 to 1658) kept Akbar's administration but changed the mansabdari rules, with du-aspah sih-aspah ranks, reduced troop quotas and the month-scale, and his careful choice of officers kept the nobility dependable. He ended Ahmadnagar…
6.26

Mughal Architecture Under Shah Jahan (Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Jama Masjid)

Shah Jahan's reign was the climax of Mughal architecture: the all-marble Taj Mahal at Agra (begun 1632 for Mumtaz Mahal), the Red Fort at Delhi (1638 to 1648), the Moti Masjid at Agra and the red…
6.27

Rise of the Marathas – Early Career of Shivaji

The Marathas rose from posts in the Deccan sultanates to a state of their own under Shahji Bhonsale's son Shivaji, who seized hill forts near Poona from 1645, took Javli in 1656, killed Afzal Khan in…
6.28

Shivaji's Administration (Ashtapradhan Council of Eight Ministers)

Shivaji's administration borrowed largely from the Deccani states. His eight ministers, the Ashtapradhan, were not a joint council but each answered directly to him. He paid regular soldiers cash salaries, kept a paga of 30,000 to…
6.29

Treaty of Purandar (1665) and Shivaji's Visit to Agra

Raja Jai Singh besieged Purandar in 1665 and forced Shivaji to surrender 23 of his 35 forts, keeping 12 on condition of loyalty, while Sambhaji received a mansab of 5000. The planned joint attack on Bijapur…
6.30

Aurangzeb's Deccan Policy and Conflicts with the Marathas

Aurangzeb's Deccan policy moved through phases: recovery of Ahmadnagar territory from Bijapur to 1668, pressure on Bijapur and Golconda against Shivaji to 1684, and from 1684 to 1687 the conquest of Bijapur (1686) and Golconda (1687).…
6.31

Aurangzeb's Religious Policies (Reimposition of Jizya)

Aurangzeb, an orthodox Sunni and a ruler, issued moral regulations through muhtasibs, curbed court ceremony and music, reaffirmed the sharia rule against new temples, destroyed many temples where he met political opposition, and reimposed the jizyah…
6.32

Assessment of Aurangzeb's Reign and the Jagirdari Crisis

Aurangzeb inherited an empire whose nobility had grown from 2069 mansabdars in 1605 to 11,456, while revenue grew slowly, producing the jagirdari crisis of paper incomes that could not be collected and too few jagirs. His…
6.33

Decline of the Mughal Empire After Aurangzeb

After Aurangzeb's death in 1707 the Mughal court fell into faction fighting, with emperors like Bahadur Shah I (to 1712) and Farrukhsiyar (executed 1719) overshadowed by nobles, ambitious provincial governors acting independently, the Marathas raiding into…

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Frequently asked questions

Which topics are in Mughal Period?

Mughal Period has 33 micro topics in Medieval History: Struggle Between Ibrahim Lodi and Babur; First Battle of Panipat (1526) – Babur's Victory Over Ibrahim Lodi; Babur's Problems After the Battle of Panipat; Battle of Khanwa (1527) – Babur's Struggle with Rana Sanga; Babur's Contribution and the Significance of His Advent into India; Humayun's Reign and Conflict with the Afghans; Humayun's Gujarat Campaign Against Bahadur Shah; Humayun's Bengal Campaign and Struggle with Sher Khan (Sher Shah Suri); Sher Shah Suri and the Sur Empire (1540–1556); Sher Shah's Administrative Reforms (Currency System, Roads, Sarais, Land Revenue Settlement); Sher Shah's Contribution to Architecture (Rohtas Fort, His Mausoleum at Sasaram); Second Battle of Panipat (1556) – Akbar's Victory over Hemu; Akbar's Regency Under Bairam Khan and the Revolt of Uzbek Nobles; Akbar's Early Territorial Expansion (Malwa, Garh-Katanga, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Eastern India); Akbar's Relations with the Rajputs and the Growth of a Composite Ruling Class; Akbar's Central and Provincial Administration; Mansabdari System and the Dahsala (Land Revenue) System Under Akbar; Akbar's Religious Policy – the Ibadat Khana Debates; Din-i-Ilahi and Akbar's Policy of Religious Toleration (Sulh-i-Kul); Mughal Conquest of the Deccan Sultanates (Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, Golconda); Malik Ambar's Resistance to Mughal Expansion in the Deccan; Mughal Foreign Policy – Relations with the Uzbeks and Safavid Iran (the Qandahar Issue); Jahangir's Reign and Territorial Consolidation (Mewar, Kangra); Nur Jahan and Her Political Influence at Jahangir's Court; Shah Jahan's Reign – Consolidation and Expansion of the Empire; Mughal Architecture Under Shah Jahan (Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Jama Masjid); Rise of the Marathas – Early Career of Shivaji; Shivaji's Administration (Ashtapradhan Council of Eight Ministers); Treaty of Purandar (1665) and Shivaji's Visit to Agra; Aurangzeb's Deccan Policy and Conflicts with the Marathas; Aurangzeb's Religious Policies (Reimposition of Jizya); Assessment of Aurangzeb's Reign and the Jagirdari Crisis; Decline of the Mughal Empire After Aurangzeb.

Is Mughal Period important for UPSC Prelims?

Mughal Period is a part of the UPSC Prelims Medieval History syllabus map on MaargX UPSC. Each of its 33 published topics has key terms, a Mains angle and practice questions.