India witnessed the birth and downfall of endless empires on its land from ancient times to modern times. Certain empires were massive, and their works are still present, while some faded away with time. However, the Mughals and the Mughal empire is still considered one of the most significant empires in Indian history. The inception of Mughals happened after the decline of the last ruler of the Delhi Sultanate’s empire, The Lodhi Dynasty, in 1526. This decline paved the way for the imperial Mughal dynasty, which ruled centuries over India from 1526 to 1748 and finally fell after the advent of colonisation by the British empire.

Before Mughal Empire:

Before forming the Mughal empire, the Delhi Sultanate exercised power over much of Northern India, established after Mahmud Ghori invaded India in 1106 and later died. His slave generals took control of his left empire in India and established the Mamluk dynasty, also known as the Slave dynasty under Qutub ud-din Aibak, and formed the Delhi Sultanate that ruled over 300 years under several dynasties like the Khaljis, the Tughlaqs, the Sayyids and the Lodis. However, the last Lodhi dynasty ruler, Ibrahim Lodhi, went weak after a raid from a foreign tribe from the Mongols. Thus the Mughal empire replaced the Delhi sultanate with Babur as its legitimate founder and thus marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire.

The beginning of the Mughals:

  1. The last dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, the Lodi Dynasty, was not too strong and weak under its ruler Ibrahim Lodi, the last ruler of the dynasty.
  2. In 1526, a Timurid prince, Zahir ad-din Muhammad Babur, from the Mongolian tribe in Middle ate Asia, invaded India in the hope of extending its empire.
  3. Babur had previously conquered Kabul under the name of the Timurid Dynasty. Since the Safavids were present in the west, Uzbeks were present in the North; he decided to extend its empire in the east, India, under the Lodi Dynasty.
  4. He faced Ibrahim Lodi in Panipat, which is in modern-day Haryana, in 1526. This battle is the First Battle of Panipat, fought between Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi. 
  5. Babur triumphantly defeated Ibrahim Lodi despite the massive extent of the dynasty in Northern India.
  6. Babur successfully ruled over Northern India for ten years and defeated many local Hindu and Muslim rulers, and established the Mughal empire.

The Mughal Empire family tree and timeline:

The Mughal empire was founded by Babur and went on to many generations that ruled over 200 years. The following presents a list of the Mughal Empire family tree that ruled over the Mughal empire in the given period.

  1. Zahir ad-din Muhammad Babur- Son of Timur:  1526-1530.
  2. Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun- Son of Babur: 1530-1540 and 1550-1555.
  3. Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar- Son of Humayun: 1556-1605.
  4. Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (Jahangir)- Son of Akbar: 1606-1627.
  5. Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram (Shah-Jahan)- Son of Jahangir: 1628-1658.
  6. Muhy-ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb- Son of Shah-Jahan: 1658-1707.
  7. Qutub-ud-din Muhammad Mu’azzam Shah Alam (Bahadur Shah)- Son of Aurangzeb: 1707-1712.

The successors of Bahadur Shah were incompetent and weak against the British empire, which ultimately led to the end of the Mughal empire’s family tree.

The Mughal Empire:

  1. The Mughals after Babur proved competent in ruling such a vast empire and led to the glorification of their dynasty. 
  2. However, the Mughals faced a problem when Sher Khan, an Afghan noble, invaded the empire and forced Humayun into exile. Consequently, Humayun sought help from Safavids of the North and conquered the empire again after the death of Sher Khan, who later came to be known as Sher Shah Suri.
  3. The Mughals under Akbar reached a zenith as he extended the empire up to Bengal in the east and Gujarat in the west. He introduced many administrative reforms along with the proper management of religious sects. His policy of Din-i-Ilahi, meaning divine religion encompassed many religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity etc., that mediated the considerable differences arising from foreign and new religions.
  4. Shah Jahan helped patronise art and architecture in the Mughal empire and built many magnificent forts and monuments, like the Red Fort, Agra Fort, the Jama Masjid, the Peacock throne, the Taj Mahal etc. 
  5. Aurangzeb came to be a harsh ruler by forcing many Hindus to adopt Islam. Although he was supposed to be cruel, he managed to extend the Mughal empire towards the Deccan region and fought the Britishers.

Conclusion

The Mughal empire proves its significance in many aspects. The emperors were highly efficient in managing their kingdom and maintaining peace and order. Some rulers like Jahangir and Shah Jahan were less engaged in defence and more engaged in architecture, while for some rulers like Babur and Aurangzeb, expansion was the major policy. The empire witnessed many ups and downs and attacks from other dynasties like The Marathas, yet it proved its power over them. The empire was not only engaged in wars but also negotiated many problems for the common people. This characteristic made them survive over 200 years against their enemies.