Introduction
The Mughal, or also known as the Mogul, is an empire that reigned in India and Pakistan, between the 16th and 17th Centuries. It was discovered in the year 1526 by prince Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur, who was a Chagatai Turkic prince at that time. The Moghul Empire started in the city of Kabul in Afghanistan, which also became the first base of the empire. The rise of the empire was a result of the perpetuating political strife that its founders and leaders had, having an abundance of wealth during their reign. It was an empire found and built upon the Islamic beliefs. It strengthened and spread the Islamic belief in the whole of South Asia. It’s peak years, however, were mainly during the 17th Century. During these years, the Islamic culture and faith flourished immensely because of the changes brought about by the rise of the Mughal Empire. There were three men who ruled the course of the reign of the Mughal Empire namely, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurungzeb.
The Mughal Empire became famous because of its achievements, and also the controversies that evolved around its political pursuit. The Mughal empire was comprised of achievements on infrastructures, religion, and culture, but not withstanding the many controversial issues within its rulers. These issues that surfaced during the rise of the Mughal Empire, had caused both harm and benefit to the empire. However, it in undeniable that both of these circumstance aided in the success of the Mughal Empire.
The Rulers of the Mughal Empire
Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar was the first ruler, who lead the Mughal Empire between the years 1556, to 1605. He was the youngest emperor, having led the empire at the age of 14 years old. Though he refused all the opportunities for education, still, he is still considered as the greatest emperor of the Mughal Empire. Emperor Akbar was best known for his love for literature and the arts, manifested in the many infrastructures that were built during his reign. He was also dubbed as the “Guardian of Mankind”, because although he was illiterate, he still managed to create an image of an emperor who was tough and full of wisdom. His son and successor Jahangir who served from 1605 to 1627, on the other hand, was known for his love for extravagant infrastructures and gardens, some of which were built in Lahore, the capital city of Punjab. The third ruler of the Mughal Empire was Shah Jahan. He was known to be the most competent of all of the emperors of India’s Mughal empire. He succeeded to the throne, to what was then deemed as the greatest empire of the world, on October of the year 1627. He was the emperor when the one of the most famous infrastructures in the world was built, and this is Taj Mahal. The last ruler who lead the Mughal Empire, was Aurungzeb. During Aurungzeb’s reign, the population of the empire was at its peak, even though the empire participated in much wars. He is deemed as the most controversial of all the emperors of the Moghul Empire. Unlike the emperor Akbar who was known for trying to fuse different faiths with Islam, emperor Aurungzeb was known for being a Muslim devotee and extremist. Apart from this, Aurungzeb was also known for the law that he implemented on the Jizyah, or the Poll tax. The Poll tax is a fee payed by the mentally, physically, and financially able members of the community, regardless of their religious inclinations, whether they are Jews, Islam, or Christians. The parts of the population that belong to the higher echelon of the Indian society are compelled to pay a certain amount each year.
During the reign of the Mughal Empire, many changes were made in the whole of India. These changes affected several aspects of the Indian society such as its economy, politics, governance, culture and arts, infrastructure, religion, and education. In terms of the political aspect, the Mughal empire brought together the smaller kingdoms within India by creating a government that aimed to consolidate the whole of India. Meanwhile, with regards to governance, the Mughal empire created and designated a special part of the government that would address issues on human rights that circulated in the country. During the reign of the Mughal’s the culture and art of Persian’s were also widely developed and spread throughout the country. One of the results of these efforts was the creation of the Urdu language, which was a hybrid of the Persian, Arabic, and Hindi languages. Since most of the emperors of the Mughal Empire also championed the strengthening of the religious sector, the reign of the empire was considered as an era of religious resilience within India. During Aurangzeb’s reign as emperor, the Islamic faith really did flourish, for on his reign, sharia or the law of Islam were strictly enforced throughout India. The Mughal empire also brought forth great developments in the infrastructure of India. Many great and famous architectures were built during the reign of the Mughal emperors, and one of these world renowned and famous structures, was India’s Taj Mahal. The empire also was known for giving importance to education. The emperors valued the necessities of the pupils under their education system. They used education as a machine to further enrich India’s culture, and to inculcate it upon Indian children.
Issues in the Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire has undeniably caused many great and historic changes in India that caused great benefits within the Indian nation. However, like most empires that existed in the world, the reign of the Mughal empire was not permanent. The main issues faced by Mughal empire mainly revolved around the deterioration of the empire’s ability of implementing a sound and united government. The initially established centralized government that connected the smaller kingdoms within India also collapsed, causing the rise of regional powers. The latter reign of the Mughal empire was also surrounded and bombarded with issues on the representation of Aristocrats in the judicial system of the empire, lack of development on weapons for armistice, and the mismanagement and chaos in the power-relations with the state’s banksmen.
Withdrawing Support for Akbar
The history of the Mughal Empire was indeed very colorful. It was filled with many developments and hindrances along the way. The rise of the empire has undeniably brought forth many good things for India. Its first ruler, emperor Akbar has brought about significant changes on how governance was handled throughout India. Though he was illiterate, he was able to show his constituents that he was a wise and dignified ruler. He spearheaded the culture of building many great architectures and infrastructures throughout India.
Apart from this, emperor Akbar was also known for his courageous decisions and action on religion. He was known as a very sympathetic ruler. One of the most critical decisions that Akbar made as an emperor, was his decision to establish a new faith called Din-i-Ilahi, which was a religion that aimed at combining the beliefs of Islam, to that of the beliefs of the Hindu, Christian, Jai, and many other faiths. This was the beginning of the commotion during Akbar’s reign. In the middle of his reign, emperor Akbar was visited by Portuguese missionaries, who brought a copy of the Bible with them and gave it to the emperor. Being known as a sympathetic and tolerant, emperor Akbar accepted the missionaries as guests and accepted their gifts as well. The missionaries were bewildered with the acceptance and hospitality that the emperor showed, for he was very respectful to them, even with them bringing in images of Jesus Christ and Mary. Because of his actions and reactions towards them, the missionaries assumed that the emperor was actually convinced to turn and become a Christian. This issue caused the uproar between the Jesuits and the Muslims. The actions of the Jesuits with regards to the rules set forth by the empire, and their failure to obey these rules, cause the Muslims to feel insulted. Given his nature, the emperor was not able to resolve the situation, therefore, resulting the withdrawal of the Muslim’s support towards him.
Changing Policies
The previous issue of the Mughal empire that involved its first emperor Akbar, served as a lesson to his successors. His successors to the Mughal throne became more resilient in following the Islamic faith. His successors focused on strengthening and spreading Islam. The reign of his three successors focused on the creation of laws in following the Islamic faith, and the establishment of more Hindu temples and Islamic Mosques. One of the most prominent architectures that represented this era, was the Taj Mahal. This infrastructure represented the power of the Mughal empire, and thus one of the most prominent symbol left by the empire. Akbar’s successors also became stricter in enforcing laws that benefitted and promoted the flourishing of the Islamic belief. This included the creation of a government comprised only of Indian Hindus, Shia’s and Sufi’s of Persia, and leaders from Islamic sectors.
Aurangzeb as a Ruler
While Akbar seemed to be the least inclined with the Islamic faith, the last ruler of the Mughal empire was his complete opposite. Aurangzeb was best known for being the most controversial Mughal emperor, because of being very devoted to being a Muslim. He strictly enforced the Islamic law or sharia throughout the whole land of India. As a ruler, Aurangzeb seemed to be the most passive among the emperors of the Mughal empire. It was during his reign where the empire began to rapidly decline. His aggressive decisions created many implications to the hole Indian nation. While the emperor Akbar enforced and made sure of a systematic government and a centralized type of governance, Aurangzeb has hastily changed this policy, by providing temporary portions of the empire’s land to his officials. This then resulted to the collapsing of the centralized government created by emperor Akbar. This began the spreading of discrimination and slavery between his officials who acted as ‘rulers’ in the lands Aurangzeb gave them. Given these circumstances, it seemed to me, that Aurangzeb somehow wasted all the genuine efforts of his predecessors, making him the least great emperor of the Mughal Empire.
Conclusion
Once in the history of the world, the Mughal empire became the greatest empire. This was all because of the efforts of the great Mughal emperors. The changes that they brought about in India is undoubtedly helped India reach its current state. These changes greatly contributed to the rich culture of India today. Though all empires have their ends, it cannot be denied that all the achievements and trials that the Mughal empire experienced aided to the success of the great empire.
Bibliography
"Aurangzeb: Religious Policies." Manas: History and Politics. Accessed June 5, 2016. https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Mughals/Aurang2.html.
Emon, Anver. "Aurangzeb's Fatwa on Jizya [Jizyah, or Poll Tax]." Manas: History and Politic. Accessed June 4, 2016. https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Mughals/Aurnag_fatwa.html.
Fazl, Abul, and Al-Badaoni. Makers of World History: Akbar The Great Moghul. 2nd ed. St. Martins Press, 1995. PDF.
Ganesan, V. B. "An Empire’s Fall: Cause and Effect." The Hindu. July 28, 2014. Accessed June 5, 2016. http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/review-of-the-decline-of-the-mughal-empire/article6258688.ece.
Lal, Vina. "The Mughal Empire." Manas: History and Politics. Accessed June 4, 2016. https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Mughals/mughals.html.
"Mughal Empire (1500s, 1600s)." BBC. Accessed June 4, 2016. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/mughalempire_1.shtml.
"Mughal Rulers." British Library. Accessed June 4, 2016. http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/trading/running/mughal/mughalrulers.html.
Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire. Vol. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Accessed June 4, 2016. https://books.google.com.ph/books?hl=en&lr=&id=HHyVh29gy4QC&oi=fnd&pg=PR12&dq=the mughal empire&ots=5sgO5E0Yg7&sig=lhJTTP9hePrNkga_fZ3ULuQft_M&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=the mughal empire&f=false.
