| House of Babur | |
|---|---|
| Imperialdynasty | |
 | |
| Parent house | Timurid dynasty |
| Country | Mughal India |
| Place of origin | Timurid Empire |
| Founded | 21 April 1526 |
| Founder | Babur |
| Final ruler | Bahadur Shah II |
| Titles | List |
| Traditions |
|
| Dissolution | 1857 |
| Deposition | 21 September 1857 |
TheMughal dynasty (Persian:دودمان مغل,romanized: Dudmân-e Mughal) or theHouse of Babur (Persian:خاندانِ آلِ بابُر,romanized: Khāndān-e-Āl-e-Bābur), was a branch of theTimurid dynasty founded byBabur that ruled theMughal Empire from its inception in 1526 till the early eighteenth century, and then as ceremonial suzerains over much of the empire until 1857.
The Mughals originated as a branch of theCentral AsianTimurid dynasty, supplemented with extraBorjigin (the clan which ruled theMongol Empire and its successor states) bloodlines. The dynasty's founder,Babur (born 1483), was a direct descendant of the Asian conquerorTimur (1336–1405) on his father's side and ofMongol emperorGenghis Khan (died 1227) on his mother's side, and Babur's ancestors had other affiliations withGenghisids through marriage and common ancestry.[2][3] Many of the later Mughal emperors had significant Indian and Persian ancestry through marriage alliances.[4][5]
During much of the Empire's history, the emperor functioned as the absolutehead of state,head of government andhead of the military, while during itsdeclining era much of the power shifted to the office of theGrand Vizier and the empire became divided into many regional kingdoms andprincely states.[6] However, even in the declining era, the Mughal Emperor continued to be the highest manifestation of sovereignty on theIndian subcontinent. Not only theMuslim gentry, but theMaratha,Rajput, andSikh leaders took part in ceremonial acknowledgements of the Emperor as the sovereign ofIndia.[7] The BritishEast India Company deposed the imperial family and abolished the empire on 21 September 1857 during theIndian Rebellion of 1857. The UK declared the establishment of theBritish Raj the following year.
The British tried and convicted the last emperor,Bahadur Shah II (r. 1837–1857), and exiled him (1858) toRangoon in British-controlledBurma (present-day Myanmar).[8]
The Mughal empire is conventionally said to have been founded in 1526 byBabur, aTimurid prince fromAndijan which today is inUzbekistan. After losing his ancestral domains in Central Asia, Babur first established himself inKabul and ultimately moved towards the Indian subcontinent.[14] Mughal rule was interrupted for 16 years by theSur Emperors duringHumayun's reign.[15] Famed Russian linguist and physicist,Vladimir Braginskiĭ, also believed that theHikayat Aceh literature fromAceh Sultanate were influenced by Mughal dynasty historiography, as he found out the literal structure similarities of Hikayat Aceh withMahfuzat-i-Timuri, as the former has shared the similar theme with the latter about the lifetime and exploits of the protagonist ofMahfuzat-i-Timuri,Timur.[16] Braginskiĭ also found the similarities in structure of both Hikayat Aceh andMahfuzat-i-Timuri withAkbarnama manuscript.[16]
The Mughal imperial structure was founded byAkbar the Great around the 1580s which lasted until the 1740s, until shortly after theBattle of Karnal. During the reigns ofShah Jahan andAurangzeb, the dynasty reached its zenith in terms of geographical extent, economy, military and cultural influence.[17]
Around 1700, the dynasty was ruling the wealthiest empire in the world, with also the largest military on earth.[18] Mughals had approximately 24 percent share of world's economy and a military of one million soldiers.[19][20] At that time the Mughals ruled almost the whole of the South Asia with 160 million subjects, 23 percent of world's population.[21] The Dynasty's power rapidly dwindled during the 18th century with internal dynastic conflicts, incompatible monarchs, foreign invasions from Persians and Afghans, as well as revolts fromMarathas, Sikh, Rajputs and regional Nawabs.[22][23] The power of the last emperor was limited only to theWalled city of Delhi.
Many of the Mughals had significant Indian and Persian ancestry through marriage alliances as they were born to Persian princesses.[24][25] Mughals played a great role in the flourishing ofGanga-Jamuni tehzeeb (Indo-Islamic civilization).[26] Mughals were also great patrons of art, culture, literature and architecture.Mughal painting,architecture,culture,clothing,cuisine andUrdu language; all were flourished during Mughal era. Mughals were not only guardians of art and culture but they also took interest in these fields personally. Emperor Babur,Aurangzeb andShah Alam II were great calligraphers,[27]Jahangir was a great painter,[28] Shah Jahan was a great architect[29] whileBahadur Shah II was a great poet of Urdu.[30]
The Mughal dynasty operated under several basic premises: that theEmperor governed the empire's entire territory with complete sovereignty, that only one person at a time could be the Emperor, and that every male member of the dynasty was hypothetically eligible to become Emperor, even though anheir-apparent was appointed several times in dynastic history. The certain processes through which imperial princes rose to thePeacock Throne, however, were very specific to theMughal Empire. To go into greater detail about these processes, the history of succession between Emperors can be divided into two eras: Era of Imperial successions (1526–1713) and Era of Regent successions (1713–1857).
The Mughal Emperors practicedpolygamy. Besides their wives, they also had several concubines in theirharem, who produced children. This makes it difficult to identify all the offspring of each emperor.[31]
A man inIndia named Habeebuddin Tucy claims to be a descendant ofBahadur Shah II, but his claim is not universally believed.[32]
Another woman named Sultana Begum who lives in the slums ofKolkata has claimed that her late husband, Mirza Mohammad Bedar Bakht was the great-grandson of Bahadur Shah II.[33]
Yaqoob Ziauddin Tucy is a sixth generation descendant of the last Mughal EmperorBahadur Shah Zafar. Living inHyderabad, he still believes that the government will release properties of the erstwhile Mughals to the legal heirs. He also demands restoration of scholarships for Mughal descendants, that was discontinued by the government a while back. He wants that amount be raised to₹8,000 and that the government should grant the economically depressed Mughal descendants the money for their upliftment. Tucy has two sons.[34]
Yaqoob Ziauddin Tucy also has a younger brother Yaqoob Shajeeuddin Tucy. Shajeeuddin Tucy has served the country as a part of theIndian Air Force. He has been the state guest toTashkent, Uzbekistan along with his two elder brothers. He frequently travels to theMiddle East andcentral Asia. He lives in Hyderabad along with his two sons Yaqoob Muzammiluddin Tucy and Yaqoob Mudassiruddin Tucy.[35]
In India the dynasty always called itselfGurkani, after Temür's titleGurkân, the Persianized form of the Mongoliankürägän, 'son-in-law,' a title Temür assumed after his marriage to a Genghisid princess.
In India the dynasty always called itself Gurkani, after Temür's title Gurkân, the Persianized form of the Mongoliankürägän, 'son-in-law,' a title he assumed after his marriage to a Genghisid princess.
Persianate Mogul Empire.
...author shares T. Iskandar's opinion that Hikayat Aceh was influenced by Mughal historiography..