| 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 that ruled South Asia and other territories within modern day Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, that composed theMughal Empire.
Founded in 1526 byBabur, the first Mughal Emperor, the House of Babur ruled over much of South Asia and parts of the Middle East until the early 18th century, thereafter continuing their roles as imperial suzerains until 1857. At the dynasty’s height underAkbar the Great in the 16th and early 17th centuries, the Mughal Empire was one of the largest empires in history.[2] Later commanding the world’s largest military underEmperor Aurangzeb, the family emerged as the foremost global power in the region.[3]
The dynasty originated from the branches of the imperial Barlas and Borjigin clans which ruled the Mongol Empire and its successor states.[4][5][6] Emperor Babur himself (b. 1483) was a direct descendant of the Turco-Mongol conquerorTimur (1336–1405) on his father's side, and of Mongol emperorGenghis Khan on his mother's side. Later descendants genealogically held Persian and Indian heritage as well, since Mughal Royals often pursued marriage alliances with noble houses throughout Persia and India.[7][8]
For most of the Mughal dynasty's history, the throne of the Mughal Empire was continuously occupied by a singular Emperor who functioned as the absolute head of state, government, and military. Largely secular, Mughal Court ceremonies saw not just Muslim elites but also prominentMaratha,Rajput, and Sikh leaders acknowledging the Emperor as the region's sole ruler.[9] Later in the dynasty’s history, much of the power shifted to the office of theGrand Vizier as the empire became divided into many regional kingdoms andprincely states. As a consequence, the dynasty also produced theNawabs (nobles) ofHyderabad,Delhi,Kashmir,Lahore,Lucknow,Aligarh,Dhaka, andBengal. During this time, the family fragmented into several branches, most consequentially in the mid-18th century between its Indian and Persian-Pakistani branches following the exile of the last Mughal Emperor,Bahadur Shah II.
The closest to an official name for the empire wasHindustan, which was documented in theAin-i-Akbari.[10] Mughal administrative records also refer to the empire as "dominion of Hindustan" (Wilāyat-i-Hindustān),[11] "country of Hind" (Bilād-i-Hind), "Sultanate of Al-Hind" (Salṭanat(i) al-Hindīyyah) as observed in the epitaph of EmperorAurangzeb[12] or endonymous identification from emperorBahadur Shah Zafar as "Land of Hind" (Hindostān) inHindustani.[13][14] Contemporary Chinese chronicles referred to the empire asHindustan (Héndūsītǎn).[15]
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.[16] Mughal rule was interrupted for 16 years by theSur Emperors duringHumayun's reign.[17] 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.[18] Braginskiĭ also found the similarities in structure of both Hikayat Aceh andMahfuzat-i-Timuri withAkbarnama manuscript.[18]
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.[19]
Around 1700, the dynasty was ruling the wealthiest empire in the world, with also the largest military on earth.[20] Mughals had approximately 24 percent share of the world's economy and a military of one million soldiers.[21][22] At that time the Mughals ruled almost the whole of South Asia with 160 million subjects, 23 percent of the world's population.[23] 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.[24][25] 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.[26][27] Mughals played a great role in the flourishing ofGanga-Jamuni tehzeeb (Indo-Islamic civilization).[28] 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,[29]Jahangir was a great painter,[30] Shah Jahan was a great architect[31] whileBahadur Shah II was a great poet of Urdu.[32]
As the last Mughal Emperor,Bahadur Shah II (r. 1837–1857) was tried and convicted by the BritishEast India Company before sentenced to exile inRangoon, situated in British-controlledBurma (present-day Myanmar).[33] The imperial family was hence abolished, and the empire was dissolved on 21 September 1857 after theIndian Rebellion of 1857. The UK declared the establishment of theBritish Raj the following year.
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.[34]
A man inIndia named Habeebuddin Tucy claims to be a descendant ofBahadur Shah II, but his claim is not universally believed.[35]
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.[36]
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 in May of 2004. 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.[37]
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.[38]
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.
...author shares T. Iskandar's opinion that Hikayat Aceh was influenced by Mughal historiography..