December 1530; sometimes also spelt Baber or Babar)
was a conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty in the Indian Subcontinent and became the first Mughal emperor. He was a direct descendant of Timur, from the Barlas clan, through his father, and also a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. Culturally, he was greatly influenced by the Persian culture and this affected both his own actions and those of his successors, giving rise to a significant expansion of the Persianate ethos in the Indian subcontinent. [2][3]. He was born as ahr-ud-Dn Muammad (Persian: ), but was more commonly known by his nickname, Bbur ( ). He had the royal titles Padshah and al-ultnu 'l-azam wa 'l-qn al-mukkarram pdshh-e z. [4] ahr-ud-Dn Muammad ("Defender of the faith") was an Arabic name and difficult to pronounce for the Central Asian Turko-Mongols, therefore the name Babur was adopted. [5] According to Babur's cousin, Mirz Muammad Haydar: [...] at that time the Chaghati (successors of Chagatai Khan who was son of Genghis Khan) were very rude and uncultured (bzri), and not refined (buzurg) as they are now; thus they found Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad difficult to pronounce, and for this reason gave him the name of Bbar. In the public prayers and royal mandates he is always styled 'Zahir-ud-Din Bbar Muhammad,' but he is best known as Bbar Pdishh. [6]
According to Stephen Frederic Dale, the name Babur is derived from the Persian word babr, meaning "tiger", a word that repeatedly appears in Firdaws's Shhnma [7] and had also been borrowed by the Turkic languages of Central Asia. [8][9] This thesis is supported by the explanation that the Turko-Mongol name Timur underwent a similar evolution, from the Sanskrit word cimara ("iron") via a modified version *imr to the final Turkicized version timr, with -r replacing -r due to need to provide vocalic support between m and r. The choice of vowel would nominally be restricted to one of the four front vowels (e, i, , per the Ottoman vowel harmony rule), hencebabr babr, although the rule is routinely violated for words of Persian or Arabic derivation. [10]
Contradicting these views, W.M. Thackston argues that the name cannot be taken from babr and instead must be derived from a word that has evolved out of the Indo- European word for beaver, pointing to the fact that the name is pronounced bh-bor [11] in both Persian and Turkic, similar to the Russian word for beaver ( bobr). Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun (Persian: ; OS 7 March 1508 AD OS 17 January 1556 AD) was the secondMughal Emperor who ruled over territory in what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 15311540 and again from 15551556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, with additional territory. At the time of his death in 1556, the Mughal empire spanned almost one million square kilometers. Humayun succeeded his father in 1531, as ruler of the Mughal territories in India. At the age of 23 Humayun was an inexperienced ruler when he came to power. His half-brother Kamran Mirza inherited Kabul and Lahore, the more northern parts of their father's empire. Mirza was to become a bitter rival of Humayun. Humayun lost Mughal territories to the Pashtun noble, Sher Shah Suri, and, with Persian(Safavid) aid, regained them 15 years later. Humayun's return from Persia was accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen and signaled an important change in Mughal court culture. The Central Asian origins of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian art, architecture,language and literature. There are many stone carvings and thousands of Persian manuscripts in India dating from the time of Humayun. Subsequently, in a very short time, Humayun was able to expand the Empire further, leaving a substantial legacy for his son, Akbar. His peaceful personality, patience and non-provocative methods of speech earned him the title Insn-i-Kamil (Perfect Man), among theMughals. [1][full citation needed]
Babur's decision to divide the territories of his empire between two of his sons was unusual in India although it had been a common Central Asian practice since the time of Genghis Khan. Unlike most monarchies which practised primogeniture, the Timurids, following Genghis Khan's example, did not leave an entire kingdom to the eldest son. Although under that system only aChingissid could claim sovereignty and khanal authority, any male Chinggisid within a given sub-branch (such as the Timurids) had an equal right to the throne. [2] While Genghis Khan's Empire had been peacefully divided between his sons upon his death, almost every Chinggisid succession since had resulted in fratricide. [3][full citation needed] Sher Shah Suri (1486 22 May 1545) (Dari/Pashto: Fard Xn er h Sr, birth name Farid Khan, also known as Sher Khan, "The Lion King") was the founder of the Sur Empire in North India, with its capital at Delhi. [2] An ethnic Pashtun, Sher Shah took control of the Mughal Empire in 1540. After his accidental death in 1545, his son Islam Shah became his successor. [3][4][5][6][7] He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal army under Babur and then as the governor of Bihar. In 1537, when Babur's son Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Khan overran the state of Bengaland established the Sur dynasty. [8] A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself a gifted administrator as well as an able general. His reorganization of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar the Great, son of Humayun. [8]
During his five year rule from 1540 to 1545, he set up a new civic and military administration, issued the first Rupiya and re-organised the postal system of India. [9] He further developed Humayun's Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh and revived the historical city of Pataliputra as Patna which had been in decline since the 7th century CE. [10] He is also famously remembered for killing a fully growntiger with his bare hands in a jungle of Bihar. [3][8] He extended the Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong in Bangladesh to Kabul in Afghanistan. Sher Shah was born as Farid Khan in the present day district of Mahendragarh in south Haryana, earlier part of Hisar district of combined Punjab in India. As his real name is Farid Khan but he was known as Sher Shah because he alone hunted a Lion in his early age.His surname 'Suri' was taken from his Hometown "Sur". His grand father Ibrahim Khan Suri was a land lord (Jagirdar) in Narnaularea and represented Delhi rulers of that period. Mazar of Ibrahim Khan Suri still stands as a monument in Narnaul. Tarikh-i Khan Jahan Lodi (MS. p. 151). [1] also confirm this fact. However, the online Encyclopdia Britannica states that he was born in Sasaram (Bihar), in the Rohtas district. [3] He was one of about eight sons of Mian Hassan Khan Suri, a prominent figure in the government of Bahlul Khan Lodi. Sher Khan belonged to the Pashtun Sur tribe (the Pashtuns are known asAfghans in historical Persian language sources). [11] His grandfather, Ibrahim Khan Suri, was a noble adventurer who was recruited much earlier by Sultan Bahlul Lodi of Delhi during his long contest with the Jaunpur Sultanate. Akbar (IPA: [kbr]; 14 October 1542 27 October 1605), also known as Akbar the Great or Akbar I, [6][7] was Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death. He was the third and one of the greatest rulers of the Mughal Dynasty in India. Akbar succeeded his father,Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in India. A strong personality and a successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include nearly all of the Indian Subcontinent north of the Godavari river. His power and influence, however, extended over the entire country because of Mughal military, political, cultural, and economic dominance. To unify the vast Mughal state, Akbar established a centralised system of administration throughout his empire and adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through marriage and diplomacy. In order to preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally diverse empire, he adopted policies that won him the support of his non-Muslim subjects. Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic state identity, Akbar strived to unite far-flung lands of his realm through loyalty, expressed through a Persianisedculture, to himself as an emperor who had near- divine status. Mughal India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture. Akbar himself was a patron of art and culture. He was fond of literature, and created a library of over 24,000 volumes written in Sanskrit, Hindustani,Persian, Greek, Latin, Arabic and Kashmiri, staffed by many scholars, translators, artists, calligraphers, scribes, bookbinders and readers. Holy men of many faiths, poets, architects and artisans adorned his court from all over the world for study and discussion. Akbar's courts at Delhi, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri became centers of the arts, letters, and learning. Perso-Islamic culture began to merge and blend with indigenous Indian elements, and a distinct Indo-Persian culture emerged characterised by Mughal style arts, painting, and architecture. Disillusioned with orthodox Islam and perhaps hoping to bring about religious unity within his empire, Akbar promulgated Din-i-Ilahi, a syncretic creed derived from Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity. A simple, monotheistic cult, tolerant in outlook, it centered on Akbar as a prophet, for which he drew the ire of the ulema and orthodox Muslims. Maharana Pratap ( pronunciation (helpinfo)) or Pratap Singh (May 9, 1540 January 29, 1597) was a Hindu Rajput ruler of Mewar, a region in north-western India in the present day state of Rajasthan. He belonged to the Sisodia clan of Rajputs. [3][4] In popular Indian culture, Pratap is considered to exemplify qualities like bravery and chivalry to which Rajputs aspire, especially in context of his opposition to In 1568 during the reign of Maharana Udai Singh, Maharana Pratap's father, Chittor was conquered by the Mughal Emperor Akbar after the third Jauhar at Chittor. [citation needed] However, Maharaja Udai Singh and the royal family of Mewar had left before the fort was captured and moved to the foothills of the Aravalli Range where Maharaja Udai Singh had already founded the city of Udaipur in 1559. [5] The Bhatiyani Queen wanted her son Jagmal to succeed Rana Udai Singh. [6] But the senior nobles wanted Pratap, the eldest son, to be their king as was customary. During the coronation ceremony, with Rawatji and other senior noble's help, Pratap Singh was made the king of Mewar.e Mughal emperor Akbar.
Nearly all of Pratap's fellow Rajput chiefs had meanwhile entered into the vassalage of the Mughals. Even Pratap's own brothers, Shakti Singh andSagar Singh, served Akbar. Indeed, many Rajput chiefs, such as Raja Man Singh of Amber (later known as Maharaja of Jaipur) served as army commanders in Akbar's armies and as members of his council. Akbar sent a total of six diplomatic missions to Pratap, seeking to negotiate the same sort of peaceful alliance that he had concluded with the other Rajput chiefs. Each time, however, Pratap politely refused to accept Akbar's suzerainty, arguing that the Sisodia Rajputs had never accepted any foreign ruler as their overlord, nor will he. It is worth noting that both these rulers' grandfathers, Rana Sanga and Babur, had previously fought against each other. Thus the enmity was not only political, but was also a bit personal. Battle of Haldighati On June 21, 1576 (or June 18 in other calculations), the armies of Pratap and Akbar (led by Syed Hashim) met at Haldighati, near the town of Gogunda. Pratap's army had a contingent of Afghan warriors led by his commander, Hakim Khan Sur. A small army of the Bhils, whom the Rana had befriended, also joined the battle Chand Bibi (15501599 CE), also known as Chand Khatun or Chand Sultana, was an Indian Muslim woman warrior. She acted as the Regent of Bijapur (158090) and Regent of Ahmednagar (1596 99). [1] Chand Bibi is best known for defendingAhmednagar against the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar. Chand Bibi was the daughter of Hussain Nizam Shah I of Ahmednagar, [2] and the sister of Burhan-ul-Mulk, the Sultan of Ahmednagar. She knew many languages including Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Marathi and Kannada. She played sitar, and painting flowers was her hobby. [3]
Bijapur Sultanate[edit] Main article: Adil Shahi Following an alliance policy, Chand Bibi was married to Ali Adil Shah I of the Bijapur Sultanate. [4] A stepwell (bawdi) constructed near the eastern boundary of Bijapur by her husband was named Chand Bawdi after her. [5]
Ali Adil Shah's father, Ibrahim Adil Shah I had divided power between the Sunni nobles, the Habshis and the Deccanis. However, Ali Adil Shah favored Shi'as. [6] After his death in 1580, the Shi'a nobles proclaimed his nine-year old nephew Ibrahim Adil Shah II as the ruler. [7] A Deccani general called Kamal Khan sieged the power and became the regent. Kamal Khan showed disrespect to Chand Bibi, who felt that he had ambitions to usurp the throne. Chand Bibi plotted an attack against Kamal Khan with help from another general, Haji Kishvar Khan. [7] Kamal Khan was captured while fleeing and was beheaded in the fort. Kishvar Khan became the second regent of Ibrhaim. In a battle against the Ahmednagar Sultanate at Dharaseo, the Bijapur army led by him captured all the artillery and elephants of the enemy army. After the victory, Kishvar Khan ordered other Bijapuri generals to surrender all the captured elephants to him. The elephants were highly valued, and the other generals took great offense. Along with Chand Bibi, they hatched a plan to eliminate Kishvar Khan with help from General Mustafa Khan of Bankapur. Kishvar Khan's spies informed him of the conspiracy. Kishvar Khan sent troops against Mustafa Khan, who was captured and killed in the battle. [7] Chand Bibi challenged