The Mughal Empire: History, Governance, Culture, and Society

Vocabulary flashcards covering the political rise, military technology, administrative systems, religious movements, arts, and eventual decline of the Mughal Empire.

Mughal Empire

An autocratic, land-based imperial power located in modern-day India that lasted from 1526 to 1857, whose military strength initially rested on artillery, field cannons, gunpowder, and horsemanship.

Babur

The founder of the Mughal Empire who conquered Delhi after losing his ancestral homeland to inter-tribal warfare, driven by ambitions to live up to the reputation of his ancestors.

Humayun

Babur's son who successfully recaptured northern India and expanded the Mughal Empire after imperial control was challenged following his father's death.

Akbar

Babur's grandson, known as the 'Great Mughal,' under whose rule the empire reached its zenith of power, territorial expansion, administrative organization, and cultural unity.

Rajas

Hindu leaders whom Akbar incorporated into high military and bureaucratic positions as part of a deliberate policy of political cooperation and intermarriage.

Jizya

A religious poll tax levied on non-Muslim subjects that was abolished by Emperor Akbar to foster tolerance and unity throughout the empire.

Zamindar

A hereditary noble and provincial ruler who possessed the imperial right to collect taxes on agricultural land for imperial courts or military purposes.

Divine Faith

A syncretic spiritual movement formulated by Akbar that sought universal truths outside Islamic sharia, blending Quranic, Hindu, Catholic, and other traditions while emphasizing piety, prudence, and gentleness.

Dara Shikoh

Emperor Shah Jahan's eldest son and a Sufi scholar who translated Sanskrit texts (including the Upanishads) into Persian and argued that there was no fundamental difference between Islam and Hinduism.

Guru Nanak

The founder of Sikhism who stressed meditation as the path to enlightenment and combined elements of Hinduism and Islam into a community free of caste distinctions.

Aurangzeb

The Mughal emperor whose costly military campaigns emptied the treasury, who reversed Akbar's policies of religious tolerance, and who ordered the execution of Sikhism's ninth guru.

Tukaram

A prominent Bhakti saint who proclaimed the fundamental equality of all human beings and openly challenged traditional caste inequalities.

Bhakti Movement

A popular spiritual movement that preached to ordinary people using regional vernacular languages—such as Marathi, Hindi, and Bengali—rather than court languages like Persian and Sanskrit.

Jahangir

Akbar's third son, self-titled 'King of the World,' who had less interest in military affairs and governance but was a major patron of the arts, supporting works that blended Persian and Hindu traditions.

Shah Jahan

A Mughal emperor known for commissioning lavish architecture, housing the world's largest library collection, and constructing the Taj Mahal, who was eventually imprisoned by his sons during a succession struggle.

Mumtaz Mahal

The influential wife of Emperor Shah Jahan who amassed significant political power and in whose memory the Taj Mahal was constructed.

Mirabai

A renowned female Bhakti saint whose poetry mocked marriage and asceticism while actively challenging the exclusion of women from the spiritual sphere.

Purdah

The social practice of seclusion and veiling that was strictly enforced for upper-class women in Mughal society.

Sati

The custom of a Hindu widow immolating herself on her husband's funeral pyre, which continued to spread in Mughal India despite being officially outlawed.