The Mughal Empire (1526-1761)
A. Foundations
1. Muslim sultans reigned over largely
Hindu population of India
2. founder: Babur (1483-1530) was a
descendent of the Mongol ruler Timur
(“Mughal” is Persian for “Mongol”)
File:Akbar1.jpg
3. Akbar “the Great” expanded empire to
all of India
–promoted Hindu-Muslim coexistence
(married a Hindu princess)
–wealthy due to cotton trade
B. Military & Politics
File:RajaRaviVarma MaharanaPratap.jpg
1. Mughals lacked a powerful
navy
2. used Dutch & English trade
ships for military support in
exchange for trade privileges
3. rajputs: Hindu princes who
held positions of power in
Mughal government
Taj Mahal: architectural example of the blending
of Hindu and Muslim culture
C. Society & Religion
1. Lower social castes converted to
Islam
2. Sikhism: blended Hindu &
Muslim beliefs
–an “army of the pure” (didn’t
cut hair, wore turbans, bracelets,
and carried a sword to prove
devotion)
File:Kakaars x3.JPG
D. Decline of “Gunpowder” Empires
1. All three Muslim empires:
collapsed due to their inability to adjust to complex
changes in military technology & the global
economy
2. too much taxation for warfare
3. internal conflict
4. fell behind Europe in invention & sciences
5. European advantages:
– ship design, use of cannons on ships
– joint-stock companies in new global
financial system
IV. Islam in E. Africa & S.E. Asia
A. Swahili Coast
1. “sawahil”: Arabic for coast
2. Swahili: pidgin trade language made up of a mixture
of Bantu speakers, Arabic, Persian, Portuguese
3. during 1600s Portuguese lose much of Swahili Coast
& Arabian entrepots
– keep Mozambique (E. Africa), Goa (India),
Macao/Timor (S.E. Asia)
B. East Indies
1. Islam spread rapidly in S.E. Asia in the 1300’s
2. Acheh Sultanate adopts Islam in 1600s
- Dutch seize Strait of Malacca from Portugal in 1641
3. Resistance to Portuguese, Spanish, & Dutch by Muslims
-
“Moros” in the Phillipines
largest Muslim country today: Indonesia
File:Moro barung barong swords three samples.jpg
File:Flag of the Aceh Sultanate.svg
ACHEH SULTANATE
(Malacca)
File:Aceh Sultanate.svg
File:ARMM.png
MOROS (Philippines)