Mughal South Asia
Styles of Kingship & Administration
I. Mughal South Asia: 1526-1707
Uzbekistan
Timur
Chingiz Khan
Babur
Humayun 1556
Akbar 1556-1605
Aurangzeb 1658-1707
Early modern polities
Maharashtra
British East India Company
II. Akbar: Religious Patronage
Ulama
Chishti Sufis
non-Muslim religious teachers
Sufi saints
From Akbar-Nama, a formal history of Akbar’s rule
“When the capital was illumined by the
return of the Imperial presence, the
old regulations came again into
operation, and the house of wisdom
shone resplendent on Friday nights
with the light of holy minds. … in
that place of meeting the lamp was
kindled to brighten the solitude of
seclusion … and the merits of the
philosophers of the colleges and
monasteries were put to the test…
Sufis, doctors, preachers, lawyers,
Sunnis, Shii’as, Brahmans, Jains,
Buddhists, Charvakas, Christians,
Jews, Zoroastrians and learned men
of every belief were gathered
together in the royal assembly…
the disputations and contentions
were long and heated.”
III. Sufi Tombs
pilgrimage tours and state visits
Nizammudin Auliya at Delhi
high culture
protective power
Fatehpur Sikri
Agra
IV. Akbar: Administration
Creating-periphery ties
Non-Muslim & Muslim high office holders
Akbar’s marriage
Punjab
Land grants
Land surveys and tax systems
Zamindars
Power on the move
V. The Challenge of Bengal
Agriculture
Maritime trade
Center-periphery distance
Army of dependencies
“… [the high-ranking regional administrator] received the Imperial
commands to put aside his work of punishing the rebels of Bihar, and to devote his
energies to the conquest of Bengal. By good fortune, the rebels of Bihar had been
put to flight before the arrival of the Imperial forces. But the rainy season came
on, and the campaign was deferred for that year. When the rains subsided, [the
chosen noble military leaders] took their departure from Court. Officers were also
sent bydifferent roads to all the chiefs of Illahabas, Oudh, and Bihar. In a short
time a large force was collected … and was eager for the advance.”