The Obituary
The Mughal Empire began in 1526 when Babur, a Timurid prince from Central Asia, crushed the Delhi Sultanate at Panipat. Over the next two centuries it grew into one of the wealthiest states on Earth, ruling most of the Indian subcontinent and leaving behind the Taj Mahal, Delhi’s Red Fort, and a vast administrative system. After Aurangzeb’s death in 1707 the empire fractured, and the British East India Company filled the vacuum. By 1857 the emperor was a pensioner in his own palace; the failed rebellion that year gave Britain the pretext to abolish the throne entirely.
Worth remembering
- At its height under Aurangzeb around 1700 it ruled roughly 150 million people and produced about a quarter of world manufacturing output.
- Akbar promoted a syncretic court religion, Din-i Ilahi, and abolished the jizya tax on non-Muslims.
Sources
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.