Mughal Empire
Photo: Yann; edited by King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Mughal Empire, also known as the Moghul Empire, ruled much of South Asia from the 1520s to the early 1700s. After that it declined drastically, though remnants survived until 1857. The Mughals were great builders; many of the finest and best-known buildings in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, including the Taj Mahal which may be the most famous of all, were built under their rule.
They also had a tremendous influence on many other aspects of culture. Perhaps most importantly, the Mughals were largely responsible for the spread of Islam in the region. They were Muslims that reigned over a population that was largely Hindu at the time. Their reign was not free of religious tension but, compared especially to the contemporaneous Christian Spanish Empire, it was also remarkably tolerant of other religions. To this day the presence of Islam in the countries that were once part of that empire is mostly due to the reign of the Mughal Empire.
Origins and riseThe Empire was established by Babur, a Persian-speaking Muslim whose ancestors included Genghis Khan; the term Mughal is derived from Mongol.
The peakThe golden age of the Mughals extended through 150 years and the reign of four emperors, from Akbar taking the throne in 1556 to the death of Aurangzeb in 1707.
DeclineThe empire reached its largest extent, shown by the heavy red line on the map, at the end of Aurangzeb's reign in 1707. From then on it was nearly all downhill.
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Mughal Empire" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Yann; edited by King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons