Objectives:
- Describe the impact of the Delhi Sultanate on India.
The Mughals, which means "Mongols
in Persian, ruled much of Southern
Asia until 1857.
Taj Mahal
- The high point of Mughal art came during
the reign of Shah Jahan.
- Grief-stricken at the death of his wife, he ordered a grand tomb built in her honor.
Sikhism
Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani
- The lavish Taj Mahal was her memorial.
- It took 22,000 workers & 20 years to be completed.
An Indian holy man, Nanak, sought to blend Islamic and Hindu beliefs.
The Sikhs later gained
military power and challenged for control in the north.
Nanak preached "the unity of God, the brotherhood of man, he rejection of caste, and the futility of idol worship."
Women were influential
in the Mughal empire.
- Known as "The Founder of Sikhism."
- His full name is Guru Nanak.
- Akbar's son "Jahangir" left the details of governing to his wife, Nur Jahan, who was the most powerful woman in pre-2oth century in India.
The Decline of Delhi Sultanate
- In 1398, Tamerlane plundered the Northern plain and smashed Delhi.
- Artisans were enslaved to build Tamerlane's capital at Samarkand.
- Later, Northern India fell into rival Hindu and Muslim States.
- Muslim Sultanates would not regain control until 1526.
Muslim beliefs conflicted sharply with those of Hindus they conquered in Northern India.
Hindus
Muslims
- Recognized one God and one sacred text.
- Had no religious hierarchy.
- taught equality of all believers.
- Believed in many gods and sacred texts.
- Honored Brahmans as a priestly class.
The Delhi Sultanate
continued
- The Delhi Sultanate lasted from 1206 to 1526.
- Indian government and society changed as sultans introduced Muslim traditions.
During the 1200s, when the Mongols, raided Baghdad, many scholars fled to India.
These immigrants helped architecture and the arts flourish.
Turks, Persians, and Arabs migrated to India to serve as soldiers or officials, bring increased trade.
About the Mughal Dynasty...
- The greatest ruler of the Mughals was Akbar the Great, grandson of Babur.
- Akbar reigned from 1526 to 1605.
Akbar built a united empire by:
Listening to
advisors from many faiths.
Replacing hereditary officials with professionals, including Hindus.
Modernizing the army.
Encouraging
Trade.
Marrying a Hindu princess.
The Start of Mughal Dynasty
Two Muslim sultanates ruled India:
The Delhi Sultanate
- Led by Babur, Turkish and Mongol armies swept away the Delhi Sultanate in 1526.
- In the late 1100s, a Muslim Sultan defeated Hindu armies and established a capital at Delhi.
- There were several reasons for their victory:
- Rival Hindu princes fought among themselves instead of uniting in their defense.
- Swift mounted archers outmaneuvered Hindus on elephants.
- Islam's social mobility appealed to Hindus locked into a low social position by the caste system.
- Babur, a military genius and poet, claimed to descend from Genghis Khan and Tamerlane.
- In 1526, Babur defeated Sultan Ibrahim just north of Delhi and established the Mughal Dynasty.
How did Muslim Rule affect Indian
government and society?
- The arrival of Islam brought changes to India as great as those caused by the Aryan Migrations 2,000 years earlier.
- As Muslims mingled with Indians, each civilization absorbed elements from the other.
Indian Muslims began to absorb
Hindu influences as well.
- Urdu, a new language, combined Persian, Arabic, and a
Delhi dialect.
- Some marriage and caste customs were accepted.
- Indian dance and music reappeared in the courts of the sultan.
- A new religion, Sikhism, blended Hindu and Muslim ideas.
- Explain why Muslims and Hindu Traditions clashed
and how they blended.
In time, Muslim and Hindu cultures began to blend.
- Muslim scholars suggested that one God was behind the many Hindu gods.
- Hindus were protected as long as they paid a poll tax.
- In some places, local rajahs, Hindu leaders, wee allowed to rule.
- Many Hindus converted to Islam out of belief, to avoid the caste system, or for trade and commerce.
- Summarize the policies of Akbar that strengthened Mughal India.