Mughal emperors

Group portrait of Mughal rulers, from Babur to Aurangzeb, with the Mughal ancestor Timur seated in the middle. On the left: Shah Jahan, Akbar and Babur, with Abu Sa'id of Samarkand and Timur's son, Miran Shah. On the right: Aurangzeb, Jahangir and Humayun, and two of Timur's other offspring Umar Shaykh and Muhammad Sultan. Created c. 1707–12

The Mughal Empire was founded by Babur, a Timurid prince and ruler from Central Asia. Babur was a direct descendant of the Timurid Emperor Tamerlane on his father's side, and the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan on his mother's side.[9] Ousted from his ancestral domains in Turkistan by Sheybani Khan, the 40-year-old Prince Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions. He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass.[9] Babur's forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526.[9] The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India.[10] The instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun, who was driven into exile in Persia by rebels.[9] Humayun's exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal courts and led to increasing West Asian cultural influence in the Mughal court. The restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayun's triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from an accident shortly afterwards.[9] Humayun's son, Akbar, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped consolidate the Baburid Empire in India.[11]

Through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari river.[12] He created a new ruling elite loyal to him, implemented a modern administration, and encouraged cultural developments. He increased trade with European trading companies.[9] The Indian historian Abraham Eraly wrote that foreigners were often impressed by the fabulous wealth of the Baburid court, but the glittering court hid darker realities, namely that about a quarter of the empire's gross national product was owned by 655 families while the bulk of India's 120  million people lived in appalling poverty.[13] After suffering what appears to have been an epileptic seizure in 1578 while hunting tigers, which he regarded as a religious experience, Akbar grew disenchanted with Islam, and came to embrace a syncretistic mixture of Hinduism and Islam.[14] Akbar allowed freedom of religion at his court and attempted to resolve socio-political and cultural differences in his empire by establishing a new religion, Din-i-Ilahi, with strong characteristics of a ruler cult.[9] He left his son an internally stable state, which was in the midst of its golden age, but before long signs of political weakness would emerge.[9]

Akbar's son, Jahangir, "was addicted to opium, neglected the affairs of the state, and came under the influence of rival court cliques.[9] During the reign of Jahangir's son, Shah Jahan, the splendour of the Baburid court reached its peak, as exemplified by the Taj Mahal. The cost of maintaining the court, however, began to exceed the revenue coming in.[9]

Shah Jahan, accompanied by his three sons: Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja and Aurangzeb, and their maternal grandfather Asaf Khan IV

Shah Jahan's eldest son, the liberal Dara Shikoh, became regent in 1658, as a result of his father's illness. Dara championed a syncretistic Hindu-Muslim religion and culture. With the support of the Islamic orthodoxy, however, a younger son of Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb, seized the throne. Aurangzeb defeated Dara in 1659 and had him executed.[9] Although Shah Jahan fully recovered from his illness, there was a succession war for the throne between Dara and Aurangzeb. Finally, Aurangzeb succeeded the throne and kept Shah Jahan under house arrest.

During Aurangzeb's reign, the empire gained political strength once more, and it became the world's largest economy, over a quarter of the world GDP, but his establishment of Sharia caused huge controversies. Aurangzeb expanded the empire to include a huge part of South Asia. At its peak, the kingdom stretched to 3.2 million square kilometres, including parts of what are now India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.[15] After his death in 1707, "many parts of the empire were in open revolt".[9] Aurangzeb's attempts to reconquer his family's ancestral lands in Central Asia were not successful while his successful conquest of the Deccan region proved to be a Pyrrhic victory that cost the empire heavily in both blood and treasure.[16] A further problem for Aurangzeb was the army had always been based upon the land-owning aristocracy of northern India who provided the cavalry for the campaigns, and the empire had nothing equivalent to the Janissary corps of the Ottoman Empire.[16] The long and costly conquest of the Deccan had badly diminished the "aura of success" that surrounded Aurangzeb, and from the late 17th century onwards, the aristocracy became increasingly unwilling to provide forces for the empire's wars as the prospect of being rewarded with land as a result of a successful war was seen as less and less likely.[16]

Furthermore, at the conclusion of the conquest of the Deccan, Aurangzeb had very selectively rewarded some of the noble families with confiscated land in the Deccan, leaving aristocrats unrewarded with confiscated land feeling strongly disgruntled and unwilling to participate in further campaigns.[16] Aurangzeb's son, Shah Alam, repealed the religious policies of his father and attempted to reform the administration. "However, after his death in 1712, the Boburid dynasty sank into chaos and violent feuds. In the year 1719 alone, four emperors successively ascended the throne".[9]

Akbar Shah II and his four sons

During the reign of Muhammad Shah, the empire began to break up, and vast tracts of central India passed from Boburid to Maratha hands. Baburid warfare had always been based upon heavy artillery for sieges, heavy cavalry for offensive operations and light cavalry for skirmishing and raids.[16] To control a region, the Baburids had always sought to occupy a strategic fortress in some region, which would serve as a nodal point from which the Baburid army would emerge to take on any enemy that challenged the empire.[16] This system was not only expensive but also made the army somewhat inflexible as the assumption was always the enemy would retreat into a fortress to be besieged or would engage in a set-piece decisive battle of annihilation on open ground.[16] The Hindu Marathas were expert horsemen who refused to engage in set-piece battles, but rather engaged in campaigns of guerrilla warfare upon the Boburid supply lines.[16] The Marathas were unable to take the Boburid fortresses via a storm or formal siege as they lacked the artillery, but by constantly intercepting supply columns, they were able to starve Baburid fortresses into submission.[16]

Successive Baburid commanders refused to adjust their tactics and develop an appropriate counter-insurgency strategy, which led to the Baburids losing more and more ground to the Maratha.[16] The Indian campaign of Nader Shah of Persia culminated with the Sack of Delhi and shattered the remnants of Baburid power and prestige, as well as capturing the imperial treasury, thus drastically accelerating its decline. Many of the empire's elites now sought to control their own affairs and broke away to form independent kingdoms. The Baburid Emperor, however, continued to be the highest manifestation of sovereignty. Not only the Muslim gentry, but the Maratha, Hindu, and Sikh leaders took part in ceremonial acknowledgements of the emperor as the sovereign of India.[17][18]

In the next decades, the Afghans, Sikhs, and Marathas battled against each other and the Baburids, revealing the fragmented state of the empire. The Baburid Emperor Shah Alam II made futile attempts to reverse the Baburid decline, but he ultimately had to seek the protection of outside powers. In 1784, the Marathas under Mahadaji Shinde won acknowledgement as the protectors of the emperor in Delhi, a state of affairs that continued until after the Second Anglo-Maratha War. Thereafter, the British East India Company became the protectors of the Baburid dynasty in Delhi.[18] After 1835 the Company no longer recognised the authority of the emperor, accepting him only as 'King of Delhi' and removing all references to him from their coinage. After a crushed rebellion which he nominally led in 1857–58, the last Baburid, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was deposed by the British, who then assumed formal control of a large part of the former empire,[9] marking the start of the British Raj.

Titular Emperors

Over the course of the Empire, there were several claimants to the Baburid throne who ascended the throne or claimed to do so but were never recognized.[19]

Here are the claimants to the Baburid throne historians recognise as Titular Baburid Emperors.

1. Shahryar Mirza (1627 - 1628)
2. Dawar Baksh (1627 - 1628)
3. Jahangir II (1719 - 1720)

Portrait	Titular Name	Birth Name	Birth	Reign	Death
1	Babur بابر	Zahir Ud-Din Muhammad Ghazi ظہیر الدین محمد	14 February 1483 Andijan, Uzbekistan	20 April 1526 – 26 December 1530 (4 years 8 months 9 days)	26 December 1530 (aged 47) Agra, India
2	Humayun ہمایوں	Nasir Ud-Din Baig Muhammad Khan ناصر الدین بیگ محمد خان	6 March 1508 Kabul, Afghanistan	26 December 1530  – 17 May 1540 22 February 1555 – 27 January 1556 (10 years 3 months 25 days)	27 January 1556 (aged 47) Delhi, India
3	Akbar اکبر	Abu'l Fath Jalal Ud-Din Muhammad ابوالفتح جلال الدین محمد	15 October 1542 Umerkot, Pakistan	11 February 1556 – 27 October 1605 (49 years 9 months 0 days)	27 October 1605 (aged 63) Agra, India
4	Jahangir جہانگیر	Nur Ud-Din Baig Muhammad khan Salim نورالدین بیگ محمد خان سلیم	31 August 1569 Agra, India	3 November 1605 – 28 October 1627 (21 years 11 months 23 days)	28 October 1627 (aged 58) Jammu and Kashmir, India
5	Shah Jahan شاہ جہان	Shahab Ud-Din Muhammad Khurram شہاب الدین محمد خرم	5 January 1592 Lahore, Pakistan	19 January 1628 – 31 July 1658 (30 years 8 months 25 days)	22 January 1666 (aged 74) Agra, India
6	Aurangzeb اورنگزیب Alamgir عالمگیر	Muhi Ud-Din Muhammad محی الدین محمد	3 November 1618 Gujarat, India	31 July 1658 – 3 March 1707 (48 years 7 months 0 days)	3 March 1707 (aged 88) Ahmednagar, India
7	Azam Shah اعظم شاہ	Qutb Ud-Din Muhammad قطب الدين محمد	28 June 1653 Burhanpur, India	14 March 1707 – 20 June 1707	20 June 1707 (aged 53) Agra, India
8	Bahadur Shah بہادر شاہ Shah Alam شاہ عالم	Abul-Nasr Sayyid Qutb-ud-din Mirza Muhammad Muazzam ابوالنصر سید قطب الدین مرزا محمد معظم	14 October 1643 Burhanpur, India	19 June 1707 – 27 February 1712 (4 years, 253 days)	27 February 1712 (aged 68) Lahore, Pakistan
9	Jahandar Shah جہاندار شاہ	Mu'izz-ud-Din Beg Muhammad Khan Bahādur معیز الدین بیگ محمد خان بہادر	9 May 1661 Deccan, India	27 February 1712 – 11 February 1713 (0 years, 350 days)	12 February 1713 (aged 51) Delhi, India
10	Farrukhsiyar فرخ سیر	Abu'l Muzaffar Muīn-ud-Dīn Muhammad Shāh Farrukhsiyar Alim Akbar Sāni Wālā Shān Pādshāh-i-bahr-u-bar ابوالمظفر معین الدین محمد شاہ فرخ سیار علیم اکبر ثانی والا شان پادشاہ البحر البر Puppet King Under the Sayyids of Barha	20 August 1685 Aurangabad, India	11 January 1713 – 28 February 1719 (6 years, 48 days)	19 April 1719 (aged 33) Delhi, India
11	Rafi ud-Darajat رفیع الدرجات	Abu'l Barakat Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Rafi ud-Darajat Padshah Ghazi Shahanshah-i-Bahr-u-Bar ابوالبرکات شمس الدین محمد رفیع الدراجات پادشاہ غازی شہنشاہ البحر البر Puppet King Under the Sayyids of Barha	1 December 1699	28 February 1719 – 6 June 1719 (0 years, 98 days)	6 June 1719 (aged 19) Agra, India
12	Shah Jahan II شاہ جہان دوم	Rafi-ud-Din Muhammad Rafi-ud-Daulah رفیع الدین محمد رفیع الدولہ Puppet King Under the Sayyids of Barha	5 January 1696	6 June 1719 – 17 September 1719 (0 years, 105 days)	18 September 1719 (aged 23) Agra, India
13	Muhammad Shah محمد شاہ	Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah Roshan Akhtar Bahadur Ghazi ناصر الدین محمد شاہ روشن اختر بہادر غازی Puppet King Under the Sayyids of Barha	7 August 1702 Ghazni, Afghanistan	27 September 1719 – 26 April 1748 (28 years, 212 days)	26 April 1748 (aged 45) Delhi, India
14	Ahmad Shah Bahadur احمد شاہ بہادر	Abu-Nasir Mujahid ud-din Muhammad Ahmad Shah Bahadur Ghazi ابو ناصر مجاہد الدین محمد احمد شاہ بہادر غازی	23 December 1725 Delhi, India	29 April 1748 – 2 June 1754 (6 years, 37 days)	1 January 1775 (aged 49) Delhi, India
15	Alamgir II عالمگیر دوم	Aziz Ud-Din Muhammad عزیز اُلدین محمد	6 June 1699 Burhanpur, India	3 June 1754 – 29 November 1759 (5 years, 180 days)	29 November 1759 (aged 60) Kotla Fateh Shah, India
16	Shah Jahan III شاہ جہان سوم	Muhi Ul-Millat محی اُلملت	1711	10 December 1759 – 10 October 1760 (282 days)	1772 (aged 60–61)
17	Shah Alam II شاہ عالم دوم	Abdu'llah Jalal ud-din Abu'l Muzaffar Ham ud-din Muhammad 'Mirza Ali Gauhar عبدالله جلال الدین ابوالمظفر هم الدین محمد میرزا علی گوهر شاه علم دوم	25 June 1728 Delhi, India	10 October 1760 – 31 July 1788 (27 years, 301 days)	19 November 1806 (aged 78) Delhi, India
18	Shah Jahan IV جہان شاه چہارم	Bidar Bakht Mahmud Shah Bahadur Jahan Shah  بیدار بخت محمود شاه بهادر جہان شاہ	1749 Delhi, India	31 July 1788 – 11 October 1788 (63 days)	1790 (aged 40–41) Delhi, India
19	Shah Alam II شاہ عالم دوم	Abdu'llah Jalal ud-din Abu'l Muzaffar Ham ud-din Muhammad 'Mirza Ali Gauhar عبدالله جلال الدین ابوالمظفر هم الدین محمد میرزا علی گوهر شاه علم دوم Puppet King under the Maratha Empire	25 June 1728 Delhi, India	16 October 1788 – 19 November 1806 (18 years, 339 days)	19 November 1806 (aged 78) Delhi, India
20	Akbar Shah II اکبر شاہ دوم	Sultan Ibn Sultan Sahib al-Mufazi Wali Ni'mat Haqiqi Khudavand Mujazi Abu Nasir Mu'in al-Din Muhammad Akbar Shah Pad-Shah Ghazi سلطان ابن سلطان صاحب المفاضی ولی نعمت حقی خداوند مجازی ابو ناصر معین الدین محمد اکبر شاہ پاد شاہ غازی Puppet King under the East India Company	22 April 1760 Mukundpur, India	19 November 1806 – 28 September 1837 (30 years, 321 days)	28 September 1837 (aged 77) Delhi, India
21	Bahadur Shah II Zafar بہادر شاہ ظفر	Abu Zafar Siraj Ud-Din Muhammad ابو ظفر سراج اُلدین محمد	24 October 1775 Delhi, India	28 September 1837 – 21 September 1857 (19 years, 360 days)	7 November 1862 (aged 87) Rangoon, Myanmar

Note: The Baburid emperors practiced polygamy. Besides their wives, they also had several concubines in their harem, who produced children. This makes it difficult to identify all the offspring of each emperor.[20]

• Mughal (disambiguation)
• Timurid family tree
• Mughal Empire
• Mughal-Mongol genealogy

• Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra; Pusalker, A. D.; Majumdar, A. K., eds. (1973). The History and Culture of the Indian People. Vol. VII: The Mughal Empire. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

• Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records
• British India