NCERT Class 7 History Chapter 4: The Mughal Empire YouTube Lecture Handouts

Watch video lecture on YouTube: NCERT Class 7 History Chapter 4: The Mughal Empire NCERT Class 7 History Chapter 4: The Mughal Empire

Loading Video •••

Ancestry

Emperor at 13 years
Under Bairam Khan – Campiagns against Suris and Afghans
Suppressed revolt of his half-brother Mirza Hakim & Uzbegs
1568: Sisodiya capital of Chittor was seized
1569: Ranthambhor was seized
Military campaigns to Gujarat, Bihar, Bengal & Odisha
Expansion of empire to NW
Qandahar was seized from the Safavids
Kashmir was annexed
Kabul annexed after death of Mirza Hakim
Annexed Deccan, Berar, Khandesh and parts of Ahmadnagar
Ibadat khana: various religious people discussed (religious scholars who emphasised ritual and dogma were often bigots)
Sulh-i-Kul or universal peace – ethics, honesty and peace – was followed by Jahangir & Shah Jahan

Sisodiya ruler of Mewar, Amar Singh accepted his rule
Known as Prince Salim
Wife: Nur Jahan (Mehrunnisa) – loyal & supportive – had seals and coins with her name

Prince Khurram
Afghan noble Khan Jahan Lodi was defeated
Qandahar was lost to Safavids
1632: Annexed Ahmadnagar
Aurangzeb was victorious and his three brothers, including Dara Shukoh were killed
Was imprisoned for the rest of his life in Agra

1663: Ahoms defeated but rebelled again in 1680
Initially successful against Shivaji (insulted him when he came to accept Mughal authority)
Sent armies to Deccan
1685: Bijapur annexed
1687: Golconda annexed
1698: Against Marathas who followed guerrilla warfare
After his death, succession conflict amongst his sons

Primogeniture: Eldest son inherited his father’s estate
Coparcenary inheritance or division of inheritance amongst all the sons – Mughals

Jahangir’s mother: Kachhwaha princess, daughter of Rajput ruler of Amber
Shah Jahan’s mother: Rathor princess, daughter of Rajput ruler of Marwar
Sisodiyas did not accept Mughal authority – defeated once by Mughals but land (watan) given back as assignments (watan jagir)
In Mughal Service: Mansabdars (hold rank mansab)
Grading system used by Mughals to fix rank, salary & military responsibilities
Rank & salary determined by Zat
Higher Zat, more prestigious position with larger salary
Maintain cavalry or sawar
Mansabdars got salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs similar to iqtas. However, unlike muqtis, most mansabdars did not actually reside in or administer their jagirs.
Akbar’s period: jagirs were assessed
Aurangzeb’s period: actual sum was less than granted sum & huge number of mansabdars. Long wait & shortage of jagirs. Peasantry suffered a lot.

Major tax was on produce of peasantry

Taxes paid by rural elite

Zamindars were intermediaries

Todarmal (revenue minister of Akbar) carried crop survey – tax fixed on each crop in cash

Province divided into revenue circle with revenue rates – Zabt – not possible in Gujarat & Bengal

Provinces divided into subas & subas had subedars (political & military functions), diwans (financial)

Abul Fazal wrote Akbar Nama in 3 volumes

Volume 1: Akbar’s ancestors
Volume 2: Event of Akbar’s reign
Volume 3: Ain-i-Akbari – Administration and revenue & cultural details – statistics on crops and yields

Shah Jahan period: 5.6% mansabdars received 61.5% of total revenue.

Most income was spent on salary and goods – benefitted artisans and peasantry

Poorest lived from hand to mouth – economic strata created

Mughal elite became very powerful

Mughals declined and servants became powerful – dynasties like Awadh and Hyderabad came into power

Queen Elizabeth I (dynasty Tudors) – conflict b/w Catholics and Protestants (reformed church) – tried to establish independence of Church of England from Rome
Conflicted with Phillip II from Spain & defeated them
Supported playwrighters like Shakespeare & poets like Edward Spenser (wrote epic poem called The Faerie Queene in her praise)

-Manishika