History & Culture
The Mughal Empire
GS Paper I
The Mughal Empire — Quick Revision
One-page UPSC revision of the Mughals and Marathas — battles, officials, mansabdari, revenue terms, monuments, painters, writers and the Ashtapradhan.
SyllabusGS I · History of India (Prelims); Indian culture — salient aspects of art forms, literature and architecture from ancient to modern times (Mains GS I)
A last-week sheet for 1526 to the eighteenth century. Prelims favourites: battles and dates, officials, revenue terms, monument–builder pairs, and the Maratha Ashtapradhan.
Battles
| Battle | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| First Panipat | 1526 | Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi |
| Khanwa | 1527 | Babur defeats Rana Sanga |
| Chausa / Kannauj | 1539 / 1540 | Sher Khan defeats Humayun |
| Second Panipat | 1556 | Akbar (Bairam Khan) defeats Hemu |
| Haldighati | 1576 | Mughal army under Man Singh vs Maharana Pratap |
| Samugarh | 1658 | Aurangzeb defeats Dara Shikoh |
| Karnal | 1739 | Nadir Shah defeats Muhammad Shah |
| Third Panipat | 1761 | Ahmad Shah Abdali defeats the Marathas |
Administration and Revenue
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Mansab | Rank: zat (personal) + sawar (cavalry) |
| Jagir | Transferable assignment of revenue |
| Zabti / Dahsala | Ten-year average yields and prices → cash rates (1580, Todar Mal) |
| Polaj / parauti / chachar / banjar | Land cultivated yearly / short fallow / 3–4 years fallow / 5+ years fallow |
| Madad-i-maash | Revenue-free grant to scholars and the pious |
| Mir Bakhshi / Mir Saman / Muhtasib | Military / household / public morals |
| Patta and qabuliyat | Title deed and acceptance — Sher Shah |
High-yield facts
- Akbar’s timeline: jizya abolished 1564; Ibadat Khana 1575; Mahzar 1579; dahsala 1580; Tauhid-i-Ilahi 1582.
- Aurangzeb: jizya reimposed 1679; Bijapur 1686; Golconda 1687.
- Farrukhsiyar’s farman (1717) — duty-free trade privileges for the English Company in Bengal.
- Sirr-i-Akbar (1657) — Dara Shikoh’s Persian Upanishads.
- Pietra dura — first used extensively at Itimad-ud-Daulah’s tomb (Nur Jahan).
Monuments and Builders
| Monument | Builder / reign |
|---|---|
| Humayun’s Tomb | Humayun’s widow, in Akbar’s reign |
| Fatehpur Sikri, Buland Darwaza | Akbar |
| Itimad-ud-Daulah’s tomb | Nur Jahan (Jahangir’s reign) |
| Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Jama Masjid (Delhi) | Shah Jahan |
| Badshahi Mosque, Lahore | Aurangzeb |
| Bibi ka Maqbara | Azam Shah (Aurangzeb’s reign) |
| Rohtas Fort, Sasaram tomb | Sher Shah Suri |
Painters and Writers
| Person | Remember |
|---|---|
| Mir Sayyid Ali, Abdus Samad | Persian masters; Hamzanama |
| Daswanth, Basawan | Akbar’s Indian painters |
| Ustad Mansur | Birds and animals (Jahangir) |
| Abul Fazl | Akbarnama, Ain-i-Akbari |
| Badauni | Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh |
| Gulbadan Begum | Humayun-nama |
| Tulsidas | Ramcharitmanas |
Marathas
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Shivaji | Shivneri (1630); Raigad coronation (1674) |
| Treaty of Purandar | 1665, with Jai Singh |
| Ashtapradhan | Peshwa, Amatya, Mantri, Sachiv, Sumant, Senapati, Nyayadhish, Panditrao |
| Chauth / Sardeshmukhi | 1/4 / additional 1/10 |
| Confederacy | Peshwa (Pune), Gaekwad (Baroda), Bhonsle (Nagpur), Holkar (Indore), Scindia (Gwalior) |
| UNESCO | Maratha Military Landscapes — 12 forts, July 2025 |
Traps to Avoid
- Mansabdari is Akbar’s, not Sher Shah’s.
- Tauhid-i-Ilahi was never a state religion; the policy was sulh-i-kul.
- Bibi ka Maqbara — Azam Shah, not Aurangzeb himself.
- Chauth came from territories outside Shivaji’s kingdom.
Related Topics
- The Mughal Empire: Administration and Culture
- Shivaji and the Rise of the Marathas
- The Mughal Empire — practice questions
- Advent of the Europeans
Advertisement