The Mughal Empire, founded by Babur in 1526, became a great empire ruling most of the Indian subcontinent during the reign of Akbar the Great. This was the golden age of Indo-Islamic civilization, in which India's indigenous Hindu culture and Islamic culture merged.
Akbar the Great (reigned 1556〜1605)
- Third emperor. Unified almost all of South Asia
- Religious reconciliation policy: abolished the poll tax (jizya) on Hindus and appointed Hindu rulers as senior officials and generals of the Mughal Empire
- “Din-i Ilahi”: a syncretic religion proposed by Akbar, combining Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and other traditions
- Centralization: governed the country bureaucratically by dividing it into 36 provinces under the subah system
Indo-Islamic Culture
- Urdu: an Indo-Aryan language written in Arabic script that developed during the Mughal period
- Taj Mahal: a white-marble mausoleum built by the fifth emperor, Shah Jahan, for his queen in Agra → a World Heritage Site
- Miniature painting (Mughal painting): a fusion of Persian and Indian styles
- Architecture: the Mughal style, combining red sandstone and white marble
Example Question ①
Explain Akbar the Great's religious policies and their significance.
Answer: Akbar abolished the poll tax (jizya) on Hindus and actively appointed Hindu rulers (Rajputs) as imperial officials and generals. He also proposed “Din-i Ilahi,” which adopted good elements from various religions. Through this policy of reconciliation, he secured the cooperation of the Hindu majority in India, where Muslims were a minority, and achieved the stability and expansion of the empire.
Explain Akbar the Great's religious policies and their significance.
Answer: Akbar abolished the poll tax (jizya) on Hindus and actively appointed Hindu rulers (Rajputs) as imperial officials and generals. He also proposed “Din-i Ilahi,” which adopted good elements from various religions. Through this policy of reconciliation, he secured the cooperation of the Hindu majority in India, where Muslims were a minority, and achieved the stability and expansion of the empire.
Key Points
- Akbar the Great: abolishing the jizya, appointing Hindu rulers, and religious reconciliation were keys to stability
- The Taj Mahal (Shah Jahan) was the pinnacle of Indo-Islamic culture
- Urdu = Arabic script plus an Indo-Aryan language, a product of the Mughal period
- Sixth emperor Aurangzeb's reintroduction of the jizya → Hindu opposition → one cause of the empire's decline
Practice Questions
- State the political reason why Akbar the Great abolished the poll tax on Hindus.
- State the emperor who built the Taj Mahal and the purpose of its construction.
- Explain the relationship between the decline of the Mughal Empire and the jizya.
Answers and Explanations
- Answer: Because the Mughal Empire had to rule India, where Muslims were a minority and Hindus were overwhelmingly the majority, it needed the cooperation of Hindu rulers (the Rajputs) to stabilize its rule. It secured this cooperation by abolishing the jizya and appointing Hindus to high offices.
Explanation: Religious tolerance became the practical foundation of the empire's expansion. - Answer: The fifth emperor, Shah Jahan, built the mausoleum to commemorate his deceased wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It was constructed from 1632〜1653 and is characterized by white marble and gemstone inlay.
Explanation: It is registered as a World Heritage Site as a “monument of love.” - Answer: The sixth emperor, Aurangzeb, sought to enforce Islamic law and reintroduced the jizya → this provoked large-scale rebellions by Hindus (including the Marathas), accelerating internal divisions in the empire. In the 18th century, powers such as the Maratha Kingdom rose, and the Mughal Empire became nominal in practice.
Explanation: The reversal of Akbar's reconciliation policy was a symbolic example of Mughal decline.