India: history 1526–1858

Click a letter for the index

Or search the encyclopaedia:

 

 

Go

 

Click images to enlarge
Period of Indian history under the rule of the north Indian Mogul dynasty. The Islamic Mogul civilization flourished in the Indian subcontinent (present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) during the 16th and 17th centuries. Emperors such as Babur, Akbar, and Aurangzeb controlled a hugely wealthy and culturally diverse empire. However, despite its apparent success, the empire was undermined by a combination of poor leadership, overstretched resources, and the activities of foreign traders, particularly the British and French, who sent in armies to support their interests. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Mogul Empire slowly collapsed under these pressures, until by the 1850s the Mogul sultan was simply a servant of the British Raj.

The word Mogul is a Persian corruption or translation of Mongol, as the founders of the Mogul Empire were descended through Tamerlane, a Turkic conqueror who claimed to be a descendant of the great Mongol emperor Genghis Khan.

Blue stands for faith and loyalty, the sea, lakes, and the sky. Black represents past suffering and is the colour of the traditional peasant's jacket. White symbolizes virtue and enlightenment and is the colour of snow, birch bark, and the midnight sun. Effective date: 16 November 1990. >>