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The Mughal Empire Facts & Worksheets

The early modern period of Indian history was dominated by the Mughal Empire.

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The early modern period of Indian history was dominated by the Mughal Empire. Being around 22% larger than the present-day Republic of India, they were an economic superpower that accounted for nearly 25% of both the world economy and global industrial output, a feat unmatched by other powers, such as Western Europe and China. Their extremely prosperous rule from around 1526 to 1858 CE birthed the present-day connotation of the term “mogul”, which refers to powerful figures or leaders within industries.

See the fact file below for more information on the Mughal Empire or alternatively, you can download our 24-page The Mughal Empire worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

  • The long history of the Mughal Empire can be told through its emperors, as there were constant shifts between times of stability and turmoil whose effects were directly influenced by their governance. The first three emperors, Bābur, Humāyūn, and Akbar, are largely credited for the empire’s success. Although the remaining three, Jahāngīr, Shah Jahān, and Aurangzeb were similarly capable, the empire dramatically deteriorated during their rule.

BĀBUR

  • Ẓahīr al-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur, a Chagatai Turkic prince, laid the groundwork for the Mughal Empire in his brief four-year rule. Through his Chagatai lineage, he was a descendant of both the conqueror, Timur, and the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan.
  • Timur’s former invasions in the late 14th century inspired Bābur’s goal to conquer India.
  • Bābur’s conquest was slow, but steady. He first inherited his father’s post at Fergana in eastern Uzbekistan as a child, then conquered Ghaznī and Kabul less than a decade later.
  • Although he managed to conquer Samarkand in southeastern Uzbekistan later on, he decided to go to India instead of facing the powerful Uzbeks in Central Asia and the Safavid dynasty in Iran and continued to advance his conquests in that area.
  • Bābur then invaded the cities of Sialkot, Lahore, and Bhera in Pakistan before securing Punjab. By the time he won against Ibrāhīm Lodī and the Lodī Afghans in the first battle of Panipat (1526), he already controlled the cities of Agra and Delhi.
  • Before dying in 1530, he defeated Rajputs of Mewar and Afghans who were potential threats to his conquest.
  • Bābur was yet to complete his task of conquering India when he died, but he did manage to establish the first Mughal institutions and entrust them to his son, Humāyūn.

HUMĀYŪN

  • Humāyūn inherited many of Bābur’s problems, but did not get to solve them as swiftly as his father did. He failed to maintain his hold of Kalinjar and Malwa in central India, as well as Gujarat in the west.
  • He was consistently defeated, and forced to flee several times to various cities. Eventually, he sought assistance from Shāh Ṭahmāsp I of Iran, who provided him an army only if he converted to Shia Islam and returned the city of Kandahār if he managed to conquer it.
  • The Sur Empire’s founder, Sher Shah, defeated Humāyūn and exiled him. Sher Shah’s son and successor, Islam Shah, was similarly less powerful than his father. Thus, their rule died out quickly.
  • Humāyūn had been preparing to retake his post since his exile, and eventually succeeded after finally conquering Kandahār and Kabul in Afghanistan. Even after a series of successful conquests, he was not able to recover all of the empire’s losses. His son, Akbar the Great, succeeded him.
  • An important consideration when analyzing Humāyūn’s failures is that the Mughal institutions left behind by Bābur were still unstable and premature, leading to the abundance of opposition during his rule.

AKBAR

  • Akbar’s exceptional success granted him the name “Akbar the Great”. It was during his rule when the Mughal Empire was finally consolidated and advanced.
  • The Rajputs, who were a threat to the empire during Bābur’s rule, became Akbar’s allies after he married Raja Bharmal’s daughter.
  • He conquered Bengal in eastern India, Gujarat in the west, a large fraction of present-day Afghanistan, nearly all of Rajasthan, and many other areas, successfully expanding the empire.
  • Akbar was more liberal than his predecessors: he diversified his government by placing people of different ethnicities and religions in power as a way to balance power. He readily defeated the revolts that opposed it.
  • He divided the empire into provinces and created new departments in the central government, a structure that was followed for more than a century.
  • The revenue-related reforms he implemented also sped up the Mughal Empire’s economic expansion. Akbar easily garnered support from many groups for his consideration of the peasant classes.
  • He continued and advanced Bābur’s initial plan to create more efficient roads for trade and transportation.
  • Overall, Akbar’s reforms kickstarted their economic success, he led many successful conquests, and had plenty of other achievements, regardless of the decline during Humāyūn’s reign.

JAHĀNGĪR AND SHAH JAHĀN

  • Two of Akbar’s successors, Jahāngīr and Shah Jahān, built on his success substantially. The government remained stable, art and architecture were heavily invested in, and the economy remained powerful.
  • Jahāngīr managed to end the long-standing conflict with the Mewar region (as seen in Babur’s fight against the Rajputs from that area), who eventually acknowledged the Mughal Empire’s supremacy and dominance.
  • Nūr Jahān, Jahāngīr’s queen, became the de facto emperor in the later years of his rule. During this time, their son, Prince Khurram, and a leader of the Mughal forces, Mahābat Khan, revolted against the empire.
  • Jahāngīr’s diminishing health befell him eventually, and Prince Khurram (who assumed the name Shah Jahān) succeeded him.
  • A series of rebellions marked Shah Jahān’s reign, although the sociopolitical and economic atmosphere remained substantial.
  • During his rule, Shah Jahān erected a multitude of architectural wonders, one of them being the Taj Mahal. More than a century of unprecedented peace and stability marked this time as the peak of the Moghul Empire.

AURANGZEB AND HIS SUCCESSORS

  • Contrary to his father, Aurangzeb strayed from creative endeavors, and leaned more towards strengthening the Mughal military for more conquests. Because of this, his reign marked the geographical peak of the empire, but also the beginning of its decline.
  • Aurangzeb witnessed a series of rebellions due to his governance, most likely because of his ruthless nature and disregard of his predecessors’ humble, considerate, and religiously tolerant nature. He started to impose orthodox Islam policies, ignoring the pleas of non-Muslims.
  • Eventually, the nobles stopped supporting Aurangzeb, leading to the dismissal of a reasonable amount of his policies.
  • Over ten emperors succeeded Aurangzeb, but all proved to be ineffective, and are credited for accelerating the decline of the Mughal Empire.
  • The Mughal Empire had fallen completely by the mid-19th century, when the last emperor, Bahādur Shah II, was exiled.

LEGACY

  • Although the Mughal Empire’s collapse was caused by its own governments later on, it was still the first to annex almost all of India, regardless of its high diversity. The political and economic structures live on, and remain relevant in Modern India.
  • Mughal architecture such as Humāyūn’s Tomb, the Agra Fort, and the Fatehpur Sikri, are United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites. Thus, its influences on Indian architecture remain clear today.
  • Mughal art was a mix of Persian styles, blended with Indian arts and cultures.
  • How the Mughal Empire annexed a diverse set of kingdoms remains a relevant form of centralized government.

The Mughal Empire Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Mughal Empire across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use The Mughal Empire worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the early modern period of Indian history which was dominated by the Mughal Empire. Being around 22% larger than the present-day Republic of India, they were an economic superpower that accounted for nearly 25% of both the world economy and global industrial output, a feat unmatched by other powers, such as Western Europe and China. Their extremely prosperous rule from around 1526 to 1858 CE birthed the present-day connotation of the term “mogul”, which refers to powerful figures or leaders within industries.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Mughal Empire Fact File
  • Greatest Mogul
  • Alpha and Omega
  • Foundations
  • An Emperor’s Skillset
  • Complete the Sentence
  • Into Perspective
  • Togetherness Amidst Diversity
  • Along the Way
  • A League of Its Own
  • My Own Empire

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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