During the early modern period in South Asia, diverse communities interacted and clashed. This also meant that rulers and their policies also clashed one another. The two greatest leader of the Mughal Empire, Akbar and Aurangzeb’s policies went back and forth. Whereas Akbar had to take over the throne at an early age of thirteen, Aurangzeb had to fight and go against his own family members to gain the throne.
Akbar began his leadership at a young age that he was never able to learn how to read or write and remained illiterate throughout life. Even though his grandfather and father were well educated, Akbar had great intellectual capacity that helped him rule the empire. During his first year of his reign, Akbar was faced with a challenge by a Hindu usurper, Hemu who almost succeeded in putting an end to the Mughal rules (Kulke, Rothermund 142). Despite being a Muslim, he did not force his religion on the people, they remained Hindus throughout his reign (Kulke, Rothermund 143).
During Akbar’s reign, Islam was spreading throughout Southeast Asia. During this period, Akbar abolished the jizya, which was a poll tax which Islamic rulers imposed on all non-Islamic subjects. He conceived himself as giving laws rather than only following Islamic laws (Kulke, Rothermund 143). To keep the unity of his empire, Akbar had to adopt programs that won the loyalty of the non-Islamic population. By allowing his people to stay Hindu and trying not to convince them to Islam was a key point because it allowed him to give people their own freedom and it allowed him to gain his leadership.
The Mughal Empire was an agrarian state, which depended on land revenue also known as land survey. It directly depended on the accurate assessment of the ...
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...em against their Muslim colleagues (SarDesai, 177). Why would a ruler of his own people want to use a policy against his own people? Doesn’t that inform people that something is not right with the ruler of the empire?
Akbar emerged as the leader of the rajputs whereas Aurangzeb kicked the rajputs out of nobility. Akbar was a great conquer who expanded his empire through diplomacy. By abolishing the jizya, it was easier for him to win the hearts of India. On this matter, people hated Aurangzeb and did not give him any respect for brining the jizya and other policies. Aurangzeb’s reign was marred by the destruction of temples and a general intolerance toward people of non- Muslim. He failed to realized the secular basis of Akbar’s polity was just not a matter of political tact. The secular basis was to form a peaceful and progressive polity in a plural society.
Akbar was considered the best of the Mughal rulers partly because of his tolerance of all religions. Akbar did his best to unify the Hindus and Muslims by giving both religions positions in the government. Traditionally, only Muslims would could be rulers zamindars while most of the population was Hindu. Akbar also married women of both religions, as an attempt to unify Hindus and Muslims. Akbar himself was interested in religions, inviting different people to discuss other religions with him. Akbar's greatest impact in trying to unite the Hindus and Muslims was creating the Divine Faith religion, but most people did not convert. When Akbar died, the following rulers did not support the same religious tolerance policy that he had. Aurangzeb tried to rid the empire of all Hindu. This caused revolts from both Hindus and Muslims, which created a period of instability allowing Europeans to come and take
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Though while some of the leaders were incompetent and maybe even slightly “defective”, there were many great leaders of the Ottoman Empire, such as Suleyman who was known as “The Magnificent” and brought the empi...
Akbar's ability to accept others regardless of their background also allowed him to gain Rajput or Hindu generals through marriage of their daughters, into the same level of his family. Iranian ties into India's political administration would also occur with connections to the Safavid Dynasty. "The centrality and importance of the Imperial household in the organization of Akbar's empire parallels the position of the rulers establishment in the ideal type of a patriarchal bureaucratic system." (Blake) The Mughal Empire contained a web of government officials who held their separate levels of positions. Since Akbar consolidated his men by merit they were also expected to accomplish any
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Throughout his life, the Muslim ummah, Arabic for “community” began, which was the basis for the Empire.
This resulted in the creation of a national anthem, and the establishment of a national flag. In the past, Islamic law was predominant, but was replaced by secular law, so no individual groups were left out. The Tanzimat’s main focus was to replace it’s old, outdated ways, with more of a westernized approach. The reforms varied greatly, but for the most part, they were all made to help modernize the empire. During the Tanzimat, two royal decrees were issued that displayed exactly what the reform movement was all about.
was an impatient ruler and wouldn’t hesitate to show his power. He was in great physical state
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14) Aurangzeb – Aurangzeb began his rule after killing his older brother and imprisoning his father. As a devout Sunni Muslim, he heavily persecuted all the other faiths. He destroyed temples, put a heavy tax on the Hindus, and killed those who disagreed with his actions. He stopped government spending and lived a simple life, but many revolts grew up from his persecution. When he died in 1707, he wondered if he had done the right thing throughout his life.
Streusand, Douglas E. Islamic Gunpowder Empires Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. Boulder, Colo: Westveiw Press, 2011.
Hazrat Abu Bakr occupies a unique and significant role in the history of Islam. He was the first adult male to accept Islam, and when he first accepted the new faith, he accepted it right away. The Prophet (S) said, “Whenever I offered Islam to any person, he showed some hesitation when embracing it. But Abu Bakr is an exception. He was the prophet’s closest companion. It was Abu Bakr, who traveled with the Prophet (S) to Madinah for the Hijra.