Chp 9

• The literary source for the Mughal Empire is the Ain-i-Akbari, which deals with administration and culture during Akbar's reign.
• The Ain-i-Akbari is part of the Akbar nama written by Abul Fazal.
• The Ain-i-Akbari is divided into 5 books.
• The first book of the Ain-i-Akbari deals with the Imperial household.
• The second book of the Ain-i-Akbari deals with the servants of the emperor, the military and civil services.
• The third book of the Ain-i-Akbari deals with Imperial administration.
• The fourth book of the Ain-i-Akbari contains Hindu philosophy, science, social customs and literature of the Mughal period.
• The fifth book of the Ain-i-Akbari contains the wise sayings of Akbar.
• The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
• The Taj Mahal is built on the banks of the River Yamuna.
• The Taj Mahal was designed by Ustad Isa Khan.
• The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and as one of the Seven Wonders of the world in 2007.
• The main structure of the Taj Mahal is constructed on a high platform with a minaret on each of its four corners.
• The central dome of the Taj Mahal, which looks like an inverted lotus, rises to a height of 56.1 metres.
• The interior of the Taj Mahal has an octagonal chamber.
• The Taj Mahal is made of white marble and the walls are decorated with floral designs made of semi precious stones.
• The Jama Masjid is the biggest mosque in India built by Shah Jahan.
• The Jama Masjid is built on a lofty basement with majestic flight of steps leading to the imposing gateways on three sides.
• The Jama Masjid has two minarets, three gateways and four towers constructed of red sandstone and white marble.
• The northern gate of the Jama Masjid has 39 steps, the eastern gate has 35 steps and the southern gate has 33 steps.
• The empire was divided into 12 provinces (or subahs) headed by a Subahdar, subahs were divided into sarkars, sarkars were subdivided into parganas, and Diwan was in charge of revenue administration.
• Daulat Khan Lodhi, the Governor of Punjab, invited Babur to oust Ibrahim Lodi from the throne.
• The Mughal Emperor was regarded as the Vice regent of God on Earth, the head of the Judiciary, Executive, Legislature & Army, the Supreme commander of armed forces, and made laws and issued administrative ordinances.
• The Prime Minister (Vakil) in charge of civil and military affairs, the Head of Revenue dept (Wazir) in charge of income and expenditure, the Head of Military dept (Mir Bakshi) in charge of intelligence and information agencies, and the Head of the Judicial dept (Qazi) were the ministers under Mughal Administration.
• Todar Mal drew up schemes for effective tax collection, a uniform system of measurement was drawn up for land tax, this system enriched state treasury and ushered in progress in agriculture, trade and industry, and the state gave loans to poor farmers.
• Akbar was guided by his tutor Bairam Khan in the Second battle of Panipat where the Mughal forces led by Bairam Khan defeated Hemu.
• The royal uzuk (small signet ring) was affixed to farmans granting jagirs, titles etc.
• A mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab (rank /position ), the lowest rank was 10 and highest was 5000 for nobles, these ranks were divided into 2 Zat (fixed the personal status of a person) & Sawar (indicated the number of cavalrymen that a mansabdar was required to maintain), and the mansabdars received salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs.
• In the Battle of Haldighati, the Mughal army led by Raj Man Singh defeated Rana Pratap.
• Babur, after establishing himself at Kabul, turned his eyes upon India.
• Akbar established himself in Delhi and Agra, captured Kabul, Kandahar, Gujarat, Gondwana, Bengal and Malwa, ventured beyond the Vindhyas in the Deccan, and annexed Ahmadnagar, Berar and Khandesh to the Mughal Empire.
• Babur fought three battles: First Battle of Panipat, Battle of Khanwa, and Battle of Ghagra.
• The face of the spacious prayer hall of the Jama Masjid consists of 11 arches with the central arch rising far above the roof level.
• The Red Fort was built by Shah Jahan on the banks of the River Yamuna.
• The Red Fort is made of red sandstone and marble.
• The Red Fort has massive walls and two gateways (Delhi gate in the South & Western gateway Lahori gate).
• The Red Fort has two impressive buildings the Diwan i Am and Diwan i Khas.
• Later Aurangzeb added the Moti Masjid in the Red fort.
• Zahir ud din Muhammad Babur was a descendant of Timur.