Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire (Urdu: مغلیہ سلطنت, Mug̱ẖliyah Salṭanat, Persian: گورکانیان, Gūrkāniyān)), was an empire in the Indian subcontinent. For nearly two centuries, the empire extended to the outer edge of the Indus Basin in the west, Afghanistan and Kashmir in the northwest, the highlands of present-day Assam and Bangladesh in the east, and the Deccan Plateau in southern India. The Mughal Empire was largely influenced by the language, art and culture of Persia and Central Asia.

The Mughal Empire began with Babur's victory over Ibrahim Lodi in the first battle of Panipat. The Mughal emperors were of Turko-Mongol descent in Central Asia. They are descendants of Genghis Khan through Chagatai Khan and Taimur. With the rise to power of Akbar in 1556, the classical era of the Mughal Empire began. During the reign of Akbar and his son Jahangir, economic progress in India was far advanced. Akbar allied himself with many Hindu Rajput kingdoms. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to resist the Mughals in northwestern India but Akbar was able to subdue them. The Mughal emperors were Muslims but towards the end of their lives only Emperor Akbar and his son Emperor Jahangir followed the new religion Din-i-Ilahi.