The Mughal Empire: Political History, Consolidation and Decline — Part 8: One-Page Revision Summary

One-Page Revision Summary

Timeline: 1526 → Babur: First Panipat | 1527 → Khanwa | 1530 → Humayun | 1539 → Chausa | 1540 → Kanauj; Sher Shah exiles Humayun | 1555 → Humayun restores | 1556 → Akbar; Second Panipat | 1563–64 → Jizya and pilgrimage tax abolished | 1575 → Ibadatkhana | 1580 → Todar Mal's zabt | 1582 → Din-i-Ilahi | 1595–96 → Zat-sawar dual rank | 1605 → Jahangir | 1628 → Shah Jahan | 1653 → Taj Mahal | 1658 → Aurangzeb | 1679 → Jizya re-imposed | 1686–87 → Bijapur, Golconda annexed | 1707 → Aurangzeb dies

Key Administrative Terms: Mansab (rank) → Zat (personal rank/pay) + Sawar (cavalry obligation) → Jagir (revenue assignment) → Zabt (land measurement system) → Dagh-chehra (inspection of horses and troops) → Do aspa sih aspa (Jahangir's enhanced cavalry rank)

Religious Policy Spectrum: Akbar (sulh-i-kul, jizya abolished 1564) → Jahangir (broadly tolerant) → Shah Jahan (stricter tone in some matters) → Aurangzeb (jizya 1679, temple destructions)

Causes of Decline — Mnemonic JAMMED: Jagirdari crisis | Aurangzeb's religious policy | Maratha rise | Military overextension in Deccan | External shocks (Nadir Shah 1739, Abdali) | Dynastic weakness after 1707

Key Primary Sources: Baburnama (Babur) | Humayun Nama (Gulbadan Begum) | Akbarnama + Ain-i Akbari (Abul Fazl) | Muntakhab-ut Tawarikh (Badauni) | Tuzuk-i Jahangiri (Jahangir) | Padshahnama (Abdul Hamid Lahori) | Maasir-i Alamgiri (Saqi Mustaid Khan) | Nuskha-i Dilkusha (Bhimsen)

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Glossary

1. Mansab: A rank in the Mughal hierarchy that determined an official's status, personal salary, and military obligations.
2. Zat: The first number of the dual mansab rank, determining personal salary and position in the official hierarchy.
3. Sawar: The second number of the dual mansab rank, determining the number of cavalry a mansabdar was obliged to maintain.
4. Jagir: A revenue assignment granted to mansabdars in lieu of cash salary; transferable and non-heritable, designed to prevent the formation of hereditary noble power bases.
5. Zabt: The land-measurement-based revenue assessment system standardised under Todar Mal; also refers to the imperial practice of confiscating a deceased noble's property (escheat).
6. Sulh-i-kul: "Universal peace" — the cornerstone of Akbar's religious policy, meaning absolute impartiality toward all religions.
7. Din-i-Ilahi: A syncretic spiritual movement initiated by Akbar in 1582, combining elements of Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism; it did not survive Akbar.
8. Jizya: A per-capita tax on non-Muslim subjects levied under Islamic law; abolished by Akbar in 1564 and reimposed by Aurangzeb in 1679.
9. Tulughma: The Central Asian flanking manoeuvre used by Babur at First Panipat (1526) and Khanwa (1527), combined with artillery, to defeat numerically superior forces.
10. Dagh-chehra: The system of branding horses (dagh) and recording troop descriptions (chehra) to prevent fraud in the mansab system; a key accountability mechanism.
11. Do aspa sih aspa: An enhanced sawar rank classification introduced by Jahangir; allowed a mansabdar to maintain doubled cavalry without raising the zat rank, rewarding nobles without disturbing the salary hierarchy.
12. Chauth: One-quarter of revenue extracted by the Marathas from territories they raided but did not govern — a symbol of Mughal administrative breakdown under Aurangzeb.

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