A Short History of the Mughal Empire

291 Pages·2015·2.34 MB·English

by  Michael H. Fisher

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‘Michael Fisher’s A Short History of the Mughal Empire is a long overdue scholarly
study of the Mughal period in early modern India. There has been no comparably
cohesive study of the empire since the great John Richards brought out The Mughal
Empire in the early 1990s. While it is described as a “Short History,” Fisher’s study
is surprisingly comprehensive and detailed, successfully engaging much of the recent
scholarship in Mughal studies and braiding it into a highly accessible and thorough
narrative of imperial events. Fisher pays particular attention to creating a rich and
thorough context for historical events; for example, his detailed exploration of early
sixteenth century Hindustani politics and culture creates a richly contextualized
setting for early Mughal raids and military conquest. Unlike earlier narrative histories
of the Mughals, including that of Richards, Fisher’s work is sensitive to the critical
political role played by women of the dynasty. He also proves willing to engage the
highly complex religious identities and performances of the Mughals. Although this
is essentially a political narrative, Fisher displays consistent interest in the power
of language and poetry, of art and architecture. One of the most valuable sections
of the book, and a great boon to teachers and their students, is the final chapter,
“Contested Meanings.” Having very efficiently wrapped up the last hundred years
of the disintegrating empire, Fisher halts the narrative flow to explore the meaning
and debates of Mughal historiography, beginning with the writings of Mughal
chroniclers and memoirists, moving to that of their contemporaries in the region
and in Europe, into the period of the Raj and even engaging the treatment of the
Mughals by post-independence historians, briefly tracking intellectual movements in
the historiography of the modern nations of Pakistan and India. Fisher’s book will
become the go-to resource for scholars of the Mughals and early modern South Asia
and it holds great value for historians of Empire and the pre-modern Islamic world.
A natural niche for Fisher’s book will be in the classroom, where the Short History
will offer undergraduate and graduate students a lively yet exacting narrative of the
Mughal dynasty, critically and intellectually examined. Fisher’s study is nuanced and
insightful, and written in an authoritative but contemporary and engaging style that
powerfully enhances its readability.’
– Lisa Balabanlilar, Associate Professor of History, Rice University
‘Professor Fisher has done a great scholarly service by producing a comprehensive,
up-to-date and insightful survey of Mughal history. It is detailed enough in its
mention of sources, personalities, and concepts that serious students of the Mughal
Empire can benefit from it. Yet it is also eminently readable, making it accessible
to the general reader.’
– A. Azfar Moin, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies,
University of Texas at Austin
‘This erudite and accessible book wonderfully combines Michael Fisher’s decades-
long experience thinking about the Mughals with the best insights of recent
scholarship on the Mughal Empire. What emerges is a rich picture of a dynamic
and evolving imperial state and society, shaped as much by contingency as by
deliberate policies. A must-read for anyone interested in the Mughal Empire.’
– Munis D. Faruqui, Associate Professor of South Asia Studies,
University of California at Berkeley
A Short History of . . .
the American Civil War Paul Anderson (Clemson University)
the American
Revolutionary War Stephen Conway (University College London)
Ancient China Edward L Shaughnessy (University of Chicago)
Ancient Greece P J Rhodes, FBA (Durham University)
Ancient Rome Andrew Wallace-Hadrill (University of
Cambridge)
the Anglo-Saxons Henrietta Leyser (University of Oxford)
the Byzantine Empire Dionysios Stathakopoulos (King’s College
London)
the Celts Alex Woolf (University of St Andrews)
Christian Spirituality Edward Howells (Heythrop College, University
of London))
the Crimean War Trudi Tate (University of Cambridge)
English Renaissance Drama Helen Hackett (University College London)
the English Revolution and
the Civil Wars David J Appleby (University of Nottingham)
the Etruscans Corinna Riva (University College London)
the Hundred Years War Michael Prestwich (Durham University)
Irish Independence J J Lee (New York University)
the Italian Renaissance Virginia Cox (New York University)
the Korean War Allan R Millett (University of New Orleans)
Medieval Christianity G R Evans (University of Cambridge)
Medieval English Mysticism Vincent Gillespie (University of Oxford)
the Minoans John Bennet (University of Sheffield)
the Mongols George Lane (SOAS, University of London)
the Mughal Empire Michael H Fisher (Oberlin College)
Muslim Spain Alex J Novikoff (Rhodes College, Memphis)
New Kingdom Egypt Robert Morkot (University of Exeter)
the New Testament Halvor Moxnes (University of Oslo)
Nineteenth-Century
Philosophy Joel Rasmussen (University of Oxford)
the Normans Leonie Hicks (Canterbury Christ Church
University)
the Ottoman Empire Baki Tezcan (University of California, Davis)
the Phoenicians Mark Woolmer (Durham University)
the Reformation Helen Parish (University of Reading)
the Renaissance in
Northern Europe Malcolm Vale (University of Oxford)
Revolutionary Cuba Antoni Kapcia (University of Nottingham)
the Risorgimento Nick Carter (Australian Catholic University,
Sydney)
the Russian Revolution Geoffrey Swain (University of Glasgow)
the Spanish Civil War Julián Casanova (University of Zaragoza)
the Spanish Empire Felipe Fernández-Armesto (University of Notre
Dame) and José Juan López-Portillo (University
of Oxford)
Transatlantic Slavery Kenneth Morgan (Brunel University)
Venice and the
Venetian Empire Maria Fusaro (University of Exeter)
the Vikings Clare Downham (University of Liverpool)
the Wars of the Roses David Grummitt (University of Kent)
the Weimar Republic Colin Storer (University of Nottingham)
THE MUGHAL
EMPIRE
Michael H. Fisher
Published in 2016 by
I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
London • New York
www.ibtauris.com
Copyright © 2016 Michael H. Fisher
The right of Michael H. Fisher to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part
thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this
book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.
References to websites were correct at the time of writing.
ISBN: 978 1 84885 872 5 (HB)
ISBN: 978 1 84885 873 2 (PB)
e ISBN: 978 0 85772 976 7
e ISBN: 978 0 85772 777 0 (ePDF)
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Typeset by Freerange
Contents
List of Charts, Maps and Illustrations ix
Note on Transliteration and Names xiii
Introduction: The Mughal Empire’s Dynamic Composition in 1
Time and Space
Timeline 11
Part I: The Central Asian and Indian Origins of the Mughal Empire,
1526–40, 1555–6
Chapter 1: Babur until His Conquest of North India in 1526 15
Chapter 2: Indians and Emperor Babur Create the Mughal 34
Empire, 1526–30
Chapter 3: Emperor Humayun and Indians, 1530–40, 56
1555–6
Part II: Establishment of the Mughal Empire under
Emperor Akbar, 1556–1605
Chapter 4: Emperor Akbar Makes Himself the Center of the 73
Mughal Empire
Chapter 5: Emperor Akbar and His Core Courtiers Build the 93
Mughal Administration and Army
Chapter 6: Emperor Akbar’s Courts, Ideologies and Wars, 108
by Main Capital
vii
Michael H. Fisher
Part III: The Mughal Empire Established, 1605–1707
Chapter 7: Emperor Jahangir and the Efflorescence of the 143
Imperial Court, 1605–27
Chapter 8: Emperor Shah Jahan and Building Up the Mughal 166
Empire, 1628–58/66
Chapter 9: Expanding the Frontiers and Facing Challenges 186
under Emperor ‘Alamgir, 1658–1707
Part IV: The Fragmentation and Memory of the Mughal Empire,
1707–the Present
Chapter 10: The Thinning of the Empire, 1707–1857 209
Chapter 11: Contested Meanings of the Mughal Empire into 226
the Twenty-first Century
Notes 241
Bibliography 251
Index 263
viii
List of Charts, Maps
and Illustrations
(unless otherwise noted, the work of the author)
Cover: Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605–27) Shooting Poverty While
Astride the Globe, attributed to Abu-al-Hasan, c. 1620–
25 (detail). Courtesy Los Angeles County Museum of Art
(M.75.4.28) www.LACMA.org
Charts
Chart 1: Mughal Emperors (with Reign) and Imperial Princes 7
(to 1707)
Chart 2: Later Mughal Emperors (with Reign) 215
Maps
Map 1: Babur’s World to 1526 16
Map 2: South Asian Macro-regions and Main Physical Features 35
Map 3: Major States and Regions as of 1526 46
Map 4: Humayun’s World during His Indian Reigns 60
Map 5: Akbar’s World on Accession, 1556 75
Map 6: Fatehpur 119
Map 7: Plan of ‘Exalted Fort,’ known as ‘Red Fort’ 177
ix