Mughal Empire and Related Topics

Akbar

The third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605.

Mughal Empire under Akbar's period (yellow)

Mughal Emperor Akbar training an elephant

Akbar hawking with Mughal chieftains and nobleman accompanied by his guardian Bairam Khan

Young Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana son of Bairam Khan being received by Akbar

Mughal Emperor Akbar shoots the Rajput warrior Jaimal during the Siege of Chittorgarh in 1568

Bullocks dragging siege-guns uphill during Akbar's attack on Ranthambhor Fort in 1568

The court of young Akbar, age 13, showing his first imperial act: the arrest of an unruly courtier, who was once a favourite of Akbar's father. Illustration from a manuscript of the Akbarnama

Falcon Mohur of Akbar, minted in Asir. This coin was issued in the name of Akbar, to commemorate the capture of the strategic Asirgarh Fort of the Khandesh Sultanate on 17 January 1601 CE. Legend: "Allah is great, Khordad Ilahi 45, struck at Asir".

Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) in Fatehpur Sikri

Silver coin of Akbar with inscriptions of the Islamic declaration of faith, the declaration reads: "There is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."

Portrait of Empress Mariam-uz-Zamani, commonly known as Jodha Bai, giving birth to Prince Salim, the future emperor Jahangir.

Death of Bahadur Shah of Gujarat at Diu, in front of the Portuguese in 1537

Portuguese ambush against the galleys of Seydi Ali Reis (Akbar's allies) in the Indian Ocean.

The Akbari Mosque, overlooking the Ganges

Portrait of the Mughal Emperor Akbar invocation of a Dua prayer.

The Mughal Emperor Akbar welcomes his son Prince Salim at Fatehpur Sikri, (Akbarnameh).

Akbar holds a religious assembly of different faiths in the Ibadat Khana in Fatehpur Sikri.

Silver square rupee of Akbar, Lahore mint, struck in Aban month of Ilahi

The great Mogul discoursing with a Humble Fakir

Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak presenting Akbarnama to Akbar, Mughal miniature

Gate of Akbar's mausoleum at Sikandra, Agra, 1795

Potrait of Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar with Mariam Zamani Begum, drawn as per Akbar's description.

A strong personality and a successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include much of the Indian subcontinent.

Shah Jahan

Rosette bearing the names and titles of Shah Jahan

The Taj Mahal, the burial place of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal

The Submission of Rana Amar Singh of Mewar to Prince Khurram, Tuzk-e-Jahangiri.

Shah Jahan on horseback (during his youth).

Shah Jahan at his Durbar, from the Windsor Padshahnama, c. 1657

Throne of king Shah Jahan, Red Fort, Delhi

Painting of Shah Jahan hunting Asiatic lions at Burhanpur, present-day Madhya Pradesh, from 1630

Shah Jahan and his eldest son Dara Shikoh.

The actual tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan in the lower level of Taj Mahal

The elegant Naulakha Pavilion at the Lahore Fort was built during the reign of Shah Jahan.

Shah Jahan and the Mughal Army return after attending a congregation in the Jama Masjid, Delhi.

Lahore's Wazir Khan Mosque is considered to be the most ornate Mughal-era mosque.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dani |first=A. H. |date=2003 |chapter=The Architecture of the Mughal Empire (North-Western Regions) |editor-last1=Adle |editor-first1=Chahryar |editor-last2=Habib |editor-first2=Irfan |editor2-link=Irfan Habib |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |volume=V |chapter-url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001302/130205e.pdf |publisher=UNESCO |page=524 |isbn=978-92-3-103876-1}}</ref>

Finial, Tamga of the Mughal Empire (combining a crescent and a spear pendant with the word Allah).

Silver rupee coin of Shah Jahan, from Patna.

Shihab al-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan, was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658.

The Taj Mahal at Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India is the most famous example of Mughal Architecture and one of India's most recognisable landmarks in general,

Mughal architecture is the type of Indo-Islamic architecture developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the ever-changing extent of their empire in the Indian subcontinent.

Maratha Empire

Confederacy that came to dominate a large portion of early modern India in the 18th century.

The Maratha Empire in 1758 with the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Mughal Empire as its vassals

Mahadaji Shinde restored the Maratha domination of northern India

A mural depicting the British surrender during the First Anglo-Maratha War. The mural is a part of the Victory Memorial (Vijay Stambh) located at Vadgaon Maval, Pune.

Peshwa Madhavrao II in his court in 1790, concluding a treaty with the British

Battle of Assaye during the Second Anglo-Maratha War

Peshwa Baji Rao II signing of the Treaty of Bassein with the British

Pratapgad fort, one of the earliest forts administered by Shivaji.

Gold coins minted during Shivaji's era, 17th century.

Maratha Gurabs ships attacking a British East India Company ship

Maratha Empire at its peak in 1759 (orange)

The Marathas are responsible for the end of the Mughal Empire over most of the Indian subcontinent.

A 1912 map of Northern India, showing the centres of the rebellion.

Indian Rebellion of 1857

Major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown.

India in 1765 and 1805, showing East India Company-governed territories in pink

India in 1837 and 1857, showing East India Company-governed territories in pink

Two sepoy officers; a private sepoy, 1820s

A scene from the 1857 Indian Rebellion (Bengal Army).

Indian mutiny map showing position of troops on 1 May 1857

"The Sepoy revolt at Meerut," wood-engraving from the Illustrated London News, 1857

An 1858 photograph by Felice Beato of a mosque in Meerut where some of the rebel soldiers may have prayed

Wood-engraving depicting the massacre of officers by insurgent cavalry at Delhi

The Flagstaff Tower, Delhi, where the British survivors of the rebellion gathered on 11 May 1857; photographed by Felice Beato

Troops of the Native Allies by George Francklin Atkinson, 1859.

Sikh Troops Dividing the Spoil Taken from Mutineers, circa 1860

Fugitive British officers and their families attacked by mutineers.

A wood-engraving of Nynee Tal (today Nainital) and accompanying story in the Illustrated London News, 15 August 1857, describing how the resort town in the Himalayas served as a refuge for British families escaping from the rebellion of 1857 in Delhi and Meerut.

Attack of the mutineers on the Redan Battery at Lucknow, 30 July 1857

Assault on Delhi and capture of the Cashmere Gate, 14 September 1857

Capture of Bahadur Shah Zafar and his sons by William Hodson at Humayun's tomb on 20 September 1857

Wood-engraving depicting Tatya Tope's Soldiery

A memorial erected (circa 1860) by the British after the Mutiny at the Bibighar Well. After India's Independence the statue was moved to the All Souls Memorial Church, Cawnpore. Albumen silver print by Samuel Bourne, 1860

A contemporary image of the massacre at the Satichaura Ghat

The interior of the Secundra Bagh, several months after its storming during the second relief of Lucknow. Albumen silver print by Felice Beato, 1858

Jhansi Fort, which was taken over by rebel forces, and subsequently defended against British recapture by the Rani of Jhansi

Wood-engraving of the execution of mutineers at Peshawar

Marble Lectern in memory of 35 British soldiers in Jhelum

Lieutenant William Alexander Kerr, 24th Bombay Native Infantry, near Kolapore, July 1857

The Relief of Lucknow by Thomas Jones Barker

British soldiers looting Qaisar Bagh, Lucknow, after its recapture (steel engraving, late 1850s)

Execution of mutineers by blowing from a gun by the British, 8 September 1857.

Justice, a print by Sir John Tenniel in a September 1857 issue of Punch

Bahadur Shah Zafar (the last Mughal emperor) in Delhi, awaiting trial by the British for his role in the Uprising. Photograph by Robert Tytler and Charles Shepherd, May 1858

The proclamation to the "Princes, Chiefs, and People of India," issued by Queen Victoria on 1 November 1858. "We hold ourselves bound to the natives of our Indian territories by the same obligation of duty which bind us to all our other subjects." (p. 2)

Captain C Scott of the Gen. Sir. Hope Grant's Column, Madras Regiment, who fell on the attack of Fort of Kohlee, 1858. Memorial at the St. Mary's Church, Madras

The Mutiny Memorial in Delhi, a monument to those killed on the British side during the fighting.

Suppression of the Indian Revolt by the English, which depicts the execution of mutineers by blowing from a gun by the British, a painting by Vasily Vereshchagin c. 1884. Note: This painting was allegedly bought by the British crown and possibly destroyed (current whereabouts unknown). It anachronistically depicts the events of 1857 with soldiers wearing (then current) uniforms of the late 19th century.

The hanging of two participants in the Indian Rebellion, Sepoys of the 31st Native Infantry. Albumen silver print by Felice Beato, 1857.

The National Youth rally at the National Celebration to Commemorate 150th Anniversary of the First War of Independence, 1857 at Red Fort, in Delhi on 11 May 2007

Henry Nelson O'Neil's 1857 painting Eastward Ho! depicting British soldiers saying farewell to their loved ones as they embark on a deployment to India.

Charles Canning, the Governor-General of India during the rebellion.

Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856, who devised the Doctrine of Lapse.

Lakshmibai, the Rani of Maratha-ruled Jhansi, one of the principal leaders of the rebellion who earlier had lost her kingdom as a result of the Doctrine of Lapse.

Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor, crowned Emperor of India, by the Indian troops, he was deposed by the British, and died in exile in Burma

The Jantar Mantar observatory in Delhi in 1858, damaged in the fighting

Mortar damage to Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, 1858

Hindu Rao's house in Delhi, now a hospital, was extensively damaged in the fighting

Bank of Delhi was attacked by mortar and gunfire

Photograph entitled, "The Hospital in General Wheeler's entrenchment, Cawnpore". (1858) The hospital was the site of the first major loss of British lives in Cawnpore

1858 picture of Sati Chaura Ghat on the banks of the Ganges River, where on 27 June 1857 many British men lost their lives and the surviving women and children were taken prisoner by the rebels.

Bibigarh house where British women and children were killed and the well where their bodies were found, 1858.

The Bibighar Well site where a memorial had been built. Samuel Bourne, 1860.

After the outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut, the rebels quickly reached Delhi, whose 81-year-old Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was declared the Emperor of Hindustan.

Timurid dynasty

The Timurid dynasty, also known as the Gurkani dynasty , was the ruling family of the Timurid Empire between in 1370–1507 and later of the Mughal Empire in 1526–1857.

Govardhan, Emperor Jahangir visiting the ascetic Jadrup, 1616–20

Mughal painting

Particular style of South Asian, particularly North Indian , painting confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums (muraqqa).

The Emperor Shah Jahan standing on a globe, with a halo and European-style putti, c. 1618–19 to 1629.

Abu'l Hasan, Emperor Jahangir at the Jharoka window of the Agra Fort, c. 1620, Aga Khan Museum

Nilgai by Ustad Mansur (fl. 1590–1624), who specialized in birds and animal studies for albums.

Babur Receives a Courtier by Farrukh Beg c. 1580–85. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, painted and mounted within borders, from a Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ. Still using the style of Persian miniature.

Princes of the House of Timur, attributed to the Persian Abd as-Samad, c. 1550–1555, with additions in the next century under Jahangir.

Emperor Jahangir weighs Prince Khurram by Manohar Das, 1610–15, from Jahangir's own copy of the Tuzk-e-Jahangiri. The names of the main figures are noted on their clothes, and the artist shown at bottom. British Museum

A durbar scene with the newly crowned Emperor Aurangzeb in his golden throne. Though he did not encourage Mughal painting, some of the best work was done during his reign.

The scribe and painter of a Khamsa of Nizami manuscript in the British Library, made for Akbar, 1610

A noble lady, Mughal dynasty, India. 17th century. Color and gold on paper. Freer Gallery of Art F1907.219

Shah Jahan on a terrace holding a pendant set with his portrait

Daud Khan Karrani receives a Kaftan of honor from Munim Khan

Victory of Ali Quli Khan on the river Gomti-Akbarnama, 1561

Mir Sayyid Ali's depiction of a young scholar in the Mughal Empire, reading and writing a commentary on the Quran, 1559.

Battle scene from the Hamzanama of Akbar, 1570

The Submission of the rebel brothers Ali Quli and Bahadur Khan. Akbarnama, 1590–95<ref>{{cite web|last=Basawan & Chitra|url=http://warfare.atspace.eu/Moghul/Akbar/Akbarnama.htm|title=The Submission of the rebel brothers Ali Quli and Bahadur Khan-Akbarnama|date=1590–1595|work=Akbarnama}}</ref>

Akbar riding the elephant Hawa'I pursuing another elephant across a collapsing bridge of boats (right), 1561

Pir Muhammad Drowns While Crossing the Narbada-Akbarnama, 1562

Akbar receiving his sons at Fatehpur Sikri. Akbarnama, 1573

Alexander is Lowered into the Sea, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Amir Khusrau Dihlavi c. 1597–98, attributed to Mukanda.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/140003774?rpp=20&pg=8&ao=on&ft=mughal+empire&pos=145|title=Alexander is Lowered into the Sea|website=www.metmuseum.org|access-date=2018-12-14}}</ref>

Balchand,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Smart|first=Ellen|date=1999|title=The Death of Ināyat Khān by the Mughal Artist Bālchand|journal=Artibus Asiae. Supplementum|volume=58|pages=273-279|issn=1423-0526|jstor=3250020}}</ref> The Dying Inayat Khan, c. 1618, Bodleian Library, Oxford

A Mughal prince and ladies in a garden, 18th century

A young woman playing a Veena to a parakeet, a symbol of her absent lover. 18th-century painting in the provincial Mughal style of Bengal

Female performer with a tanpura, 18th century. Color and gold on paper. Freer Gallery of Art F1907.195

Ascetic Seated on Leopard's Skin, late 18th century

Mughal Ganjifa playing cards, early 19th century, with miniature paintings – courtesy of the Wovensouls collection

The figural decoration of this example shows a strong relationship to paintings of the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451479|website=www.metmuseum.org|access-date=2018-12-17|title=Box with Scenes of an Emperor Receiving Gifts, early to mid-17th century}}</ref>

It emerged from Persian miniature painting (itself partly of Chinese origin) and developed in the court of the Mughal Empire of the 16th to 18th centuries.

Taj Mahal

Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra.

The western building, a mosque, faces the tomb.

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, one of the first European writers about the Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal in cloudy weather and its minaret under restoration

A panoramic view looking 360 degrees around the Taj Mahal in 2005

It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan ((r.

Afghanistan

Landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and South Asia.

Tents of Afghan nomads in the northern Badghis province of Afghanistan. Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan about 7,000 years ago.

The extent of the Indus Valley Civilization during its mature phase

A "Bactrian gold" Scythian belt depicting Dionysus, from Tillya Tepe in the ancient region of Bactria

Approximate maximum extent of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, formed by the fragmentation of Alexander the Great's Empire, circa 180 BCE

Saffarid rule at its greatest extent under Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar

Mongol invasions and conquests depopulated large areas of Afghanistan

Map of the Hotak Empire during the Reign of Mirwais Hotak, 1715.

Map of the Hotak Empire at its height in 1728. Disputed between Hussain Hotak (Centered in Kandahar) and Ashraf Hotak (centered in Isfahan)

Afghan tribesmen in 1841, painted by British officer James Rattray

Map of Afghanistan (Emirate) and surrounding nations in 1860, following the conquest of [[Principality of Qandahar|
Kandahar]], and before the conquest of Herat.

Emir Amanullah invaded British India in 1919 and proclaimed Afghanistan's full independence thereafter. He proclaimed himself King of Afghanistan in June 1926.

King Zahir, the last reigning monarch of Afghanistan, who reigned from 1933 until 1973.

Development of the civil war from 1992 to late 2001

U.S. troops and Chinooks in Afghanistan, 2008

A map of Afghanistan showing the 2021 Taliban offensive

Taliban fighters in Kabul on a captured Humvee following the 2021 fall of Kabul.

The mountainous topography of Afghanistan

The snow leopard was the official national animal of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

A 2005 CIA map showing traditional Afghan tribal territories. Pashtun tribes form the world's largest tribal society.

Ethnolinguistic map of Afghanistan (2001)

Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif is the largest mosque in Afghanistan

UNESCO Institute of Statistics Afghanistan Literacy Rate population plus15 1980–2018

The Daoud Khan Military Hospital in Kabul is one of the largest hospitals in Afghanistan

The Arg (the Presidential palace) in Kabul

U.S. representative Zalmay Khalilzad (left) meeting with Taliban leaders, Abdul Ghani Baradar, Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Suhail Shaheen, unidentified. Doha, Qatar on 21 November 2020.

Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces, which are further divided into a number of districts

Workers processing pomegranates (anaar), which Afghanistan is famous for in Asia

Afghan rugs are one of Afghanistan's main exports

Afghan saffron has been recognized as the world's best

Afghanistan electricity supply 1980–2019

The Minaret of Jam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, currently under threat by erosion and flooding

The Salang Tunnel, once the highest tunnel in the world, provides a key connection between the north and south of the country

An Ariana Afghan Airlines Airbus A310 in 2006

An Afghan family near Kholm, 1939 – most Afghans are tribal

A house occupied by nomadic kochi people in Nangarhar Province

Kabul skyline, displaying both historical and contemporary buildings

Non (bread) from a local baker, the most widely consumed bread in Afghanistan

Haft Mewa (Seven Fruit Syrup) is popularly consumed during Nowruz in Afghanistan

The ancient national sport of Afghanistan, Buzkashi

Afghanistan also served as the source from which the Greco-Bactrians and the Mughals, among others, rose to form major empires.

Fatehpur Sikri

Town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Kos Minar#793 at 12-mile on Agra-Fatehpur Sikri Road section of National Highway 21

General plan of Fatehpur Sikri city in 1917.

Tomb of Salim Chishti in Jama Masjid courtyard, Fatehpur Sikri

Palace of Akbar's favorite consort, Queen Mariam-uz-Zamani

Situated 37 kms from the district headquarters Agra, Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar, serving this role from 1571 to 1585, when Akbar abandoned it due to a campaign in Punjab and was later completely abandoned in 1610.