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Apr 30, 1526
Babur
Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur was the first Mughal emperor of The Mughal Dynasty. He was the ruler of Farghana but the thrown was snatched from him. He became the ruler of India after the battle of Panipat and started The Mughal Empire. He is famous for his memoirs and his poems, especially in Uzbekistan. He demolished the Rama temple at Ayodhya and constructed the Babri Mosque instead. -
Period: Apr 30, 1526 to
The Mughal Empire
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Dec 26, 1530
Humayun
Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal emperor and ruled a large territory consisting of Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Northern India. He ascended to the throne at the age of 23. Soon, he lost Mughal territories to a noble but regained them 15 years later. He was peaceful and patient which earned him the title of ‘Insan-i-Kamil’ which meant perfect man. -
Feb 11, 1556
Akbar
Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar, also known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor and the greatest ruler of the Mughal Dynasty. He ascended to the throne at the age of 13 but as he was too young, his guardian ruled on his behalf until he came of age. Akbar had a strong personality and enlarged the Mughal empire to nearly all of the Indian subcontinent. He was a fair ruler and organized his empire very well. He built a library with over 24,000 volumes written in many languages. -
Jahangir
Jahangir was the fourth Mughal emperor. He ascended to the throne at the age of 36. During his reign, there was a slight increase to the Mughal Empire and his father’s work continued to flourish. He wisely fought wars along with keeping an eye on his empire. He was a good follower of Islam and promised to protect it. Jahangir was fascinated by art and paid artists to make paintings for him. He was also interested in Science and gave details about birds and animals. -
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan was the fifth Mughal emperor. His reign is called the Golden Age and one of the most prosperous ages of Indian civilization. Shah Jahan was a pious Muslim and a great follower of Islam. There were many rebellions in Shah Jahan’s reign. He captured cities along with his sons and his empire began to moderately expand. He built many famous buildings but the most famous was the Taj Mahal in India which was built for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. -
Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb was the sixth Mughal emperor. He is also known as Alamgir which means world seizer or universe seizer. He ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent and during his reign, the Mughal Empire was very large. He was among the wealthiest of the Mughal rulers and was a pious Muslim. Aurangzeb was a very strong and effective ruler and he was very interested in conquering. He built the famous Badshahi Mosque in Lahore. He was a great ruler but after his death, there wasn’t much control in the -
Bahadur Shah I
Bahadur Shah I was the seventh Mughal emperor. He was as old as 63 when he ascended to the throne. He made settlements with the Marathas and calmed the Rajputs. He was a peaceful ruler and did not pay attention to expanding his empire. His reign was as short as five years. -
Jahandar Shah
Jahandar Shah was the eighth Mughal emperor. On his father's death, he and his brother Azim-ush-Shan both decided themselves emperor and fought each other to be the one on the throne. Azim-ush-Shan was soon killed and Jahandar Shah became the emperor. Jahandar Shah was a very good trader and he loved entertainment such as dancing. He had a reign of almost a year. -
Farrukhsiyar
Farrukhsiyar was the ninth Mughal emperor. He was a handsome ruler but he was gullible and lacked the ability to rule independently. He teamed up with the Sayyid Brothers but when Farrukhsiyar's brother defeated him, the Sayyid Brothers left him. Farrukhsiyar died a bloody death with his brother tormenting him till his death. -
Rafi ud-Darajat
Rafi ud-Darajat was the tenth Mughal emperor. He was the cousin of the previous emperor Farrukhsiyar. He owed the throne to the Sayyid Brothers so they took advantage of this and fooled him. Rafi ud-Darajat's uncle, Nekusiyar, seized the throne from him but for a very short period of time as the Sayyid Brothers took it back from him. Rafi ud-Darajat either died from Lung Cancer or was murdered. -
Shah Jahan II
Shah Jahan II was the eleventh Mughal emperor. He ascended to the throne as his dying brother Rafi Ul-Darjat requested him to be placed on the throne. The Sayyid Brothers then looted Agra and stole a large amount of money which once belonged to Shah Jahan I's wife Mumtaz Mahal. They either murdered Shah Jahan II or he died with Lung Cancer like this brother. -
Muhammad Shah
Muhammad Shah was the twelfth Mughal emperor. He ascended to the throne at the age of 17 with the help of the Sayyid Brothers but later got rid of them. He promoted dance and music as he had a great passion for them. Indian classical music evolved and was highly appreciated at the court of Muhammad Shah. He had a lot of administrative developments. His death was because of his loyal vizier's death as when his vizier died, Muhammad Shah became depressed and died. -
Ahmad Shah Bahadur
Ahmad Shah Bahadur was the thirteenth Mughal emperor. He ascended to the throne at the age of 22. When Ahmad Shah Bahadur rose to the throne, the empire was breaking down. He gained a weakened state and was not such a good emperor as he did not pay attention to all the rebellions. Ahmad Shah Bahadur lost in a battle and died in prison because of natural causes. -
Alamgir II
Alamgir II was the fourteenth Mughal emperor. He ascended to the throne at the age of 55. He wanted to follow in Aurangzeb's footsteps but Alamgir II was old and he had no experience of administration as he had spent most of his time in jail. He was a very weak ruler and was independent on his vizier. He was murdered by his vizier. -
Shah Jahan III
Shah Jahan III was the fifteenth Mughal emperor. He was also known as Muhi-ul-millat. He was placed on the Mughal throne in December 1759 but was removed soon as many people believed Shah Alam II was the rightful heir to the throne who was in exile. -
Shah Alam II
Shah Alam was the sixteenth Mughal emperor. He was the rightful heir to the throne as he was the son of Alamgir II but instead of him, Shah Jahan III was placed on the throne. Later, Shah Jahan III had been removed from the throne and he took his rightful place as the emperor. Shah Alam II was interested in Literature and wrote his own Diwan of poems and was known by his pen-name Aftab. -
Akbar II
Akbar II, also known as Akbar Shah II, was the seventeenth Mughal emperor and the second last. He had little power because of the increase of British rule in India. He ruled over an empire which was only large according to title but it was limited to the Red Fort in Delhi alone. The British reduced his title to 'King of Delhi' and he did not have much power anymore. He died in 1837. -
Bahadur Shah II
Bahadur Shah II, also known as Bahadur Shah Zafar, was the eighteenth and last Mughal Emperor. He ruled over a Mughal empire that barely extended beyond Delhi's Red Fort. He was religious. He was very tolerant towards all religions especially Hindus. He was kind and distributed gold to needy people in the city. He was an Urdu poet and expressed his feelings in poetry. As the Indian rebellion of 1857 spread, Bahadur Shah was exiled by the British which eventually ended the Mughal empire.
