Mughal Empire

Rationale: The rise and fall of empires and the reasons for these falls (bad leadership,
oppressive regimes etc) are important in telling the history of regions and why they may be the
way they are today. Additionally, these histories enlighten us about current animosities that may
be centuries old.
Curriculum Frameworks: WHII. 12
NCSS: Global Connections, Power Authority and governance
Learning Objectives: SWBAT: Identify the Mughal land area, Babur, Akbar, Jahangir, Nur
Jahan, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. Determine the leadership qualities of the best Mughal leaders
and the worst. Assess the benefits of good and bad leadership to strong leaders and the decline of
empires.
Teaching Methods: primary documents, Interactive notes
Procedure:

Opener: Prompt: What sort of country would you like to conquer? What characteristics
would you look for? What would be your motivation?
o Relate to how Mughal empire started off as a small cast off state that grew into a
huge empire larger than Europe and 1/3 the size of the us
Finish up Ottomans empire- Where it is and the cultural values of the ottomans
o Values and characteristics.
Notes on Mughal empire
Hand out Good and Bad leadership qualities work sheets for the Mughal leaders.
o Have students go back through their notes and add what they think are good and
bad qualities in relation to Mughal leaders and their people.
Hand out primary source documents
o Hand out a different one to every 3 people. Have them read and determine the
good and the bad from them. They will then be grouped in threes to teach each
other about their individual
o If we run over time, have them each choose one more to take home for homework
and the next day they can complete the third one together.

Homework: Finish Primary source documents.

Assessment: Students will assess whether or not the Mughal rulers were good for their people.
The students evidence used to support their claim will help inform my assessment
Materials: Notes on Mughals, Graphic organizer for good and bad leaders,Chapter 2 section 3
primary sources from Modern world history text book

Notes: Mughal empire

Mughal comes from Mongols who invaded India

Babur founds an Empire- 1494
o Starts at age 11- Taken away from him
o Builds army and moves to India
o Great general unites army and starts to conquer India
o Babur conquers a lot
Golden Age of Akbar
o Baburs Grandson
o Muslim but allowed religious freedom
Abolished tax on hindu pilgrims and on non-muslims
o Bureaucracy
All could rise to high office
Native, foreign, muslim or non-muslim
o Tax system
Percentage of the value of peasant crops
Graduated income tax
Peasants were ok with this and paid
Money to empire (wealth)
o Land
Grants to bureaucracy but after deaths he would re-distribute
Didnt encourage improvement of property
Children would not inherit
o Military Conqueror
Point of Conversation
War for its own sake
o a monarch should ever be intent on conquest, otherwise
his neighbors rise in arms against him
Appoints other rulers as generals to make allies out of enemies
100 million people in empire
Over 10 NYCs or 9 Tokyos
o Flowering Culture
Allowed for mingling of cultures
2 langauges arise
Hindi- with the people
Urdu- from the soldiers camp

Both still widely used today

Art draws from both eastern and western traditions

o Literature and architecture

Leader
Akbar

Flourish, Red stone city- Fatehpur Sikri

Akbars Successors
o Jahangir- Grasper of the World Akbars son
Left most state affairs to his wife
Nur Jahan- A Persian Princess
Hunted tigers, poet, designed clothes that still influence indian
fashion
Made father prime minister
Both rejected religious tolerance
Promoted only Islam
o Shah Jahan
Killed all rivals to secure throne
Wife dies after birthing 14th child
Built Tomb to his wife- Taj Mahal
20k workers 22 years to build
Peacock throne
People Suffer
Farmers had no tools= Famine
Taxed heavily to build monuments and war
Shah becomes sicke
Sons jockey fro power
o Aurangzeb
Kills oldest brother and arrests father
Greatest size (zenith) of empire but weak
Oppressed people
Rigidly enforced Islamic law
Had moral police
Taxed non-muslims
Hindu rulers (rajputs) rebel
Create breakaway start Marathas
Sikhs establish state in Punjab
Aurangzeb levied heavy taxes to fight these wars
Moreland to conquer = more war = higher taxes = worsening
situation
2 million die of famine

Good Leadership Qualities

Bad Leadership Qualities

Shah Jahan

Jahangir