Mughal Empire (Urdu: , Mugghliyah Salanat),[5] self-designated as Gurkani (Persian: , Grkniyn),[6] was aPersianate[7][8] empire extending over large

e parts of the Indian

subcontinentand ruled by a dynasty of Chagatai-Turkic origin.[9][10][11]

In the early 16th century, northern India, being then under mainly Muslim rulers,[12] fell to the superior mobility and firepower of the Mughals. [13] The resulting Mughal Empire did not stamp out the
local societies it came to rule, but rather balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices [14][15] and diverse and inclusive ruling elites,[16] leading to more systematic, centralized,
and uniform rule.[17] Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar, the Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to an
emperor who had near-divine status.[16] The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture [18] and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency,
[19]

caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets. [17] The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion, [17] resulting

in greater patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture.[20] Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the Marathas, the Rajputs, and the Sikhs,
gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience. [21] Expanding commerce during
Mughal rule gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern and eastern India. [21] As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to control
their own affairs.[22]

The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the founder Babur's victory over Ibrahim Lodi in the first Battle of Panipat (1526). It reached its peak extent under Aurangzeb, and
declined rapidly after his death (in 1707) under a series of ineffective rulers. The empire's collapse followed heavy losses inflicted by the smaller army of the Maratha Empire in the Deccan
Wars (16801707),[23] which encouraged the Nawabs of Bengal, Bhopal,Oudh, Carnatic, Rampur, and the Nizam of Hyderabad to declare their independence from the Mughals.[24] Following
the Third Anglo-Maratha warin 1818, the Mughal emperor became a pensioner of the Raj, and the empire, its power now limited to Delhi, lingered on until 1857, when it was effectively
dissolved after the fall of Delhi during the Indian Rebellion that same year.[25]

The Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turko-Mongols from modern-dayUzbekistan, who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan (through his son Chagatai Khan) and Timur. At the
height of their power in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they controlled much of the Indian subcontinent, extending from Bengal in the east to Kabul & Sindh in the west, Kashmir in the
north to the Kaveri basin in the south.[26] Its population at that time has been estimated as between 110 and 150 million (quarter of the world's population), over a territory of more than 3.2 million
square kilometres (1.2 million square miles). [4]

The "classic period" of the empire started in 1556 with the ascension ofAkbar the Great to the throne. Under the rule of Akbar and his sonJahangir, India enjoyed economic progress as well as
religious harmony, and the monarchs were interested in local religious and cultural traditions. Akbar was a successful warrior. He also forged alliances with several HinduRajput kingdoms.
Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to Mughal dominance of northwestern India, but they were subdued by Akbar. Most Mughal emperors were Muslims. However
Akbar in the latter part of his life, and Jahangir, were followers of a new religion called Deen-i-Ilahi, as recorded in historical books like Ain-e-Akbari & Dabestan-e Mazaheb.[27]

The reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor, was the golden age of Mughal architecture. He erected several large monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, as well as
the Moti Masjid, Agra, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, Delhi, and the Lahore Fort. The Mughal Empire reached the zenith of its territorial expanse during the reign of Aurangzeband also started
its terminal decline in his reign due to Maratha military resurgence under Shivaji Bhosale. During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to more than 1.25 million
square miles, ruling over more than 150 million subjects, nearly 1/4th of the world's population, with a combined GDP of over $90 billion. [4][28]

By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Mughal armies, and won over several Mughal provinces from the Deccan to Bengal, and internal dissatisfaction arose due to the weakness of
the Mughal Empire's administrative and economic systems, leading to the breakup of the empire and declaration of independence of its former provinces by the Nawabs
ofBengal, Bhopal, Oudh, Carnatic, Rampur, the Nizam of Hyderabad, sultan of the state of Mysore, Shah of Afghanistan and other small states. In 1739, the Mughals were crushingly defeated
in the Battle of Karnal by the forces of Nader Shah, and their capital sacked and looted, drastically accelerating their decline. During the following century Mughal power had become severely
limited and the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, had authority over only the city ofShahjahanabad. He issued a firman supporting the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and following the defeat was
therefore tried by the British East India company for treason, imprisoned, exiled to Rangoon and the last remnants of the empire were taken over by the British East India company.