The Magnificent Taj Mahal and the impressive Red Fort are the gifts of the Moghul reign, lasting for 332 years.

An Indian-Islamic power, the Moghuls ruled the Indian subcontinent during the late 17^th and early 18^th centuries and declined by the mid-19th century. The Moghul “classic period” characterized by the expansion of Persian culture with brilliant literary, artistic and architectural work, began in 1556 with the succession of Akbar The Great and declined in 1707 with the death of Aurangzeb.

Overview

The Moghul Empire lasted for over 300 years and left strong imprints on the Indian sub-continent with exquisite monuments, robust and centralized administration bridging different regions. The melding of Persian and Indian cultures created some of the world's most remarkable monuments - Taj Mahal, Fort of Agra, Red Fort in Delhi, Humayan's Tomb. This combination influenced the arts, cuisine, gardens and even the languages.

The Moghul Empire declined rapidly from1725 onwards, damaged by wars of succession, local revolts, growth of religious intolerance, the rise of the Maratha and Sikh empires and eventually British colonialism. The last king, Bahadur Zafar Shah II was restricted to the city of Delhi and was imprisoned and exiled by the British after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Influence on the Indian Subcontinent

The Moghul reign gifted the Indian sub-continent with many World Heritage Sites like The Taj Mahal in Agra, Red Fort in Delhi, Humayun's Tomb, Fatehpur Sikri, Red Fort, Agra Fort, Lahore Fort and Qutub Minar. Landscape gardening emerged during their regin.

The palaces, tombs, and forts built by the dynasty reflect the fine architecture, more conspicuously in the palaces built by Rajputs and Sikh rulers. The Moughl period was the first to witness the blending of Indian, Iranian, and Central Asian customs and traditions.

The Moughl influence contributed in the cultural aspects like centralised, imperialistic government that united the smaller kingdoms on the Indian sub-continent. Persian and Indian art and culture amalgamated into each other. New trade routes like the Khyber Pass, designed to build trade between India and Arab and Turkic lands. With the blending of cultures the Mughlai cuisine developed, marinated and flavoured with hot and aromatic Indian spices.

Language

Persian was the “official” language of the empire, which later merged with the Indian language- Hindustani, and evolved into an elite tongue, today known as Urdu. The language Persianized has glimpses of Arabic and Turkic, and the script written in Perso-Arabic known as Nastaliq.

Modern Hindi, uses Sanskrit-based vocabulary in addition to words borrowed from Urdu.

Economy

The Indian economy remained prosperous under the Moughl reign, as road systems were created, currency became homogeneous and the country was unified under one single umbrella.

Manufactured goods and farmer-grown cash crops were sold across the globe. Key industries- shipbuilding, textiles and steel were promoted.

Science and technology

The Moghul astronomers made advances during the 16^th and 17^th centuries, employing the Islamic observational techniques and instruments. Humayun constructed a personal observatory near Delhi. The most remarkable astronomical instrument invented during their reign in India is the seamless celestial globe. Developed by Ali Kashmiri Ibn Luqman in 998 AH, it covered amazing feats in metallurgy. 

Fathullah Shirazi, a Persian-Indian polymath and mechanical engineer, working for Akbar the Great, developed Volley gun in 1582.

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