The Mughals and after Them - The Marathas and the Rajputs

In the previous chapter, we have studied the Vedic Civilisation, about the Mauryas and Delhi Sultanate. In this chapter, we will be learning about the Mughals and the battles of Panipat.

Mughal Empire

After the death of Umar Shaikh Mirza in 1494 AD, Babur, at the age of 12, succeeded his father to the throne of Fergana. Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire and the First Emperor of the Mughal dynasty.

In 1517 AD, after losing Samarkand for the third time, he decided to move towards India. The subedar of Punjab and the ruler of Mewar encouraged Babur to invade India. After conquering Behera, Sialkot and Lahore, he reached Panipat in 1526 AD.

The first battle of Panipat was in 1526 AD, between Mughal ruler Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi. In which Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi and extended his authority over the cities of Delhi and Agra.

Babur died in 1530 AD. Humayun succeeded his father to the throne of Delhi as the ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinent. Humayun had to face many challenges from Sher khan of Bihar and Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, which made him leave India. Once again, after consolidating his military power, Humayun returned to India and regained control over Delhi and Agra and established his dynasty – the Mughal dynasty.

Humayun died in 1556 AD. Akbar succeeded his father to the throne at the age of 13 years. In the second battle of Panipat, which was in 1556 AD, Akbar defeated Afghani rulers and strengthened the Mughal Empire. Later, great rulers like Jahangir and Aurangzeb continued the Mughal dynasty until 1885 AD.

Maratha Empire

During the 17th century, there was a rise of the Maratha Empire under the leadership of Shivaji.

In 1647 AD, Shivaji made Raigarh his capital and assumed the title of Chhatrapati. 

Later with his big military powers, he won many forts in Karnataka and Gingee or Jinji of Tamil Nadu state. He led the foundation of the Maratha kingdom and died in 1680 AD. During the third battle of Panipat, Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated Marathas, which almost destroyed the Maratha kingdom.

Stay tuned to BYJU’S for more information on NIOS, syllabus, notes, along with its important questions and solutions.