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1. What was the consideration that shaped the relations of the Mughal rulers with their, contemporaries., The diplomatic relationships and conflicts of Mughals with neighbouring political, powers. Reflect some tension and political rivalry arising from competing regional, interests. The relation of Mughal kings and the neighboring countries of Iran and Turan, hinged on the control of the frontier defined by the Hindukush Mountains that separated, Afghanistan from the regions of Iran and Central Asia. A constant aim of Mughal policy, was to ward off this potential danger by controlling strategic outposts – notably Kabul, and Qandahar. The relationship between the Mughals and the Ottomans was marked by, the concern to ensure free movement for merchants and pilgrims in the territories under, Ottoman control., By the end of the fifteenth century, Portuguese merchants entered India after the, discovery of a direct sea route. The Portuguese king was interested in the propagation, of Christianity with the help of the missionaries of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). As, the Christian missions to India during the sixteenth century were part of this process of, trade and empire building., Akbar was curious about Christianity and dispatched an embassy to Goa to invite, Jesuit priests. The first Jesuit mission reached the Mughal court at Fatehpur Sikri in, 1580 and stayed for about two years. The Jesuits spoke to Akbar about Christianity and, debated its virtues with the ulama. Two more missions were sent to the Mughal court at, Lahore, in 1591 and 1595.The high respect shown by Akbar towards the members of, the Jesuit mission impressed them deeply. They interpreted the emperor’s open interest, in the doctrines of Christianity as a sign of his acceptance of their faith., Akbar’s quest for religious knowledge led to interfaith debates in the ibadat khana, at Fatehpur Sikri between learned Muslims, Hindus, Jains, Parsis and, Christians.Akbar’s religious views matured as he gathered knowledge about their, doctrines. He moved away from the orthodox Islamic ways of understanding religions, towards a self-conceived eclectic form of divine worship focused on light and the sun., 2. Why was justice regarded as an important virtue of Monarchy in the Mughal, Empire?, The Emperor was the highest authority in the Mughal Empire and was the fountain, of Justice. The justice of administration in Mughal Empire was that, the great Mughal, was so absolute that there being no written Laws. Their will in all things are law. And, the last decision of all causes, both civil and criminal from the Emperors. The Mughal, Justice of administration used to hold court everyday and where ordinary cases decided, by the Mughal officials and the Emperor., The petitions of the aggrieved concerning different matters were presented before, him. The persons involved were ordered to present themselves before the emperor who, heard their complaints and delivered judgment usually on the spot. Some time, Emperor, ordered full investigation, detailed report and then gave his decisions. Bernier said about, the justice chamber of Mughal Emperors, which was called as Adaalat Khaana, where

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Mughal emperor was assisted by two principal Qazis. The Qazi was the important, person to justify the cases in District level. It was necessary for the Qazi to know the, Quran, the Sunna and the perfect knowledge of the canonic laws or shariat. Qazi were, famous for justice administration in Mughal India. The Qazis were to be assisted by the, Muftis in Mughal Empire. According to Satya Prakash Sangar, the Muftis were those, who gave the fatwa by a judicial consultation based on one or more precedents. Also, Muftis expounded the law and supplied the Qazi with fatwas or decisions., Mughal ruler acted as a judge in court; the guilty was given death penalty only when, the order had been issued for the third time. No civil or criminal judge was authorized, to put any offender to death. That power was reserved by the king to himself. The case, of a criminal deserving death was referred to the king through a special messenger and, the punishment was executed only on receipt of his confirmation. The method of, punishment was to get the criminals trampled under the feet of elephants. Emperor Shah, Jahan kept an official with several baskets full of poisonous snakes for punishing the, guilty., Numbers of officers were responsible in Mughal administration for these robberies., The local officers were held responsible for all the thefts and robberies in the localities, and were required to produce either the culprits or the stolen properties. The governor, was responsible for the robberies committed in his province. Also the Faujdar was, responsible for all the robberies that occurred in his jurisdiction. He was to guard all the, roads and compensate the plundered travelers. As a result, it has been a systematic and, comprehensive account on criminal law and procedure of judicial administrations, during Mughal Indian History., 3. What do you know about the historical background of the Mughals?, Chronicles of the Mughal Emperor provides us valuable informations about the, institution of Mughal state. These texts clearly depicted the policies of Mughal Empire, which they sought to impose on their domain., The name Mughal derives from the term ‘Mongol’. The Mughals were, descendants of the Turkish ruler Timur on the paternal side. Zahiruddin Babur was, related to Ghenghis Khan from his mother’s side.Babur was driven from Farghana by, the warring Uzbeks. First he established himself at Kabul and then in 1526 came to, Indian sub-continent.Babur’s successor, Nasiruddin Humayun (1530-40, 1555-56), expanded the frontiers of the empire, but lost it to the Afghan leader Sher Shah Sur. In, 1555, Humayun defeated the Surs, but died a year later. Jalaluddin Akbar (1556-1605), was the greatest of all the Mughal emperors. He expanded and consolidated his empire, making it the largest, strongest and richest. Akbar had three fairly able successors, Jahangir (1605-27), Shah Jahan (1628-58) and Aurangzeb (1658-1707). After the death, of Auranzeb (1707), the power of Mughal dynasty diminished., Chronicles commissioned by the Mughal emperors are an important source for, studying the empire and its court. The authors of Mughal chronicles were invariably, courtiers. The famous chronicles are Akbar Nama, Shahjahan Nama and Alamgir Nama.

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Turkish was the mother tongue of Mughals, but it was Akbar who made Persian the, leading language of Mughal court.Persian became Indianised by absorbing local idioms., Urdu sprang from the interaction of Persian with Hindavi.All books in Mughal India, were handwritten manuscripts and were kept in Kitabkhana. i.e. scriptorium.The, creation of a manuscript involved paper makers, scribes or calligraphers, gilders,, painters, bookbinders, etc.Akbar’s favourite calligraphy style was the nastaliq, a fluid, style with long horizontal strokes. Muhammad Husayn of Kashmir was one of the finest, calligraphers at Akbar’s court who was honoured with the title ‘Zarrin Kalam’ (Golden, pen)., The monarchs of the Mughal Empire considered themselves as legitimate rulers, of vast Indian sub-continent. They appointed court historians to write on accounts of, their achievements. Modern historians called these texts as chronicles, as they presented, a continuous chronological record of events., 4. In what ways do you think the production of books today is similar to or different, from the ways in which Mughal chronicles were produced., Mughal chronicles provide us important information about the empire in chronological, order. These chronicles were written for a number of reasons like to convey the ideology, of emperor, to keep a record of their prosperous history etc. Some distinct features of, Mughal chronicles are –Most authors of these chronicles focused on events related to, the ruler, his family, administration, royal court, wars etc. For these authors history of, the empire was synonymous with that of the Emperor. Akbar Nama, Shah Jahan Nama, are, two, examples, of, these, kinds, of, chronicles., Mughals were Chagatai Turks from origin and Babur, the first Mughal emperor, wrote in his native Turkish. Under Akbar Persian became the leading language of court, and most of the chronicles since then were written in Persian.All of these books, containing, chronicles, were, handwritten, and, were, written, at, different kitabkhanas sanctioned by the emperor.Several paintings were used to, describe things and communicate ideas that were difficult to express in words., Calligraphy was considered very important and was practiced using different styles., Nastaliq style was the favourite of Emperor Akbar., These chronicles were written in a way to promote the legitimacy of Mughal, kingship and also to convey the message that any attempt of resistance is destined to fail