Mughal Magnificence

Most people think of India as a Hindu country, and in fact 80% of the population are Hindus. But for nearly 500 years before the Brits took over, Muslims ran the show, reigning over most of northern Indian and parts of southern India. Perhaps the most impressive dynasty was the Mughals who from their capitals in Agra and Delhi ruled northern India from 1556 to 1707. The Mughals ushered in a period of relative peace and prosperity and under their tutelage art and trade flourished.

Fortunately for the world, their favorite hobby was building elaborate tombs in which to bury their loved ones and on which they could inscribe the Quran (Koran). For those of you who are not religious scholars, the Quran is pretty long, 30 books in total, so if you are going to inscribe it on a monument, it has to be a big monument. Needless to say they rose to the challenge, building Humayun’s Tomb, Akbar’s Tomb and the Taj Mahal. Before lending their names to these mausoleums the emperors liked to live the high life and built lavish palaces inside their fortified cities at the Red Fort and the Agra Fort.

The main contributor to Delhi and Agra’s embarrassment of architectural riches was Shah Jahan who built the palaces of the Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal, before moving his capital to Dehli where he built the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid. In so doing Shah Jahan depleted the imperial treasury and opened the door to his usurping son Aurangzeb, who imprisoned Shah Jahan in the Agra Fort.

Aurangzeb’s ascension was the beginning of the end of Mughal power. In an instructive tale, one still not appreciated by much of the Muslim world, Aurangzeb’s turn towards fundamentalism brought about the end of the Mughal empire, as Hindu’s rebelled against special taxes on non-Muslims and embraced local leaders who formed break-away states. This politically fractured India would prove to be an easy target for European colonization and eventually British control in the 19th and 20th century.

While there are mixed opinions about the effect of Mughal rule on India, and India’s Hindus and Muslims don’t always get along, the Mughal’s incredible architectural legacy and particularly the Taj Mahal has been embraced by all as an important part of India’s cultural identity.