| House of Babur | |
|---|---|
| Imperial dynasty | |
 | |
| Parent house | Timurid dynasty |
| Country | Mughal India |
| Place of origin | Timurid Empire |
| Founded | 21 April 1526 |
| Founder | Babur |
| Final ruler | Bahadur Shah II |
| Titles | List |
| Connected families | |
| Traditions |
|
| Dissolution | 1857 |
| Deposition | 21 September 1857 |
The Mughal dynasty (Persian: دودمان مغل, romanized: Dudmân-e Mughal) or the House of Babur (Persian: خاندانِ آلِ بابُر, romanized: Khāndān-e-Āl-e-Bābur), was a branch of the Timurid dynasty founded by Babur that ruled the Mughal Empire from its inception in 1526 till the early eighteenth century, and then as ceremonial suzerains over much of the empire until 1857.
The Mughals originated as a branch of the Central Asian Timurid dynasty, supplemented with extra Borjigin (the clan which ruled the Mongol Empire and its successor states) bloodlines. The dynasty's founder, Babur (born 1483), was a direct descendant of the Asian conqueror Timur (1336–1405) on his father's side and of Mongol emperor Genghis Khan (died 1227) on his mother's side, and Babur's ancestors had other affiliations with Genghisids through marriage and common ancestry.[2][3] Many of the later Mughal emperors had significant Indian Rajput and Persian ancestry through marriage alliances as emperors were born to Rajput and Persian princesses.[4][5] Akbar, for instance, was half-Persian (his mother was of Persian origin), Jahangir was half-Rajput and quarter-Persian, and Shah Jahan was three-quarters Rajput.[6]
During much of the Empire's history, the emperor functioned as the absolute head of state, head of government and head of the military, while during its declining era much of the power shifted to the office of the Grand Vizier and the empire became divided into many regional kingdoms and princely states.[7] However, even in the declining era, the Mughal Emperor continued to be the highest manifestation of sovereignty on the Indian subcontinent. Not only the Muslim gentry, but the Maratha, Rajput, and Sikh leaders took part in ceremonial acknowledgements of the Emperor as the sovereign of India.[8] The British East India Company deposed the imperial family and abolished the empire on 21 September 1857 during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The UK declared the establishment of the British Raj the following year.
The British tried and convicted the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II (r. 1837–1857), and exiled him (1858) to Rangoon in British-controlled Burma (present-day Myanmar).[9]
- ^ Zahir ud-Din Mohammad (10 September 2002). Thackston, Wheeler M. (ed.). The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor. New York: Modern Library. p. xlvi. ISBN 978-0-375-76137-9.
In India the dynasty always called itself Gurkani, after Temür's title Gurkân, the Persianized form of the Mongolian kürägän, 'son-in-law,' a title Temür assumed after his marriage to a Genghisid princess.
- ^ Berndl, Klaus (2005). National Geographic Visual History of the World. National Geographic Society. pp. 318–320. ISBN 978-0-7922-3695-5.
- ^ Dodgson, Marshall G.S. (2009). The Venture of Islam. Vol. 3: The Gunpowder Empires and Modern Times. University of Chicago Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-226-34688-5.
- ^ Jeroen Duindam (2015), Dynasties: A Global History of Power, 1300–1800, page 105 Archived 6 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Cambridge University Press
- ^ Mohammada, Malika (1 January 2007). The Foundations of the Composite Culture in India. Akkar Books. p. 300. ISBN 978-8-189-83318-3.
- ^ Dirk Collier (2016). The Great Mughals and their India. Hay House. p. 15. ISBN 9789384544980.
- ^ Sharma, S. R. (1999). Mughal Empire in India: A Systematic Study Including Source Material. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-7156-817-8.
- ^ Bose, Sugata; Jalal, Ayesha (2004). Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-203-71253-5.
- ^ Bhatia, H.S. Justice System and Mutinies in British India. p. 204.