The Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire for UPSC — rulers and battles, Sher Shah, mansabdari and revenue, Akbar's religious policy, Mughal architecture and painting, and the Marathas.

SyllabusGS I · History of India (Prelims); Indian culture — salient aspects of art forms, literature and architecture from ancient to modern times (Mains GS I)

This chapter covers the Mughal Empire from Babur’s victory at Panipat (1526) to its decline in the eighteenth century, the Sur interlude under Sher Shah, and the rise of the Marathas under Shivaji and the Peshwas.

What UPSC asks

Prelims: battles and their dates; reforms and who introduced them (rupiya, zabti/dahsala, mansabdari, jizya abolition and reimposition); Mughal officials; monuments and builders; painters, translators and foreign visitors; Maratha administration (Ashtapradhan, chauth, sardeshmukhi) and forts.
Mains GS I: Mughal architecture and painting; Akbar’s sulh-i-kul and composite culture; the cultural legacy of the Mughals; Maratha military landscapes and statecraft.

Key sub-topics

Sub-topic	Focus
Rulers and battles	Babur to Aurangzeb; Sher Shah Suri; later Mughals
Administration	Central officials, subas, mansabdari, jagirdari, land revenue
Religious policy	Akbar’s Ibadat Khana, Mahzar, sulh-i-kul; Aurangzeb’s policies
Culture	Architecture, painting, literature, music
The Marathas	Shivaji’s state, Ashtapradhan, Peshwas, confederacy, Panipat 1761

Topic pages