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Shah Jahan: The Monument of Love

Shah Jahan is said to have loved his wife Mumtaz Mahal so much that he built her the greatest monument in history, the Taj Mahal. Now it is considered as the most important symbol of love. However, is the love of Shah Jahan for his wife portrayed in the correct manner?

 Firstly, Mumtaz was not the only wife of Shah Jahan. He had several other wives. In fact, he married three others and historians say he loved them also as much as Mumtaz. Secondly, Shah Jahn had made a promise to Mumtaz that he would never marry anyone else after she died. However, he ended up marrying Mumtaz’s sister herself, almost immediately after she died.

 Lastly, before Mumtaz died, she told Shah Jahan that they will always love each other. Even after her death she said she would continue to love Shah Jahan and he should continue to love her. But Shah Jahan was not faithful to this promise. He married again and loved others.   

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Egyptian mummy joke!

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Akbar: The Greatest

Akbar is not just the greatest among all the Mughals, but also one of the greatest the world has seen. How did he come to know as such a great ruler?

 Firstly, Akbar was known to be great, because he took care of his people well. Before him, most rulers cared only about themselves and kept collecting taxes more and more. However, Akbar did not raise taxes on anyone unnecessarily. This act made his citizens richer and helped improve his kingdom’s economy. Secondly, Akbar, unlike his father Humayun, invested in art and culture. He made his kingdom’s culture rich by establishing libraries, promoting art and literature and also began awarding the prominent citizens’ in his empire ranks, so that they are well respected.

 Thirdly, Akbar was excellent in battlefield. By the end of his rule, he had conquered most of the Indian sub-continent. Fourthly, Akbar promoted experts from outside Islam in his empire. This allowed his empire to learn and adopt culture from other religions. Fifthly, Akbar encouraged good relations with the Rajputs, a Hindu dynasty in India. Rajputs helped Akbar to rule well. Lastly, when his empire was short of money, Akbar used the land revenue collected to take care of the problem.   

 Under Akbar, the Mughals reached the pinnacle of their glory – both in art and culture and the economy. Hence, he is considered as one of the greatest rules in the world.

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History joke!

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Humayun: Lost and Regained Emperor

Humayun was the second emperor of the Mughal dynasty. He came to power at the age of 22 in 1530. But in ten years after he took the throne, he was defeated in a war by Sher Shah of the Suri empire. But in 15 years Humayun fought Sher Shah again and managed to get back his empire. Though, Humayun was a great fighter, he had another side to himself.

 Firstly, Humayun, though he was a great poet and artist, he did not share his knowledge with everyone. He was not a great patron of art and literature. Secondly, when Sher Shah defeated Humayun, Sher Shah offered him Kabul. But instead of going to Kabul and gathering followers, he stayed in a desert and even got married there. Lastly, Humayun did not defeat Sher Shah on his own. He took help from Persia, so that he could get his kingdom back.

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Babur: Foundation of Mughal Empire

Babur had just ascended the throne of Fergana in eastern Uzbekistan. However, his uncle plotted to take away the throne from him. He waged a war against Babur which ultimately Babur lost. He was then exiled to Afghanistan. There Babur managed to find some followers. Along with them, he then started to figure out ways to capture his throne back. Babur then came across an opportunity that was even better than his throne. Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty of Delhi Sultanate was having a rebel uprising against him, because he was a cruel and uncaring ruler. Babur figured out that if he was able to dethrone and kill Ibrahim Lodi, he could then be the next sultan of Delhi. So, he made a deal with Lodi’s people. He told them that if they helped him remove Lodi, he would then be their next ruler and would be a good one. However, Babur knew that it was almost impossible to defeat Lodi. However, Babur had something that Lodi did not have. Guns! With Babur’s fire power, he killed 200,000 soldiers and Lodi himself. He then ascended the throne of Delhi. He named his new empire the Mughal dynasty. After Babur, his sons, grandsons and great grandsons took care of his empire. Mughals emerged as one of the greatest empires in the history of the world. One of the world’s greatest monuments – the Taj Mahal – was built during the Mughal empire along with several other developments.

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Lodi Dynasty: Last of Delhi Sultanate

The Lodi dynasty was the last in the line of Delhi Sultanates, and they ruled from 1451 AD to 1526 AD. Though they were the last, there were features that distinguished them from the earlier dynasties. Firstly, Bahlul Shah, the first Lodi sultan never used to sit on a throne, but rather sat on the carpet below. This grabbed people’s attention, who thought he was different from the other Sultans. Secondly, Sikandar Shah, the son of Bahlul Shah, devoted his attention to improve the economy. He also patronized and encouraged different forms of music in his kingdom. Another aspect that Sikandar paid attention to was his army. He set up a well-organized spy system. This helped him get confidential information of what is happening in his kingdom as well as his opponents. This helped him be on up against his opponents at all times. Sultans of the Lodi dynasty also invested in breeding the best horses. Horses were an important part of their armies, and hence they brought the best from across the world and bred them exclusively for them. This impressed their people as well as their soldiers.

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Sayyid Dynasty: From Governors to Sultans

The Sayyids were the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. They had four rulers who ruled from 1414 AD to 1451 AD. Their dynasty had their beginnings when the Sayyids were the governors of the Punjab province. During this time, the Tuglaqs were going through a tough time, as people were rebelling against Mohammed Bin Tuglaq. This gave the Sayyids an opportunity to start their dynasty in Delhi. I believe that among all of the dynasties in the Delhi Sultanate, the Sayyids were the best.

 Until the Sayyids, the courts of the Delhi Sultans were dominated by the Muslims, since the Sultans were from Islam. However, the Sayyids let Hindus in their court and allowed them to occupy important positions. This helped the Sayyids to take advantage of the skills and knowledge of their people for the betterment of their kingdom, irrespective of their religion. Secondly, while most rulers in the Delhi Sultanate were selfish and devoted all the power and attention to themselves and to the expansion of their kingdom, the Sayyids used some of this for the welfare of their people. Sayyids always worked with this realization that their power ultimately came from their people, hence it is important to win their trust and keep them on their side. This proved beneficial for both the parties – Sayyids were able to consolidate more power and their people were happier compared to the earlier dynasties.

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History joke

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Tuglaqs: Corrupt Sultans of Delhi

The Tuglaq dynasty were the third in the Delhi Sultanate and ruled India from 1320 AD to 1413 AD. It had three sultans. Unfortunately, it was the most corrupt among all dynasties of Delhi. But why is it considered to be so corrupt?

 Firstly, the Sultans of the Tuglaq dynasty were not uniformly just to all the people in their empire. They raised taxes on the poor and ill-treated them. Hence, the poor has no option but top riot and rebel against the rule, resulting in a financial crisis for the entire kingdom. Secondly, the Tuglaq sultans shifted their capital from Delhi to Devagiri thinking that this move would help them conquer the Deccan plateau. But not only they could not capture the Deccan, it eventually resulted in Delhi crumbling. This resulted in another crisis for the Tuglaqs.

 Thirdly, as they were going through these crises, the Sultan started trading his silver coins for gold coins. But he did some great blunders, as he was in the process, and hence he not only lost his silver coins, but could not get any gold coins in return. This literally impoverished the kingdom and dragged more people into poverty. Most of these mistakes were committed by the second Sultan, Mohammed Bin Tuglaq. Lastly, as Mohammed ill-treated the poor, even the nobles suffered, and hence even they left his side.

 Eventually, Tuglaqs came to be known as one of the most corrupt empires the Indian subcontinent has ever seen.

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Khilji Dynasty: The Second Delhi Sultanate

The Khilji dynasty was the second dynasty in the Delhi Sultanate. It ruled for the shortest period of time among all the five dynasties from 1290 to 1320. But it was different from any other dynasties though they ruled only for 30 years.

 Firstly, unlike the Mamluks who had power in the beginning of their rule, the Khiljis did not have any power. But the Khiljis focused on earning their people’s trust. They established themselves in their people’s minds that they are indeed good rulers and they could take Delhi to better heights. Secondly, Khiljis promoted Delhi’s unique culture, especially its art and architecture. They again increased people’s trust on the Khiljis.

 Thirdly, unlike other Sultans, who impose their language on their people, Khiljis made an effort to speak in all languages. So, when they went to foreign lands, they did not need any translator to communicate. They could understand without losing out even the smaller details. Lastly, typically Sultans conquer areas around their capital or nearby places. But Khiljis conquered the whole of North and South India.

 Khilji dynasty was indeed a special dynasty, though they ruled only for a short period of time. They contributed a lot in changing the characteristics of the Delhi Sultanate itself in the above mentioned ways.

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History joke!

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Mamluk Dynasty: The Slave Dynasty

The Delhi Sultanate ruled India from 1206 to 1526, for about 320 years. It has five dynasties, but the first among them were the Mamluks dynasty. The Mamluks are important in Indian history, because they were one of the first foreign dynasties to conquer India. Mamluks are important also because of their conquests. The Mamluks conquered some of the greatest empires in history to establish themselves. What is their secret to gaining so much victory?

 Firstly, the greatest weapon that Mamluk’s possessed was their investment in army. The word Mamluk in Arabic means slave. This is because the Mamluk Sultans were initially slaves of kings, who later became weapon bearers and then soldiers. They were such good soldiers that they soon became generals controlling armies. They possessed practical insights and knowledge about the inside working of armies and soldiers. Hence, they could build, invest and control their armies better than all others and then take over kingdoms. With a great army, and latest weapons, they always had an upper hand against any empire.

 Secondly, Mamluks were so successful because of their strategy of gaining support of all the countries that mattered to them, rather than singling out one or a few countries. Mamluk sultans adapted culture from all the nations. This made it easy for other countries to relate to Mamluks and their culture. Using this to their advantage, they started conquering empires.

 Another great strategy adopted by the Mamluk sultans is that they always ran on the top track rather than comprise themselves. While normal Sultans look at challenging and conquering small kingdoms initially, Mamluks looked at the biggest empires that they can conquer. They fixed their eyes on huge ones like the Mongol empire. They realized, the bigger the victory, the bigger their fame and bigger the fear they generate in other emperors. It was all or nothing for them.

 Mamluks were special rulers to adapt some great strategies. This enabled them to establish the Delhi Sultanate and gave them an initial boost.

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Caste System in India

The caste is a 3000-year-old system that divides the Hindu religion into 5 parts. The Brahmins who are priests, Kshatriyas who are warriors, Vysyas who are traders and Sudras who are unskilled workers and the Dalits or untouchables who work as slaves.

 The caste one who is born to will determine his/her identity. When the caste was invented, people used to wear different color turbans according to your caste. However, the caste changes upper caste people's minds. They begin bullying the lower caste and teach their children the same thing. Once I watched a man on Youtube saying proudly that he will not touch the hand of a lower caste. I was surprised. Probably in the future people will become more broadminded and then caste would become a more fuzzy thing. I am looking forward to that day when all people are one

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Sangam Era: A Great Classical Era

The Sangam Era is one of the well known eras, known widely for its famous literature pieces that existed almost 500 or 600 years before Christ. Given that we do not know much about even events that occurred a few 100 years back, how would we know that this era even existed?

 Firstly, I think the Sangam literature is a key for historians to understand the existence of this era. For example, Tholkappiam literature is shown by historians as a great proof of this time. Secondly, another key to unlocking the door to this era is by looking at and understanding other moments that could have happened during similar time elsewhere. For example, Pandyas Cholas and Cheras dynasties hold proofs for the existence of this era. There are several mentions of this era in the literature produced by these empires. Thirdly, archeological discoveries like caves and pots also give us evidence to the existence of this era.

 Next, when historians step away from Tamilnadu and go to places close to it like Kerala or Sri Lanka, they find more evidence. Lastly, with modern days updated technology, it is easier to trace and find out more insights about the existence of this era.

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Vijayanagar Empire: Architects of South India

Once there were two brothers, Harihara and Bukha raya. They were both from Hampi, in Karnataka on the banks of the river Thungabhadra. They both knew that their city needed an empire and hence laid the foundations of the great Vijayanagara empire. The empire is named after its capital Vijayanagara, which is modern day Hampi. Harihara became the first ruler and conquered many parts of the country. After two decades of the rule of Harihara, Bukha raya took control. It soon became South India’s strongest empire. One of their greatest moment was when one of their greatest kings Krishnadeva Raya conquered the Sultan of Bijapur. 

After this, the Vijayanagara empire started trading, with their ships going all over the world. Chingo, a Chinese emperor said that the Vijayanagara goods were the best in the whole world. The rulers also invited great musicians, artists and architects and encouraged them.  Many Portuguese journalists like Domingo Paze said that the Tirumala temple from Tirupati, one of the biggest temples in India, gained most of its size and wealth under the Vijayanagara empire, with their donation of diamonds and gold. 

But in 1646, the Deccan Sultans defeated the empire in the battle of Talikota.

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Egyptian history joke