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HISTORY
TIMELINE
Timeline of Mughal Empire events from 1526 to 1707.
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A DAY IN THE LIFE DURING ...
THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
by Jacquelin Cangro
Meet Dalaja, a young Hindu woman, and spend a day with her as
she weaves prayer rugs in the city of Lahore.
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BABUR'S CONQUEST OF INDIA
Pamela Toler
Learn how Babur became the master of a kingdom that stretched
from Qandahar to the borders of Bengal and the Rajput desert.
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AKBAR THE GREAT: A DREAM OF PEACE
Deborah Bryson
When Akbar was born, his nurses smeared him with musk so his
scent would permeate the world. He rode fierce camels, killed
a tiger with a single blow of his sword, and drove his war elephant
through the walls of a house to catch bandits. During his lifetime,
Akbar the Great ruled over 140 million subjects, three times
more people than lived in England and Europe at the time –
find out how he did it.
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PARADISE: GARDENS OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Jennifer Enzor
Imagine moving to a new country. Instead of green pastures and
high mountains, the land is dusty and temperatures reach 120°
F in the hot season. You miss the fountains and quiet pools
of the gardens of Central Asia. You can’t walk barefoot
in the mountains flowers because this land is “as flat
as boards.” That’s how Babur, the first Mughal emperor,
described modern-day India in 1526. Explore how he created islands
of paradise on India’s riverbanks: gardens with courtyards,
pools, and fountains.
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DIN-I-ILAHI AND AKBAR'S PRACTICES OF RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE
Holly Lynn Anderson
Akbar’s rejection of religious intolerance eventually
led to his development of what he called a universal religion,
Din-i-Ilahi. Even though the religion was not widely adopted
by his subjects, learn about the Din-i-Ilahi and Akbar’s
policies of religious tolerance and acceptance that are still
admired today.
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THE PERFECT CITY OF FATEHPUR SIKRI
Anjeeta Nayar
Today, Fatehpur Sikri is a perfectly preserved ghost town located
forty kilometers to the west of the city of Agra, India in the
town of Sikri. Find out which Mughal Emperor was on a mission
to build what he considered the “perfect city” and
how it came to be abandoned.
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THE ROYAL SPORTS OF EMPERORS
Deborah
Bryson
What do you do for fun in your spare time? Chances are, you
haven’t ridden an elephant or tamed a cheetah. Mughal
royal families loved sports and leisure activities, but if you
weren’t a royal, you didn’t have much time for play.
Take a look at the privileged and exotic entertainments of the
Mughal royal family.
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ROCK STARS OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Katherine Gustafson
During the period when the Mughal Empire ruled large parts of
South Asia, poets were idolized like pop music stars are today.
Their poems were widely celebrated. They enjoyed the patronage
of the royal court. Their followers eagerly hung on their every
word. Learn why the Mughal world identified these poets’
work as the highest art form.
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SHIVA, THE WAR ELEPHANT
Diane
Clover-Evans
Enter the world of Shiva, a gentle forest elephant pressed into
service and trained to fight as a war beast to fight against
Timur’s army. |
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ENTER PARADISE: THE LEGEND OF THE TAJ MAHAL
Lorie Lee Steiner
Read a true story of treasure, treachery, and love that ends
with the building of one of the great wonders of the world –
the Taj Mahal.
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ON THE TRAIL OF THE KOH-I-NOOR DIAMOND
Rosalyn H. Fleischer
If you possessed an object that would make you rich beyond your
wildest dreams, what would you do? Would you sell it or keep
it forever? The Koh-i-Noor diamond is such a treasure. This
priceless gem traveled in and out of the Mughal Empire and beyond.
Some who dared to claim it became kings. Others met with disaster
– find out how and why.
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ZORAWAR AND FATEH SINGH
Virginia Stevens
Gobind Rai became the Sikh guru in a time of great persecution.
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had demanded obedience to the Islamic
religion and decreed that everyone must convert under penalty
of death. Read the story of his two sons and their defiance
against an emperor.
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AURANGZEB: THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF AN EMPIRE
Lyn Michaud
Violent takeovers were common in the Mughal Empire – a
ruler stayed in power as long as he had an army to defend the
throne. The story of how Aurangzeb, considered by some historians
to be the last of the great Mughal emperors, seized power is
no different. Learn about his life and how the policies put
in place during his reign paved the way to the end of an empire.
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