- India from the Paleolithic Period to the decline of the Indus civilization
- The development of Indian civilization from c. 1500 bce to c. 1200 ce
- The early Muslim period
- The Mughal Empire, 1526–1761
- The reign of Akbar the Great
- India and European expansion, c. 1500–1858
- British imperial power, 1858–1947
News •
Within a few months of his accession, Jahāngīr had to deal with a rebellion led by his eldest son, Khusraw, who was reportedly supported by, among others, the Sikh Guru Arjun. Khusraw was defeated at Lahore and was brought in chains before the emperor. The subsequent execution of the Sikh Guru permanently estranged the Sikhs from the Mughals.
Khusraw’s rebellion led to a few more risings, which were suppressed without much difficulty. Shah ʿAbbās I of Iran, taking advantage of the unrest, besieged the fort of Kandahār (1606) but abandoned the attack when Jahāngīr promptly sent an army against him.
Loss of Kandahār
In 1622 Shah ʿAbbās again attacked Kandahār, and Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahān) was directed to relieve that fortress. However, the prince was planning a rebellion against his father and failed to take effective action. The fortress fell after a 45-day siege. Shah ʿAbbās justified its capture on the plea that it belonged to Iran. Jahāngīr accused the shah of treachery and sent forces to recover the fortress. This effort failed, owing to Shah Jahān’s rebellion and the illness and death of Jahāngīr himself. The loss of Kandahār was a grievous blow to the prestige of the empire. Jahāngīr, however, commanded full control over Kabul, having reinforced it now by inducting the Afghans under Khan Jahān Lodī into the Mughal nobility. Khan Jahān had close connections with the tribesmen in the northwestern frontiers.
Submission of Mewar
Jahāngīr’s most significant political achievement was the cessation of the Mughal-Mewar conflict, following three consecutive campaigns and his own arrival in Ajmer in 1613. Prince Khurram was given the supreme command of the army (1613), and Jahāngīr marched to be near the scene of action. The Rana Amar Singh then initiated negotiations (1615). He recognized Jahāngīr as his suzerain, and all his territory in Mughal possession was restored, including Chitor—although it could not be fortified. Amar Singh was not obliged to attend the imperial court, but his son was to represent him; nor was he required to enter into a matrimonial alliance with the Mughal royal family. Further, the Rajput rulers of Kangra, Kishtwar (in Kashmir), Navanagar, and Kutch (Kachchh; in western India) accepted the Mughal supremacy. Bir Singh Bundela was given a high rank, and a Bundela princess entered the Mughal harem. Also significant was the subjugation of the last Afghan domains in eastern Bengal (1612) and Orissa (1617).
Developments in the Deccan
Toward the last years of Akbar’s reign, the Niẓām Shāhīs of Ahmadnagar in the Deccan had engaged the attention of the emperor considerably. The main objective of his intervention in Ahmadnagar was to gain Berar, which had been recently acquired by Ahmadnagar from Khandesh, and Balaghat, which had been a bone of contention between Ahmadnagar and Gujarat. By 1596 Berar was conquered and Ahmadnagar had accepted Mughal suzerainty. However, the issue of a clearly defined frontier could not be resolved, and Mughal attacks continued. Under Jahāngīr the rise of Malik ʿAmbār, a Habshi (Abyssinian) general of unusual ability, at the Ahmadnagar court and his alliance with the ʿĀdil Shāhīs of Bijapur cemented a united front of the Deccan sultanates and initially forced the Mughals to retreat.
At this time the Marathas also had emerged as a force in the Deccan. Jahāngīr appreciated their importance and encouraged many Marathas to defect to his side (1615). Later, two successive Mughal victories against the combined Deccani armies (1618 and 1620) restrained the Habshi general. However, the Deccan expedition remained unfinished as a result of the rise to power of the emperor’s favorite queen, Nūr Jahān, and her relatives and associates. The queen’s alleged efforts to secure the prince of her choice as successor to the ailing emperor resulted in the rebellion of Prince Khurram in 1622 and later of Mahābat Khan, the queen’s principal ally, who had been deputed to subdue the prince.
Rebellion of Khurram (Shah Jahān)
After failing to take Fatehpur Sikri in April 1623, Khurram retreated to the Deccan, then to Bengal, and from Bengal back again to the Deccan, pursued all the while by an imperial force under Mahābat Khan. His plan to seize Bihar, Ayodhya, Allahabad, and even Agra failed. At last Khurram submitted to his father unconditionally (1626). He was forgiven and appointed governor of Balaghat, but the three-year-old rebellion had caused a considerable loss of men and money.
Mahābat Khan’s coup
Immediately upon the conclusion of peace with Khurram, the imperious queen decided to punish Mahābat Khan for his refusal to take orders from anyone but Jahāngīr. She ordered Mahābat Khan to Bengal and framed charges of disloyalty and disobedience against him. Instead of complying, he proceeded to the Punjab, where the emperor was encamped. Jahāngīr refused to see him. Mahābat Khan placed both the emperor and the queen under surveillance, but he was finally overcome. The ordeal greatly impaired the emperor’s health, and he died in November 1627.