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Khilafah (Caliphate): Difference between revisions
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Following brief instability, from 1556 to 1605, the Mughal empire was ruled by Akbar, who was responsible for conquering almost all of India and for modernizing the empire's adminstration. Akbar was even more famous for his tolerant domestic policy whereby, despite his Islamic faith, he did not [[Dhimmitude|prosecute or diminish]] non-Muslim and especially pagan subjects such as the Hindus. Akbar was so fundamentally cosmopolitan, in fact, that he started his own religion by merging favorable elements of several religions, including Hinduism and Islam, to produce a syncretic religion which he dubbed ''Din-e-ilahi'', or "Divine Faith", which epitomized tolerance and whose hallmark was the idea that no one religion could alone be true. Akbar would oversee the prime era of the Mughals. | Following brief instability, from 1556 to 1605, the Mughal empire was ruled by Akbar, who was responsible for conquering almost all of India and for modernizing the empire's adminstration. Akbar was even more famous for his tolerant domestic policy whereby, despite his Islamic faith, he did not [[Dhimmitude|prosecute or diminish]] non-Muslim and especially pagan subjects such as the Hindus. Akbar was so fundamentally cosmopolitan, in fact, that he started his own religion by merging favorable elements of several religions, including Hinduism and Islam, to produce a syncretic religion which he dubbed ''Din-e-ilahi'', or "Divine Faith", which epitomized tolerance and whose hallmark was the idea that no one religion could alone be true. Akbar would oversee the prime era of the Mughals. | ||
Subsequently, from 1658 to 1707, the Mughal empire would be ruled by Akbar's great-grandson, Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb seized the throne from his brother (also the rightful heir), Dara Shikoh, in 1658 and had Dara executed in order to preserve his power (the practice of executing competing claimants to the throne was a relatively common practice throughout the history of Islamic empires, and found sanction in [[Islamic Law|Islamic law]], or [[Shariah]]). | Subsequently, from 1658 to 1707, the Mughal empire would be ruled by Akbar's great-grandson, Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb seized the throne from his brother (also the rightful heir), Dara Shikoh, in 1658 and had Dara executed in order to preserve his power (the practice of executing competing claimants to the throne was a relatively common practice throughout the history of Islamic empires, and found sanction in [[Islamic Law|Islamic law]], or [[Shariah]]). Aurangzeb likewise imprisoned his father, Shah Jahan, following Dara's execution. Aurangzeb was a strong supporter of Islamic orthodoxy, saw the Shariah implemented throughout the entirety of the Mughal empire, and undid much of the tolerant and syncretic reforms brought about by his great-grandfather, Akbar. This period in the empire's history also saw India's grow into the most productive economy in the world, and would see Aurangzeb conquer almost the entirety of South Asia. | ||
By 1707, however, the Mughal empire would experience widespread and open revolt, likely brought about by his strict Islamic regime. After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, his son Bahadur Shah I would attempt to stifle the emerging chaos by dismantling the religious policies created by Aurangzeb and revitalizing the empire's administration. These efforts, however, would prove to be too late, and the Mughal empire would enter an irreversible phase of decline. In the year 1719 alone, the seat of the emperor would change hands no less than four times. Subsequent futile attempts at restoration and reform would be made by Shah Alam from 1759 to 1806, but from this point the Mughal empire would begin to lose substantial chunks of lands to neighboring competitors. | |||
Starting in 1818, the British East India Company would take upon itself the protection of what remained of the Mughals in Delhi, and would increasingly gain authority over other parts of India as the Mughals declined until, in 1858, Great Britain took over the East India Company and established the British Raj. | |||
===Ottoman caliphate (1517-1924)=== | ===Ottoman caliphate (1517-1924)=== | ||