After the death of Harsha the Rajputs came into
prominence on the political horizons of North India. The Rajputs were
known for their bravery and chivalry but family feuds and strong notions
of personal pride often resulted into conflicts. The Rajputs weakened
each other by constant wrangling. The disunity among Rajputs allowed the
foreigners (Turks) to enter India. The defeat of Prithvi Raj Chauhan
(the greatest Rajput warrior of the time) at the hands of Mohammad
Ghori, in the battle of Tarain 1192, marked a new chapter in the history
of India.
After the death of Mohammad Ghori, Qutub-Uddin Aibak (Ghori's
lieutenant in India) founded the Slave Dynasty. With this the Delhi
Sultanate came into being. Aibak was followed by his slave, Iltutmism,
who was succeeded by his daughter, Razia (1236 - 1239). Razia sat on the
throne of Delhi for a short while. The Slave dynasty was followed by the
Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyids and Lodi dynasty. Some of the notable among the
Sultanate rulers were Balban, Alauddin Khalji and Mohammad Bin Tughlaq.
Alauddin Khalji (1296 - 1316 AD) was not only a distinguished commander
but also an able administrator. He is remembered for his military
campaigns in the south as well as market reforms and price control
measures. Muhammad Bin Tughlaq (1324 - 1351 AD) was a visionary who but
unfortunately all his projects failed. His most controversial project
was the transfer of capital from Delhi to Daulatabad. With the death of
Ibrahim Lodi in the battle of Panipat, (at the hands of Babur, the
founder of Mughal Empire) the Delhi Sultanate came to an end. The
Sultanate introduced, in the sub continent, the Islamic concepts of
society and governance, and thus prepared the ground for a dazzling
interaction between two world civilizations. Babar (1526-30 AD) founded
the Mughal Empire in India. He was a descendant of Timur as well as
Changez Khan. He was ousted by his own cousins from his small
principality in Central Asia and sought fortune in India. Babar came to
India and defeated Ibrahim, the last Lodi Sultan in 1526. Babar was
succeeded by his son Humayun but he was ousted from Delhi by Sher Shah,
an Afghan chieftain.
Though Sher Shah (1540-55 AD) ruled only for a brief period of almost
five years yet he showed great administrative skills. He is remembered
as the builder of the Grand Trunk road and also for reforms in the
revenue system. Though Humayun was successful in regaining Delhi but he
was not destined to rule Delhi for long and died the same year. With
this began the reign of one of the most glorious rulers of India, Akbar
the great. Akbar (1556-1605 AD) consolidated political power and
extended his empire over practically the whole of north India and parts
of the south. Akbar was a great ruler and very well realized that if the
empire was to attain stability, enough attention should be paid to all
the subjects. Keeping this thing in mind he sought cooperation from the
Rajputs.
Jehangir (1605-27), the son of Akbar was a pleasure loving man of
refined taste. Contemporary historians have recorded that during his
reign the Persian nobility related to his wife Nur Jahan had become very
powerful at the royal court. Jehangir was followed by his son Shah Jahan
(1628-58 AD). Shah Jahan was a great lover of buildings of whom the Taj
Mahal is the most famous. Other notable buildings built by Shah Jahan
are the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid at Delhi.
Aurangzeb (1658-1707 AD) was a brave general and an able administrator
but these virtues were overshadowed by his religious dogmatism and
fanaticism. The Mughal Empire reached its zenith during the reign of
Aurangzeb. But at the same time he wasted his energy and resources in
his long drawn out conflicts with the Marathas and other local rulers
and principalities. After the death of Aurangzeb the mighty Mughal
Empire started to totter. His successors were weak and incapable of
holding the far-flung empire together. The imperial authority was
challenged from all corners and the provincial governors began to assert
their independence.
In western India, Shivaji (1637-80 AD) united the Marathas into an
efficient military unit gave them a sense of national identity. They
adopted guerrilla tactics to batter the Mughals and put a severe drain
on their economic and psychological resources. The main contenders for
political supremacy of India in the 17th and 18th Centuries were the
Marathas, the Sikhs in Punjab and Hyder Ali (1721 - 1782 AD) in Mysore.
