Mughal Empire

Empire Level 2 ★ Major power

1526 – 1857

Timurid empire from Babur to Bahadur Shah II.

🗺 See on map in 1691

Capital: Agra / Fatehpur Sikri / Delhi (Shahjahanabad)
Region: North
Duration: 331 years
Main period: Mughal Empire

Changing extent

1526 — ≈ 410,000 km²: Babur after Panipat: Kabul, the Punjab and Delhi–Agra
1540 — ≈ 70,000 km²: Humayun in exile — the Mughals hold only Kabul
1555 — ≈ 340,000 km²: Humayun restored: Kabul, the Punjab and Delhi
1576 — ≈ 1,780,000 km²: Akbar: Rajputana, Malwa, Gujarat, Gondwana and Bengal
1605 — ≈ 2,790,000 km²: Akbar's 15 subahs: + Kashmir, Sindh, Orissa, Kandahar, Khandesh, Berar and Ahmadnagar
1690 — ≈ 3,520,000 km²: Aurangzeb's peak: Bijapur (1686) and Golconda (1687) annexed; Kandahar lost (1649)
1720 — ≈ 2,600,000 km²: Fragmentation: the Deccan and the Carnatic slip away
1740 — ≈ 390,000 km²: After Nadir Shah: Kabul and Sindh lost; Malwa and Gujarat to the Marathas
1761 — ~130 km radius
1803 — ~30 km radius: British protectorate — Delhi only

Approximate extent over time (solid = latest, dashed = earlier).

At a glance

Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.

Rulers

Babur Humayun Humayun Akbar Jahangir Shah Jahan Aurangzeb (Alamgir)Bahadur Shah I Farrukhsiyar Muhammad Shah Shah Alam II Akbar II Bahadur Shah II (Zafar)

Events

Extent

15261600170018001857

Rulers

Babur Padshah
Victor at Panipat and Khanwa.
1526 – 1530
Humayun Padshah
First reign, ended by Sher Shah.
1530 – 1540
Humayun Padshah
Restored after Sur collapse.
1555 – 1556
Akbar Padshah
Mansabdari; Sulh-i-kul; Fatehpur Sikri.
1556 – 1605
Jahangir Padshah
Nur Jahan; received Sir Thomas Roe.
1605 – 1627
Shah Jahan Padshah
Taj Mahal; Shahjahanabad.
1628 – 1658
Aurangzeb (Alamgir) Padshah
Largest extent; long Deccan wars.
1658 – 1707
Bahadur Shah I Padshah
1707 – 1712
Farrukhsiyar Padshah
1717 farman to the EIC.
1713 – 1719
Muhammad Shah Padshah
Nadir Shah's invasion 1739.
1719 – 1748
Shah Alam II Padshah
Granted the Diwani (1765).
1759 – 1806
Akbar II Padshah
1806 – 1837
Bahadur Shah II (Zafar) Padshah
Symbolic leader of 1857; exiled to Rangoon.
1837 – 1857

Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.

👑 Succession chart →

Key events

Year	Event	Place
1526	First Battle of Panipat Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi; the Mughal Empire begins. Ibrahim Lodi was killed and Babur founded the Mughal Empire.	Panipat
1527	Battle of Khanwa Babur defeats Rana Sanga. Babur defeated Rana Sanga's Rajput confederacy, securing Mughal rule in the north.	Khanwa
1529	Battle of the Ghaghra Babur defeated the Afghan chiefs of the east.	Ghaghra river
1530	Death of Babur; Humayun succeeds After Babur died in 1530, his son Humayun struggled to hold the empire together. Defeated by the Afghan Sher Shah, he spent 1540–55 in exile at the Safavid court of Shah Tahmasp before regaining his lost territories.	Agra
1535	Humayun takes Mandu and Champaner	Champaner
1555	Humayun recovers Delhi (Battle of Sirhind) Defeated by Sher Shah, Humayun spent 1540–55 in exile at the Safavid court in Iran; in 1555–56 he regained his lost territories. Humayun regained his throne from the Surs.	Sirhind
1556	Second Battle of Panipat Akbar's forces defeat Hemu. Hemu was captured and killed, securing Akbar's throne.	Panipat
1564	Akbar abolishes the jizya Part of Akbar's policy of Sulh-i-kul (peace with all).	Agra
1568	Akbar takes Chittorgarh When Akbar’s forces broke into Chittorgarh Fort, hundreds of Rajput women, led by their queens and noblewomen, committed jauhar. Chittor fell and Rana Udai Singh moved his capital to Udaipur.	Chittorgarh
1571	Fatehpur Sikri founded Akbar built Fatehpur Sikri near Agra as his capital. The dargah of the Sufi Shaikh Salim Chishti there symbolised the bond between the Chishtis and the Mughal state.	Fatehpur Sikri
1573	Akbar conquers Gujarat	Ahmedabad
1576	Battle of Rajmahal: Mughals take Bengal Daud Khan Karrani was killed and Bengal became a Mughal province.	Rajmahal
1580	Akbar organises the empire into subahs Abu’l Fazl’s Ain-i Akbari describes the provinces (subas) of Akbar’s empire in its ‘Account of the Twelve Provinces’, giving each suba’s divisions (sarkars and parganas), measured area and assessed revenue. The empire was divided into twelve provinces with uniform administration.	Fatehpur Sikri
1582	Akbar's Din-i-Ilahi	Fatehpur Sikri
1586	Mughals annex Kashmir The last fifteen years of Akbar’s nearly fifty-year reign brought fresh military campaigns in Kashmir, Sindh, the Deccan and Afghanistan.	Srinagar
1601	Asirgarh falls to Akbar	Asirgarh
1605	Death of Akbar Akbar’s reign lasted almost 50 years, from 1556 to his death in 1605; its middle years were relatively peaceful, but the last 15 brought fresh campaigns in Kashmir, Sindh, the Deccan and Afghanistan.	Agra
1606	Execution of Guru Arjan Dev Emperor Jahangir saw the growing Sikh community as a potential threat; finding that Guru Arjan had supported his rebellious son, he had the Guru executed in 1606. This led Guru Arjan’s son and successor, Guru Hargobind, to introduce martial training and form a Sikh army. Sikhism began to take on a militant character under Guru Hargobind.	Lahore
1615	Sir Thomas Roe at Jahangir's court	Ajmer
1628	Shah Jahan becomes emperor Jahangir’s son Prince Khurram took the throne as Shah Jahan (1628–1658), inheriting a stable empire and its finest painters’ workshop. He fought several rebellions and is best remembered as the builder of the Taj Mahal.	Agra
1632	Taj Mahal construction begins Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal at Agra as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. From 1632 it took nearly twenty years and 20,000 specialised workers to complete; it follows the charbagh garden plan.	Agra
1648	Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi) inaugurated Shah Jahan moved his capital from Agra to Shahjahanabad (now Old Delhi) and built the Jama Masjid there in the mid-17th century — India’s largest mosque, raised by about 5,000 workers. In 1739 Nadir Shah’s sack turned the new city to rubble.	Delhi
1653	Taj Mahal completed Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal at Agra as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Begun in 1632, it took nearly twenty years and 20,000 specialised workers to complete.	Agra
1658	Aurangzeb becomes emperor After a war of succession among Shah Jahan’s sons, Aurangzeb imprisoned his father in Agra Fort and crowned himself emperor as ‘Alamgir’ (‘conqueror of the world’). He ruled for almost 49 years.	Delhi
1675	Execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur When Kashmiri Pandits sought his protection from religious persecution, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, stood with them. Arrested and ordered by Aurangzeb to convert, he refused and was publicly beheaded in Chandni Chowk, Delhi — the site of Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib.	Delhi
1679	Aurangzeb reimposes the jizya Aurangzeb reimposed the jizya, a tax on non-Muslim subjects, along with a pilgrimage tax on Hindus — both of which Akbar had abolished. Alienated many Rajput and other subjects.	Delhi
1681	Aurangzeb moves to the Deccan With the Marathas the only obstacle to full Mughal control of the Deccan, Aurangzeb spent the last 25 years of his life fighting war after war there. The cost drained the treasury and strained the administration — often seen as a key cause of the Mughals’ rapid decline after his death in 1707.	Aurangabad
1686	Mughals annex Bijapur Aurangzeb invaded the Deccan and conquered the Bijapur (Adil Shahi) and Golconda (Qutb Shahi) Sultanates, ending the Adil Shahi dynasty (1489–1686), whose Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur is the tomb of Muhammad Adil Shah. The Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur ended.	Bijapur
1687	Mughals annex Golconda Aurangzeb invaded the Deccan and conquered the Bijapur (Adil Shahi) and Golconda (Qutb Shahi) Sultanates. The Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda ended.	Golconda
1707	Death of Aurangzeb Beginning of rapid Mughal decline.	Ahmednagar
1716	Execution of Banda Singh Bahadur Leading the Khalsa’s revolt after Guru Gobind Singh’s death, Banda Bahadur declared Sikh sovereign rule by striking coins in the names of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh and set up an administration between the Sutlej and the Yamuna. He was captured in 1715 and executed in 1716.	Delhi
1717	Farrukhsiyar's farman to the East India Company	Delhi
1739	Nadir Shah sacks Delhi Peacock Throne and Koh-i-Noor carried off. Delhi was plundered and the Peacock Throne and Koh-i-Noor taken to Persia.	Karnal / Delhi