Mughal Rulers from 1526-1707

The House of Timur moved to India: Babur established the Timurid Dynasty in India in 1526, which later became known as the Mughal empire (1526-1857). Babur was sixth in descent from Timur, and his mother was a descendant of Chengiz Khan. The first six Mughal Emperors, from Babur to Aurangzeb, are collectively referred to as the great Mughals.

Babur, the first Mughal Emperor (1526-1530)

Meaning	Tiger
Full Name	Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur
Born	14 February 1483 at Andijan, Uzbekistan
Significance	Established the Mughal empire in 1526
Conquests	1st Battle of Panipat (1526), Battle of Khanwa (1527), Battle of Ghagra (1529)
Parents	Umar Shaikh Mirza and Kutluk Nigar Khanum
Wives	Maham Begum, Aisha Sultan Begum, Zeineb Sultan Begum, Maasumeh Sultan Begum, Bibi Mubarika or Bika Begum, Dildar Begum, Gulrukh Begum, Gulnar Agha Begum, Raiqah Begum
Sons	Humayun, Kamran and Askari (by Gulrukh Begum), Hindal (by Dildar Begum)
Daughters	Gulrang, Gulchehra, Gulbadan (three daughters by Dildar Begum) Gulrukh or Gulbarg
Successor	Humayun
Died	26 December 1530 at Agra
Burial	Bagh-e-Babur at Kabul, Afghanistan (Outside India)
Autobiography	Tuzuk-i-Baburi

Humayun, the second Mughal Emperor (1530-1540 & 1555-1556)

Meaning	Auspicious
Full Name	Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Humayun
Born	6 March 1508 at Kabul, Afghanistan
Significance	Humayun's reign was briefly interrupted by the Sur Dynasty (1540-1555). Following his victory over Sikandar Suri, Humayun re-established the Mughal empire in 1555.
Conquests	Battle of Chausa (1539), Battle of Kannauj (1540)
Parents	Babur and Maham Begum
Wives	Bega Begum or Haji Begum, Hamida Banu Begum, Gunwar Bibi, Mah Chuchak, Maywa Jan, Khanish Agha Khwarizmi
Sons	Akbar, Muhammad Hakim (by Mah Chuchak)
Daughters	Aqiqa (by Bega Begum), Bakshi Banu (by Gunwar Bibi), Fakhru-n-nisa (by Mah Chuchak)
Successor	Akbar
Died	24 Jan 1556 at Delhi
Death	Due to accidental fall from the stairs of his library at Sher Mandal
Burial	Humayun's Tomb at Delhi. It was built by Bega Begum

Akbar the Great, the third Mughal Emperor (1556-1605)

Meaning	The Great
Full Name	Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar
Born	15 October 1542 at Umerkot, Pakistan
Significance	Re-established the Mughal empire after defeating Hemu (1556). Akbar is known as the greatest ruler of the Mughal dynasty. He propagated the idea of Sulahkul ie, Universal Peace, married Hindu princesses and abolished Jizya tax on non-Muslims.
Conquests	2nd Battle of Panipat (1556), Battle of Haldighati (1576)
Parents	Humayun and Hamida Banu (Miriam Makani)
Wives	Ruqaiya Begum, daughter of Hindal; Salima Sultan Begum, daughter of Princess Gulbarg and widow of Bairam Khan; Hira Kunwari, the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber. See a list of Akbar's Wives
Sons	Salim (*Jahangir), Murad (by a concubine), Daniel (by a concubine*)
Daughters	Shahzada Khanum (by a concubine), Shukr-un-nisa Begum (by Bibi Daulat Shad), Aram Banu Begum (by Bibi Daulat Shad)
Successor	Khusrau (eldest son of Salim)
Died	15 Oct 1605 at Agra
Burial	Akbar's Tomb at Sikandara, Agra

Jahangir, the fourth Mughal Emperor (1605-1627)

Meaning	Conqueror of the world
Full Name	Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim
Born	30 August 1569 at Fatehpur Sikri, Agra
Significance	During Jahangir's reign, Mughal painting reached its zenith. Received the first British ambassador (Sir Thomas Roe) and gave permission to the British to trade in India
Conquests	Victory over Mewar (1615), Conquest of Kangra (1620)
Parents	Akbar and Wali Nimat Begum (?)
Wives	Mihr-un-nissa better known as Nur Jahan, the widow of Sher Afgan; Manbhawati Bai or Shah Begum, daughter of Raja Bhagwan Das of Amer and sister of Raja Man Singh; daughter of Raja Rai Singh of Bikaner; daughter of Said Khan Gakhar; daughter of Dariya Malbhas of Lahore; daughter of Mirza Sanjar; Mani Bai or Jagat Gosaine better known as Jodh Bai, daughter of Raja Udai Singh of Jodhpur; Sahibi Jamal, the niece of Zain Khan Koka; Karamsi Bai, daughter of Raja Keshav Das Rathore; daughter of Ali Sher Khan Anchan of Little Tibet (Baltistan); Malika Jahan, daughter of Rawal Bhim Singh of Jaisalmer; grand daughter of Raja Man Singh of Amer; daughter of Ram Chand Bundela of Orchha; daughter of Husain Chak of Kashmir; daughter of Mubarak Khan Chak of Kashmir; Nuru-n-nisa Begum, grand daughter of Mirza Kamran, brother of Humayun; daughter of Raja Ali Khan of Khandesh; daughter of Abdullah Khan Baluch; Khas Mahal, the daughter of Zain Khan Koka
Sons	Khusrau (by Man Bai), Paveiz (by Sahibi Jamal), Khurram (*Shah Jahan), Jahandar (by a concubine), Shahryar (by a concubine*)
Daughters	Sultanu-n-nissa (by Man Bai), Bihar Banu (by Karamsi)
Successor	Khusrau, the eldest son of Jahangir, passed away in 1621, preceding his father. His tomb is located at Khusro Bagh in Allahabad. After the death of Jahangir, Khusrau's son, Bulaqi (Dawar Bakshsh) ascended the throne. However, his name is not in the official list of emperors. Dawar Bakshsh was soon deposed by shah jahan.
Died	28 Oct 1627 at Kashmir
Burial	Jahangir's Tomb at Shahdara Bagh, Lahore, Pakistan (Outside India)
Autobiography	Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri

Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal Emperor (1628-1658)

Meaning	King of the World
Full Name	Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram
Born	5 January 1592 at Lahore, Pakistan
Significance	The reign of Shah Jahan was the Golden age of Mughal architecture. He Was deposed and imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in 1658.
Parents	Jahangir and Jodh Bai
Wives	Arjumand Banu Begum better known as Mumtaz Mahal, niece of Empress Nur Jahan; Kandahari Begum; Azz un-Nisa Begum or Akbarabadi Mahal, the granddaughter of Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan
Sons	Dara Shukoh, Shah Shuja, Aurangzeb (*Alamgir), Murad Bakshsh (all four sons by Mumtaz Mahal*)
Daughters	Purhunar Banu (by Kandahari Begum), Jahan Ara, Roshan Ara, Gauhar Ara (three daughters by Mumtaz Mahal)
Successor	Dara Shukoh. Dara was killed by his younger brother Aurangzeb, who imprisoned Shah Jahan and ascended the throne.
Died	22 January 1666 at Agra
Burial	Taj Mahal at Agra

Aurangzeb Alamgir, the sixth Mughal Emperor (1658-1707)

Meaning	Conqueror of the world
Full Name	Muhi-ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb
Nick Name	Zinda Pir (Living Saint)
Born	24 October 1618 at Dahod, Gujarat
Significance	Murdered his own brothers (Dara Shukoh and Murad Bakshsh) and imprisoned his father for the throne. Aurangzeb was the last powerful Mughal emperor. Although the Mughal empire reached its greatest extent under Aurangzeb, it was also weakened due to the revolts of Sikhs, Rajputs, Jats and the Marathas. The mighty empire fell apart after the death of Aurangzeb.
Parents	Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal
Lover	Hira Bai or Zainabadi Mahal, a court dancer. She died young
Wives	Dilras Banu Begum; Nawab Bai; Hira Bai or Zainabadi Mahal; Aurangabadi Mahal; Udaipuri Mahal
Sons	Sultan Muhammad (by Nawab Bai), Muazzam (*Shah Alam Bahadur Shah), Azam Shah (by Dilras Banu Begum), Akbar (by Dilras Banu Begum), Kam Bakhsh (by Udaipuri Mahal*)
Daughters	Zeb-un-Nissa (by Dilras Banu Begum), Zinat-un-Nissa (by Dilras Banu Begum), Badr-un-Nissa (by Nawab Bai), Zubdat-un-Nissa (by Dilras Banu Begum), Mihr-un-Nissa (by Aurangabadi Mahal)
Successor	Shah Alam Bahadur Shah
Died	21 February 1707 at Ahmednagar
Burial	Aurangzeb's Tomb at Khuldabad, Aurangabad

By Successor Here means, the preferred successor of their fathers/grandfathers

Comments

Indrani30 January, 2015
Interesting collection of info.
Unknown30 July, 2015
super anjana it very useful for me thank you very much
Avantika04 August, 2016
Great compilation of essential information about history of mughals. Thanks for posting!
Ravi10 April, 2017
Fascinating! Just love their nick names, I mean just who cooked them up? E.g. Living Saint! And the next descriptors 'murdered his brothers and imprisoned his own father' ? So was that a joke? Another one builder, architect, engineer king? Was the man actually educated? It's one thing to employ artisans to touch up preexisting buildings and quite something else to be designated an architect.

In the description for Timur it states he took back architects to his homeland, well so much for Islamic architecture in that case.

This article is a well intentioned attempt but lacks depth and insight and is to put it politely further regurgitation of a romanticized notion of this group of notorious rulers.