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Year 8

Mughal rule in India

I can assess the factors responsible for Mughal conquests in India during the 16th and 17th centuries.

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New
New
Year 8

Mughal rule in India

I can assess the factors responsible for Mughal conquests in India during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Download all resources
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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. By the end of the 17th century, the Mughals ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent.
  2. Mughal conquest was often violent, especially involving wars against other Indian states.
  3. A range of non-violent factors contributed to the Mughal conquests in India.
  4. Some of the factors responsible for Mughal conquests enhanced the effects of one another.

Keywords

  • Tolerance - tolerance involves allowing people to do or believe what they want although your beliefs are different or you do not agree with them

  • Revenue - revenue is the amount of money coming in, for example, into a government through tax or into a company

  • Alliance - an alliance is an agreement between two or more countries to work together

Common misconception

Violence was not important during the reign of some monarchs such as Akbar the Great.

Violence was consistently part of the reigns of Mughal emperors. Akbar ordered the massacre of 30 000 people living in Mewar after they resisted the Mughal army in 1568.

Before beginning on learning cycle 1, test students' recall of each of the Mughal emperors by asking them to mind map key details about each. Alternatively, students might work in pairs to identify three words they associate with each and to justify these. This will help re-activate prior knowledge.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Aurangzeb's royal name was...
Correct Answer: Alamgir
Q2.
The Marathas, located in the Deccan, resisted the Mughal Empire for years.
Correct Answer: 27, twenty seven
Q3.
Roughly how many Mughal soldiers died in the Mughal-Maratha war?
1 million
Correct answer: 2.5 million
4 million
5.5 million
Q4.
Which of these best describes the relationship between Marwar and the Mughal Empire?
Marwar had remained independent during Mughal expansion.
Marwar had become an ally of the Mughals, but was not ruled by it.
Correct answer: Marwar had accepted Mughal authority but was ruled by its own kings.
Marwar was ruled directly by the Mughal emperors.
Q5.
Which group paid the jizya tax that was reintroduced by Aurangzeb.
Correct answer: Non-Muslims
Muslims
Soldiers
Widows
Q6.
were mistreated by Aurangzeb in the late seventeenth century.
Correct Answer: Sikhs

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
During which centuries was Mughal rule in India strongest?
The fifteenth century.
Correct answer: The sixteenth century.
Correct answer: The seventeenth century
The eighteenth century
The nineteenth century.
Q2.
Starting with the earliest, place the Mughal emperors in chronological order.
1 - Babur
2 - Humayun
3 - Akbar the Great
4 - Jahangir
5 - Shah Jahan
6 - Aurangzeb
Q3.
Match each of the Mughals' reasons for success to an example of that reason.
Correct Answer:Violence,Aurangzeb sent an army of 500 000 men in 1680 to conquer the Deccan

Aurangzeb sent an army of 500 000 men in 1680 to conquer the Deccan

Correct Answer:Diplomacy,Akbar married the King of Amber's daughter

Akbar married the King of Amber's daughter

Correct Answer:Others' weaknesses,Leading nobles were unhappy with the leader of the Delhi Sultanate

Leading nobles were unhappy with the leader of the Delhi Sultanate

Q4.
A quarter of leading military and government officials by the end of Aurangzeb’s reign were...
Muslims
Correct answer: Hindus
Sikhs
Buddhists
Q5.
Which of these statements best describes the role of violence for Mughal conquest?
Violence was only important in the early years of Mughal rule
Some emperors used extreme violence but most did not.
Correct answer: Mughal emperors repeatedly relied upon violence.
Q6.
Religious and attempts to increase tax revenues were important aspects of Mughal governing policies.
Correct Answer: tolerance