Hello, and thank you for joining me.

I'm Mr. Marchin, and I'll be your history teacher for today's lesson.

I'll be guiding you through all of our resources, and my top aims are to ensure not only that you enjoy our learning, but also that you can successfully meet today's lesson objective.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our unit on the Mughal Empire, where we've been asking ourselves, how important was violence to the Mughal conquest in India? By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to assess Akbar the Great's contribution to Mughal expansion during the 16th century.

There is one keyword which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson, and that is jihad.

In Islam, a jihad is a religious struggle against evil in society.

Wars against non-Muslims were often declared as jihads.

Today's lesson will be split into three parts, and we'll begin by focusing on India at the beginning of Akbar's reign.

Akbar became the third Mughal emperor in 1556.

Akbar reigned for almost 1/2 a century until his death in 1605.

Akbar has also been referred to as Akbar the Great.

At the beginning of Akbar's reign, the Mughals had only been back in power in northern India for one year.

Before this, Akbar's father, Humayun, had lived in exile for 14 years.

During those 14 years, Mughal lands had been ruled by Sher Shah and his descendants.

Akbar was still just a teenager when he became emperor, and there were many threats which he faced from within and from outside his empire.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've heard so far.

Which of the following statements is most accurate? Mughal rule in India only began at the start of Akbar's reign.

When Akbar began his reign, the Mughals had only just regained power in India.

Or when Akbar began his reign, the Mughals had been securely in power in India for decades.

Pause video here, and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was B.

When Akbar began his reign, the Mughals had only just regained power in India.

Actually, they'd only been back in power for one year.

Prior to that, Akbar's father, Humayun, had been forced to live in exile for 14 years.

Some people who had gained power under Sher Shah and his descendants remained a threat to Akbar when he began his reign.

In 1556, a Hindu general named Hemu defeated Mughal forces outside of Delhi, took control of the city and declared himself a king.

At the Second Battle of Panipat later that year, Mughal armies defeated Hemu and captured him.

Akbar himself beheaded Hemu.

It was intended that this punishment, delivered personally by the emperor himself, would stop others from trying to rebel and challenge Mughal power in India.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

Which reason best explains why Akbar beheaded the Hindu general Hemu in 1556? Was it to discourage others from starting rebellions, to punish Hemu for not being a Muslim or to take over the Mughal throne from Hemu? Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was A, it was hoped that Akbar beheading the Hindu general Hemu personally would discourage others from starting rebellions.

It sent a clear sign that there would be strong and harsh punishments against those who challenged the Mughals.

Powerful states in northern India continued to rival the Mughals at the start of Akbar's reign.

These powerful states included the Kingdom of Mewar, a Hindu kingdom, the Sultanate of Bengal, which was Muslim, and the Sultanate of Gujarat, which was also Muslim.

Rivalry between the Mughal Empire and other powerful states in northern India was influenced by several factors.

The Sultanate of Gujarat, Sultanate of Bengal and the Kingdom of Mewar all had histories of fighting against the Mughals.

None of these states wanted to recognise the Mughals as being more powerful than themselves.

The Sultanate of Gujarat, Sultanate of Bengal and Kingdom of Mewar all sheltered some of Akbar's enemies.

This decision to shelter Akbar's enemies created tensions between the Mughal Empire and those states.

And the Kingdom of Mewar was a Hindu, Rajput state which encouraged opposition to Muslim Mughal rule.

Let's reflect on what we've just heard.

We have a statement on the screen that reads only non-Muslim states rivalled the Mughal Empire.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false.

But we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that at the start of Akbar's reign, Muslim states like the Kingdom of Mewar were also key rivals.

The second justification says that at the start of Akbar's reign, Muslim states like the Sultanate of Bengal were also key rivals.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct justification was B.

At the start of Akbar's rein, Muslim states like the Sultanate of Bengal were also key rivals.

The Kingdom of Mewar was also a key rival, but it was a Hindu state.

So that first justification was inaccurate and wouldn't have backed up our original statement.

We're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about India at the beginning of Akbar's reign into practise.

I want you to study the sentences on the screen.

We have two.

The first says the Emperor Akbar faced threats from within the Mughal Empire in the early years of his rein.

And the second says the Emperor Akbar faced threats from outside the Mughal Empire in the early years of his reign.

For each sentence, I want you to provide an example to support it.

So pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So I asked you to study our two sentences and provide examples which could support both of them.

For the first sentence, that said Emperor Akbar faced threats from within the Mughal Empire in the early years of his rein, your example may have included, in 1556, Delhi was briefly captured by a general named Hemu, who had previously fought for Sher Shah's descendants.

And for our second sentence, that said Emperor Akbar faced threats from outside the Mughal Empire in the early years of his reign, your example may have included the Rajput Kingdom of Mewar and the Sultanates of Bengal and Gujarat sheltered Akbar's enemies and continued to rival the Mughals.

So really well done if your own examples look something like those two models which we've just seen.

And now we're ready to move on to the second part of our lesson for today, where we're gonna focus on Akbar, violence and war.

Emperor Akbar gained a reputation as great partly because of his successful expansion of the Mughal Empire.

By the end of Akbar's reign, roughly 100 million people lived under the rule of the Mughal Empire in India.

A key part of Mughal expansion was Akbar's use of violence and his success as a military leader.

Emperor Akbar oversaw a series of military victories against Mughal rivals.

In fact, Akbar's military grew in strength from the very beginning of his reign.

After the defeat of Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat, the Mughals had gained 120 war elephants, which were used by Akbar's armies in later battles against other enemies.

Akbar also expanded other parts of his army.

Whereas he commanded 12,000 mounted archers in 1556, by 1581, the Mughal army included 50,000 mounted archers.

In other words, more than four times as many.

Between 1571 and 1584, the powerful Sultanate of Gujarat was conquered by the Mughals.

This conquest was particularly beneficial for the Mughals.

It not only removed dangerous rivals from power, but because Gujarat had many ports, the Mughal conquest helped Akbar gain more control over Indian trade and increased the wealth of his empire.

Meanwhile, the Mughal invasion of the Sultanate of Bengal in the 1570s led to the conquest of the entire Sultanate, and also to the death of Sultan Daud Khan Karrani, who had consistently opposed the Mughals.

After 1576, Akbar appointed his own choice of officials to rule Bengal.

This conquest was helped by the wealth of the Mughal Empire.

Akbar not only ensured that his own soldiers were well paid, but also weakened Sultan-Karranise armies by offering higher pay to Bengali soldiers than they received from the Sultan.

During the 1570s, many of the Sultanate of Bengal's troops changed sides.

Even by the end of Akbar's rein, the Mughal Empire was still expanding.

Having already conquered lands to the east, west and north, between 1593 and 1601, Akbar conquered territories in the Deccan, extending Mughal rule into southern India.

So let's check our understanding of everything that we've just heard.

Which of the following was a benefit resulting from Mughal victory in the Second Battle at Paipat? Was it that Akbar's armies gained 12 new generals, that Akbar's armies gained 120 war elephants or that Akbar's armies gained 1,200 new soldiers? Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was B, the Mughal victory in the Second Battle of Panipat allowed Akbar to gain 120 war elephants, which had been used by his enemy Hemu.

And let's try another question.

This time, we have a statement which reads Akbar did not only rely on violent methods to conquer the Sultanate of Bengal.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was true.

But we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that Mughals made an agreement with Sultan Daud Khan Karrani for him to accept Akbar's authority.

And the second says that Mughals offered higher pay to Sultan Daud Khan Karrani's soldiers to make them change sides.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct justification was B.

The Mughals used their great wealth to offer higher pay to Sultan Daud Khan Karrani's soldiers, and this led to the Bengali troops changing sides, making it easier for Akbar's armies to conquer Bengal.

The Rajput Kingdom of Mewar consistently refused to accept the power and authority of the Mughal emperors.

In 1567, Emperor Akbar sent his army to attack and conquer Chittorgarh, an important fort which was the capital of the Kingdom of Mewar.

Akbar declared this war was a jihad, a holy war to be fought by Muslims against the Hindu Kingdom.

Strong resistance from the soldiers in Chittorgarh meant that the Mughal attack took four months to succeed.

When Chittorgarh was finally conquered, Akbar ordered a general massacre of all the people living in the city.

Mughal soldiers killed 30,000 people, most of whom were Hindu women and children living in Chittorgarh.

So let's make sure we really understood everything that we just heard.

I want you to write the missing keyword in the following sentence.

Emperor Akbar declared a blank against the Hindu Kingdom of Mewar.

So what's the missing keyword? Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the missing keyword was jihad.

Emperor Akbar declared a jihad against the Hindu Kingdom of Mewar.

And let's try another question.

How many people were massacred after the Mughals secured control of the Fort of Chittorgarh? Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was 30,000.

When the Mughals secured control of Chittorgarh after a four month long attack, Akbar ordered a general massacre of everybody living in the fort, leading to the deaths of 30,000 people.

So we're now ready to put all of our knowledge about Akbar, violence and war into practise.

I want you to answer the following question.

Why has Akbar the Great gained a reputation as a successful military leader? You may refer to one of the following as part of your answer, rivals, war elephants and pay.

Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So I asked you, why has Akbar the Great gained a reputation as a successful military leader? Your answer may have included Akbar the Great has gained a reputation as a successful military leader because he was able to use his army to defeat many of the Mughals' key rivals.

such as the Sultanates of Bengal and Gujarat.

By the start of the 1580s, Akbar had managed to conquer both of these states, despite the fact that they were very powerful.

So well done if your answer looks something like that model.

Alternatively, your answer may have included Akbar the Great has gained a reputation as a successful military leader because he increased the strength of the Mughal army.

For example, in the first 25 years of his reign, Akbar quadrupled the number of mounted archers in his army, whilst he also added 120 war elephants to the Mughal army after Hemu's defeat in the Second Battle of Panipat.

So again, well done if your own answer looks something similar to that model.

And finally, one other alternative response which your answer may have resembled was Akbar the Great has gained a reputation as a successful military leader because he worked hard to ensure his army had the best chance of success against its enemies.

For example, Akbar offered higher pay to soldiers fighting for the Sultanate of Bengal to bribe them into changing sides, weakening the enemy the Mughal army had to fight.

So well done for all of your effort on that task, especially if your own response looks something similar to one of those three models which we've just seen.

And that means we're now ready to move on to the third and final part of our lesson for today, where we're going to focus on Akbar, diplomacy and peace.

The expansion of the Mughal Empire during Akbar's reign was a result of more than just military conquest.

Akbar the Great was also skilled at diplomacy.

In other words, making agreements with the leaders of other countries.

And was able to expand Mughal control using peaceful methods as well.

The Rajput states of northern India had opposed Mughal rule for decades by the time Akbar became emperor.

However, unlike the Kingdom of Mewar, which was attacked by Mughal armies, Akbar gained power over most Rajput kingdoms through diplomacy.

In 1562, in return for Mughal support to help him maintain his local power, the Rajput King of Amber agreed to serve the Mughals.

Although Akbar was already married, the emperor also married the King of Amber's daughter, Mariam un-Zamani, as part of the agreement between the two leaders.

Furthermore, Akbar gave the King of Amber the highest rank possible for a Mughal noble.

All of this occurred despite the religious differences between the Mughals and the Rajputs.

Akbar granted freedom of religious worship to the Kingdom of Amber, allowing its people to maintain their Hindu religion, rather than forcing them to convert to Islam.

As this arrangement began to increase the power of the Kingdom of Amber, most other Rajput states began to follow its example.

As Rajput kings swore loyalty to Akbar and sent off their daughters to live with the emperor, the power of the Mughals in northern India became both more widespread and more secure.

So let's check our understanding of everything that we've just heard.

Which statement is most accurate? Akbar gained control over all Rajput kingdoms by force.

Akbar gained control over most Rajput kingdoms by force.

Akbar gained control over most Rajput kingdoms peacefully.

Or Akbar gained control over all Rajput kingdoms peacefully.

Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was C, Akbar gained control over most Rajput kingdoms peacefully, using diplomatic methods.

And let's try another question.

Why did Akbar marry Mariam un-Zamani? Was it because Akbar and Mariam fell in love, because the marriage was part of his diplomacy or because Akbar was unmarried and childless? Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was B, Akbar married Mariam un-Zamani because the marriage was part of his diplomacy with the King of Amber.

It helped to seal an agreement between the two states, which extended Mughal power in northern India.

And let's try one more question.

I want you to give one way the King of Amber benefited from his agreements with Akbar the Great.

Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, so correct responses to our question may have included that the King of Amber became a high ranking Mughal noble, that the king gained Mughal support for his local power or that the king grew more powerful than over Rajput leaders.

So well done if your answer was similar to one of those bullet points.

We're now ready to put all of our knowledge about Akbar, diplomacy and peace and the expansion of the Mughal Empire during his reign into practise.

I want you to study the two opinions shared on the screen.

Laura says that Mughal expansion under Akbar the Great was violent.

And Andeep says that diplomacy was a key reason why Akbar's empire grew.

So is either Laura or Andeep incorrect? I want you to write one paragraph to explain your answer.

Pause the video here, and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So we had our two opinions shared by Laura and Andeep, and I asked you, were either of those opinions incorrect? Your answer may have included neither Laura nor Andeep is incorrect as Mughal expansion under Akbar the Great relied on both violence and diplomacy.

For example, Akbar declared a jihad against the Kingdom of Mewar, leading to the conquest at Chittorgarh.

This shows that military force helped expand the empire.

However, Akbar also gained control over most of the Rajput kingdoms in northern India peacefully.

For example, the King of Amber swore loyalty to Akbar and began to serve the Mughal in 1562, after marrying his daughter to Akbar and gaining Mughal support for his local power.

So really well done if your own answer looks something similar to that model which we've just seen.

So now we've reached the end of today's lesson, which puts us in a good position to summarise our learning.

We've seen that at the start of Emperor Akbar's reign, the Mughal Empire was threatened by both internal challenges and outside threats from rival states.

Under Akbar the Great, the Mughal Empire expanded significantly.

Akbar's military leadership helped the Mughals to conquer rival powers such as the Sultanate of Bengal and Gujarat.

And Akbar was also skilled at diplomacy, and gained control over most Rajput kingdoms by making agreements with their leaders.

So really well done for all of your hard work during today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you through our resources, and I look forward to seeing you again in the future as we continue to think about the Mughal Empire, and ask ourselves, how important was violence to the Mughal conquest in India?.