Hello, I'm Mr. Marchin, and thank you for joining me for today's history lesson.

I'll be guiding you through all of our resources today, and my top priority is to make sure that by the end of our lesson, you're able to successfully meet our learning 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 during the 16th and 17th centuries? By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the development of the Mughal Empire during the 17th century.

There are four keywords which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Those are destabilised, guru, discrimination, and martyr.

A government or country is destabilised when its power and control over the people it rules becomes less secure.

A guru is a religious leader in the Sikh religion.

Discrimination involves treating a person or particular group of people in a worse way from the way in which you would treat other people because of characteristics like their race or religion.

And a martyr is a person who suffers very much or is killed because of their religious or political beliefs.

They're often admired because of their suffering.

Today's lesson will be split into three parts, and we'll begin by focusing on who the 17th century emperors were.

Akbar the Great died in 1605.

After Akbar's death, three emperors ruled over the Mughal Empire during the 17th century: Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.

Although Mughal emperors continued to hold power in India until 1858, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb are seen as the last of the great Mughal emperors.

Jahangir reigned from 1605 until 1627.

He continued Emperor Akbar's tolerant religious policies.

However, Jahangir was not a very effective leader of the Mughal Empire.

He was addicted to drugs and frequently ill, which meant he was often incapable of ruling the empire effectively by himself.

Instead, Nur Jahan, Jahangir's wife, has often been considered the effective ruler of India during many of the years of Jahangir's reign.

A portrait of Nur Jahan can be seen on the screen underneath the portrait of her husband Jahangir.

So let's check our knowledge of what we've just heard.

Who have historians considered the effective ruler of India for large parts of Jahangir's reign? Was it his nobles, his son, Prince Khurram, or his wife, Nur Jahan? 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 C.

For large parts of Jahangir's reign, historians have considered his wife Nur Jahan to be the effective leader of the Mughal empire.

Shah Jahan became emperor of the Mughal Empire after Jahangir's death, and he reigned from 1628 until 1658.

Shah Jahan was a skilled military leader.

However, Shah Jahan's most lasting contributions to the Mughal Empire were made in architecture.

He ordered the Taj Mahal to be constructed, one of the most famous landmarks even in modern-day India, a photo of which can be seen on the screen.

Shah Jahan was also responsible for many of the mosques, hospitals, schools, and markets being built all across India.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

I want you to write the missing word for the following sentence.

By ordering the construction of buildings such as the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan contributed to the development of Mughal blank.

So what's the missing word? 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 word was architecture.

By ordering the construction of buildings such as the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan contributed to the development of Mughal architecture.

Shah Jahan was followed as emperor by his son Aurangzeb, who ruled from 1658 to 1707.

Aurangzeb was the longest reigning Mughal emperor.

Aurangzeb was a very pious Muslim who followed his religious beliefs strictly.

This meant that he refused to engage in so many activities, which previous Mughal emperors had, such as drinking and smoking.

Aurangzeb is one of the most controversial Mughal emperors, if not the most controversial Mughal emperor though.

To this day, historical debates continue about Aurangzeb's policies and whether they reduced Mughal power in India.

However, the Mughal Empire did expand to its greatest extent during the reign of Aurangzeb.

It covered almost all of the Indian subcontinent by the end of the 17th century.

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

How large did the Mughal Empire become during the reign of Aurangzeb? Was it limited to northern India? Was it that it covered most of the Indian subcontinent or that it included most lands in Asia? 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.

During the reign of Aurangzeb, the Mughal empire grew to its largest extent, covering most of the Indian subcontinent.

So let's put all of our knowledge of the 17th century Mughal emperors into practise.

I want you to study the images A, B, and C.

Each image relates to a key feature of the reigns of either Jahangir, Shah Jahan or Aurangzeb.

Firstly, under each of the images, I want you to write the name of the emperor whose reign it relates to.

So 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 first part of task A.

So I asked you to identify which emperor each of our images A, B, and C related to.

You should have said that for image A, it related to Shah Jahan.

Image B relates to Aurangzeb, and image C relates to Jahangir.

So now we're ready to move on to the second part of task A.

This time I want you to explain how each of our images A, B, and C relates to the emperor who it was matched with.

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

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

So I asked you to explain how each of our images related to the emperor it was matched with.

Your answers may have included image A relates to Shah Jahan because he ordered the construction of many different buildings, which were important for Mughal architecture, including Taj Mahal.

Image B relates to Aurangzeb because during his reign, successful conquests meant that the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent, covering almost all of the Indians subcontinent.

And image C relates to Jahangir because Nur Jahan was often considered the effective Mughal ruler during his reign due to Jahangir's addictions and frequent illnesses.

So well done if your own responses look something like those model answers which we've just seen.

We're now ready to move on to the second part of our lesson today where we're gonna focus on Mughal expansion.

During the 17th century, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent.

The most significant expansion of Mughal territory occurred during the reign of Aurangzeb.

Military victories extended the reach of Mughal power, but also created problems for the empire.

Aurangzeb was a successful military leader who expanded the Mughal Empire.

He had gained significant military experience before he became emperor, and as ruler continued to take personal command of his armies.

It is estimated that 158 million people lived in the Mughal Empire by the end of the 17th century, making it the most populated state in the world.

And Aurangzeb even used the royal name Alamgir, meaning Conqueror of the World because of his successes.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

What did Aurangzeb's royal name Alamgir mean? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well to everybody who said that Aurangzeb's royal name, Alamgir, meant conqueror of the world.

This referred to the emperor's military successes.

In 1680, Aurangzeb sent an army of 500,000 men to conquer the Deccan, a region in southern India.

The Mughals were able to defeat many of the states who ruled over these lands, including the Sultanate of Bijapur and Sultanate of Golconda, which became part of the Mughal Empire in 1686 and 1687.

However, despite these successes, the Mughals faced strong resistance from another Indian state in the Deccan, the Marathas.

The Mughal-Maratha war continued for 27 years until Aurangzeb died in 1707.

Whilst the Mughals eventually succeeded in conquering the Deccan, Aurangzeb was not able to defeat the Marathas who remained a threat to the Mughal Empire throughout the 18th century.

Furthermore, the long war proved extremely costly and by some estimates, led to the deaths of 2.

5 million soldiers in the Mughal army.

At the end of the war, the Mughals still possessed a large army and considerable wealth, but the difficulties experienced by Aurangzeb's army in the Deccan reduced the Mughals' reputation for military success.

How long did the war between the Mughals and Marathas last for? Was it seven months, seven years, 17 years, or 27 years? 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 27 years.

Between 1680 and 1707, the Mughals and Marathas fought one another.

And let's try another question.

This time we have a statement and I want you to write the missing number.

Between 1680 and 1707, up to blank of Aurangzeb's soldiers died fighting war in Deccan.

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

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the missing number was 2.

5 million.

Between 1680 and 1707, up to 2.

5 million of Aurangzeb's soldiers died fighting wars in the Deccan.

And let's try one more question.

This time we have a statement which reads, the Mughals achieved no benefits from their wars in the Deccan.

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 the Mughal Empire was able to expand as other states like the Sultanate of Bijapur were conquered.

The second says that the Mughal Empire was able to expand as other states like the Maratha Empire were conquered.

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 then to everybody who said the correct justification was A, the Mughal Empire was able to expand as other states like the Sultanate of Bijapur were conquered.

And this demonstrates that the Mughals did achieve some benefits from their long wars in the Deccan.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about Mughal expansion into practise.

I want you to study the view given by Jun on the screen.

Jun says that expansion under Aurangzeb proves that the Mughal Empire was only growing stronger by the end of the 17th century.

I want you to explain one reason why Jun's view could be considered incorrect.

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

Okay, well done for all your hard work on that task.

So we were given Jun's view and I asked you to explain one reason why that view could be considered incorrect.

Your answer could have included any one of the following.

Despite their successes, the Mughals faced strong resistance from the Marathas and their subsequent war lasted for 27 years.

While the Mughals eventually succeeded in conquering the Deccan, Aurangzeb was not able to defeat the Marathas who remained a threat throughout the 18th century, or difficulties experienced by Aurangzeb's army in a Deccan reduced the Mughals' reputation for military success.

And that means we're ready to move onto the third and final part of our lesson for today where we're going to focus on Mughal difficulties in the 17th century.

By the end of the 17th century, tensions within the Mughal Empire were rising.

Rebellions occurred which destabilised the Mughal Empire.

Emperor Aurangzeb was determined to maintain his power and that of the Mughals.

He was even willing to use violence to do so.

Emperor Aurangzeb was constantly looking for opportunities to extend Mughal power.

This meant that when the king of Marwar died in 1678, Aurangzeb moved to take direct control over the Rajput kingdom rather than allow the king's newly born son to take power.

This was extremely unpopular with the population of Marwar.

Although Marwar had accepted the overall authority of Mughal emperors for nearly 100 years, the kingdom had still been ruled on a local level by its own kings.

Marwar's leading general, Durgadas Rathore, led a military resistance against Aurangzeb's attempt to take over Marwar.

Rajput troops attacked trade routes, as well as fighting a Aurangzeb's troops.

Rathore's rebellion continued for 28 years, only ending after Aurangzeb died in 1707, at which point Rathore was able to reconquer the entire kingdom of Marwar.

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

We have a statement on the screen which reads, the Mughal struggle to defeat the Marwar rebellion.

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 after just one year of fighting, the Mughals were defeated by Durgadas Rathore.

And the second says that the rebellion lasted for 28 years and ended with a victory for Durgadas Rathore's army.

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 rebellion in Marwar lasted for 28 years and ended with a victory for Durgadas Rathore's Rajput army over the Mughals.

Aurangzeb continued to show some tolerance towards the Mughal Empire's non-Muslim population.

Nevertheless, Aurangzeb also increased the amount of discrimination which non-Muslims suffered from.

For instance, the jizya tax paid by non-Muslims living in a Muslim state was reintroduced for the first time since it had been abolished almost a century earlier during the reign of Akbar the Great.

Increased religious discrimination encouraged challenges to the Mughals, including for the ninth guru Tegh Bahadur on behalf of mistreated Sikhs in the empire.

Mughal officials responded to Tegh Bahadur's actions by arresting him and on Aurangzeb's orders, beheading him in 1675.

However, rather than discouraging further opposition to his actions, Aurangzeb's harsh treatment of Tegh Bahadur turned the guru into a martyr for Sikhs and encouraged greater military resistance to Mughal rule for the remainder of Aurangzeb's reign.

The 10th guru, Gobind Singh, fought multiple battles against the Mughals, including the battle at Anandpur in 1700 when Guru Gobind Singh's Sikh army defeated a Mughal army of 10,000 men.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

I want you to write the two missing keywords from the following sentence.

Blank, Tegh Bahadur opposed Aurangzeb because of Mughal blank against Sikhs.

So what are the two missing words? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the two missing words were guru and discrimination.

Guru Tegh Bahadur opposed Aurangzeb because of Mughal discrimination against Sikhs.

So really well done if you identified both of those words correctly.

And let's try another question.

Why did Guru Tegh Bahadur become a martyr for Sikhs? Was it because Aurangzeb forced him to live in poverty, because Aurangzeb sent him into exile or because Aurangzeb ordered for him to be beheaded? 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 C.

Guru Tegh Bahadur became a martyr for Sikhs after Aurangzeb ordered for him to be beheaded after Bahadur had opposed the discrimination of Sikhs in the Mughal Empire.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about Mughal difficulties into practise.

I want you to explain one way in which Emperor Aurangzeb's attempts to increase or maintain Mughal power actually destabilised the Mughal Empire.

You may refer to the following as part of your answer.

Marwar, Durgadas Rathore, martyr or Gobind Singh.

So 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 to explain one way in which Emperor Aurangzeb's attempts to increase or maintain Mughal power actually destabilised the Mughal Empire.

And your answer may have included Emperor Aurangzeb's attempts to increase Mughal control over the kingdom of Marwar could be considered destabilising for his empire.

When the king of Marwar died in 1678, Aurangzeb attempted to take direct control over the kingdom rather than allowing the dead king's newborn son to come to power.

This angered the population of Marwar and led to a 28-year rebellion led by Durgadas Rathore, which disrupted Mughal trade and to new violence for Aurangzeb to manage.

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

Alternatively, your answer may have included Emperor Aurangzeb's response to seek opposition to his policies destabilised the Mughal Empire.

In 1675, the ninth guru, Tegh Bahadur, was beheaded on Aurangzeb's orders for opposing discrimination against Sikhs.

This was a problem because Tegh Bahadur's death turned him into a martyr and encouraged increased opposition, including violence from Sikhs against the Mughals.

For example, the 10th Guru, Gobind Singh, fought the Mughal army repeatedly and even defeated it in battle.

So it really well done if your own response looked something similar to that model.

We've now reached the end of today's lesson.

So we're in a good position to summarise our learning about the Mughal Empire in the 17th century.

We've seen that Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb ruled the Mughal Empire during the 17th Century.

Mughal architecture flourished during the 17th century, especially during the reign of Shah Jahan.

The Mughal Empire continued to expand during the 17th century, reaching its greatest extent during Aurangzeb's reign.

Military expansion and conflict under Aurangzeb proved increasingly costly.

The Mughal Empire was increasingly destabilised by rebellions in the late 17th century, including those led by mistreated Sikhs.

So really well done for all of your effort during today's lesson, and I look forward to seeing you again in future as we think further about the Mughal Empire and continue to ask ourselves how important was violence for the Mughal conquest in India during the 16th and 17th centuries?.