India 16-17 centuries. From a Hindu book

Rajput period (VII-XII centuries). As was shown in Chapter 2, in the IV-VI centuries. AD On the territory of modern India, a powerful Gupta empire emerged. The Gupta era, perceived as the golden age of India, gave way in the 7th-12th centuries. period of feudal fragmentation. At this stage, however, the isolation of regions of the country and the decline of culture did not occur due to the development of port trade. Those who came from Central Asia The tribes of the conquering Huns settled in the north-west of the country, and the Gujarats who appeared with them settled in Punjab, Sindh, Rajputana and Malva. As a result of the merger alien peoples a compact compact arose with the local population ethnic community Rajputs, which in the 8th century. began expansion from Rajputana into the rich regions of the Ganges Valley and Central India. The most famous was the Gurjara-Pratihara clan, which formed a state in Malva. Here the most striking type of feudal relations with a developed hierarchy and vassal psychology arose.

In the VI-VII centuries. in India a system of sustainable political centers, fighting each other under the banner of different dynasties - North India, Bengal, Deccan and the Far South. Outline of political events of the 8th century. began the struggle for the Doab (between the Jumna and Ganga rivers). In the 10th century The leading powers of the country fell into decline and were divided into independent principalities. The political fragmentation of the country turned out to be especially tragic for Northern India, which suffered in the 11th century. regular raids by the troops of Mahmud Ghaznavid (998-1030), ruler of a vast empire that included territories modern states Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Punjab and Sindh.

The socio-economic development of India during the Rajput era was characterized by the growth of fiefs. The richest among the feudal lords, along with the rulers, were Hindu temples and monasteries. If initially they were granted only uncultivated lands and with the indispensable consent of the community that owned them, then from the 8th century. Increasingly, not only lands were transferred, but also villages, the inhabitants of which were obliged to bear a service in kind in favor of the recipient. However, at this time the Indian community was still relatively independent, large in size and self-governing. A full-fledged community member hereditarily owned his field, although trade operations with land were certainly controlled by the community administration.

City life, which had come to a standstill after the 6th century, began to revive only towards the end of the Rajput period. Old port centers developed faster. New cities arose near the castles of the feudal lords, where artisans settled to serve the needs of the court and the landowner's troops. The development of urban life was facilitated by increased exchange between cities and the emergence of groupings of artisans by caste. As well as in Western Europe, in the Indian city, the development of crafts and trade was accompanied by the struggle of citizens against feudal lords, who imposed new taxes on artisans and merchants. Moreover, the lower the class position of the castes to which artisans and traders belonged, the higher the tax.

At the stage of feudal fragmentation, Hinduism finally prevailed over Buddhism, defeating it by the force of its amorphousness, which perfectly corresponded to the political system of the era.

The era of the Muslim conquest of India. Delhi Sultanate (XIII - early XVI centuries) In the XIII century. In the north of India, a large Muslim state, the Delhi Sultanate, is established, and the dominance of Muslim military leaders from the Central Asian Turks is finally formalized. Sunni Islam becomes the state religion, official language– Persian. Accompanied by bloody strife, the Gulam, Khilji, and Tughlaqid dynasties successively replaced in Delhi. The sultans' troops carried out conquests to Central and Southern India, and the conquered rulers were forced to recognize themselves as vassals of Delhi and pay an annual tribute to the Sultan. The turning point in the history of the Delhi Sultanate was the invasion of Northern India in 1398 by the troops of the Central Asian ruler Timur (another name is Tamerlane, 1336-1405). The Sultan fled to Gujarat. An epidemic and famine began in the country. Left by the conqueror as governor of Punjab, Khizrkhan Sayyid captured Delhi in 1441 and founded a new Sayyid dynasty. Representatives of this and the Lodi dynasty that followed it already ruled as governors of the Timurids. One of the last Lodi, Ibrahim, seeking to exalt his power, entered into an irreconcilable struggle with the feudal nobility and Afghan military leaders. Ibrahim's opponents turned to the ruler of Kabul, Timurid Babur, with a request to save them from the tyranny of the Sultan. In 1526, Babur defeated Ibrahim at the Battle of Panipat, marking the beginning of the Mughal Empire, which lasted almost 200 years. The system of economic relations underwent some, although not radical, changes in the Muslim era. The government's land fund at the expense of the possessions of the conquered Indian feudal families. The main part of it was distributed as conditional service awards - iqta (small plots) and mukta (large “feedings”). Iqtadars and muktadars collected taxes from the granted villages for the benefit of the treasury, part of which was used to support the family of the holder, who supplied the warrior to the state army. Private landowners who managed estates without government interference included mosques, owners of property for charitable purposes, custodians of sheikhs' tombs, poets, officials and merchants. The rural community remained as a convenient fiscal unit, although the payment of the poll tax (jiziah) fell on the peasants, most of whom professed Hinduism, as a heavy burden.

By the 14th century Historians attribute a new wave of urbanization to India. Cities became centers of crafts and trade. Domestic trade was primarily oriented towards the needs of the capital's court. The leading item of import was the import of horses (the basis of the Delhi army was cavalry), which were not bred in India due to the lack of pastures. Archaeologists find treasures of Delhi coins in Persia, Central Asia and the Volga.

During the reign of the Delhi Sultanate, Europeans began to penetrate India. In 1498, under Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese first reached Calicat on the Malabar coast of western India. As a result of subsequent military expeditions - Cabral (1500), Vasco de Gama (1502), d'Albuquerque (1510-1511) - the Portuguese captured the Bijapur island of Goa, which became the mainstay of their possessions in the East. The Portuguese monopoly on maritime trade undermined India's trade ties with countries of the East, isolated the deep regions of the country and delayed their development. This also led to wars and the destruction of the population of Malabar. Gujarat was also weakened. Only the Vijayanagar Empire remained powerful in the XIV-XVI centuries and even more centralized than the previous states of the south. Its head was considered the Maharaja , but all the fullness of real power belonged to the state council, the chief minister, to whom the governors of the provinces were directly subordinate. State lands were distributed as conditional military grants - amars. A significant part of the villages were in the possession of Brahman collectives - sabhas. Large communities disintegrated. Their possessions were narrowed to the lands of one villages, and community members increasingly began to turn into less than full-fledged tenants and sharecroppers. In the cities, the authorities began to delegate the collection of duties to the feudal lords, which strengthened their undivided dominance here.

With the establishment of the power of the Delhi Sultanate, in which Islam was a forcibly imposed religion, India found itself drawn into the cultural orbit of the Muslim world. However, despite the bitter struggle between Hindus and Muslims, long-term cohabitation led to the mutual penetration of ideas and customs.

India in the era of the Mughal Empire (XVI-XVIII centuries). The final stage medieval history of India was the rise in its north at the beginning of the 16th century. the new powerful Muslim Mughal Empire, which in the 17th century. managed to subjugate a significant part of South India. The founder of the state was the Timurid Babur (1483-1530). The power of the Mughals in India strengthened during the half-century reign of Akbar (1452-1605), who moved the capital to the city of Agra on the Jumna River, conquered Gujarat and Bengal, and with them access to the sea. True, the Mughals had to come to terms with the rule of the Portuguese here. During the Mughal era, India entered the stage of developed feudal relations, the flourishing of which paralleled the strengthening of the central power of the state. The importance of the main financial department of the empire (divan), responsible for monitoring the use of all suitable land, increased. The state's share was declared to be a third of the harvest. In the central regions of the country under Akbar, peasants were transferred to a cash tax, which forced them to join market relations in advance. All conquered territories were transferred to the state land fund (khalisa). Jagirs were distributed from it - conditional military awards, which continued to be considered state property. Jagirdars usually owned several tens of thousands of hectares of land and were obliged to support military detachments with this income - the backbone of the imperial army. Akbar's attempt to abolish the jagir system in 1574 ended in failure. Also in the state there was private land ownership of feudal zamindars from among the conquered princes, who paid tribute, and small private estates of Sufi sheikhs and Muslim theologians, inherited, and free from taxes - suyurgal or mulk. Crafts flourished during this period, especially the production of fabrics, which were valued throughout the East, and in the region south seas Indian textiles acted as a kind of universal equivalent to trade. The process of merging the upper merchant stratum with the ruling class begins. Money people could become jagirdars, and the latter - owners of caravanserais and merchant ships. Merchant castes are emerging, playing the role of companies. Surat, the main port of the country in the 16th century, became the place where a layer of merchant compradors (i.e. associated with foreigners) emerged.

In the 17th century the importance of the economic center passes to Bengal. The production of fine textiles, saltpeter and tobacco is developing here in Dhaka and Patna. Shipbuilding continues to flourish in Gujarat. A new major textile center, Madras, emerges in the south. Thus, in India in the 16th-17th centuries. The emergence of capitalist relations is already observed, but the socio-economic system of the Mughal Empire, based on state ownership of land, did not contribute to their rapid growth.

During the Mughal era, religious disputes intensified, on the basis of which wide-ranging popular movements, the religious policy of the state is undergoing major changes. So, in the 15th century. In Gujarat, the Mahdist movement arose among Muslim cities of trade and craft circles. In the 16th century The ruler's fanatical adherence to orthodox Sunni Islam resulted in powerlessness for Hindus and persecution of Shiite Muslims. In the 17th century the oppression of the Shiites, the destruction of all Hindu temples and the use of their stones for the construction of mosques by Aurangzeb (1618-1707) caused popular uprising, anti-Mughal movement.

So, medieval India represents a synthesis of the most diverse socio-political foundations and religious traditions. ethnic cultures. Having melted within itself all this multitude of principles, by the end of the era it appeared before the amazed Europeans as a country of fabulous splendor, beckoning with wealth, exoticism, and secrets. Within it, however, processes began that were similar to the European ones inherent in the New Age. A domestic market was formed, international relations developed, and social contradictions deepened. But for India, a typical Asian power, the strong constraint on capitalization was the despotic state. With its weakening, the country becomes easy prey for European colonialists, whose activities interrupted the natural course of the country's historical development for many years.

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Discipline: "History"

On the topic: “India and China in XVI- XVIII centuries»

1. China in the 16th-18th centuries

4. India in the 16th-18th centuries

1. China in the 16th-18th centuries

china india manchu mogul

Since ancient times, the Chinese considered their state to be the center of the world. They called it the middle, or heavenly, state. All surrounding peoples were barbarians for the Chinese and were considered as subjects of the emperor. In the 16th-18th centuries. Korea, Vietnam, Burma, and Tibet were vassals of China.

At the head Chinese state stood an emperor who had unlimited power, which he passed on by inheritance. Helped the emperor in governing the country state council, which included his relatives, scientists and advisors. The country was governed through three chambers. The first chamber included six departments: ranks, rituals, financial, military, department of punishments, department public works. The other two chambers prepared imperial decrees and oversaw ceremonies and receptions in honor of the emperor.

A special chamber of censors controlled the actions of officials throughout China. The country was divided into provinces, which were divided into districts and districts, and were governed by officials of various ranks.

The Chinese state bore the name of the ruling dynasty in the country: from 1368 to 1644. - “Empire of the Ming Dynasty”, from 1644 - “Empire of the Qing Dynasty”.

By the beginning of the 16th century. China was already a state high culture with a developed education system. The first stage of the education system was a school where boys studied, whose parents could pay for their education. After the final exam in primary school it was possible to enter a provincial school, where the study of hieroglyphs continued (and they were Chinese about 60 thousand, 6-7 thousand were memorized at school, learned people 25-30 thousand knew), and students also mastered calligraphy - the skill of writing beautifully and clearly in ink. Students of the school memorized books of ancient authors, became acquainted with the rules of versification and composing treatises. At the end of the training, they took an exam - they wrote a poem in verse and an essay. Only an educated person could become an official.

Among the Chinese officials there were many poets and scribes. In China in the 16th century. Crafts for making silk and porcelain were already developed. Porcelain products and silk fabrics were decorated with various designs using high-quality paints.

For many centuries, the three main pillars of the Chinese state were three teachings: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Confucius developed his teachings in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e., and it occupied an important place in the worldview of the Chinese in the 16th-18th centuries. Traditional society in China was built on the Confucian principles of filial piety and respect for elders. Loyalty, humility, kindness and compassion, a high sense of duty, and education were the main features of a noble and worthy person.

The founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, outlined his teachings in the book “Tao Te Ching”. Gradually, Taoism turned from a philosophy into a religion (“Tao” in Chinese means “way”). Taoism taught that a person could escape the torment of hell and even become immortal. To do this, you need to follow the principle of “non-action” in your life, that is, step away from active social life, become a hermit, and look for the true path - the Tao.

Buddhism entered China from India at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e. and by the 16th century. had a very strong position and a huge impact to the life of a traditional society. By this period, many temples and Buddhist monasteries were built in China.

All three teachings were of great importance for maintaining and strengthening the foundations of the Chinese state; they were the main pillars of traditional Chinese society.

2. External and internal position China in the 16th-18th centuries.

By the 16th century During the Ming dynasty, the Chinese Empire covered the territory of the modern inland provinces of China and part of Manchuria. China's vassals included Korea, Vietnam and Tibet. The country was divided into 15 large administrative units. They were controlled by officials appointed by the central government. In the 16th-18th centuries. the growth of productive forces in China was reflected in the development of crafts, improvement of agricultural technology, further development of commodity production and monetary relations. In the feudal Minsk Empire, elements of new, capitalist production relations appeared - manufacturing was born and developed. At the same time, there were reasons at work that slowed down social development China. These primarily include the high rate of feudal exploitation, which led to the poverty of the peasants, as well as the existence of closed rural communities where agriculture was combined with household crafts. On the other hand, the invasion in the 17th century. The Manchus and their seizure of power in China, accompanied by a long war and the destruction of productive forces, led to the barbaric and hermetic isolation of the country from the outside world, which could not but have a sharply negative impact on the pace of China's progressive development.

At the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries. The Ming dynasty ruling China was in decline. The emperor's associates who ruled the state plundered the state treasury. The costs of maintaining a huge number of officials and a magnificent imperial court required the introduction of more and more taxes.

3. Overthrow of the Ming dynasty. Manchu conquest of China

From the end of the 16th century. On the territory of modern Northeast China, the Manchu tribe strengthened and created their own state there. At the beginning of the 17th century. The Manchus began to raid China, then subjugated a number of neighboring tribes and Korea. Following this, they started a war with China. At the same time, major peasant uprisings. The rebel army defeated government troops and entered Beijing, as a result of which the Ming dynasty ceased to exist. Frightened by everything that was happening, the Chinese feudal lords opened access to the capital to the Manchu cavalry. In June 1644, the Manchus entered Beijing. This is how the Manchu Qing dynasty established itself in China, ruling until 1911. Unlike previous conquerors, the Manchus did not dissolve among the local population (even mixed marriages between Manchus and Chinese were prohibited), but secured for themselves a separate and privileged position.

According to the form of government of Qing China in the 17th and 18th centuries. was despotism. At the head of the state was the emperor - Bogdykhan, endowed with unlimited power.

The Qing dynasty waged endless wars of conquest. By the middle of the 18th century. she conquered all of Mongolia, then annexed the Uyghur state, located south of the Tien Shan, and the eastern part of Tibet to China. Conquest campaigns were repeatedly undertaken in Vietnam and Burma.

European merchants tried to gain free access to China long before the formation of the Qing Empire. The first to appear in China were the Portuguese, who in 1537 founded the colony of Macau on the southern coast of China. In the 17th-18th centuries. English and French merchants began to appear in Chinese ports. But the Manchu authorities decided to limit trade with foreigners and, for this purpose, issued a decree of the Qing emperor in 1757, according to which all ports except Guangzhou were declared closed to foreign trade. This was the beginning of China's isolation.

4. India in the 16th-18th centuries

Political fragmentation and feudal strife at the beginning of the 16th century. in India, they made it easier for the ruler of Kabul (Afghanistan), Babur, to conquer vast Indian territories from Kabul in the west to the borders of Bengal in the east. In 1526, Babur invaded India with a 20,000-strong army, won several battles and laid the foundation for the Mughal Empire. Having become emperor (“padishah”), Ba-bur put an end to feudal strife and provided patronage to trade. Under Babur's successors, the Mughal Empire continuously expanded its possessions. By the end of the 18th century. it included almost all of India except the southernmost tip of the peninsula, and eastern Afghanistan. (The word “Mogul”, distorted in the Indian manner, i.e. Mongol, became in India the name of part of the Muslim military-feudal nobility, and outside India - the name of the dynasty of Babur’s descendants established on the Delhi throne. These sovereigns themselves did not call themselves Moguls.)

The religion of the conquerors who came to India was Islam, but the bulk of the population, about 3/4, professed Hinduism. Islam has become state religion the Mughal Empire, the religion of the majority of the feudal nobility. Muslim rulers were able to rule India for several centuries while remaining representatives of a numerical minority of the population, because the policies they pursued were no different from the policies of the Hindu princes. They also maintained law and order, levied taxes, and allowed the “infidels” to live according to their customs in exchange for their observance of the laws.

The Mughal Empire reached its greatest prosperity during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605). He went down in history as the true builder of the Mughal Empire, a talented reformer who sought to create a strong centralized state. Akbar carried out government reforms. This ruler attracted all the large landowners (Muslims and Hindus) and traders to his side, and encouraged the development of crafts and trade. In the first years of his reign, he carried out a tax reform, establishing a tax for peasants equal to one third of the harvest, and abolishing the positions of tax farmers, while the peasants paid the tax directly to the state. In addition, the tax was not collected from the entire property, but only from the cultivated area. Religious politics Akbar's idea was to recognize all religions as equal. Akbar also became famous as a patron of art. On his orders, scholars and poets translated works of the Hindu epic into Persian. Akbar's "peace for all" reforms strengthened the Mughal Empire.

After Akbar's death, his successors failed to continue the policy of creating a strong centralized state. Indian society was too divided: caste division, Hindu and Muslim religions, many nationalities and peoples at different levels of economic and cultural development.

The empire was also weakened by the fact that it waged endless wars of conquest, caused by the need to grant more and more lands to the nobility, always ready for rebellion. But the larger the territory of the empire grew, the weaker the central government became.

Crisis and collapse of the empire in the 18th century.

From the beginning of the 18th century. the power of the padishahs became symbolic. The provinces were separated one after another. The emperors lost real power, but the princes of the empire's regions gained it. In 1739, the cavalry of the Persian conqueror Nadir Shah sacked Delhi and destroyed most residents of the capital. Then the northern part of India was overrun by Afghans. In the first half of the 18th century. India effectively returned to a state of fragmentation, which made European colonization easier.

5. Mughal Empire (1526-1707)

In 1526, Timurid Babur, a native of Mogolistan, Babur himself, who went down in history as an enlightened ruler, historian and poet, author of the famous “Baburnama,” did not rule in India for long. Already in 1530, he was replaced on the throne by his son Humayun, whose wars with his brothers over his father’s inheritance weakened his power so much that influential ruler From Bihar and Bengal, Farid Sher Khan, a native of the Afghan Sur tribe that had long settled in eastern India, managed to seize power in Delhi, forcing Humayun to seek refuge in Iran.

Having accepted the title of Shah, Sher Shah, during the short six years of his reign (1540-1545), did a lot to strengthen the central government. He built several main roads with caravanserais that connected Delhi with Bengal, Rajputana, Indus, etc., streamlined land relations (under him, the compilation of a general land cadastre began), a tax system (the average rent-tax was set at 1 /3 crops), the nature of land tenure of the jagirdar warlords, and also raised the status of some Hindus by giving them a number of influential positions. The unexpected death of Sher Shah and the struggle of his heirs for the throne were used to his advantage by Humayun, who waited and accumulated strength throughout all these years. In 1555, Humayun regained the throne in Delhi, but a year later he died in an accident, and power went to his one hundred and 13-year-old son Akbar.

The reign of Padishah Akbar (1556-1605) was the golden age of the Mughal Empire. Having strengthened his power in the north, including Punjab, Akbar enlisted the support of a significant part of the Rajput warriors (he became related to some Rajput leaders, including Rajput princesses in his harem) and soon took possession of almost all of Rajputana. Then Gondwana, Gujarat, Bengal, Kashmir, and Orissa were annexed to the empire. Almost all of Northern India came under the rule of Akbar, who proved himself to be a skillful ruler.

Continuing the reforms begun by Sher Shah, Akbar carried out a number of new ones, which laid solid foundations for governing the country. All lands were declared state-owned. The general land cadastre was completed and the amounts of tax collection from each of the districts were clearly defined: according to some reports, general fee taxes in late XVI V. reached 166 million rupees. A significant part of the lands was given as conditional non-hereditary service ownership to the military commanders-jagirdars. Jagirs, which differed from iktas mainly in their size, were large land holdings, bringing their owners huge incomes of hundreds of thousands of rupees. With this money, the jagirdars, of whom there were about two thousand under Akbar, were obliged, like the Amaranayaks in Vijayanagar, to maintain detachments of warriors in numbers corresponding to the rank of the military leader and the size of the jagir, from 100 to 5 thousand. Some of the principalities subordinate to Akbar also acquired the status of a jagir, and in general, among Akbar’s jagirdars there were no more than 20% Hindus, mainly due to the Rajput warriors.

The jagir system, which, as was the case with the Amaranayak, opened up considerable opportunities for abuse (Sher Shah also tried to force the jagirdars to brand horses with their names and regularly conduct reviews of troops in order to prevent the practice of randomly hiring the first available people and horses just for ostentatious check), Akbar did not like it. Like Sher Shah, he even tried to destroy it, replacing it with cash transfers from the treasury. However, this attempt caused riots, and the padishah was forced to abandon the reform. But he strictly ensured that the jagirdar did not have any administrative, much less financial and tax power in his domain.

In addition to the jagirs, there were also the possessions of vassal princes-zamindars, who paid tribute to the treasury and independently disposed of all other income. The princes were, as before, the hereditary owners of their principalities and, even moreover, subjects of centralized redistribution in their domains. In principle, in each of the principalities, as if in miniature, the same scheme was reproduced as in the empire as a whole: part of the land belonged personally to the prince, the income from it went to his treasury, while the remaining lands and income from them were given as official duties to soldiers and officials. Over time, zamindari lands began to be considered privately owned and were sometimes divided into small plots (like an Islamic mulk).

A small amount of land, about 3%, was owned by the Muslim clergy, but some land was also owned by Hindu temples. Lands of this type had tax immunity, which was fully consistent with the general spirit of religious tolerance followed by Akbar, who abolished the jizia that infringed on the rights of non-Muslims and tried, even towards the end of his life, to create something like a synthetic religion designed to eliminate religious differences among his subjects.

Akbar's son Jahangir (1605-1627) continued his father's active foreign policy, started wars in the Deccan and opposed the Sikhs in the Punjab. It is true that his troops were defeated in Assam; His attempts to gain a foothold in Bengal, which had always been separatist, also caused considerable difficulties. Greatest success Jahangir, or rather his son Shah Jahan, who commanded the army, had a victory over strong army Sultan of Ahmednagar, the core of which was the Maratha cavalry. Not all of the territory of Ahmednagar fell into the hands of the Mughals, but this was no small success. Having ascended the throne of his father, Shah Jahan (1627-1658) tried to continue his success and in 1632 achieved success: Ahmednagar was completely subjugated, and Bijapur and Golconda recognized themselves as vassals of the Mughals. This meant that almost the entire territory of India came under the rule of the empire. But her days were already numbered.

Shah Jahan's successor was his son, the bloody despot Aurangzeb, who imprisoned his father. Aurangzeb ruled for a long time (1658-1707) and left behind a bad memory. Moreover, with his death, the empire actually disintegrated and ceased to exist as an influential force, and this result was greatly facilitated by the policies of the emperor himself.

A zealous Sunni Muslim, Aurangzeb vigorously persecuted both Hindus and Shiites, going so far as to attempt to destroy temples and reintroduce Akbar's abolished poll tax on non-Muslims, the jiziah. Religious persecution caused sharp resistance from the population, including Shiite Muslims, and this, ultimately, greatly weakened the base on which the ruler could rely. In addition, the income of the jagirdars sharply decreased, whose possessions, in the course of constant disaggregation and the growth of additional levies to the treasury, brought in less and less income - a situation that was very reminiscent of a similar process that occurred around the same time with the Timariots in the Ottoman Empire. The consequence of all that was said was crisis phenomena, manifested not only in increased tax oppression, but also in the flight of peasants, disruptions in the economic rhythm of life and, ultimately, in the terrible famine that broke out at the beginning of the 18th century. In the Deccan alone in 1702-1704, according to some sources, about 2 million people died of famine.

All this was accompanied by failures in attempts to suppress resistance and separatist movements on the outskirts of the empire. Thus, by sharply speaking out against the Sikhs, Aurangzeb not only caused an outburst of fierce resistance on their part, but also provoked the emergence of a military organization of the Sikhs, the Khalsa, whose combat power he was no longer able to cope with. In Maharashtra, the region of settlement of the Marathas, who were becoming an increasingly formidable force in the anti-Mogul movement, a very combat-ready army also arose, led by national hero Maratha Shivaji. If at first Shivaji and his warriors served either the Sultan of Ahmednagar or the ruler of Bijapur, having no political ambitions of his own, then, having become stronger, he created his own state, being crowned in 1674 in Pune. Having established relatively light taxes on its own Maratha population, Shivaji's state began to grow rich from military spoils, so that soon his raids began to terrify neighboring lands. Aurangzeb tried to put an end to the Maratha freemen, but to no avail. He also unsuccessfully tried to pacify the Rajputs who rebelled against him. And although by the end of his life Aurangzeb still managed to formally subjugate Maharashtra, the Marathas, like the Rajputs, were not completely pacified. Immediately after the death of Aurangzeb, his empire began to agonize, which all those who were not interested in strong power in India did not fail to take advantage of. In particular, perhaps the first among them were the British.

The eastern part of Central Asia, where representatives of noble Turkic-Mongol families ruled; “Mogul” is a term used in Iran to refer to the Mongols and the former ruler of Fergana, then Kabul, invaded India. His army, well armed with muskets and cannons, including cavalry, defeated the last of the Delhi sultans and the Rajput militia in two large battles, after which it occupied a significant part of the Ganges valley. This was the beginning of the Mughal Empire, which united almost all of India under its rule at its peak.

Bibliography

1. Meliksetov A.V. History of China. - 2nd ed., rev. And additional - M.: MSU, graduate School, 2002. - 736 p.

2. Malyavin V.V. Chinese civilization. - M.: Astrel Publishing House, 2000. - 632 p.

3. Basham A. The miracle that was India. - M., 1977

4. Great encyclopedia. Dictionary. - 2nd ed. - M., 1977

5. Internet resource

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Analysis of the monograph by A. Kamensky "The Russian Empire in the 18th Century: Traditions and Modernization." Third Rome on the eve of reforms. The beginning of an empire. "Epoch palace coups". Elizaveta Petrovna. The Age of Catherine the Great. The Empire Comes. The Reign of Paul I.

Asian countries in the 16th – 18th centuries

Formation of the Baburid Empire. In the 16th century, India was a politically fragmented country. She was weakened internecine wars. Afghan ruler Zakhiriddin Muhammad Babur, who closely monitored the internal political situation neighboring country, taking advantage of the situation, decided to launch a military campaign in India in order to capture it.

During this period, the Delhi Sultanate in Northern India was ruled by the Lodian dynasty.

Babur Mirzo's military campaign in India began at the end of 1525. On April 21, 1526, the Battle of Panipat took place, where Babur's 12,000-strong army defeated the 100,000-strong army of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi. On April 27, a khutbah was read in Delhi - a sermon in honor of Babur Mirzo, the new ruler of Delhi. Thus, the Baburid Empire was founded, which went down in history under the name of the Great Mogul Empire, which lasted 332 years. Babur endowed the warriors who remained with him in India with jagirs - allotments. Local Hindus, who knew local traditions well, were entrusted with conducting economic affairs on these lands.

Babur ruled the empire for three years; he died in 1530. Before his death, he divided the vast territory of the empire between his sons. The imperial throne, and with it India, went to his eldest son Humayun. Punjab, Kabul, Kandahar and other territories were divided among the other three sons, who were ordered to obey their elder brother Humayun.

Political situation in the empire. Humayun tried to expand the borders of the empire. His main enemy in this struggle was Sherkhan Sur, the leader of the Afghan tribes located in Bihor and Bengal. In battles with Sherkhan Sur, Humayun lost and was forced to retreat to Iran. Sherkhan took the Indian throne and declared himself Shah. He and his sons ruled the country from 1540 to 1554.

This period is characterized by acute internecine struggle, which led India to a difficult political state. Humayun skillfully took advantage of the current situation. Deprived of the throne, he nevertheless formed a strong army of Turks, Persians, Turkmens and Uzbeks. In 1555, Humayun defeated Skandarshah Sur, who was in power, and regained the Indian throne. But he didn't occupy him for long. A year later he dies in an accident.

Empire during the period of Akbarshah. In 1556, Humayun's place was taken by his minor son Akbar (1542 - 1605), who later became famous as " Great Akbar"He is one of the most prominent representatives of the Baburid dynasty.

Akbarshah always followed a far-sighted policy. He carried out a number of reforms aimed at strengthening the central government apparatus. Developed new laws relating to land taxes and public administration. Canceled whole line local taxes, including jizyu - tax levied on Hindu pilgrims.

Akbarshah streamlined trade relations within the country and established international trade through maritime trade routes. He built caravanserais and wells along the overland trade routes. These measures contributed to improving the financial situation of the country; they also played a role in important role in the unification and centralization of the state. Akbarshah's foreign policy activities culminated in some expansion of the borders of his possessions due to victories over the Afghan tribes located in India. In 1559, he finally defeated his main enemies - representatives of the Sur dynasty.

Akbarshah was not only a skilled commander, a wise statesman, but also widely educated person. Deep knowledge of philosophy, history, literature, theology (religion) helped to delve even deeper into the needs of the common people, to unite representatives different nationalities and different religions.

All this contributed to the growth of his popularity both among the people and among the upper Indian classes, which, in turn, led to the strengthening and worldwide glory of the Mughal Empire.

The further state of the empire. Starting from the second half of the 17th century, a struggle for the throne unfolded in the empire. It intensified during the reign (1627 - 1658) of Shah Jahan (grandson of Akbarshah). In this struggle for the crown, Aurangzeb, one of his sons, won. In 1658 he occupied Delhi and declared himself Shah. During the reign (1658 - 1707) of Aurangzeb, the borders of the empire expanded incredibly, and the Mughal power reached the peak of its glory. At the same time, conditions for a period of crisis were brewing during Aurangzeb's reign. In addition to economic reasons and internal discontent of representatives of the aristocracy, conquered territories, this was also facilitated by personal qualities Aurangzeb himself. He was extremely distrustful of those around him and suspicious. In addition, he was a guardian of one religion - Islam. He believed that the throne was given to him from above in order to spread Islam, so he followed the path of inducing representatives of other religions to this faith. This policy did not give rise to submission, but to enmity of that part of the population that were not Muslims.

Since 1679, Hindu pilgrims again began to pay “jizya.” Muslim merchants were exempt from tax, and Hindu merchants paid a tax of 5% of the value of the goods. Hindus who held high positions in tax institutions were gradually relieved of their positions. Such politics brought the Baburid empire to a deep crisis.After the death of Aurangzeb, it intensified internal struggle for the throne, and the colonial expansion of European countries began.

England and India. During this difficult period for the empire, the arrival of Europeans to India intensified. European powers had long been aiming to take possession of India's untold riches and its fertile land. And now the hour of conquest has come. In 1757, the British army occupied Bengal. This rich territory later became a stronghold for further colonization of the country. So, gradually, England began to conquer India.

Jagir - in the Baburid Empire, land allocated for military service.

Khalis are government lands.

The final stage medieval history India began to rise in its north at the beginning of the 16th century. the new powerful Muslim Mughal Empire, which in the 17th century. managed to subjugate a significant part of South India. The founder of the state was the Timurid Babur (1483-1530).

The power of the Mughals in India strengthened during the half-century reign of Akbar (1452-1605), who moved the capital to the city of Agra on the Jumna River, conquered Gujarat and Bengal, and with them access to the sea. True, the Mughals had to come to terms with the rule of the Portuguese here.

During the Mughal era, India entered the stage of developed feudal relations, the flourishing of which paralleled the strengthening of the central power of the state. The importance of the main financial department of the empire (divan), responsible for monitoring the use of all suitable land, increased.

The state's share was declared to be a third of the harvest. In the central regions of the country under Akbar, peasants were transferred to a cash tax, which forced them to join market relations in advance. All conquered territories were transferred to the state land fund (khalisa). Jagirs were distributed from it - conditional military awards, which continued to be considered state property.

Jagirdars usually owned several tens of thousands of hectares of land and were obliged to support military detachments with this income - the backbone of the imperial army. Akbar's attempt to abolish the jagir system in 1574 ended in failure. Also in the state there was private land ownership of feudal zamindars from among the conquered princes, who paid tribute, and small private estates of Sufi sheikhs and Muslim theologians, inherited, and free from taxes - suyurgal or mulk.

Crafts flourished during this period, especially the production of fabrics, which were valued throughout the East, and in the region of the southern seas, Indian textiles acted as a kind of universal equivalent of trade. The process of merging the upper merchant stratum with the ruling class begins.

Money people could become jagirdars, and the latter could become owners of caravanserais and trading ships. Merchant castes are emerging, playing the role of companies. Surat, the main port of the country in the 16th century, became the place where a layer of comprador merchants (that is, associated with foreigners) emerged.

During the Mughal era, religious disputes intensified, on the basis of which broad popular movements were born, and the religious policy of the state underwent major turns. So, in the 15th century. In Gujarat, the Mahdist movement arose among Muslim cities of trade and craft circles.

In the 16th century The ruler's fanatical adherence to orthodox Sunni Islam resulted in powerlessness for Hindus and persecution of Shiite Muslims. In the 17th century The oppression of Shiites, the destruction of all Hindu temples and the use of their stones for the construction of mosques by Aurangzeb (1618-1707) caused a popular uprising, the anti-Mughal movement.

Within it, however, processes began that were similar to the European ones inherent in the New Age. A domestic market was formed, international relations developed, and social contradictions deepened.

But for India, a typical Asian power, the strong constraint on capitalization was the despotic state. With its weakening, the country becomes easy prey for European colonialists, whose activities interrupted the natural course of the country's historical development for many years.

The religion of the conquerors who came to India was Islam, but the bulk of the population, about 3/4, professed Hinduism. Islam became the state religion of the Mughal Empire, the religion of the majority of the feudal nobility. Muslim rulers were able to rule India for several centuries while remaining representatives of a numerical minority of the population, because the policies they pursued were no different from the policies of the Hindu princes. They also maintained law and order, levied taxes, and allowed the “infidels” to live according to their customs in exchange for their observance of the laws.

The Mughal Empire reached its greatest prosperity during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605). He went down in history as the true builder of the Mughal Empire, a talented reformer who sought to create a strong centralized state. Akbar carried out government reforms. This ruler attracted all the large landowners (Muslims and Hindus) and traders to his side, and encouraged the development of crafts and trade. In the first years of his reign, he carried out a tax reform, establishing a tax for peasants equal to one third of the harvest, and abolishing the positions of tax farmers, while the peasants paid the tax directly to the state. In addition, the tax was not collected from the entire property, but only from the cultivated area. Akbar's religious policy was to recognize all religions as equal. Akbar also became famous as a patron of art. On his orders, scholars and poets translated works of the Hindu epic into Persian. Akbar's "peace for all" reforms strengthened the Mughal Empire.

Crisis and collapse of the empire in the 18th century.

From the beginning of the 18th century. the power of the padishahs became symbolic. The provinces were separated one after another. The emperors lost real power, but the princes of the empire's regions gained it. In 1739, the cavalry of the Persian conqueror Nadir Shah sacked Delhi and destroyed most of the capital's inhabitants. Then the northern part of India was overrun by Afghans. In the first half of the 18th century. India effectively returned to a state of fragmentation, which made European colonization easier.