Early History

The borders of Hindustan, or India, had been threatened by Islamic neighbors since the eighth century. During the twelfth and thirteen centuries, advances became more constant, and by 1400 much of India was under Muslim rule. It was not a unified empire, however, and the ruling sultans clashed with each other, the native Hindu population, and other invaders.

The invaders introduced Islamic art and culture to India, whose native artistic traditions were based on Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist religions. The abstract, ornamental, and geometric aspects of Islamic art were radically different from the naturalistic, fantastic, and extravagant features of Hindu art. However, Hinduism was known for its ability to assimilate new ideas and influences, and Indian artists were especially responsive to the Persian art of manuscript illumination. This would later influence carpet design.

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Dutch and Portuguese explorers sailed to India and established outposts for the spice trade on the Malabar coast. They introduced aspects of European culture to India, and this interaction continued throughout the Mughal period.

The Reign of Babur, 1526-30

In the sixteenth century, Babur, a descendant of the Mongol chieftains, Timur and Genghis Khan, marched into India and conquered much of the northern territory. Babur established the Mughal dynasty that ruled India until the nineteenth century. (The name Mughal comes from Mongol.) Although he too was a follower of Islam, Babur clashed with the Indian Muslims, and in order to subdue them, he formed alliances with the Rajput, or Hindu, aristocracy of the north.

Babur complained about his new territory, its people, animals, arts, and food. He missed cultivated society, even hot baths and ice water. One of his first acts was to lay out gardens. He maintained close ties to the Persian empire, and he is credited with introducing its art and culture to India. Babur probably imported carpets from Turkey and Persia for use in his court.

The Reign of Humayun, 1530-56

Babur was succeeded by his son Humayun, who was not as skilled in military matters as his father was. Humayun was overthrown by one of his Afghan vassals and exiled to Persia. He eventually regained his throne in India by enlisting the aid of the Persian shah with whom he had been staying in exile.

Humayun also was interested in art, literature, and the details of royal life. Upon his return to India, he sent to Persia for two well-known painters of miniatures to join his court.

The Reign of Akbar, 1556-1605

Humayun's son Akbar, who succeeded him as emperor, proved to be a skilled conqueror and administrator. During his reign, he extended the Mughal empire in all directions, into Afghanistan in the west, Bengal in the east, Kashmir in the north, and Khandesh in the south. He cemented alliances with the native rulers by marrying into the Rajput royal family and appointing his brothers-in-law officers in the palace guard. Although the Rajputs maintained loyalty to their separate clans, they became part of the emperor’s court through ties of kinship.

Akbar attempted in practical and spiritual ways to unify the Hindu and Muslim elements of his empire. He established a central bureaucracy and assigned administrative duties to both Hindus and Muslims. Intensely interested in all religions himself, he organized debates among the Christians, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians, as well as Hindus and Muslims of his court. Although it is believed that Akbar could not read, he was read to every day and his memory was phenomenal.

Akbar built an extensive library of books on many subjects, and his energies also were directed toward the arts. His capital city at Fatehpur Sikri still stands as a monumental example of Mughal architecture. As Akbar acquired new territories, cities, and provinces, he brought their most gifted artisans to his own court where he established workshops and ateliers, or schools, for the instruction of native Indian artisans.

Although carpets were woven provincially in India before the time of Akbar, he is credited with officially founding imperial workshops for carpet production. His friend and chief minister Abul Fazl wrote that Akbar:

The Reign of Jahangir, 1605-27

Jahangir, Akbar's son, inherited a large and orderly empire. The European presence in India continued to grow, as the English competed with the Dutch and Portuguese in establishing trading posts. The European traders bought and commissioned carpets from provincial weaving centers that operated outside the court workshops.

Jahangir continued his father’s enlightened policies toward religion. He encouraged court patronage of the arts, commissioned portrait albums of members of his court, and collected European paintings.

Jahangir kept a diary, where he recorded his thoughts and impressions as well as trivia and unusual events of court life. He documented the story of how his four-year-old grandson accidentally plunged from a palace window and how a carpet being spread below broke the boy’s fall and saved his life. Jahangir wrote about birds and animals, and the flowers of Kashmir especially impressed him. He described them in this passage:

Jahangir collected exotic animals for display and for sport. A popular entertainment was to pit the animals against each other in an arena, goading them to fight while the emperor and his guests placed bets on the outcome. Jahangir is pictured in a manuscript illustration from the Metropolitan's collection, watching two elephants in combat.

The Reign of Shah Jahan, 1628-58

Shah Jahan, also called the "Great Mughal," succeeded his father, Jahangir. Like his ancestors, he was interested in the arts, especially jewelry and architecture. Shah Jahan is probably best remembered as the builder of the Taj Mahal, a mausoleum for his favorite wife. Shah Jahan also commissioned pictures of state occasions, battles, and family celebrations, providing a glimpse of life in seventeenth-century India.

European merchants and emissaries were impressed by the opulence and sophistication of the royal Rajput and Mughal cities. Niccol˜ Manucci, an artilleryman and physician at the mid-seventeenth-century Mughal court, wrote:

The Reign of Aurangzeb, 1658-1707

Aurangzeb, who deposed his father and seized his throne, was devoutly Muslim. Although he continued royal patronage, he is remembered more for his interest in military tactics and strategies than for his contribution to the arts. It is not certain that royal carpet workshops were still in existence during the reign of Aurangzeb. Provincial carpet centers, private or commercial enterprises, came into prominence at this time, producing carpets for individual use or export.

The End of the Mughal dynasty

By the eighteenth century, the power of the Mughal dynasty was in decline, and the European merchants struggled among themselves for control of India. In the nineteenth century the whole of India was politically unified under the British East India Company, then under the British Crown in 1858. India was ruled by the British until 1947, when independence was proclaimed.

Timeline

More Historical Background

8th century Muslim invaders begin to threaten the borders of India.
12th-15th centuries Muslim advances into northern India lead to conquest of this area.
1486 Explorer Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope, in Africa, and establishes passage to India.
1492 Christopher Columbus reaches America by attempting to sail west and reach India.
1498 Explorer Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut, on the west coast of India, establishing a sea route.
1526 Babur (1483-1530) proclaims himself ruler of Hindustan (India) after defeating the Sultan of Delhi and his Hindu army.
1526-30 Reign of Babur.
1530-56 Reign of Humayun, son of Babur.
1540 Rebellion of Afghan chiefs; Humayun exiled.
1555 Humayun returns to India.
1556-1605 Reign of Akbar (1542-1605), son of Humayun.
1569-84 Akbar builds the palace-city of Fatehpur Sikri.
1567-1601 Akbar conquers Chitor, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Orissa, Sind, Kandahar, and Khandesh.
1580 First Jesuit mission to Akbar’s court.
1583-91 First English merchants arrive in India.
1599 British East India Company is founded in London for the purposes of trading spices.
1602 Dutch East India Company founded.
1605-27 Reign of Jahangir, son of Akbar.
1628-58 Reign of Shah Jahan (1592-1666), son of Jahangir.
1634-48 Shah Jahan builds the Taj Mahal as a monument and mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

1658 Aurangzeb, one of Shah Jahan’s sons, exiles his father to Agra Fort, where he dies in 1666.
1658-1707 Reign of Aurangzeb (1618-1707), son of Shah Jahan.
1668 British East India Company obtains control of Bombay.
1669 Aurangzeb bans the Hindu religion in India.
1687 Aurangzeb annexes the Deccan.
1707-1748 India is ruled by a succession of Mughal rulers, but as their hold weakens, European powers struggle to gain political control.
1707-1712 Reign of Bahadur Shah.
1719 Mohammed Shah, grandson of Bahadur Shah, becomes Emperor.
1739 Persians under Nadir Shah sack Delhi.
1757-58 Robert Clive conquers India for the British Crown and becomes Governor of Bengal.
1773 An act of Parliament gives the East India Company the right to administer the territories of India. Governor General Warren Hastings is appointed to rule, and after him a series of Company officials replace the Mughal emperors as central authority figures.
Late 18th century The British struggle against the Dutch and Indian populations of India.
1837-58 Reign of Bahadur Shah II, the last of the Mughal Emperors.
1857-58 Following the India Mutiny, Bahadur Shah is exiled to Burma and the British Crown replaces the East India Company as ruler of India.