The first Mughals, Babur, was a descendant of Timur Lenk on his father's side, and of Ghengis Khan on his mother's side. As ruler of Samarqand in 1497, he conquered Kabul in 1504 and advanced from Afghanistan to India. Following a victory over the Lodi, he became shah of India (northern and central India; 1526-1530). His son, Humayun (1530-1556), was driven to Persia by Shir Shah Suri in 1540 and was able to win back his father's territory only in 1555. The political high point came with the reign of Akbar the Great (1556-1605), who consolidated rule over Hindustan and expanded as far as Bengal in the east, exercising sovereignty over all the Muslim states in India; he operated a policy of tolerance and religious reconciliation between Muslims and Hindus and reorganized the state administration.

Under Jahangir (1605-1627) and Shah Jahan (1628-1658) the Mughals territories grew, trade relations with Europe intensified, and immense splendor and sumptuousness was enjoyed. Aurangzeb (1658-1707), the last Great Mughals of significance, conquered Bijapur (1686) and Golconda (1687), but gave up the policy of religious reconciliation in favor of a strictly Sunnite Islam. From the 17th century, there was political and, above all, economic pressure from the trading companies of Portugal and England. After 1707 the Mughals became increasingly insignificant; in 1739 Delhi was occupied by Nadir Shah of Persia and in 1803 by the British. The last Mughals was deposed by the British in 1857; in 1877 Queen Victoria assumed the title Empress of India.

The History of the Pre-Mughals Period (Dr. Nazimuddin Ahmed.)
During Muslim rule in Bengal, many new cities were built and adorned with palaces, forts, monumental gateways, free-standing victory-towers, mosques, mausoleums, roads and bridges, the remains of which are scattered over all the country. The ruins of their early capital at Gaud and Pandua, which stretch along what was once the high bank of the Ganges for about 20 miles in unbroken continuity, are now half-buried in lush vegetation. In its vastness and splendor, the city ruins are unparallel by any other ancient city site in the sub-continent. Amongst these picturesque remains, at least three great cities have been traced. The earliest identified Read More