The Mughal Empire - Quiz

After the death of Islam Shah Suri, the Suri Empire was in a civil war where various contenders to the throne fought each other for supremacy. Sikandar Shah Suri was occupied with his struggle against Ibrahim Shah Suri when Humayun mobilized an army from Kabul. He captured Rohtas Fort and Lahore in February 1555. Another detachment of his forces captured Dipalpur and Jalandhar. Their advanced division proceeded towards Sirhind. Sikandar sent a force of 30,000 to intercept them but they were defeated by the Mughal army in Battle of Machhiwara and Sirhind was occupied by the Mughals.

Sikandar led an army of 80,000 and met the Mughals at Sirhind. On June 22, 1555, they met in battle. Humayun and Bairam Khan carried out a daring raid in a rainstorm like Sher Shah Suri had done at the Battle of Chausa to defeat Humayun. Sikandar was defeated by the Mughal army and was compelled to retreat to the Sivalik Hills in northern Punjab. The victorious Mughals marched to Delhi and occupied it and reestablished their empire in India.

The Akbarnama which translates to Book of Akbar, is the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (r.-1556-1605), commissioned by Akbar himself by his court historian and biographer, Abul Fazl who was one of the nine jewels in Akbar's court. It was written in Persian, the literary language of the Mughals, and includes vivid and detailed descriptions of his life and times.

The first volume of Akbarnama deals with the birth of Akbar, the history of Timur's family and the reigns of Babur and Humayun and the Suri sultans of Delhi.

The second volume describes the detailed history of the reign of Akbar till 1602, and records the events during Akbar's reign. It also deals with that how Bairam Khan and Akbar won the battle of Panipat against Hemu an Indian warrior.

The third volume is named A'In-i-AkbarI, and details the administrative system of the Empire as well as containing the famous "Account of the Hindu Sciences". It also deals with Akbar's household, army, the revenues and the geography of the empire. It also produces rich details about the traditions and culture of the people living in India. It is famous for its rich statistical details about things as diverse as crop yields, prices, wages and revenues. Here Abu'l Fazl's ambition, in his own words, is: "It has long been the ambitious desire of my heart to pass in review to some extent, the general conditions of this vast country, and to record the opinions professed by the majority of the learned among the Hindus. I know not whether the love of my native land has been the attracting influence or exactness of historical research and genuine truthfulness of narrative.

Jagat Gosaini (d. 1619) was a wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir and the mother of his successor, the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. She is also known as Jodh Bai, Manmati, and was given the posthumous title of Bilqis Makani.

By birth, she was a Rajput princess of Marwar (present-day Jodhpur) and was a daughter of Raja Udai Singh (popularly known as Mota Raja), the Rathore ruler of Marwar.

Mumtaz Mahal was the mother of Aurangzeb.

Mumtaz Mahal (meaning "the Exalted One of the palace"; born Arjumand Banu) (27 April 1593-17 June 1631) was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site, Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of the Wonders of the World, was commissioned by her husband to act as her final resting place.

Babur is credited with establishing the Mughal Empire in India, after he defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.

Paternally, Babur belonged to the Turkicized Barlas tribe of Mongol origin.

Shah Jahan was known for his patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture, which led to greater conspicuous consumption among the Mughal elite.

Prince Aurangzeb's forces used rockets and grenades during the Siege of Bidar

Sake Dean Mahomed learned much of Mughal chemistry and understood the techniques used to produce various alkali and soaps to produce shampoo.

Sake Dean Mahomed was appointed as shampooing surgeon to both Kings George IV and William IV in Britain.