The Greatest Mughal

I've always been a fan of the Mughals. Which emperor was the greatest ruler of Mughal India?

Personly I'm torn between Akbar and Shah Jahan, so I'd love to hear some opinions.

I'm sure I'm not the only one interested in Indian history here.

Şah Cihan.

Very romantic man..

And I dont think it is only indian history,there is some Turks,turkic people

i think in terms of development, Akbar wins. in terms of outright conquest, then i think Aurangzeb wins.

Actually, Babur wins in conquest. I'd say Akbar first, then Babur and Shah Jahan.

Actually Akbar wins in terms of conquest. By the time he took over Humayun had lost a really big portion of Baburs original conquest, and Akbar had to take it back. He then managed to add in more, so in terms of conquered square miles he leads.

One might argue that Baburs conquest was more important since it established the empire.

Babur was a military genius. My vote goes to him.

My vote goes to Akbar, with Shah Jahan a close second. Both were very competent in government and in military matters (Shah Jahan less so). Both were great builders and patrons of the art. However, I voted Akbar because 1) he arguably had a tougher time, especially early in his reign, and 2) Shah Jahan couldn't stop his sons killing each other and was eventually couped by Aurangzeb, who turned out to be a ruthless fanatical warrior with little administrative skills.

Quildavyr said:

Şah Cihan.

Very romantic man..

And I dont think it is only indian history,there is some Turks,turkic people

Click to expand...

The Mughals were related to the Timurids, therefore there were Turkic.

"Mughal" is a term meaning "Mongol", by the way. Although they were Turkic they like to think they were the heirs of Genghis Khan.

It actually very likely that the rulers were geniticly connected to Gengis Khan, since he was not only a conquer of land, but also woman.

Babur probably had some Temujin blood in him, that he passed on to the others.

Yoda Power said:

It actually very likely that the rulers were geniticly connected to Gengis Khan, since he was not only a conquer of land, but also woman.

Babur probably had some Temujin blood in him, that he passed on to the others.

Click to expand...

Them and 1 in 12 asian men if some genetic studies are to be trusted

Akbar! His name means great!

If I'm not mistaken the Moghuls were decended from Genghis Khan's second son Chagatai. Timur married a decendent of Chagatai to strengthen his connection to the Great Khan. Babar was a direct decendent of both Genghis Khan and Timur.

I voted for Akbar because I liked him in Return of the Jedi

taillesskangaru said:

"Mughal" is a term meaning "Mongol", by the way. Although they were Turkic they like to think they were the heirs of Genghis Khan.

Click to expand...

I believe that it is a corruption of the Persian word for Mongol.

Akbar, and by no means only for conquest. He:

~ abolished the Jizyah (tax on non-Muslims).
~ abolished the tax on Hindu pilgrims.
~ instigated tax reforms that laid the foundations for the massive wealth the Mughal Empire later enjoyed (and which Shah Jahan duly squandered)
~ installed a land registry and land tax system which promoted productivity, investment and indeed fairness in land use and taxation.
~ allowed all races and creeds into his government.
~ promoted and relished open debate from scholars the (known) world over.
~ was a polymath in ways that the other emperors never came close to.
~ was chivalrous, as evidenced by his treatment of say Sikandar Shah (though not always so to others, like Raja Hemchandra Vikramditya)
~ was but 13 years old when he came to power (though there was a regent who assisted his rule till he was old enough)
~ had more notches on the bed post than all the others put together (this last one is dedicated to Plotinus).