How did Mughal Warfare and Military Help Shape Mughal Identity (Essay Sample)

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How did Mughal warfare and military help shape Mughal identity
Mughal Empire is a dynasty that was in control in south Asia from the early sixteenth century to the seventeenth century. Its founder is Babur who later became the first ruler. It grew considerably due to its prowess in the battlefields. The empire was composed of majorly Muslims and Hindus (Jeremy 258). However, the rulers were majorly the Muslims. The kingdom made great improvements during the reign of Akbar since he was more tolerant to the Hindus, thus the increased development. There was an interconnection between the military and administrative bodies of this empire during his reign. Moreover, he invested more on expansion through warfare and defense. Thus, this shaped the culture and the social identity of this empire. The first military approach of this empire was in organization of the military into various groups. These groups include infantry, cavalry, firearms, elephants, and war boats or the navy (Jos 365). Infantry is the largest group, while the cavalry were the swiftest and the most powerful. These groups influenced the way of living in that they enabled the creation of different social classes in the kingdom. Moreover, the weapons used in the battles were distinctly identifiable, hence, giving them a cultural identity (Valérie 653). Thus, the Mughal warfare and weaponry had a great influence in the shaping of the Mughal cultural and social identity.
The first aspect of the Mughal Empire that determines theirs social identity is the military organization. Every leader in the kingdom had a rank called asmansa. These individuals on the rankings received salaries from the emperor. Moreover, their salaries were according to the number of soldiers they recruited (William 147). In addition, the social organization of the system was in a feudal scheme. The highest in this system was the emperor. They had a lot of wealth and enjoyed their wealth luxuriously. Moreover, other empowers forgot their duties to do the work of governing and resorted in enjoying their wealth. The second in rank were the nobilities. They were privileged and enjoyed the kingdoms wealth. Also, there was a class of business men and merchants that had the privilege of enjoying life. The last class was poor and served mostly as the servants. Thus, these social classes created by Akbar in the Mansabdar system shaped the social lives of the emperor.
The gunpowder technology was one aspect that led to the social identity of this emperor. The first leader Babur knew how to use this technology and employed it in fighting his enemies. For instance, he won the battle of Panipat using this technology (Douglas 111). Moreover, the gunpowder made them defeat the enemies like the afghan though being more superior and experienced (Gordon & Richards 368). Furthermore, the gunpowder technology made this emperor ruthless for its skills. The kingdom was therefore able to posses a lot of wealth due to this technology. Through the wealth, the social lives of the populations were shaped into one of expensive living. The emperors took the wealth gotten from the different battles and spent them extravagantly. Moreover, the gunpowder knowhow made the kingdom to expand in size and thus more people became subjects and slaves (Gordon & Richards 368). These people came with their social backgrounds that in turn shaped the social lives of the population. Therefore, the military weaponry led to the establishment of the various social aspects of the Mughal kingdom.
Akbar’s administrative system brought many changes in the social lives of people in this dynasty. To start with, he brought out the Mansabdars system of administration. Through this, there was no difference between the civil and military functions of the state. The emperor appointed the Mansabdars and demoted them at his will. Moreover, this office was not hereditary. Thus, the people worked hard for the promotion from the emperor. However, they had financial benefits as their payments were directly from the emperor. Before Akbar, there were only Muslim recruits; however, he brought about Hindus into his leadership structure (William 147). Consequently, there were diverse changes brought by these leaders such as difference in religious perspectives of the kingdom. Under the headship of Akbar, there was marked religious tolerance in the dynasty. More Hindus participated in decision-making(John & Inc ebrary 368). Moreover, the women’s position was also elevated. They could be able to fight along side their husbands I the battles. Besides, the administrative structure of Akbar brought about foreign systems of governance. For instance, there was an introduction of the Persian ways of paper administration. Hence, the administrative structure affected the social way of living among the members of the kingdom.
In Mughal kingdom, the artillery played a vital part in determining the culture of the people. There weaponry were designed with the people and thus promoted the culture of arts. Paintings and drawings were common among the people of Mughal kingdom. The emperor of Mughal kingdom moved around in the kingdom with a large group of military persons. Moreover, the military carried along all the weapons (Douglas 111). Thus, the kingdom was distinguished for this act. Through the weaponry, the different artwork combinations of Persian and Islamic styles were distinguishable. Furthermore, among the weapons were elephants. This was a kind of god to the Hindus (Ramesh & Goyal 261). Thus, their culture was observed in the weaponry they used to fight their enemies. Due to the presence of Hindus and Islamic people in this kingdom, the people mixed their cultures to come with an intermediate culture. This was promoted by the reign of akbar who tried to develop an intermediate religious group. However, the other leaders discouraged ...