The mountain passes had reopened and another army was raised to strengthen and further the Mughal conquest in Transoxiana. With the sound of war drums bellowing through the city, the Mughal army marched out of Kabul in June 1646. Three men, two of them cheats, and a gullible Nizam who loved the good things in life. Unbeknownst to them, Aurangzeb had turned the remaining wings of his army on the Uzbek flanks, conducting a clinical pincer movement. Shah Jahan fell ill in 1658 and appointed his and Mumtaz Mahal's eldest son Dara Shikoh as his regent. Moreover, the imperialistic inclinations of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran, which too was eyeing a foothold in Central Asia, made Shah Jahan want to anticipate any incursions from them. Upon hearing about the rather ignominious departure of his son, a furious Shah Jahan immediately stripped him of his mansab or rank. Financially speaking, the campaign would never have been sufficient even if permanent territorial gains had been made. Akshay shared a video on social media as … Shah Jahan acquiesced to this face-saving arrangement, having realised as well that the conquest of Transoxiana was far too romantic to be accommodated by military realities. It took the next twenty years of his reign, but Shah Jahan planned, designed, and oversaw the construction of the Taj Mahal, the world's most famous and beautiful mausoleum. Shah Jahan and his sons successfully continued their military campaigns and captured the city of Kandahar in 1638 from the Safavids. Two years later, Shah Jahan and his sons took the city of Kandahar, now in Afghanistan, from the Safavid Empire. This led to retaliation of the Persians, led by Abbas II of Persia who reclaimed the territory after a few years. As soon as he took the throne, Shah Jahan ordered his stepmother Nur Jahan imprisoned and his half-brothers executed, in order to secure his seat. However, with the eventual arrival of spring in the new year, the Mughal campaign was reinvigorated. Thus came the end of the Mughal campaign in Transoxiana, and with it, the hope of reclaiming the lost homeland of the Mughals. In 1622, with relations at their zenith, Shah Jahan went to war against his father. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. After resupplying and reorganising the neighbouring Mughal forces, he handed over Balkh fort to Rao Madho Singh, and continued on beyond the Amu Darya. They struck the Mughal army near the valley of Derah-i-Gaz. First is Emperor Babur who established the Mughal rule in India, then comes his son Humayun, then the most influential and successful emperor of all, 13 year old Emperor Akbar, then his son Jahangir followed by the Shah Jahan, patron of fine arts and last Emperor Aurangzeb. Three major military campaigns were fought by Emperor Babur. After handing over Balkh to the grandsons of Nazar Mohammed, the Mughal army marched out on the 3rd of October 1647. He was born as Prince Khurram on 5th January 1592, to Emperor Jahangir and his second wife, Jagat Gosini (a Rajput Princess). In 1612 he married Arjūmand Bānū Begum, niece of Jahāngīr’s wife Nūr Jahān, and became, as Prince Khurram, a member of the influential Nūr Shah Jahan then recovered from his illness, but Aurangzeb declared him unfit to rule and had him locked up in the Agra Fort for the rest of his life. In the 17th century CE, Balkh was coveted and captured by Mughal and Rajput princes. ... travelled with her husband around the country during his military campaigns. This medieval irredentism was going to cost dearly. In 1622, with relations at their zenith, Shah Jahan went to war against his father. He and Mumtaz Mahal had 14 children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. This was the Balkh-Badakhshan campaign of 1646-1647 CE, which would finally bring to end the Mughal dream of reconquering their homeland in the Ferghana Valley (in present-day Uzbekistan), the region from where Babur (r. 1526-30 CE)—the first Mughal Emperor and founder of the dynasty in India— hailed from. The cumbersome artillery, and vast quantities of money and other miscellaneous supplies stored in mule packs, made the army move at a slow pace making it an easy target for raiders on horseback. Historians note that he turned away from his military campaigns at this time, letting them fall into the hands of his two eldest sons, Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb. Considered by Mughal foreign policy to be essential for the defence of India, both Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb mounted numerous attempts to regain Kandahar. The winter of 1646-1647 was one of the harshest the region had ever witnessed. Twitter: @ranvijayhada. In a remarkable show of discipline, the Rajputs under Raja Jai Singh, Rao Madho Singh and Mughal General Bahadur Khan performed a valiant rear-guard action at the steep approaches to the pass, and kept the Uzbeks at bay. Facing relentless local resistance, reluctant commanders, and an ever-growing burden on the Mughal exchequer, Aurangzeb realised the need to exit what was soon becoming a military quagmire. The cold killed countless pack animals, and the task of transporting camp baggage fell to the soldiers. Aurangzeb killed his brothers and imprisoned his father Shah Jahan in Agra for the rest of his life. He also mounted a second military expedition against Georgia in 1444. It is said that his army included more than 911,400 soldiers and 185,000 horsemen. Cold, hungry, and harassed, the Mughal army was barely able to hang onto its foothold in Central Asia through the winter. Love for Art & Architecture. The incident brought Jahangir and Khurram closer; in 1607, the emperor awarded his third son the fiefdom of Hissar-Feroza, which court observers took to mean that 15-year-old Khurram was now the heir apparent. It was during the birth of the last child in 1631 while accompanying her husband on a military campaign that Mumtaz Mahal died at the age of 38. https://www.livehistoryindia.com/cover-story/2020/08/19/balkh-campaign Shah Jahan had deep love and great respect for Mumtaz Mahal and gave her his complete, undivided attention. Khurram studied warfare, the Koran, poetry, music, and other subjects suitable for a Mughal prince. Rag-tag soldiers continued trickling into the walls of the city over the next few days. Instead he turned increasingly to architecture, his second-greatest passion. Mughal / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain. With the Rajput infantry putting up a stiff resistance, the Uzbek cavalry focused solely on attacking the centre vanguard. She has taught at the high school and university levels in the U.S. and South Korea. As soon as the imperial farman outlining the conquest of Balkh and Badakhshan was issued, the gears of the colossal Mughal war machine began turning. Shah Jahan stayed behind in Burhanpur to conclude the military campaign that had originally bought him to the region. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team. He was the third son of the Mughal emperor Jahāngīr and the Rajput princess Manmati. Though now little more than a provincial town in Northern Afghanistan (450 km from Kabul), for over 2,000 years it was among the great cities of Asia. Apart from the wavering will to fight, the army was also finding it hard to secure supplies from the local populace. During Jahangir's closing years, Shah Jahan came into open conflict with Empress Nur Jahan, but his rebellion against his father, in 1622, was unsuccessful. Like his ancestor, he too wants to visit Balkh (sans imperial ambitions). Made of white marble inlaid with Jasper and agates, the Taj is decorated with Koranic verses in lovely calligraphy. With the Mughal army cooped up inside fortresses and garrisons in and around Balkh, the Uzbek tribes, naturally accustomed to the region, pillaged the countryside and laid siege to multiple Mughal outposts and garrisons. Soldiers are said to have ‘burned themselves’ in an effort to keep warm, and it was impossible to walk outside without contracting life-debilitating frostbite. For a military campaign of such limited time and achievement, the Balkh-Badakhshan expedition of 1646-47 carries inordinate resonance through the passage of history. While there he began planning the design and construction of a suitable mausoleum and funerary garden in Agra for his wife, a task that would take … Lightly equipped, they moved fast and struck the long columns of the Mughal army at random, after which they would quickly retreat. The sudden and unannounced flight of an imperial Prince was a massive blow to the morale of the Mughal army stationed in Balkh. Dara's three younger brothers immediately rose up against him and marched on the capital at Agra. She later became known as Mumtaz Mahal - "The Chosen One of the Palace." However, the death of his beloved Mumtaz Mahal in 1631 nearly shattered the emperor. During his father's reign he distinguished himself in many military campaigns, especially in Mewar (1615), the Deccan (1617 and 1621), and Kangra (1618). The malaise faced by these forces has been common – irregular warfare, unfamiliar territory, a restricted war chest, and a near-bankruptcy in morale. 15th century Blue Mosque, Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh Province|Wikimedia Commons, Hindu Kush mountain range|Wikimedia Commons, Watershed of River Amu Darya|Wikimedia Commons, Heritage Matters: India – What Lies Beneath, Our geological wealth has been neglected by the keepers of our heritage, a subject we explored in Heritage Matters, Tea, Guwahati and a Love Story by the Lake, Guwahati was once a small river port that was transformed into the administrative center of Assam Province. The Mughal army entered the imposing Bala Hisar (the citadel) of Balkh virtually unopposed on the 2nd of July. Shah Jahan spent his last eight years gazing out the window at the Taj Mahal, attended by his daughter Jahanara Begum. Jahangir succeeded to the throne, after crushing an uprising led by one of his other sons, Khurram's half-brother. To improve the country’s financial resources, heavier taxes were imposed on the peasantry. Khurram dutifully sired a son by each of his other wives, and then neglected them almost entirely. On the 27th of October 1647, Aurangzeb finally reached the safeties of Kabul. CBSE Guess having millions of pages of educational papers provided by various educational institutions, teachers and educators from India and abroad. Now let us know about Shah Jahan's military campaigns Under Shah Jahan, the Afghan noble Khan Jahan Lodi was defeated and campaigns were launched against Ahmadnagar, Bundelas. Realising that an army had been sent to relieve the Mughal forces stationed in Balkh and Badakhshan, the Uzbeks assembled a force of 1 lakh light cavalry under Qutuluq Mohammed. Worried about the precarious situation of his army, Shah Jahan moved his court from Lahore to Kabul to more closely direct the campaign. In 1605, the 13-year-old prince refused to leave his grandfather's side as Akbar lay dying, despite the potential threat from his father's rivals for the throne. While essentially a return to status quo ante, the Mughals at least now had Nazar Mohammed’s loyalty to show for such a strenuous and expensive military campaign, regardless of how little it might have meant anyway. After nearly 150 years, the House of Timur was making its return. Ninety years later, Iranian ruler and conqueror Nader Shah (r. 1736-47) would lead an army down the Hindu Kush—in the historically conventional direction—and seal the fate of the Empire. Such affluence naturally attracted conquerors from all corners of Eurasia: King Darius of the Achaemenids (6th to 5th BCE), Alexander of Macedonia (4th BCE), the Great Khan Genghis (12th to 13th CE) and the feared Amir Timur (14th to 15th CE). In 1636, Shah Jahan appointed him viceroy of the troublesome Deccan; Aurangzeb was just 18. The next day, they engaged the Mughal vanguard again, this time directly in an open battlefield. Shah Jahan invested most of his time in building a massive army. The Sisodiya ruler of Mewar, Amar Singh, accepted Mughal service. The rear-guard, bringing with it the final stragglers and the injured, only arrived on the 10th of November. Already late in the year, the passes would soon be inaccessible. Answer: Jahangir 1605-1627: Military campaigns started by Akbar continued. Dr. Kallie Szczepanski is a history teacher specializing in Asian history and culture. Such extended lines were constantly harassed by hostile tribes, and there was a constant threat of being cut off from Kabul. He is a direct descendent of Rao Madho Singh Hada of Kota. A contemporary of Louis XIV of France, Shah Jahan ruled for thirty years. The failure of the campaign had come at a great expense. Shah Jahan and Mumtaz had visited Burhanpur as part of Shah Jahan’s military campaign, which was aimed at suppressing the rebellion of the governor of the Deccan, Khan Jahan Lodi. His father often sent him on military campaigns, even as a young child. The narrowness of the valley too constrained the massed Uzbek cavalry. The Safavids of Iran almost at once took advantage of this setback and captured Kandahar in Southern Afghanistan. The lush valleys and venerable mountains of Transoxiana were the ancestral homelands of the Mughals. Their wedding did not take place until five years later, and Khurram would marry two other women in the meantime, but Arjumand was his true love. Supplying such a large army too became an expensive affair. By undertaking it, they had, rather painfully, found the limits of their might. Dara was born as the third child of Khurram and Arjumand (Mumtaz Mahal) after this campaign in 1615. He was interred in the Taj Mahal, beside his beloved Mumtaz Mahal. When Jahangir died just one year later, in 1627, Shah Jahan became the Emperor of Mughal India. This campaign was to be the first step in the expansion of Mughal rule into Transoxiana, now Central Asia, where the Ferghana valley lay. The Khanate of Bukhara—the kingdom holding overlordship over Balkh and Badakhshan—was going through a period of internal strife, which made it an opportune moment to strike. The prince soon put down the rebellion, so his father granted him the name Shah Jahan, meaning "Glory of the World." Sara Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar started the shoot of their upcoming film Atrangi Re earlier this month. Less successful campaigns against the Sikhs, the Ahoms and Ahmadnagar followed. Led by Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur and Rao Madho Singh Hada of Kota, the Rajputs formed the integral rear-guard and vanguard of the army. His father often sent him on military campaigns, even as a young child. In 1440, King Alexander I of Georgia refused to pay tribute to Jahan Shah. Shah Jahan had 3 wives the other two being Akbarabadi Mahal and Khandahari Mahal, but Mumtaz Mahal was the emperor’s most loved and favored. Adding to their woes were the Uzbek tribesmen, who constantly attacked the Mughal columns for loot. The child who would become Shah Jahan was born on March 4, 1592, in Lahore, now in Pakistan. In return for restoring Balkh and Badakhshan to him, Nazar Mohammed would now swear fealty to Shah Jahan. This sparked on-going strife with the Persians, who recaptured the city in 1649. Shah Jahan won a number of battles for his father and was conferred the … Nestled between the Amu Darya and the Hindu Kush mountains, in the very heart of Asia, lies Balkh. In the meantime, Shah Jahan began to rely increasingly on his son Aurangzeb, who proved an effective military leader and an Islamic fundamentalist from a young age. At their imperial zenith, the campaign had partly been a product of the Mughals’ firm belief in their unassailable military capabilities. During his father's reign he distinguished himself in many military campaigns, especially in Mewar (1615), the Deccan (1617 and 1621), and Kangra (1618). Throughout the bitterly cold days of October, the Mughal rear-guard was hounded by Uzbek and Hazara tribesmen. Aurangzeb defeated Dara and his other brothers and took the throne. As a child, Khurram was a particular favorite of his grandfather, Emperor Akbar the Great, who personally oversaw the little prince's education. Nevertheless, the rear-guard, in the most inhospitable of conditions, was able to beat off successive waves of enemy raiders, at the cost of high casualties. These include: Later Shah Jahan’s sons fought for the throne. He was accompanied by Shaykh Ibrahim, father of future Shaykh Junayd. Even though he was the fifth child of Jahangir, Shah Jahan made his presence felt with his superior fighting skills and training. His army was scattered all over due to sudden snowstorms and constant enemy activity, which led to units’ progress in a haphazard fashion. He was sent on many missions for his father, and he brought back many victories. While the long columns of soldiers began crossing the pass, Uzbek riders struck the weak and slow stragglers at the rear end of the army. Campaigns against Georgia. Far from all the comforts and luxuries of the plains of Hindustan, a land of only hills and deserts was not where they would have liked to spend the better years of their imperial service. She was so trusted by her husband that he even gave her his imperial seal, the Muhr Uzah. Chief among them was Prince Murad Bakhsh himself, who shortly after arriving sent a series of letters to Shah Jahan expressing his desire to return to Kabul. Nazar Mohammed, the Bukharan Governor, fled even before the army was in sight. Trade bestowed upon its immense material and cultural wealth, and some considered it to be the mythical Shangri-La. Ahead of them lay a 400-km march to Kabul, through the narrow defiles and high mountain passes of the Hindu Kush. Yet, all they had achieved was the lip service of Nazar Mohammed; there was no increase in territory beyond an inconsequential 80 km or so north of Kabul. But the failure of their campaign had consequences well beyond the immediate loss of their military enterprise and a badly bruised sense of pride. Over 6,000 soldiers had died, mostly due to the privations of nature. Babur himself was born north of Balkh, in the fertile valley of Ferghana. Making its way through the narrow, rocky defiles of the Hindu Kush, the army conquered a number of towns and military garrisons en route, before arriving near Balkh. Mumtaz Mahal supported Shah Jahan and they respected each other very much. This portal is designed to support Students and Teachers of Central Board of Secondary Education. In 1631, though pregnant, she accompanied Shah Jahān on a military campaign in the Deccan. It was in Balkh where their most eminent ancestor, Amir Timur, had declared himself ‘Khan’, and it was from the magnificent citadel of Samarkand (in present-day Uzbekistan) that he governed his empire. Legend says that when he emerged, the forty-year-old emperor's hair had turned white. All of them were futile. He was also responsible in manufacturing cannonsin huge numbers. Prince Khurram showed extraordinary military talent. The story of a vastly superior force embroiled in a conflict with boundless objectives, but a finite will to fight, has become near proverbial in these regions. He was determined to build his empress "the most magnificent tomb the world had ever known.". In an effort to justify the entire military enterprise, Aurangzeb signed a treaty with the former governor of Bukhara, Nazar Mohammed. Suffering great privation, the men heaved heavy cannons and treasure caravans across the Gazniyak Pass. Although militarily far superior, he was unable to achieve a decisive victory. More pressing matters, however, concerned Aurangzeb. He was very close to his grandfather and after ascending to the throne he took forward Akbar’s legacy and embarked on several military campaigns to expand his vast empire. It was the only time, possibly in all of history, that an Indian army was to go on the offensive beyond the Hindu Kush. However, simply retreating from Balkh and Badakhshan after such an expensive military campaign would have made it all seem terribly wasteful. The third son of Emperor Jahangir, Shah Jahan was born at Lahore on Jan. 5, 1592, and was given the name of Khurram. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Biography of Aurangzeb, Emperor of Mughal India, Biography of Akbar the Great, Emperor of Mughal India, List of Indian States and Union Territories, Biography of Babur, Founder of the Mughal Empire, J.D., University of Washington School of Law, B.A., History, Western Washington University. Shah Jahan’s military expeditions to Central Asia and Kandahar and the extravagant building projects drained the royal treasury. Shah Jahan's depression at the loss of his beloved wife affected him in other ways as well. First is Emperor Babur who established the Mughal rule in India, then comes his son Humayun, then the most influential and successful emperor of all, 13 year old Emperor Akbar, then his son Jahangir followed by the Shah Jahan, patron of fine arts and last Emperor Aurangzeb. Currently at SOAS, Ranvijay Singh Hada is a keen, albeit amateur, aficionado of military and South Asian history as well as mountaineering literature. Asaf Khan’s sister and Shah Jahan’s old enemy Nur Jahan, survived until December 1645, but lived in retirement and never caused him trouble again. With an army of 35,000 soldiers, Aurangzeb marched out of Kabul in early April 1647. Since the baggage train—containing most of the money and other material wealth—moved far slower than the rest of the army, it was considered ripe for the picking by the hostile tribesmen. Throughout the summer months, Aurangzeb fought multiple battles and skirmishes with the local Uzbek tribes as well as the armies sent by the Khan of Bukhara. If they closed, the army would be stranded in a foreign land, surrounded by hostile tribes who were ever-ready to have a go at a force laden with imperial wealth. She was buried temporarily in Burhanpur, until her body was transferred … Shah Jahān, Mughal emperor of India (1628–58) who built the Taj Mahal. Military campaigns & administration of Shah Jahan In 1617, Shah Jahan was directed to deal with the Lodi in the Deccan, to secure the Empire's southern borders and to restore imperial control over the region. The harsh and arid lands of Balkh and Badakhshan only yielded about ten lakh rupees of revenue a year, a trifle sum compared to the vast sums of money required to sustain stable military control in the region. Jahangir sent his 21-year-old son Khurram (later known as Shah Jahan) to conclude the campaign. Odisha’s Sambalpur: The ‘Real & Original’ Shangri-La. Leading them was Shah Jahan’s youngest son, Mirza Murad Bakhsh. Each day, Live History India brings you stories and films that not only chronicle India’s history and heritage for you, but also help create a digital archive of the 'Stories that make India' for future generations. In 1641, Shah Jahan’s minister and father-in-law Asaf Khan died. 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