SSC CGL History · Medieval India
Mughal Empire and Administration
Babur's battles, Humayun's fall to Sher Shah and the Afghan interlude, Akbar's court, revenue and provinces, and the later Mughals, Marathas and Rajput rulers to 1761.
Why this matters
Twenty-three questions in the bank: five from the 2023 shifts, 11 from the 2024 shifts and seven from the 2025 shifts. Seven of them are about battles, from Babur's first raid in 1519 to Panipat in 1761, and most of the rest ask who held which post at Akbar's court, so the page is a battle line plus a list of Akbar's men and terms.
Concept 1 of 2: Babur, Humayun and Sher Shah
Definition
Babur (full name Zahiruddin Muhammad):
- His first Indian conquest was Bhira (1519), on the Jhelum.
- Panipat (1526): beat Ibrahim Lodi, ending the Sultanate.
- Khanwa (1527): beat Rana Sanga of Mewar, whose allies included Medini Rai of Chanderi, Hasan Khan Mewati and Mahmud Lodi.
- Chanderi (1528): beat Medini Rai.
Humayun succeeded him in 1530. By Timurid custom he shared power with his brothers: Kamran held Kabul, Kandahar and Punjab. Sher Shah Suri beat Humayun at Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540) and founded the Sur dynasty, the Second Afghan Empire (the Lodis were the first). Humayun regained Delhi in 1555 and died in January 1556.
Sher Shah's system (land survey and revenue, the rupiya coin, sarkars and parganas, the Grand Trunk Road) became the model for Akbar.
Practice this conceptself-check · 5 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Medieval India · Mughal Empire and Administration
Khanwa against Sanga, Chanderi against Medini Rai
Concept 2 of 2: Akbar's empire and the later Mughals
Definition
Akbar:
- Crowned in 1556 at Kalanaur in Punjab, aged 13. Bairam Khan was his regent and Vakil, with the title Khan-i-Khanan.
- His Navratnas (nine gems) included Tansen (musician, who played the rabab), Birbal, Abul Fazl, Raja Man Singh and Raja Todar Mal, his revenue minister.
- Land classes: Polaj (farmed every year), Parauti (fallow a year or two), Chachar (fallow three or four years), Banjar (fallow five years or more).
- His provinces (subahs) had capitals such as Lahore, Allahabad and Ajmer.
After Akbar:
- Amar Singh of Mewar, son of Maharana Pratap, accepted Mughal service under Jahangir (1615).
- Sawai Jai Singh II of Amber built five observatories (Jantar Mantar) at Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi and Mathura.
- Baji Rao I, Peshwa from 1720 to 1740, is called Baji Rao Ballal.
- At the third battle of Panipat (1761), between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Mughal emperor was Shah Alam II.
Practice this conceptself-check · 5 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Medieval India · Mughal Empire and Administration
Bidar was never a Mughal provincial capital
Baji Rao Ballal is Baji Rao I
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
Watch out for (3)
- Khanwa against Sanga, Chanderi against Medini Rai→ Babur, Humayun and Sher Shah
- Bidar was never a Mughal provincial capital→ Akbar's empire and the later Mughals
- Baji Rao Ballal is Baji Rao I→ Akbar's empire and the later Mughals
Test yourself on Medieval India
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.