The Mughal Empire - Quiz

The Razmnāma (Book of War) is a Persian translation of the Mahabharata. In Persian, "Razm" means "war" and "nama" means "tale" or "epic"; the name Razmnamah, therefore, means a tale of war. In 1574 Akbar started a Maktab Khana or a house of translation works in Fatehpur Sikri. He endorsed the work to a few officials to make translations of the Sanskrit books Rajatarangini, Ramayana and Mahabharata into the Persian language

First copy: In 1582 an order was passed to translate the Mahabharata into Persian. The translation work of the Mahabharata, which has one lakh (100,000) Slokas, was carried out during the period 1584-1586. Today a copy of this translation work can be found in the "City Palace Museum" of Jaipur. Mushfiq has contributed the paintings to this book. The speciality of this Razmnamah is the paintings of the events of Mahabharata in the book.

The second copy of the Razmnama was completed between 1598 and 1599. When compared with the first copy, the second copy is found to be more elaborate. the 161 paintings found in this copy provide illustatrations of the Mahabharata. The paintings were the token of the excellence of the artists of Akbar's time. It clearly shows the patronage of artists during Akbar's reign. The copies were sent to members of royal families as gifts to help them understand the Hindu religion better. According to Akbar's courtier Abd al-Qadir Badayuni, Akbar ordered the copies to be sent to all the Amirs of his kingdom, with instructions to receive them as a gift from God. According to the preface written by Abul Fazl the historian in Akbar's court, the intention behind these gifts and their distribution was very pious.

Aurangzeb was named as "Zinda Pir" or "Living Saint".

Aurangzeb was born on 3 November 1618, in Dahod, Gujarat. He was the third son and sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. In June 1626, after an unsuccessful rebellion by his father, Aurangzeb and his brother Dara Shukoh were kept as hostages under their grandparents' (Nur Jahan and Jahangir) Lahore court. On 26 February 1628, Shah Jahan has officially declared the Mughal Emperor, and Aurangzeb returned to live with his parents at Agra Fort, where Aurangzeb received his formal education in Arabic and Persian. His daily allowance was fixed at Rs. 500, which he spent on religious education and the study of history.

On 28 May 1633, Aurangzeb escaped death when a powerful war elephant stampeded through the Mughal Imperial encampment. He rode against the elephant and struck its trunk with a lance,[19] and successfully defended himself from being crushed. Aurangzeb's valour was appreciated by his father who conferred him the title of Bahadur (Brave) and had him weighed in gold and presented gifts worth Rs. 200,000. This event was celebrated in Persian and Urdu verses, and Aurangzeb said: If the (elephant) fight had ended fatally for me, it would not have been a matter of shame. Death drops the curtain even on Emperors; it is no dishonor. The shame lay in what my brothers did!

As emperor, Aurangzeb banned the drinking of alcohol, gambling,[53] castration, servitude, eunuchs, music, nautch and narcotics in the Mughal Empire.

Shah Jahan, who ruled from 1628 to 1658, is known for his patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture. He commissioned several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Taj Mahal.

Babur, a warrior chieftain from Uzbekistan, is considered to have founded the Mughal Empire in 1526.

Shah Jahan, who ruled from 1628 to 1658, is known for his patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture. He commissioned many of the Mughal UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Asia, including the Taj Mahal.

The Mughal Empire reached its maximum geographical extent during the reign of Aurangzeb, who ruled from 1658 to 1707.

The base of the Mughal Empire's collective wealth was agricultural taxes, instituted by the third Mughal emperor, Akbar.

Guns made of bronze were recovered from Calicut in 1504.

Prince Aurangzeb's forces discharged rockets and grenades while scaling the walls during a siege.

Fatah Muhammad, the constable at Budikote, commanded a corps consisting of 50 rocketmen (Cushoon) for the Nawab of Arcot.