Editing History of Islam (section)

== Early Modern period ==
{{main|Early modern period}}
In the 15th and 16th centuries three major Muslim empires formed: the [[Ottoman Empire]] in [[Ottoman conquest of Anatolia|Anatolia]], the [[Ottoman conquest of the Balkans|Balkans]], the [[Middle East]], and [[North Africa]]; the [[Safavid Empire]] in [[Greater Iran]]; and the [[Mughal Empire]] in [[South Asia]]. These imperial powers were made possible by the discovery and exploitation of [[gunpowder]] and more efficient administration.<ref name="Armstrong116">{{harvnb|Armstrong|2000|p=116}}</ref>

===Ottoman Empire===
{{Main|Ottoman Empire|Rise of the Ottoman Empire}}
{{Further|Classical Age of the Ottoman Empire|History of Turkey}}
[[File:I Osman.jpg|thumb|right|[[Osman I]], founder of the Ottoman Empire. [[Ottoman miniature]], 1579–1580, [[Topkapı Palace|Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi]], [[Istanbul]].]]

According to Ottoman historiography, the [[legitimation]] of a ruler is attributed to [[Sheikh Edebali]] who interpreted a dream of [[Osman I|Osman Gazi]] as God's legitimation of his reign.<ref>Jens Peter Laut ''Vielfalt türkischer Religionen'' Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (German) p. 31</ref> Since [[Murad&nbsp;I]]'s [[Ottoman conquest of Adrianople|conquest of Edirne]] in 1362, the caliphate was claimed by the Turkish sultans of the empire.<ref>{{Cite book|editor-last1=Holt|editor-first1=P.M.|editor-last2=Lambton|editor-first2=Ann|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4AuJvd2Tyt8C|title=The Cambridge History of Islam: The Indian sub-continent, South-East Asia, Africa and the Muslim west|editor-last3=Lewis|editor-first3=Bernard|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=1995|isbn=978-0-521-22310-2|volume=2|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4AuJvd2Tyt8C 320]|editor-link2=Ann Lambton|editor-link3=Bernard Lewis|access-date=13 March 2015}}{{verify source|date=September 2021|reason=This cite does not match Google books or Worldcat. The Google cite does not match the contents of the book. The Worldcat cite is confusing. I believe I have listed the correct editors.}}</ref> During the period of Ottoman growth, claims on caliphal authority were recognized in 1517 as [[Selim&nbsp;I]] became the "[[Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques]]" in Mecca and Medina through the conquering and unification of Muslim lands, strengthening their claim to the caliphate in the [[Muslim world]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Drews|first=Robert|url=https://my.vanderbilt.edu/robertdrews/publications/|title=Coursebook: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, to the Beginnings of Modern Civilization|date=August 2011|publisher=[[Vanderbilt University]]|chapter=Chapter Thirty – "The Ottoman Empire, Judaism, and Eastern Europe to 1648"|chapter-url=https://my.vanderbilt.edu/robertdrews/files/2014/01/Chapter-Thirty.-The-Ottoman-Empire-Judaism-and-Eastern-Europe-to-1648.pdf}}</ref>

The Seljuq Turks declined in the second half of the 13th century, after the [[Mongol conquest of Anatolia|Mongol invasion of Anatolia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1977a|p=263}}</ref> This resulted in the establishment of multiple Turkish principalities, known as [[bey]]liks. [[Osman I]], the founder of the [[Ottoman dynasty]], assumed leadership of one of these principalities ([[Söğüt]]) at the end of the 13th century, succeeding his father [[Ertuğrul]]. Osman I afterwards led it in a series of battles with the Byzantine Empire.<ref>Kohn, G. C. (2006). Dictionary of wars. New York: Facts on File. p. 94.</ref> By 1331, the [[Ottoman Turks]] had captured [[Nicaea]], the former Byzantine capital, under the leadership of Osman's son and successor, [[Orhan I]].<ref>{{harvnb|Koprulu|1992|p=109}}</ref> Victory at the [[Battle of Kosovo]] against the [[Serbian Empire]] in 1389 then facilitated their expansion into Europe. The Ottomans were established in the Balkans and Anatolia by the time [[Bayezid I]] ascended to power in the same year, now at the helm of a growing empire.<ref>{{harvnb|Koprulu|1992|p=111}}</ref>

[[File:OttomanEmpireMain.png|thumb|left|300px|The Ottoman Empire and sphere of influence at its [[Territorial evolution of the Ottoman Empire|greatest extent]] (1683)]]
Growth halted when Mongol warlord [[Timur]] (also known as "''Tamerlane''") captured Bayezid I in the [[Battle of Ankara]] in 1402, beginning the [[Ottoman Interregnum]]. This episode was characterized by the division of the Ottoman territory amongst Bayezid I's sons, who submitted to [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid authority]]. When a number of Ottoman territories regained independent status, ruin for the Empire loomed. However, the empire recovered as the youngest son of Bayezid I, [[Mehmed I]], waged offensive campaigns against his ruling brothers, thereby reuniting [[Asia Minor]] and declaring himself sultan in 1413.<ref name="AHGC">{{Cite web|author=Applied History Research Group|publisher=University of Calagary|url=https://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/index2.html|title=The Islamic World to 1600|access-date=18 April 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070410125136/http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/index2.html|archive-date=10 April 2007}}</ref> Around 1512 the [[Ottoman Navy|Ottoman naval fleet]] developed under the rule of [[Selim I]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Ágoston|first=Gábor|year=2021|chapter=Part I: Emergence – Conquests: European Reactions and Ottoman Naval Preparations|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXALEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA123|title=The Last Muslim Conquest: The Ottoman Empire and Its Wars in Europe|location=[[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]] and [[Oxford]]|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|pages=123-138, 138-144|doi=10.1515/9780691205380-003|isbn=978-0-691-20538-0|lccn=2020046920|jstor=j.ctv1b3qqdc.8}}</ref> such that the Ottoman Turks were able to challenge the [[Republic of Venice]], a [[naval power]] which established its [[thalassocracy]] alongside the other [[Italian city-states|Italian]] [[maritime republics]] upon the [[Mediterranean Region]].<ref>{{cite book|author-last=Lane|author-first=Frederic C.|author-link=Frederic C. Lane|year=1973|chapter=Contests for Power: The Fifteenth Century|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7nVq0BLfVT4C&pg=PA224|title=Venice, A Maritime Republic|location=[[Baltimore]]|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|pages=224–240|isbn=978-0-8018-1460-0|oclc=617914}}</ref> They also attempted to reconquer the Balkans. By the time of Mehmed I's grandson, [[Mehmed II]] (ruled 1444–1446; 1451–1481), the Ottomans could lay siege to [[Constantinople]], the capital of Byzantium. A factor in this siege was the use of [[muskets]] and large [[cannon]]s introduced by the Ottomans. The Byzantine fortress [[Fall of Constantinople|succumbed]] in 1453, after 54 days of siege. Without its capital the Byzantine Empire disintegrated.<ref name="AHGC"/> The future successes of the Ottomans and later empires would depend upon the exploitation of [[gunpowder]].<ref name="Armstrong116"/>

[[File:View of the Süleymaniye Mosque from the Bosphorus (1).jpg|thumb|right|The [[Süleymaniye Mosque]] (Süleymaniye Camii) in [[Istanbul]] was built on the order of sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] by the [[Ottoman architecture|Ottoman architect]] [[Mimar Sinan]] in 1557.]]
In the early 16th century, the Shiʿite [[Safavid dynasty]] assumed control in Persia under the leadership of [[Shah]] [[Ismail I]], defeating the ruling [[Turkmen people|Turcoman]] federation [[Aq Qoyunlu]] (also called the "White Sheep Turkomans") in 1501. The Ottoman sultan [[Selim I]] sought to repel Safavid expansion, challenging and defeating them at the [[Battle of Chaldiran]] in 1514. Selim I also deposed the ruling Mamluks in Egypt, absorbing their territories in 1517. [[Suleiman the Magnificent|Suleiman I]] (nicknamed "''Suleiman the Magnificent''"), Selim I's successor, took advantage of the diversion of Safavid focus to the [[Uzbeks]] on the eastern frontier and recaptured Baghdad, which had fallen under Safavid control. Despite this, Safavid power remained substantial, rivalling the Ottomans. Suleiman I advanced deep into Hungary following the [[Battle of Mohács]] in 1526 – [[Siege of Vienna (1529)|reaching as far as the gates of Vienna]] thereafter, and signed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with [[Francis I of France]] against [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] 10 years later. While Suleiman I's rule (1520–1566) is often identified as the apex of Ottoman power, the empire continued to remain powerful and influential until a relative fall in its military strength in the second half of the 18th century.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|editor1-last=Ágoston|editor1-first=Gábor|editor2-first=Bruce|editor2-last=Masters|year=2009|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire|chapter=Introduction|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC|location=[[New York City|New York]]|publisher=[[Facts on File]]|page=xxxii|isbn=978-0-8160-6259-1|lccn=2008020716}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Faroqhi|first=Suraiya|editor-last=İnalcık|editor-first=Halil|editor2=Donald Quataert|title=An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire, 1300–1914|volume=2|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=1994|page=553|chapter=Crisis and Change, 1590–1699|isbn=978-0-521-57456-3|quote=In the past fifty years, scholars have frequently tended to view this decreasing participation of the sultan in political life as evidence for "Ottoman decadence", which supposedly began at some time during the second half of the sixteenth century. But recently, more note has been taken of the fact that the Ottoman Empire was still a formidable military and political power throughout the seventeenth century, and that noticeable though limited economic recovery followed the crisis of the years around 1600; after the crisis of the 1683–99 war, there followed a longer and more decisive economic upswing. Major evidence of decline was not visible before the second half of the eighteenth century.}}</ref>

===Safavid Empire===
{{Main|Safavid Empire}}
{{Further|Persianization|Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam}}
[[File:Safavid Empire 1501 1722 AD.png|thumb|left|300px|The [[Safavid Empire]] at its greatest extent under [[Shah]] [[Ismail I]] (1501–1524)]]

The Shīʿīte [[Safavid dynasty]] rose to power in [[Tabriz]] in 1501 and later conquered the rest of Iran.<ref name="Matthee 2021">{{cite book|author-last=Baltacıoğlu-Brammer|author-first=Ayşe|year=2021|chapter=The emergence of the Safavids as a mystical order and their subsequent rise to power in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gWBCEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA15|editor-first=Rudi|editor-last=Matthee|title=The Safavid World|location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]]|publisher=[[Routledge]]|edition=1st|series=Routledge Worlds|pages=15–36|doi=10.4324/9781003170822|isbn=978-1-003-17082-2|s2cid=236371308}}</ref> They were of mixed ancestry, originally [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]],<ref name="R.M.">{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ebn-bazzaz|title=RM Savory. Ebn Bazzaz.}} ''Encyclopædia Iranica''</ref> but during their rule intermarried with [[Turkmens|Turcomans]],<ref>
*Roemer, H.R. (1986). "The Safavid Period" in Jackson, Peter; Lockhart, Laurence. ''The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 214, 229
*Blow, David (2009). ''Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend''. I.B.Tauris. p. 3
*Savory, Roger M.; Karamustafa, Ahmet T. (1998) ''ESMĀʿĪL I ṢAFAWĪ''. ''Encyclopaedia Iranica Vol. VIII, Fasc. 6'', pp. 628-636
*Ghereghlou, Kioumars (2016). ''ḤAYDAR ṢAFAVI''. ''Encyclopaedia Iranica''</ref> [[Georgians]],<ref>{{cite book|first=Aptin|last=Khanbaghi|date=2006|title=The Fire, the Star and the Cross: Minority Religions in Medieval and Early|location=London & New York|publisher=IB Tauris|isbn=1-84511-056-0}}, pp. 130–1</ref> [[Circassians]],{{sfn|Yarshater|2001|p=493}}{{sfn|Khanbaghi|2006|p=130}} and [[Pontic Greeks]].<ref name="Anthony Bryer 1975">Anthony Bryer. "Greeks and Türkmens: The Pontic Exception", ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 29'' (1975), Appendix II "Genealogy of the Muslim Marriages of the Princesses of Trebizond"</ref> The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the [[Safavid order]] of [[Sufism]],<ref name="Matthee 2021"/> while the Iranian population was largely composed by [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]].<ref>Peter B. Golden (2002) "An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples"; In: Osman Karatay, Ankara, p. 321</ref> After their defeat at the hands of the Sunni Ottomans at the [[Battle of Chaldiran]], to unite the Persians behind him, [[Shah]] [[Ismail I]] made conversion mandatory for the largely Sunni population of Iran to the [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver sect of Shīʿa Islam]] so that he could get them to fight against the Sunni Ottomans.<ref>"Ismail Safavi" Encyclopædia Iranica</ref>

This resulted in the [[Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|Safavid conversion of Iran to Shīʿa Islam]]. Iranian [[Zaydism|Zaydis]], the largest group amongst the Shīʿa Muslims before the [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid rule]], were also forced to convert to the [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver]] denomination of Shīʿa Islam. The Zaydis at that time subscribed to the [[Hanafi]] [[Fiqh|jurisprudence]], as did most Sunnis, and there were good relations between them. [[Abu Hanifah]] and [[Zayd ibn Ali]] were also very good friends.<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="Arab-Israeli Conflict Page 917"/><ref name="The Iraq Effect Page 91"/> The Safavid dynasty from [[Azarbaijan]] ruled from 1501 to 1736; they [[Safavid conversion of Iran from Sunnism to Shiism|established Twelver Shīʿīsm as the official religion of Safavid Iran]] and united its provinces under a single sovereignty, thereby reigniting the [[History of Iran|Persian identity]].<ref>''Why is there such confusion about the origins of this important dynasty, which reasserted Iranian identity and established an independent Iranian state after eight and a half centuries of rule by foreign dynasties?'' RM Savory, ''Iran under the Safavids'' (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980), p. 3.</ref><ref>Alireza Shapur Shahbazi (2005), "The History of the Idea of Iran", in Vesta Curtis ed., Birth of the Persian Empire, IB Tauris, London, p. 108: "Similarly the collapse of Sassanian Eranshahr in AD 650 did not end Iranians' national idea. The name "Iran" disappeared from official records of the Saffarids, Samanids, Buyids, Saljuqs and their successor. But one unofficially used the name Iran, Eranshahr, and similar national designations, particularly Mamalek-e Iran or "Iranian lands", which exactly translated the old Avestan term Ariyanam Daihunam. On the other hand, when the Safavids (not Reza Shah, as is popularly assumed) revived a national state officially known as Iran, bureaucratic usage in the Ottoman empire and even Iran itself could still refer to it by other descriptive and traditional appellations".</ref>
{{clear|left}}
[[File:Shah soleiman safavi.jpg|thumb|right|[[Suleiman I of Persia|Shah Suleiman I]] and his courtiers, [[Isfahan]], 1670. Painter is [[Aliquli Jabbadar|Ali Qoli Jabbador]], and is kept at The [[St. Petersburg]] Institute of Oriental Studies in Russia, ever since it was acquired by [[Tsar Nicholas II]]. Note the two [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] figures with their names at the top left.]]

In 1524, [[Tahmasp I]] acceded to the throne, initiating a revival of the arts. [[Persian carpet|Carpetmaking]] became a major industry. The tradition of [[Persian miniature]] painting in manuscripts reached its peak, until Tahmasp turned to strict religious observance in middle age, prohibiting the consumption of [[Alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] and [[hashish]] and removing [[casino]]s, [[tavern]]s, and [[brothel]]s. Tahmasp's nephew [[Ibrahim Mirza]] continued to patronize a last flowering of the arts until he was murdered, after which many artists were recruited by the [[Mughal dynasty]].

Tahmasp's grandson, [[Shah Abbas I]], restored the shrine of the eighth Twelver Shīʿīte Imam, [[Ali al-Ridha]] at [[Mashhad]], and restored the dynastic shrine at [[Ardabil]]. Both shrines received jewelry, fine manuscripts, and Chinese porcelains. Abbas moved the capital to [[Isfahan (city)|Isfahan]], revived old ports, and established thriving trade with Europeans. Amongst Abbas' most visible cultural achievements was the construction of ''[[Naqsh-e Jahan Square]]'' ("Design of the World"). The plaza, located near a Friday mosque, covered {{convert|20|acre|m2}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2000|pp=199–204}}</ref> The [[Safavid dynasty]] was toppled in 1722 by the [[Hotaki dynasty]], which ended their forceful conversion of Sunni areas to Twelver Shīʿīsm.

===Mughal Empire===
{{Main|Mughal Empire}}
[[File:The Mughal Empire.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mughal India]] at its greatest extent, at the sharia apogee of [[Aurangzeb|Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir]].]]

Mughal Empire was a power that comprised almost all of [[South Asia]], founded in 1526. It was established and ruled by the [[Timurid dynasty]], with [[Turco-Mongol]] [[Chagatai Khanate|Chagatai]] roots from [[Central Asia]], claiming direct descent from both [[Genghis Khan]] (through his son [[Chagatai Khan]]) and [[Timur]],<ref name="Richards1995">{{citation|last=Richards|first=John F.|title=The Mughal Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC|year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=6|isbn=978-0-521-56603-2}}</ref><ref name="Schimmel2004">{{citation|last=Schimmel|first=Annemarie|title=The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7sewQQzOHUC|year=2004|publisher=Reaktion Books|page=22|isbn=978-1-86189-185-3}}</ref><ref name="Balabanlilar2012">{{citation|last=Balabanlilar|first=Lisa|title=Imperial Identity in Mughal Empire: Memory and Dynastic Politics in Early Modern Central Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PS6PrH3rtkC|date=15 January 2012|publisher=I.B.Tauris|page=2|isbn=978-1-84885-726-1}}</ref> and with significant [[India|Indian]] and [[Persian people|Persian]] ancestry through marriage alliances;<ref>Jeroen Duindam (2015), [https://books.google.com/books?id=5ky2CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA105 ''Dynasties: A Global History of Power, 1300–1800'', p. 105], [[Cambridge University Press]]</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Malika|last=Mohammada|title=The Foundations of the Composite Culture in India|publisher=Aakar Books|year=2007|page=300|isbn=978-81-89833-18-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dwzbYvQszf4C&pg=PA300}}</ref> the first two [[Mughal emperors]] had both parents of Central Asian ancestry, while successive emperors were of predominantly Indo-Persian ancestry.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Mughals and their India|author=Dirk Collier|publisher=[[Hay House]]|year=2016|page=15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40ywDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT15|isbn=978-93-84544-98-0}}</ref> The dynasty was [[Indo-Persian culture|Indo-Persian]] in culture,<ref name="r1"/> combining [[Persianate society|Persianate]] culture<ref name="persianatemogul">{{cite book|title=God and Logic in Islam: The Caliphate of Reason|author=John Walbridge|page=165|quote=Persianate Mogul Empire.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Britain and the Persian Gulf: 1795–1880|author=John Barrett Kelly|page=473}}</ref> with local [[Culture of India|Indian cultural]] influences<ref name="r1">{{cite web|url=http://www.soas.ac.uk/southasia/research/nilc/indopersian/|title=Indo-Persian Literature Conference: SOAS: North Indian Literary Culture (1450–1650)|publisher=SOAS|access-date=28 November 2012|archive-date=23 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923222924/http://www.soas.ac.uk/southasia/research/nilc/indopersian/|url-status=dead}}</ref> visible in its court culture and administrative customs.<ref name="r4">{{cite web|url=http://www.webindia123.com/history/MEDIEVAL/mughal%20period/mughal2.htm|title=Indian History-Medieval-Mughal Period-AKBAR|publisher=Webindia123.com|access-date=28 November 2012}}</ref>

The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the victory by its founder [[Babur]] over [[Ibrahim Lodi]], the last ruler of the [[Delhi Sultanate]], in the [[First Battle of Panipat]] (1526). During the reign of [[Humayun]], the successor of Babur, the empire was briefly interrupted by the [[Sur Empire]] established by [[Sher Shah Suri]], who re-established the [[Grand Trunk Road]] across the northern Indian subcontinent, initiated the [[rupee]] currency system and developed much of the foundations of the effective administration of Mughal rule. The "classic period" of the Mughal Empire began in 1556, with the ascension of [[Akbar]] to the throne. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to the Mughal dominance of northwestern India, but most of them were subdued by Akbar. All Mughal emperors were [[Muslims]]; Akbar, however, propounded a syncretic religion in the latter part of his life called [[Din-i-Ilahi|Dīn-i Ilāhī]], as recorded in historical books like ''[[Ain-i-Akbari]]'' and ''[[Dabistān-i Mazāhib]]''.<ref>{{cite book|first=Makhan Lal|last=Roy Choudhury|title=The Din-i-Ilahi:Or, The Religion of Akbar}}</ref> The Mughal Empire did not try to intervene in native societies during most of its existence, rather co-opting and pacifying them through concilliatory administrative practices{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 115}}{{sfn|Robb|2001|pp = 90–91}} and a syncretic, inclusive ruling elite,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 17}} leading to more systematic, centralized and uniform rule.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 152}} Traditional and newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the [[Maratha Confederacy|Marathas]], the [[Rajputs]], the [[Pashtuns]], the [[Hindu Jats]] and the [[Khalsa|Sikhs]], gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience.<ref name="AsherTalbot2006">{{cite book|author1=Catherine Ella Blanshard Asher|author2=Cynthia Talbot|title=India before Europe|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|page=265}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Burjor Avari|title=Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A History of Muslim Power and Presence in the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGHpVtQ8eKoC&pg=PA131|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|pages=131–|isbn=978-0-415-58061-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Erinn Banting|date=2003|title=Afghanistan: The people|url=https://archive.org/details/afghanistanpeopl0000bant|url-access=registration|publisher=Crabtree Publishing Company|pages=[https://archive.org/details/afghanistanpeopl0000bant/page/9 9]–|isbn=978-0-7787-9336-6}}</ref>{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 23–24}}
[[File:Taj Mahal (Edited).jpeg|thumb|[[Taj Mahal]] is a [[mausoleum]] built by [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Shah Jahan]] to house the tomb of his favourite wife, [[Mumtaz Mahal]].]]
The reign of [[Shah Jahan]] (1628–1658) represented the height of [[Mughal architecture]], with famous monuments such as the [[Taj Mahal]], [[Moti Masjid (Agra Fort)|Moti Masjid]], [[Red Fort]], [[Jama Masjid, Delhi|Jama Masjid]] and [[Lahore Fort]] being constructed during his reign.

The [[sharia]] reign of [[Aurangzeb|Muhammad Auranzgeb]] witnessed the establishment of the [[Fatawa-e-Alamgiri]].<ref>''Islamic and European Expansion: The Forging of a Global Order'', [[Michael Adas]], Temple University Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1993.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Chapra|first1=Muhammad Umer|title=Morality and Justice in Islamic Economics and Finance|date=2014|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-1-78347-572-8|pages=62–63}}</ref> Muslim India became the world's largest economy, valued 25% of world [[GDP]].<ref>[[Angus Maddison|Maddison, Angus]] (2003): ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rHJGz3HiJbcC&pg=PA259 Development Centre Studies The World Economy Historical Statistics: Historical Statistics]'', [[OECD Publishing]], {{ISBN|92-64-10414-3}}, pages 259–261</ref> Its richest province, [[Bengal Subah]], which was a world leading economy and had better conditions than 18th century [[Western Europe]], showed signs of the [[Industrial Revolution]], through the emergence of the period of [[proto-industrialization]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Numerous conflicts such as the [[Anglo-Mughal War (1686–1690)|Anglo-Mughal War]] were also witnessed.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Conflict and Cooperation in Anglo-Mughal Trade Relations during the Reign of Aurangzeb|first=Farhat|last=Hasan|journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient|volume=34|issue=4|date=1991|pages=351–360|doi=10.1163/156852091X00058|jstor=3632456}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=John Company Armed: The English East India Company, the Anglo-Mughal War and Absolutist Imperialism, c. 1675–1690|first=James|last=Vaugn|journal=Britain and the World|volume=11|issue=1|date=September 2017}}
</ref>

After the death of [[Aurangzeb]], which marks the end of Medieval India and beginning of the European colonialism in India, internal dissatisfaction arose due to the weakness of the empire's administrative and economic systems, leading to its break-up and declarations of independence of its former provinces by the [[Nawab of Bengal]], the [[Nawab of Awadh]], the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]], the major economic and military power known as [[Kingdom of Mysore]] ruled by [[Tipu Sultan]] and other small states. In 1739, the Mughals were crushingly defeated in the [[Battle of Karnal]] by the forces of [[Nader Shah]], the founder of the [[Afsharid dynasty]] in Persia, and Delhi was [[Sack of Delhi|sacked and looted]], drastically accelerating their decline.

In 1757, the [[East India Company]] overtook [[Bengal Subah]] at the [[Battle of Plassey]]. By the mid-18th century, the [[Maratha Confederacy|Marathas]] had routed Mughal armies and won over several Mughal provinces from the [[Punjab region|Punjab]] to [[Bengal]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Sailendra Nath Sen|date=2010|title=An Advanced History of Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXWiACEwPR8C&pg=PA1941-IA82|publisher=Macmillan India|page=Introduction 14|isbn=978-0-230-32885-3}}</ref>

[[Tipu Sultan]]'s [[Kingdom of Mysore]] based in [[South India]], which witnessed partial establishment of [[sharia]] based economic and military policies i.e. [[Fathul Mujahidin]], replaced Bengal ruled by the [[Nawabs of Bengal]] as [[South Asia]]'s foremost economic territory.<ref name="mehta">{{cite book|title=Widows, Pariahs, and Bayadères: India as Spectacle|author=Binita Mehta|publisher=[[Bucknell University Press]]|year=2002|pages=110–111|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wK1fAwgOercC&pg=PA110|isbn=978-0-8387-5455-9}}</ref><ref name="pande">{{cite book|title=Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan: Evaluation of Their Religious Policies|author=B. N. Pande|publisher=[[University of Michigan]]|year=1996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgbXAAAAMAAJ|isbn=978-81-85220-38-3}}</ref> 
The [[Anglo-Mysore Wars]] were fought between [[Hyder Ali]], his son [[Tipu Sultan|Tipu]] and their [[First French Empire|French]] allies, including [[Napoleon]] Bonaparte, and the [[East India Company]]. [[Rocket artillery]] and the world's first iron-cased rockets, the [[Mysorean rockets]], were used during the war and the [[Jihad]] based [[Fathul Mujahidin]] was compiled.

During the following century Mughal power had become severely limited, and the last emperor, [[Bahadur Shah II]], had authority over only the city of [[Shahjahanabad]]. Bahadur issued a ''[[firman]]'' supporting the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]. Consequent to the rebellion's defeat he was tried by the [[East India Company]] [[Company rule in India|authorities]] for treason, imprisoned, and exiled to [[Rangoon]].<ref>{{cite book|author=John Capper|author-link=John Capper|date=1918|title=Delhi, the Capital of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqqBPS1TDUgC&pg=PA28|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi|pages=28–29|isbn=978-81-206-1282-2}}</ref> The last remnants of the empire were formally taken over by the British, and the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British parliament]] passed the [[Government of India Act 1858|Government of India Act]] to enable [[the Crown]] formally to [[Nationalization|nationalize]] the East India Company and assume direct control of India in the form of the new [[British Raj]].