Emperor |
Birth |
Reign Period |
Death |
Notes |
Zahiruddin Mohammed Babur |
February 14, 1483 |
1526-1530 |
December 26, 1530 |
Founder of the Mughal Dynasty. |
Nasiruddin Mohammed Humayun |
March 6, 1508 |
1530-1540 |
January 1556 |
Reign interrupted by Suri Dynasty. Youth and inexperience at ascension led to his being regarded as a less effective ruler than usurper, Sher Shah Suri. |
Sher Shah Suri |
1472 |
1540-1545 |
May 1545 |
Deposed Humayun and led the Suri Dynasty; introduced tight, effective administration policies that would later be adopted by Akbar. |
Islam Shah Suri |
c.1500 |
1545-1554 |
1554 |
2nd and last ruler of the Suri Dynasty, with less control of the empire than his father; claims of sons Sikandar and Adil Shah were eliminated by Humayun's restoration. |
Humayun (restored) |
March 6, 1508 |
1555-1556 |
January 1556 |
Restored rule was more unified and effective than initial reign of 1530-1540; left unified empire for his son, Akbar. |
Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar |
November 14, 1542 |
1556-1605 |
October 27, 1605 |
Akbar added the most territory to the Empire and is regarded as the most illustrious ruler of the Mughal Dynasty; he married Jodhaa, a princess, from Rajputana like him. Jodhaa was a Hindu and many opposed at first, but under him, harmonic Muslim/Hindu relations were at their highest. |
Nuruddin Mohammed Jahangir |
October 1569 |
1605-1627 |
1627 |
Jahangir set the precedent for sons rebelling against their Emperor fathers. Opened first relations with the British East India Company. Reportedly was an alcoholic and his wife Empress Nur Jahan became the real power behind the throne and competently ruled in his place. |
Shahabuddin Mohammed Shah Jahan |
January 5, 1592 |
1627-1658 |
1666 |
Under him, Mughal art and architecture reached their zenith; constructed the Taj Mahal, Jahangir mausoleum and Shalimar Gardens in Lahore. Deposed and imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb. |
Moinuddin Mohammed Aurangzeb Alamgir |
October 21, 1618 |
1658-1707 |
March 3, 1707 |
Much less extravagant or tolerant of Hindus and Hinduism than his predecessors; brought the empire to its greatest physical extent and imposed Islamic Sharia on the Mughal Empire. Extreme policies left many enemies to undermine the empire after his death. |
Bahadur Shah I
a.k.a Shah Alaam I |
October 14, 1643 |
1707-1712 |
February 1712 |
First of the Mughal emperors to preside over a steady and severe decline in the empire's control and power. After his reign, the emperor became a progressively insignificant figurehead. |
Jahandar Shah |
1664 |
1712-1713 |
February 1713 |
He was merely a puppet in the hands of his Chief Minister Zulfikar Khan. The acts of Jahandar Shah brought down the prestige of the Mughal Empire. |
Furrukhsiyar |
1683 |
1713-1719 |
1719 |
In 1717 he granted a firman to the English East India Company granting them duty free trading rights for Bengal, and confirmed their position in India. |
Rafi Ul-Darjat |
Unknown |
1719 |
1719 |
|
Rafi Ud-Daulat
a.k.a Shah Jahan II |
Unknown |
1719 |
1719 |
|
Nikusiyar |
Unknown |
1719 |
1743 |
|
Mohammed Ibrahim |
Unknown |
1720 |
1744 |
|
Mohammed Shah |
1702 |
1719-1720, 1720-1748 |
1748 |
Suffered the invasion of Nadir-Shah of Persia in 1739. |
Ahmad Shah Bahadur |
1725 |
1748-54 |
1754 |
|
Alamgir II |
1699 |
1754-1759 |
1759 |
|
Shah Jahan III |
Unknown |
Briefly in 1759 |
1770s |
|
Shah Alaam II |
1728 |
1759-1806 |
1806 |
Suffered the invasion of Ahmed-Shah-Abdali in 1761; granted the 'Nizami' of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the BEIC in 1765, formally accepted the protection of the BEIC in 1803. |
Akbar Shah II |
1760 |
1806-1837 |
1837 |
titular figurehead under British protection |
Bahadur Shah II |
1775 |
1837-1857 |
1862 |
Deposed by the British and exiled to Burma following the Great Mutiny. |
