The Mughal Empire - Information & Discussion

[Lazy Knight]

I am pretty sure it could swap the city and town, yes.

[Babur]

I am pretty sure it could swap the city and town, yes.

awesome, if it wasn't so complex and if I had more time, I would like to turn Agra into a town and Delhi into a city and thus the capital.

my tulwar:

[irontaino]

the Mughals are quite a challenge, i don't like fighting the Maratha, they spam the crap out of uber warriors that can take elephants down with few casualties. then British sent a stack to take Bengal but they were driven into the sea.

[Navneeth Jay]

Mughal court ladies are rather... revealing, to an Islamic standard.

Ahem, to topic.... for uniforms, I suggest not looking at EVERY uniform shown in paintings and assuming it is a standard uniform. Maratha often wore plain long white or saffron tunics with white pants beneath. The more "SEXTASTIC" ones are artistic interpretations, from what I can assume.

[Navneeth Jay]

You made peace with the Maratha? How? I offered them ALL my regions except my capital (experiment, not tactic, obviously) for a peace and they still offered to feed me to Tarabai's pet tiger

[Heeehehe]

Good video about The Mughal Empire

[Baerke Hinn Gauzki]

Just a tiny question here.... With the Mughals, I did just play a custom battle.....
On early early, versus some Prussian lines..!
I looked at their unit roster and saw a few units that were REALLY expensive... Twice the price of European elites in custom... They were Swordsman.
I launched the battle...... And looked at their stats... Nothing too über in melee.. But then... Range?? W00t??
Attacked the enemy, with a range attack apparentely.....
And.... BOOOM!!! THEY THREW ROCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From the Prussian's side of the battle it didn't look like rockets though.. More like fireballs of magic being hurled at them by the Mughals..!
My question = WHAT THE ARE THOSE THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????

[Navneeth Jay]

Just a tiny question here.... With the Mughals, I did just play a custom battle.....
On early early, versus some Prussian lines..!
I looked at their unit roster and saw a few units that were REALLY expensive... Twice the price of European elites in custom... They were Swordsman.
I launched the battle...... And looked at their stats... Nothing too über in melee.. But then... Range?? W00t??
Attacked the enemy, with a range attack apparentely.....
And.... BOOOM!!! THEY THREW ROCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From the Prussian's side of the battle it didn't look like rockets though.. More like fireballs of magic being hurled at them by the Mughals..!
My question = WHAT THE ARE THOSE THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????

Uh... you weren't drinking during that time period, right? Just making sure . What are those things called?

[Navneeth Jay]

BTW! I've done some research on the Mughals and Maratha, sourced from the following

Keay, John. India, A History. London: HarperCollins, 2000


Hopefully it isn't too late and you might be willing to incorporate a bit into Imperial Splendour III. I shall also make a Maratha counterpart

Mughal Empire Historical Summary:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Mughal Empire may have met the same fate as the idea of a Macedonian-Indian Empire had the ambitious Mongol, Zahir-ud din Muhammad (a.k.a. Babur, "Tiger") decided so. Tired from a conquest of Kabul and unwilling to further conquer such an innumerable horde of infidels, his men would have preferred turning back to the familiar lands of Central Asia. By fate, Babur chose against it. His subsequent victories against the Rajputs and local Sultans such as the Lodis, conquering both Agra and Delhi, put a clear Mughal foothold in India. His son, Humayun, would continue the fight after his death with less success.

But the premature Empire would be but a far-flung feudatory if not for the Third Great Mughal. Jalal-Ud Din Muhammad Akbar, unlike his predecessors, was born in India under Hindu protection. He considered himself as an Indian above all else. In his view, all Indians of all faiths were his brethren.

His conquests assisted by a strong bureaucracy, diplomacy, religious tolerance (sometime intolerable to devout Muslims), and conception of unity made the Mughal Empire the richest and most populated empire in the world. Its trade poured in endless gold, its hundreds of millions of peasants produced endless nourishment and spice, its countless artisans crafted endless works of art, and its feudal military system could field a jaw-dropping army of over 3 million soldiers.

Unfortunately, his successors did not share all his views or his success. Over time, religious tolerance amongst the Mughal Emperors declined, as did that of their subjects. The zamindar revenue system for the army became unsustainable and the dreaded jizya (Tax on Infidels) was reimposed. The once predicted army of >3 million shrunk to a more modest hundreds of thousands. Succession crises were rampant. Rumours of Aurangzeb possessing high debts spread. Mughal conquests were being reversed by regional rulers, of chief concern being the Maratha state led most famously by Shivaji Raje Bhosale.



By 1700, it would still be a century and a half until the last gasp of the empire, and at least half a century until the end of its de facto power. Nevertheless, it now teeters on a ledge, vulnerable enough to be picked apart, piece by piece.

Relationship to the Maratha State

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Maratha advantage over the Mughals laid in their extremely mobile light cavalry lancers and swordsmen (often time they threw their spears at charge and clashed with sabres) and guerilla tactics. In the mountains of the Western Ghats, Mughal heavy armour and large guns proved to be more of an impediment than an asset.

No matter which fort was taken by the 400000 strong Mughal reprisal personally led by Aurangzeb in, it scarcely was worth the losses. Worse yet, the Maratha would often capitulate and then recapture their forts when the main Mughal force left.

Though the Maratha capital in Satara fell in 1700, it would shortly be taken back by Queen Tarabai, ruling in place of her nephew, along with previously Mughal territories such as Malwa & Hyderabad by 1707.

Strengths of Faction

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-The Mughals are still the kings of India, possessing most of its territory
-Revenues are extensive. Aurangzeb's imposition of the dreaded jizya (tax on infidels)gives him a tax revenue bonus but reduces happiness
-Early access to matchlock soldiers and heavy cannon. The early matchlocks are relatively expensive to European counterparts of equal calibre and fire in the fashion of common European militia, however
-Tough heavy cavalry units possessing good melee defence and fair attack
-Ability to amass large armies of heavy infantry of good melee capabilities
-Aurangzeb has the "Great Mogul" trait, his empire being romanticized and respected by the world, giving him diplomatic bonuses

Weaknesses of Faction

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

-The Mughals are, at this point, disliked well by the Hindu populations and face serious religious unrest. Aurangzeb has the "Contempt for Infidels" trait, increasing religious unrest by 15%
-If the Mughals capture/recapture any region in India (but Hindustan) having Hindu/Sikh majority (at the beginning of the game), they will experience strong resistance to foreign occupation
-While heavily armoured, Mughal heavy units that compose the bulk of their army are outdated, quite slow, and tire quickly.
-The Mughals also have reduced campaign map speed for their main armoured units
-Though better armed early on, the Mughals will not be able to modernize their military. Firing drills, bayonets, line infantry, and light artillery are unavailable (in India, at least).
-As Islamic Law dictates, the jizya also exempts non-Muslims from military service. The Mughals are generally unable to recruit from provincial Hindu and Sikh populations as the Maratha can
-Mughal troops tend to have somewhat lower morale than the Maratha

In general, the Mughals have similar strengths/weaknesses to the current IS version, but in more detail. They have larger armies than currently and more revenues, but less speed. They also have (initially) superior firearms that they've been producing for centuries. Afghan auxiliaries can be recruited in limited quantities, possessing great stats.

And in India in general, firearms were not the main mode of combat; the sword, buckler, lance, spear, and bow were still in high popularity.

So please give an opinion on this if you could. If desired, I can cite specific references. Indeed, warfare in India was much different than in most parts of the world. That's why I feel CA put so little effort into research or realism...

[NikolaTesla]

Uh... you weren't drinking during that time period, right? Just making sure . What are those things called?

They're some sort of unit at the very end of the unit selection. From what I heard they're some experimental unit that were based on historical things (like the Danish Rocketeers). They never made it into the campaign.

On a side note, the Mughals aren't really that hard, if you play right and get lucky. If you can fight them off your first few provinces they're pretty easy to annex. In my Mughal Campaign, I got luck because Spain, out of nowhere, took Carnica on the 2nd or 3rd turn. That allowed me to easily neutralize the Maratha. Now it's around 1760 and I'm making almost 70,000 a turn and hold all of India and the Middle East, with the exception of Morocco, who is my ally, and Ankara, which is held by the Ottomans (I don't feel like dealing with them anymore. I want to take the Spanish holdings in Italy now).

[wangrin]

Very good work Navneeth Jay
It's coherent with articles I read.

I will try to write a summary about Mughal like the one I wrote for Maratha.
Particularly about units that could be part of Mughal roster.

[Inkie]

This page is very good for practical info on the Mughals seeing as it concerns wargaming. I'm not an expert so I can't effectively criticize it but most of the info sounds good. It has very detailed intel on clothes, weaponry, morale and armament which I think would be of great use for the IS team.

http://greatestbattles.iblogger.org/...DStevenson.htm

A few pics, romantically inclined perhaps but not necessarily worthless.

http://greatestbattles.iblogger.org/...adshahnama.htm

[Babur]

http://greatestbattles.iblogger.org/...adshahnama.htm

I saw two of the paintings from the Padshahnama when I visited New York a week and a bit ago

[Sir Arun]

is this thread still alive? Could we send a mod request to swap the cities of Akbarabad and Delhi?

[Flikitos]

IS is still alive but we work for the moment on European faction.

[wangrin]

One more interesting book : Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850

[wangrin]

Link : Imperial Mughal, A Potential ally
A bit too early compared to I.S time line.

[Cro_Hunger999]

Mughal Empire

State flag:


Emperor: Shah Alam II (1728 - 1806)

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He was blinded and that's why his eyes are shut.

Ministers

1. Grand vizier: Asaf al-Daula (1748 – 1797)

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2. Finance minister: Hasan Reza Khan (17?? - 1800s?)

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3. Justice: Hyder Beg Khan (1750s - 1800s)

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4. Commander in chief: Shahzada Mirza Jawan Bakht Bahadur (1749 - 1788)

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5. Sayyid Mubarak Ali Khan (1759 – 1793)

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Opposition:

1. Sayyid Babar Ali Khan Bahadur (1772 - 1810)

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2. Begum Samru (1751 - 1836)

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3. Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah (1769 – 1827)

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4. Abú Tálib Londoni (1752 - 1805/6)

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5. Saadat Ali Khan (1752 – 1814)

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[Sir Arun]

your images arent working m8

[Cro_Hunger999]

How? Which ones? I added only two people...it's not finished yet. Maybe that's the problem