Mughal Empire

Zahir al-Din Muhammad, known as Babur, was a Chagatai Turk that claimed to be a descendent of Genghis Khan. He conquered India, and took the city of Delhi, but cared little for his new found land. Many in his group wanted to claim the spoils of war and leave, but Babur decided to stay and establish the Mughal Empire. His grandson, Akbar, took absolute control of the government and transformed the empire into a state with tight, centralized control. He did not tolerate challenges to his power, and was strong but also inteligent. He put in place a policy of religious tolerance and was interested in philosophy. Later, under the reign of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire reached its height. Aurangzeb waged several campaigns to push his authority deeper into southern India, and greatly expanded his empire. During his reign, there were many rebellions because he did away with the policy of religious tolerance and tried to force his subjects to convert to Islam.