S H A H    JA H A N

Deccan Policies

       Shah Jahan was not known for his political ventures as he kept the same policies that earlier Mughal emperors had established. However, his political contributions to the Mughal dynasty cannot be forgotten. Shah Jahan was responsible for the Deccan policy of the Mughals. He was well versed in the political affairs of the Deccan and caused the people of the Deccan plateau to either submit to his rule or recongnize him as the supreme power.

      When the wazir of Ahmednagar, Malik Ambar died, Shah Jahan made his move to establish his authority over the people of the Deccan plateau. At that time, the ruler of Ahmednagar was Hussain Shah. Hussain had relations with Bijapur which had recently been taken under the Mughal dynasty. Hussain participated in unscrupulous diplomacy causing him to lose the trust of the Mughals and ended up causing sever fighting between the Mughals and Ahmednagar. In the end, the Mughals annexed Ahmednagar, but not before sever conflict had already happened. By securing Ahmednagar, Shah Jahan made a Mughal presence known in the Deccan and proceeded to aquire most of the lands in the Deccan Plateau apart from a small part at the very southern tip of India. Unlike his grandfather Akbar, Shah Jahan was an incredibly devout Muslim. He ordered the destruction of many Hindu temples and the building of many new mosques.

 

Religious Policies

While Akbar was very tolerant of different religions and did not force extra taxes onto non-Muslims, Shah Jahan strove to convert most of his subjects to Islam and forced the non-Muslim peoples to pay taxes to practice their religion. This was the only major change he made to the political system. Other than religious intolerancy, Shah Jahan was a just ruler and patron of the arts.