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• Akbar commissioned the construction of a white marble tomb for Shaikh Salim
Chisthi at Sikri. He also constructed Buland Darwaza here after the victory in
Gujarat.
• In 1585 the capital was shifted to Lahore to bring the North-West in control and to
watch the frontier.
• In 1648, under the rule of Shah Jahan, the capital was transferred to
Shahjahanabad with the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, the Chandni Chowk and
spacious homes for the nobility.
• In Mughal Court, status was determined by spatial proximity to the king.
• Once the emperor sat on the throne, no one was permitted to move from his
position without permission.
• The forms of salutation to the ruler indicated the person’s status in the hierarchy.
• The emperor began his day at sunrise with personal religious devotions and then
appeared on a small balcony, the jharoka for the view (darshan) of his subjects.
• After that the emperor walked to the public hall of audience (Diwan-i-am) to
conduct the primary business of his government.
• The Mughal kings celebrated three major festivals in a year i.e. the solar and lunar
• birthdays of the Monarch and Nauroz, the Iranian New Year on the vernal
equinox.
• Grand titles were adopted by the Mughal emperors at the time of coronation or
after a victory.
• The titles like Asaf Khan, Mirza Raja were given to the nobles.
• Whenever a courtier met with the emperor, he had to offer nazr (a small amount of
money) or peshkash (a large amount of money).

The Mughal Household:

• The term ‘harem’ was used to refer to the domestic world of the Mughals.
• The Mughal household consisted of the emperor’s wives and concubines, his near
and distant relatives (mother, step-and foster-mothers, sisters, daughters,
daughters-in-law, aunts, children, etc) and female servants and slaves.
• Polygamy was practised widely by the ruling class.
• Both the Rajputs and the Mughals took marriage as a way at cementing political
relationships and forging alliances.
• After Noor Jahan, Mughal queens and princesses began to control significant
financial resources.
• The bazaar of Chandni Chowk was designed by Jahanara.
• Gulbadan Begum, daughter of Babur wrote ‘Humayun Nama’ which was
considered as an important source of Mughal Empire.

The Officials in Mughal Administration:

• In Mughal period, the nobility was recruited from diverse ethnic and religious
group. In Akbar’s imperial service Turani and Iranian nobles played a dominant
role.