This article is about the historical imperial family.
For the territorial state over which it ruled,
see Mughal Empire. For rulers of that empire, see Mughal emperors.
House of Babur
Imperial seal of the Mughal dynasty
Parent Timurid
house
Country Mughal Empire
Founded 21 April 1526
Founder Babur
Final ruler Bahadur Shah II
Titles List
Emperor of the Mughal Empire
Khan of Khans
Sultan of Sultans
Shah of Shahs
Mughal Caliph
o Shah
o Shahzade
o Shahzadi
o Hazrat Ishaan (Title), special title for a
distinguished branch of Princes,
descending
from Jahangir and Aurangzeb, leading
the Naqshbandi Sufi order
o Mirza
o Khan Barname
Traditions Sunni Islam (1526–1857) and Din-i Ilahi (1582–
1605)
Deposition 21 September 1857
The Mughal dynasty ( Hindustani: मुग़ल ख़ानदान/ ;مغل خاندانromanized: Mug̱ẖāl Kẖāndhān)
comprised the members of the imperial House of Babur ( Hindustani: बाबर का परिवार;
romanized: Bābar kā parivār/ خاندان آل بابر
ِ ; romanized: Kẖāndhān-ı Āl-i ʿBābuŕ), also known as
the Gurkanis (Persian: D;گورکانیان Gūrkāniyān).[1] The Mughals originated as a Central Asian branch of
the Timurid dynasty, supplemented with extra Borjigin (the clan which ruled the Mongol Empire and
its successor states) bloodlines. The dynasty's founder, Babur (born 1483), was a direct descendant
of the Asian conqueror Timur (1336–1405) on his father's side and of Mongol emperor Genghis
Khan (died 1227) on his mother's side, and Babur's ancestors had other affiliations
with Genghisids through marriage and common ancestry.[2] The term "Mughal" is itself a derivative
form of "Mongol" in the Arabic and Persian languages: it emphasised the Mongol origins of the
Mughal dynasty.[3] The Mughal dynasty ruled the Mughal Empire from c. 1526 to 1857.
During much of the Empire's history, the emperor functioned as the absolute head of state, head of
government and head of the military, while during its declining era much of the power shifted to the
office of the Grand Vizier and the empire became divided into many regional kingdoms and princely
states.[4] However, even in the declining era, the Mughal Emperor continued to be the highest
manifestation of sovereignty on the Indian subcontinent. Not only the Muslim gentry, but
the Maratha, Rajput, and Sikh leaders took part in ceremonial acknowledgements of the Emperor as
the sovereign of South Asia.[5] The British East India Company deposed the imperial family and
abolished the empire on 21 September 1857 during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The UK declared
the establishment of the British Raj the following year.
The British trialled and convicted the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II (r. 1837–1857), and exiled him
(1858) to Rangoon in British-controlled Burma (present-day Myanmar)