Mughal dynasty

The Mughal dynasty (Persian: دودمان مغل, romanized: Dudmân-e Mughal) or the House of Babur (Persian: خاندانِ آلِ بابُر, romanized: Khāndān-e-Āl-e-Bābur), was a branch of the Timurid dynasty that ruled South Asia and other territories within modern day Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, that composed the Mughal Empire.

Founded in 1526 by Babur, the first Mughal Emperor, the House of Babur ruled over much of South Asia and parts of the Middle East until the early 18th century, thereafter continuing their roles as imperial suzerains until 1857. At the dynasty’s height under Akbar the Great in the 16th and early 17th centuries, the Mughal Empire was one of the largest empires in history. Later commanding the world’s largest military under Emperor Aurangzeb, the family emerged as the foremost global power in the region.

The dynasty originated from the branches of the imperial Barlas and Borjigin clans which ruled the Mongol Empire and its successor states. Emperor Babur himself (b. 1483) was a direct descendant of the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur (1336–1405) on his father's side, and of Mongol emperor Genghis Khan on his mother's side. Later descendants genealogically held Persian and Indian heritage as well, since Mughal Royals often pursued marriage alliances with noble houses throughout Persia and India.

For most of the Mughal dynasty's history, the throne of the Mughal Empire was continuously occupied by a singular Emperor who functioned as the absolute head of state, government, and military. Largely secular, Mughal Court ceremonies saw not just Muslim elites but also prominent Maratha, Rajput, and Sikh leaders acknowledging the Emperor as the region's sole ruler. Later in the dynasty’s history, much of the power shifted to the office of the Grand Vizier as the empire became divided into many regional kingdoms and princely states. As a consequence, the dynasty also produced the Nawabs (nobles) of Hyderabad, Delhi, Kashmir, Lahore, Lucknow, Aligarh, Dhaka, and Bengal. During this time, the family fragmented into several branches, most consequentially in the mid-18th century between its Indian and Persian-Pakistani branches following the exile of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah II.