Civilization Wiki
Advertisement

BackArrowGreen Back to Civilizations (Civ7)

Wikipedia
Wikipedia has a page called:

The Mughal people represent the Mughal Empire, a Modern Age civilization in Civilization VII.

The Mughals' civilization ability is Paradise of Nations, which grants extra Gold Gold from all sources but reduces all other yields. Their associated wonder is the Red Fort, and their unique components are as follows:

Intro[]

The Mughals come, foreigners to the land, but with a drive to assemble the foundations of an empire from the detritus of what went before.

Forged in conquest, the Mughal Dynasty oversaw a vast and prosperous empire, controlling as it did nearly a quarter of the world’s industrial output. Under the Mughals, India adopted a centralized monarchy, where authority – and riches – stemmed from proximity to the throne, where wealthy rulers built wonders, and factories churned day and night.

Strategy[]

Pros: Upon reaching the modern era and switching into the Mughal civilization, every settlement will receive an extra population to place due to the unique Zamindar's ability.

Sepoy's ranged ability being bombard allows for easier taking of cities due to it's damage type not getting a reduction against city walls. Also because it is only 5 less attack than it's melee attack; Sepoys are much better against naval units than the modern ranged unit as it uses it's bombard attack in calculations which is lower than it's normal ranged attack.

Garden of Paradise contains two important bonuses, 25% gold towards buying anything social policy and the ability to buy wonders with gold.

Cons: Unfortunately due to the crippling Culture/Science/Production/Food production you will be suffering, actually making use of buying wonders is extremely difficult. The only hope for Mughal in this case is to hopefully already have enough influence income to offset this horrific penalty in yields by stealing tech/civics while you rush your unique civics.

In addition the -25% yield affects food which is Mughal's other advantage which means Mughal will likely feel worse than playing a vanilla civ in this era until Garden of Paradise is researched. Essentially building a strong influence economy before entering the modern era is vital to offset the massive penalty in culture/science which will prevent the player from actually getting to the techs that give buildings/units you can buy. Becoming Suzerain of science or cultural city states will also greatly help however this may be far harder to achieve than espionage.

Civilopedia entry[]

The Mughal Empire was many things: an Islamic monarchy imposed upon a majority Hindu population, a place of excellence in poetry and art, and one of the most prosperous and productive nations in the world.

The Mongol Empire reshaped Asia and Europe, but as it collapsed, regional aspirants struggled to claim the mantle of the Khan. Timur was an ambitious Chagatai raider who sought this exact path. To gain legitimacy, he married a descendant of Genghis Khan and became a gürkan, a “son-in-law.” Timur was a ruthless conqueror, but his descendants, the Timurids or Gurkani empire, were less so. They fostered a revival of Muslim culture after the decline of Arabia. This non-Arab Muslim movement was strongly influenced by Persian culture and centered in places like Samarkand and Herat.

Scholars like Ibn Khaldun admired the Timurid Renaissance, which saw a flowering of Islamic knowledge and art slightly before the Italian Renaissance; notable figures included the painter Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād. The Timurids declined in the 1500s, setting the stage for the Mughals.

At the time, the Delhi Sultanate was the center of India, a Muslim state ruling over a largely Hindu populace. It was founded in 1206 when Mamluks (Turkic warrior-slaves) established dominion over the northern part of the subcontinent. Over time, the Mamluks were ousted and an indigenous Muslim group came to rule. This era was rich and culturally prosperous, but the sultans often plundered and destroyed non-Muslim sites, damaging the development of Buddhist learning. The Sultanate stood powerful enough to repel Mongol attacks (from the Chagatai) until Timur’s descendent Babur appeared.

Babur was ousted from his home in the Timurid Empire and set his sights south, pushing down through Afghanistan and defeating the Sultan in 1526, which marked the end of Delhi. Babur believed he was maintaining Timur’s Gurkani dynasty, but Persian writers linked Babur with the Mongols – thus “Mughal.” While Babur established this dynasty, it reached its height under Akbar the Great, the third Mughal Emperor.

Even though the Delhi Sultanate was (at the end) an ethnically Indian dynasty, it suppressed and repressed Buddhism and other non-Muslim beliefs across the subcontinent. Akbar did not do this, at least to the same extent (later Mughal emperors re-instated non-Muslim repression). Instead of outright violence, Akbar instituted conquest via marriages and alliances. Furthermore, Akbar abandoned the Muslim tax on non-believers, bringing Hindus into the fold, which they never experienced under Delhi. This tolerance extended to women as well; Akbar had a school devoted to the writings of female authors in his famed library. Ultimately, Akbar moved away from orthodox Islam and began to promote a Hindu/Muslim syncretic (fused) religion (the Dīn-i Ilāhī), though this religion did not last beyond his reign.

Under Akbar, the Mughal Empire expanded, tripling in size and wealth, until it controlled nearly all of South Asia and Afghanistan (except Sri Lanka, the very southern tip of India, the Himalayas, and Burma).

The Mughals were wealthy, which cannot be understated – in 1600, the Mughals were the second-wealthiest empire in the world, surpassed only by the Qing and surpassing all of Western Europe combined. Factory technology and wages were better in Mughal India than in their contemporaries in the West. In terms of wealth and learning, Europe reached its height a century or more later. Routes like the Silk Road were vital to an empire's prosperity – from the Roman Empire to the Arab Caliphate to the Mongols, whoever sat astride the Silk Road reaped its wealth. Prior to 1600, this pipeline ran from through Delhi, funneling wealth direction into Mughal coffers.

But change was in the air. Intercontinental trading ships set out across the seas, and the East India Companies were established. The shift from land-based to ocean-based trade heralded the Mughals’ fall, brought about by stagnation, rebellion, decadence, and a lack of sea power. When representatives of the British East India Company arrived in India, they were mocked as poor, unwashed barbarians. Within a few decades, they brought the empire to its knees. To understand how and why, we should look at the rise of Europe.

Europe was devastatingly poor compared to India and China, but they possessed something important: a middle class. This thriving and politically active group of merchants and artisans existed to challenge political orders and adopt new philosophies. The East India Company was such a group and, along with the Dutch East India Company and the French, steadily grew the European presence in India in the late 1600s.

What did incredible wealth and luxury combined with a relatively moribund middle class mean for the Mughals? In short, decadence. Luxury consumption reigned and the Mughals had little interest in anything other than accumulating riches. Additionally, entrenched wealthy rulers imposed heavy taxes on agricultural peasants, limiting growth. Apathy, decadence, and indolence reigned during the later 1600s, which bred resentment and greed in equal parts. Rebellions and invasions began in earnest (especially from Afghanistan). Local rulers (nawabs) were influenced to sell off cities, permissions, and even entire kingdoms to the Europeans (who were granted approval to open “factories” – feitoria – in various ports) in defiance of the central empire.

The European footholds bred several conflicts. The first occurred in 1686 as the East India Company broke treaties with the Mughals. The English do not look too good in these clashes – many of the complaints about the East India Company involved extortion of subjects (including peasants), rampant plundering, and excessive indulgence. All of this serves to amplify the increasing chaos. A Hindu king in Maratha had already broken away from the Muslim Mughals and used the empire’s weakness to launch a storm across the subcontinent. At the same time, the British were attacking from Bengal. No empire can persist under such conditions.

Indeed, none did. The Mughals were forced into a nominal protectorate under Afghan invaders, Maratha attackers, and the British. Technically the Empire ended when Victoria took over in 1876, but the Mughals basically fell under Muhammad Shah (1719-1748) with the emergence of the Marathas.

Cities[]

Trivia[]

  • Mughal civilization's ability refers to a nickname given to Bengal Subah, the wealthiest and most commercially active province of the Mughal Empire, which was noted for its proto-industrial textile, metalworking and shipbuilding industries.
  • The Mughal civilization's symbol is the Persianate "Lion and Sun" motif which was used in Mughal banners and military insignia.
  • The Mughal background art depicts a stepwell, with the Taj Mahal visible in the background.

Soundtrack[]

Original track Based on Composed by Performed by Length
"The Mughal Empire (Modern Age)" Eri Aali Piya Bin Geoff Knorr FILMharmonic Orchestra, Prague; with Deepak Ram 4:30

Gallery[]

Videos[]

See also[]

External links[]

Civilization VII Civilizations [edit]
Antiquity
Exploration
Modern
1 Requires DLC
Advertisement