4.The Mughal Empire Years

The dynasty that lasted from 1526A.C. to 1857A.C. is called the Mughal dynasty. The 1st Mughal King Babur, consisting of Mongolian and Turkic rulers who attacked and destroyed the last Lodi dynasty of the Delhi Sultanates, called himself the 13th descendant of Genghis Khan in Mongolia.

During the reign of the 3rd King Akbar, who acceded to the throne in 1556, he expanded his domain, which had been from Afghanistan to the limited area of northern India, merged Pakistan of today, the Bengal (including Bangladesh) region and the Deccan Plateau area of the centre of India, built the vast Mughal Empire and became known as Akbar the Great.

Emperor Akbar was not only a military and strategic king, but also a well-known king who had a deep knowledge of culture and art and protected them. In 1562, he brought Mian Tansen (Ramtanu Pandey), who was praised as the best musician of his time, to his court. At that time, Tansen was an outstandingly talented musician who was both a vocalist and a veena (been) player.

The ragas he left behind, such as “Mian ki Todi”, “Mian ki Malhar” and “Darbari Kanara”, are his creations that maximise the potential of the raga the melody system, and are still the most featured, sung and played. He is one of the most renowned musicians in the history of Indian music, leaving behind many masterpieces such as “Mian ki Sarang”, “Darbari Todi”, etc.

In addition, the kings of each region also called musicians to their courts, and music developed as court music under the patronage of the kings.

During the 6th King Aurangzeb Age (1658 - 1707), the territory controlled all areas except the Hindu state of Maratha, but it gradually lost its centripetal force, probably either because it became too vast or due to the failure of its reign. Then, in 1707, many defectors appeared from the empire after the death of King Aurangzeb, it lost the battles with Maratha and such Europeans as Britain, which were planning colonial rules, and the domain declined to only around the Delhi Fort.

Shyama Shatri, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar, who were called three musical sages of Carnatic music, were born in Thiruvarur, South India in the middle of the 18th century. They bequeathed many of the music pieces, that still are sung and played, and are favoured as excellent composers today.