View source for List of emperors of the Mughal Empire

{{Short description|none}}
{{pp-pc|small-yes}}
{{See also|Emperor of Mughal Empire}}{{Distinguish|Mongol emperors}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}

{{Infobox former monarchy
| royal_title        = Emperor 
| realm              = Hindustan
| native_name        = شہنشاہِ ہند
| border             = imperial
| coatofarms         = {{box|type=transparent|padding=0px|[[File:Seal of Bahadur Shah II of India.png|100px]]}}
| coatofarmscaption  = Imperial seal of Bahadur Shah II<br>(1837–1857)
| image2             = {{box|type=transparent|padding=0px|[[File:Bahadur Shah II of India.jpg|260px]]}}
| caption2           = '''Last to reign'''<br />'''[[Bahadur Shah Zafar|Bahadur Shah II]]'''<br />28 September 1837 – 21 September 1857
| first_monarch      = [[Babur]]
| last_monarch       = [[Bahadur Shah Zafar|Bahadur Shah II]]
| style              = [[Imperial and royal titles of the Mughal emperors|Jahah Panah]]<br />[[Imperial and royal titles of the Mughal emperors|Alam Panah]]
| residence          = {{plainlist|
* [[Agra Fort]] (1526–1648)
* [[Red Fort]] (1648–1857)}}
| appointer          = Hereditary
| began              = [[First Battle of Panipat|21 April 1526]]
| ended              = [[Siege of Delhi (1857)|21 September 1857]]
}}

The emperors of the [[Mughal Empire]], who were all members of the [[Timurid dynasty]] ([[House of Babur]]), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schimmel |first=Annemarie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7sewQQzOHUC&q=mughals |title=The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture |date=2004 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-86189-185-3 |language=en}}</ref> They were monarchs of the Mughal Empire in the [[Indian subcontinent]], mainly corresponding to the modern day countries of [[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Bangladesh]]. They ruled many parts of India from 1526 and by 1707, they ruled most of the subcontinent. Afterwards, they declined rapidly, but nominally ruled territories until the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]. 

The Mughal dynasty was founded by [[Babur]] ({{Reign|1526|1530}}), a Timurid prince from the [[Fergana Valley]] (modern-day [[Uzbekistan]]). He was a direct descendant of both [[Timur]] and [[Genghis Khan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Babur and His World: A Culture of Books |url=https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/discovering-baburs-gardens/writing-my-truth-the-mughal-emperor-babur/babur-and-his-world/ |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Mughal emperors had significant Indian and [[Persian people|Persian]] ancestry through marriage alliances as emperors were born to Persian princesses.<ref>Jeroen Duindam (2015), [https://books.google.com/books?id=5ky2CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA105 ''Dynasties: A Global History of Power, 1300–1800'', page 105] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206075722/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5ky2CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA105 |date=6 December 2022 }}, [[Cambridge University Press]]</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Malika|last=Mohammada|title=The Foundations of the Composite Culture in India|publisher=Akkar Books|date=1 January 2007|pages=300|isbn=978-8-189-83318-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dwzbYvQszf4C&pg=PA300}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Mughals and their India|author=Dirk Collier|publisher=[[Hay House]]|year=2016|page=15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40ywDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT15|isbn=9789384544980}}</ref>

During the reign of 6th Mughal Emperor [[Aurangzeb]], the empire, as the world's largest economy and manufacturing power, worth over 25% of global GDP,<ref>"The World Economy (GDP) : [http://www.theworldeconomy.org/MaddisonTables/MaddisontableB-18.pdf Historical Statistics by Professor Angus Maddison"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805201335/http://www.theworldeconomy.org/MaddisonTables/MaddisontableB-18.pdf |date=5 August 2019 }} . World Economy. Retrieved 21 May 2013.</ref> controlled nearly all of the Indian subcontinent, extending from [[Dhaka]] in the east to [[Kabul]] in the west and from [[Mughal Kashmir|Kashmir]] in the north to the [[Kaveri]] River in the south.<ref>
{{cite book
|last=Chandra
|first=Satish
|title=Medieval India: From Sultanate to the Mughals
| page=202
}}
</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Truschke |first=Audrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AGwlDgAAQBAJ&q=aurangzeb+gdp |title=Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth |date=2018-02-01 |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |isbn=978-0-14-343967-7 |language=en}}</ref> 
[[File:Mughal Genealogical Table.svg|thumb|right|Genealogy of the Mughal dynasty. Only principal offspring of each emperor are provided in the chart.]]
Its population at the time is estimated to be around 158,400,000 (a quarter of the world's total population), over a territory of more than 4&nbsp;million square kilometres (1.5&nbsp;million square miles).<ref name="Richards1993">{{cite book|last=Richards|first=John F.|title=The Mughal Empire|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0521251198|editor1-first=Gordon|editor1-last=Johnson|editor1-link=Gordon Johnson (historian)|editor2-first=C. A.|editor2-last=Bayly|editor2-link=Christopher Alan Bayly|series=The New Cambridge history of India: 1.5|volume=I. The Mughals and their Contemporaries|location=Cambridge|pages=1, 190|date= 1 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The European Union and Global Social Change|isbn = 9781135255800|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0SPAgAAQBAJ&q=mughal+empire+population+1700&pg=PA21|access-date=26 June 2017|last1 = Böröcz|first1 = József|date = 10 September 2009| publisher=Routledge }}</ref> Mughal power rapidly dwindled during the 18th century and the last emperor, [[Bahadur Shah Zafar|Bahadur Shah II]], was deposed in 1857, with the establishment of the [[British Raj]] in India.<ref name=spear>{{Harvnb|Spear|1990|pp=147–148}}</ref>

== Background ==
{{excerpt|Mughal Empire|History|subsections=yes}}

;Titular emperors
Over the course of the empire, there were several claimants to the Mughal throne who ascended the throne or claimed to do so but were actually never recognized.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Mughal emperors in India |date=2016-11-18 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315443249-20 |work=The Caliphate |pages=161–164 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315443249-20 |isbn=978-1-315-44324-9 |access-date=2023-01-07|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

Here are the claimants to the Mughal throne historians recognise as titular Mughal emperors.
# [[Shahryar Mirza]] (1627–1628)
# [[Dawar Bakhsh|Dawar Baksh]] (1627–1628)
# [[Muhammad Ibrahim (Mughal emperor)|Jahangir II]] (1719–1720)

== List of Mughal emperors ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! width="10"  | No.
! width="100" | Portrait
! width="150" | Titular Name
! width="250" | Birth Name
! width="150" | Birth
! width="200" | Reign
! width="150" | Death
|-
| 1
| [[File:Idealized portrait of Babur (1483-1530) in Persian style, painted circa 1605-1615 in India (British Museum 1921,1011,0.3).jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Babur]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|بابر}}'''
| Zahir ud-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|ظهیر الدین محمد}}
| 14 February 1483<br/>[[Andijan]]
| 21 April 1526 – 26 December 1530<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1526|04|21|1530|12|26}})}}
| 26 December 1530 (aged 47)<br/>[[Agra]]
|-
| 2
| [[File:Darbar of Humayun, detail, Humayun. Akbarnama, 1602-4, British Library.png|80px]]
| '''[[Humayun]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|همایوں}}'''
| Nasir ud-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|نصیر الدین محمد}}
| 6 March 1508<br/>[[Kabul]]
| 26 December 1530 – 17 May 1540<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1530|12|26|1540|05|17}})}}<hr/>22 February 1555 – 27 January 1556<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1555|02|22|1556|01|27}})}}
| 27 January 1556 (aged 47)<br/>[[Delhi]]
|-
| 3
| [[File:Govardhan. Akbar With Lion and Calf ca. 1630, Metmuseum (cropped).jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Akbar I]] <br/>{{Uninastaliq|اکبر}}'''
| Jalal ud-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|جلال الدین محمد}}
| 15 October 1542<br/>[[Umerkot]]
| 11 February 1556 – 27 October 1605<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1556|02|11|1605|10|27}})}}
| 27 October 1605 (aged 63)<br/>Agra
|-
| 4
| [[File:Jahangircrop.jpeg|80px]]
| '''[[Jahangir]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|جهانگیر}}'''
| Nur ud-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq| نور الدین محمد}}
| 31 August 1569<br/>Agra
| 3 November 1605 – 28 October 1627<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1605|11|3|1627|10|28}})}}
| 28 October 1627 (aged 58)<br/>[[Bhimber]]<ref name="Allan 1934 p. 398">{{cite book |last1=Allan |first1=J. |last2=Haig |first2=Sir T. Wolsely |last3=Dodwell |first3=H. H. |editor-last=Dodwell |editor-first=H. H. |editor-link=H. H. Dodwell |year=1934 |title=The Cambridge Shorter History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_48AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA398 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=398}}</ref>
|-
| 5
| [[File:Shah Jahan of Mughal empire.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Shah Jahan I]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|شاه جهان}}'''
| Shihab ud-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|شهاب الدین محمد}}
| 5 January 1592<br/>[[Lahore]]
| 19 January 1628 – 31 July 1658<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1628|01|19|1658|07|31}})}}
| 22 January 1666 (aged 74)<br/>Agra
|-
| 6
| [[File:The Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Aurangzeb]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|اورنگزیب }}'''<hr/>'''Alamgir I<br/>{{Uninastaliq|عالمگیر}}'''
| Muhi al-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|محی الدین محمد}}
| 3 November 1618<br/>[[Dahod]], [[Gujarat]]
| 31 July 1658 – 3 March 1707<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1658|07|31|1707|03|03}})}}
| 3 March 1707 (aged 88)<br/>[[Ahmednagar]]
|-
| 7
| [[File:Azam shah (cropped).jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Azam Shah]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|اعظم شاه}}'''
| Qutb ud-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|قطب الدين محمد}}
| 28 June 1653<br/>[[Burhanpur]]
| 14 March – 20 June 1707<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1707|03|14|1707|06|20}})}}
| 20 June 1707 (aged 53)<br/>Agra
|-
| 8
| [[File:Bahadur Shah I of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Bahadur Shah I]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|بهادر شاہ}}'''<hr/>'''Shah Alam I<br/>{{Uninastaliq}}'''
| Mirza Muhammad Mu'azzam<br/>{{Uninastaliq|مرزا محمد معظم}}
| 14 October 1643<br/>Burhanpur
| 19 June 1707 – 27 February 1712<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1707|06|19|1712|02|27}})}}
| 27 February 1712 (aged 68)<br/>Lahore
|-bgcolor=#66BB55
| 9
| [[File:Jahandar Shah of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Jahandar Shah]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|جهاندار شاہ}}'''
| Muiz ud-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|معز الدین محمد }}<br/>{{small|First Puppet emperor}}
| 9 May 1661<br/>[[Deccan]]
| 27 February 1712 – 11 February 1713<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1712|02|27|1713|02|11}})}}
| 12 February 1713 (aged 51)<br/>Delhi
|-bgcolor=#DAF2CE
| 10
| [[File:Farrukhsiyar of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Farrukhsiyar]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|فرخ سیر}}'''
| Muin al-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|معین الدین محمد}}<br/>{{small|Puppet emperor under the [[Sayyid Brothers|Sayyids of Barha]]}}
| 20 August 1685<br/>[[Aurangabad]]
| 11 January 1713 – 28 February 1719<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1713|1|13|1719|02|28}})}}
| style="text-align:center;"|19 April 1719 (aged 33)<br/>Delhi
|-bgcolor=#DAF2CE
| 11
| [[File:Rafi ud-Darajat of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Rafi ud-Darajat]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|رفیع الدرجات}}'''
| Shams al-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|شمس الدین محمد}}<br/>{{small|Puppet emperor under the [[Sayyid Brothers|Sayyids of Barha]]}}
| 1 December 1699
| 28 February 1719 – 6 June 1719<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1719|02|28|1719|06|06}})}}
| 6 June 1719 (aged 19)<br/>Agra
|- bgcolor=#DAF2CE
| 12
| [[File:Shah Jahan II of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Shah Jahan II]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|شاہ جهان دوم}}'''
| Rafi al-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|رفع الدين محمد}}<br/>{{small|Puppet emperor under the [[Sayyid Brothers|Sayyids of Barha]]}}
| 5 January 1696
| 6 June 1719 – 17 September 1719<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1719|06|06|1719|09|17}})}}
| 18 September 1719 (aged 23)<br/>Agra
|- bgcolor=#DAF2CE
| 13
| [[File:Muhammad Shah of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Muhammad Shah]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|محمد شاه}}'''
| Nasir al-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|نصیر الدین محمد}}<br/>{{small|Puppet emperor under the [[Sayyid Brothers|Sayyids of Barha]]}}
| 7 August 1702<br/>[[Ghazni]]
| 27 September 1719 – 26 April 1748<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1719|09|27|1748|04|26}})
| 26 April 1748 (aged 45)<br/>Delhi
|-
| 14
| [[File:Ahmad Shah Bahadur of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|احمد شاہ بهادر}}'''
| Mujahid al-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|مجاهد الدین محمد}}
| 23 December 1725<br/>Delhi
| 29 April 1748 – 2 June 1754<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1748|04|29|1754|06|02}})}}
| 1 January 1775 (aged 49)<br/>Delhi
|-
| 15
| [[File:Alamgir II of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Alamgir II]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|عالمگیر دوم}}'''
| Aziz al-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|عزیز اُلدین محمد}}
| 6 June 1699<br/>Burhanpur
| 3 June 1754 – 29 November 1759<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1754|06|03|1759|11|29}})}}
| 29 November 1759 (aged 60)<br/>Delhi
|-
| 16
| [[File:Shah Jahan III of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Shah Jahan III]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|شاه جهان سوم}}'''
| Muhi al-Millat<br/>{{Uninastaliq|محی الملت}}
| 1711
| 10 December 1759 – 10 October 1760<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1759|12|10|1760|10|10}})}}
| style="text-align:center;"|1772 (aged 60–61)
|-
| 17
| [[File:Ali Gauhar of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Shah Alam II]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|شاه عالم دوم}}'''
| Jalal al-Din Muhammad Ali Gauhar<br/>{{Uninastaliq|جلال الدین علی گوهر}}
| 25 June 1728<br/>Delhi
| 10 October 1760 – 31 July 1788<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1760|10|10|1788|07|31}})}}
| 19 November 1806 (aged 78)<br/>Delhi
|-
| 18
| [[File:Mughal Emperor Mahmud Shah Bahadur.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Mahmud Shah Bahadur|Shah Jahan IV]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|جهان شاه چهارم}}'''
| Bidar Bakht Mahmud Shah Bahadur Shah Jahan IV<br/>{{Uninastaliq|&nbsp;بیدار بخت محمود شاه بهادر جهان شاہ&nbsp;}}
| 1749<br/>Delhi
| 31 July 1788 – 11 October 1788<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1788|07|31|1788|10|11}})}}
| 1790 (aged 40–41)<br/>Delhi
|- bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
| 17*
| [[File:Ali Gauhar of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Shah Alam II]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|شاه عالم دوم}}'''
| Jalal al-Din Muhammad Ali Gauhar<br/>{{Uninastaliq|جلال الدین علی گوهر}}<br/>{{small|Puppet emperor under the [[Scindias of Gwalior]]}}
| 25 June 1728<br/>Delhi
| 16 October 1788 – 19 November 1806<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1788|10|16|1806|11|19}})}}
| 19 November 1806 (aged 78)<br/>Delhi
|- bgcolor="#F2D4CE"
| 19
| [[File:Akbar Shah II of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Akbar II|Akbar Shah II]]<br/>{{Uninastaliq|اکبر شاه دوم}}'''
| Muin al-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|میرزا اکبر}}<br/>{{small|Puppet emperor under the [[East India Company]]}}
| 22 April 1760<br/>[[Mukundpur]]
| 19 November 1806 – 28 September 1837<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1806|11|19|1837|09|28}})}}
| 28 September 1837 (aged 77)<br/>Delhi
|-
| 20
| [[File:Bahadur Shah II of India.jpg|80px]]
| '''[[Bahadur Shah II]] Zafar<br/>{{Uninastaliq|بهادر شاه ظفر}}'''
| Abu Zafar Siraj al-Din Muhammad<br/>{{Uninastaliq|ابو ظفر سراج اُلدین محمد}}
| 24 October 1775<br/>Delhi
| 28 September 1837 – 21 September 1857<br/>{{small|({{Age in years, months, and days|1837|09|28|1857|09|21}})}}
| 7 November 1862 (aged 87)<br/>[[Rangoon]]
|}

== Family tree of Mughal emperors ==
{{Mughal family tree}}

==See also==
* [[Timurid family tree]]
* [[Mughal-Mongol genealogy]]
* [[List of Mughal empresses]]

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Asher |first1=Catherine B. |title=India before Europe |last2=Talbot |first2=Cynthia |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-80904-5 |oclc=61303480}}
* {{Cite book |last=Majumdar |first=R.C. |year=1974 |title=The Mughul Empire |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |author-link=R.C. Majumdar|url=https://archive.org/details/mughal-empire-r.-c.-majumdar-1974}}
* {{Cite book |last=Richards |first=John F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC&pg=PA202 |title=The Mughal Empire |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-521-56603-2 |author-link=John F. Richards }}
* {{Citation |last=Robb |first=Peter |title=A History of India |year=2011 |publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education |isbn=978-0-230-34424-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GJNKEAAAQBAJ}}
* {{Citation |last=Stein |first=Burton |title=A History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC |year=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-2351-1 |authorlink=Burton Stein |access-date=15 July 2019 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Truschke |first=Audrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUUkDwAAQBAJ |title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-5036-0259-5}}
* [[John Keay|Keay, John]], ''India, a History'', 2000, HarperCollins, {{ISBN|0002557177}}
* {{Citation| last1=Spear| first1=Percival| author-link=Percival Spear| year=1990| orig-year=First published 1965| title=A History of India, Volume 2| publisher=New Delhi and London: Penguin Books. Pp. 298| isbn=978-0-14-013836-8| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2H_v0t5jTkC&pg=PA147}}.
* {{Country study}} – [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/intoc.html India] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120714040603/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/intoc.html |date=14 July 2012 }} [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pktoc.html Pakistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629162528/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pktoc.html |date=29 June 2015 }}
{{refend}}

{{Mughal Empire}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mughal Emperors}}
[[Category:Emperors of the Mughal Empire| ]]
[[Category:India history-related lists]]
[[Category:Lists of Indian monarchs|Mughal]]