Why was the Mughal Empire Persian oriented?
score:9
First, the relationship was
Mughal Empire -> Timur Empire -> Mongol
; I mean that while the Mughal Empire had distant Turco-Mongol origins, its most direct influence was that of the Timurid Empire.
It was under the Timurid Empire that the Turco-Mongols adapted to the Persian culture (and passed that tradition to the Mughal Empire). The Timurid Empire adopted that culture when it was under control of Persia.
Why did the Timurids change? Because:
they were a relatively small military elite ruling over a big population. It was in their own interest to "align" themselves with their subjects to avoid motives for rebellion.
they were a nomadic culture who suddenly became the rulers of a sedentary civilization. Managing a sedentary civilization -with its cities, its farming, etc.- required a different mindset/tradition that the ones the Mongols had, and presented a new set of problems. The Persian culture and traditions were already stablished, were adapted to that environment, and solved those problems.
the Timurids had conquered Persia because it was a rich, profitable objective as it was. In order to profit from that wealth, it was easier to leave the Persian with their old traditions and just become their leaders than converting the Persians into Mongols (which also risked to simply make the Persian country as poor as the Mongol country had been). The Timurids were happy to "let things stay that way" and just collect the profits.
All of this caused the Timurids to become progressively more and more "Persianized", and that tradition was transmitted to the Mughal Empire.
The above explained process was far from unique; almost everytime a nomad society conquered a civilized one, it ended with the nomad society adopting the culture of the conquered society. The Mongols alone offer plenty of examples: the Timurids in Persia, the Golden Horde in Russia, the Yuan dinasty in China, all became "local" very quickly. The Germanic invasion of the Roman Empire is another classical example.
Even when the difference of civilization level was not as important, in situations of a small force dominating a big population of a different culture, many times the invading force became very influenced by the local population (Macedonian rulers of Persia and Egypt, Crusader kingdoms, etc.)
Upvote:2
Well, adopting Persian was more than just about a language. It gave access to a whole civilizational complex including culture, literature, governmental techniques, etc.
More post
- 📝 How much did the Chinese Summer Palace cost to build?
- 📝 Haredi (Orthodox Jewish) view on Zionism pre-1948
- 📝 Hugh Dowding v. William Sholto Douglas?
- 📝 How widespread was practice of fusion of Graeco-Roman and barbarian names?
- 📝 Symbol of the San-colottes
- 📝 Japanese prostitution in 1940s
- 📝 How were the Incas able to build such great works of architecture without using mortar?
- 📝 Natural born citizen
- 📝 What was the 'indemnity' paid out by Haiti actually for?
- 📝 Why did Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia remain loyal to France during and after World War II?
- 📝 How much did helping the American Revolution cost France?
- 📝 Why did Empress Elizabeth and Catherine the Great of Russia have such different policies toward Frederick the Great?
- 📝 Are parts of the Sphinx older than 5000 years?
- 📝 Was Napoleon as short as "common knowledge" states?
- 📝 What was the role of Indian princes and aristocratic landowners under British colonial rule?
- 📝 What was the status of the Polish Jews in Germany prior to WW2?
- 📝 What unknown laws were mentioned in earlier Coronation Oaths of England?
- 📝 What is the name of the theory opposite to the Great Man theory?
- 📝 How did sailing technology improve during the Age of Sail?
- 📝 Did Bamako exist as a major settlement of trade and culture during the Mali empire?
- 📝 Why did the Ming treasure fleet voyages end?
- 📝 How did the elite maintain the status quo throughout the British Colonies of North America?
- 📝 What is the largest mutiny in human history?
- 📝 Did IRA bombings in Great Britain lead to Hibernophobia?
- 📝 To what extent did the CPC avoid fighting with the Japanese?
- 📝 To what degree was photography responsible for America's changing perspective of Nazi Germany?
- 📝 What did Mesopotamian beehives look like?
- 📝 How were the invasions of Korea by the Mongols and the Manchus similar?
- 📝 Why did the communist party lose in Telangana in India's first general elections?
- 📝 Is there a difference between original 1768-71 and 1968-71 facsimile of 1st edition Encyclopaedia Brittanica
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why was the Mughal Empire Persian oriented?
- 📝 Why was the Roman Empire considered an empire rather than a kingdom (again)?
- 📝 Why was the northern boundary of the Mongol empire set where it was?
- 📝 Why was the Aztec Empire known as an Empire?
- 📝 Why was the Ottoman empire not seen as an Arabic empire?
- 📝 Why was the government expenditures of the Roman Empire very low compared to modern governments?
- 📝 Why was Tegh Bahadur executed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb?
- 📝 Why was there such tension between the Ottoman Empire and Russia during the Armenian genocide?
- 📝 Why did Hitler attack the Soviet Union when he was still busy fighting the United Kingdom?
- 📝 Why did archery not make a comeback when armor was phased out in the 18th century?
- 📝 Why was Poland spared from the Black Death?
- 📝 Why was Africa colonized last of the continents in the Age of Discovery?
- 📝 Why did the Western Roman Empire collapse but not the Eastern Roman Empire?
- 📝 Why was the Scout movement so successful?
- 📝 Why was the Council of Nicea held in Nicea rather than Rome or Constantinople?
- 📝 Why was World War I ended on Nov 11 11:00, rather than immediately upon signing the armistice?
- 📝 In the Soviet Union, why was the Cheka renamed so many times?
- 📝 Why was "leaping into the river" a valid trial outcome to prove one's innocence?
- 📝 Why was the Japanese Army's fatalities inflicted:suffered ratio so low in the Pacific theatre?
- 📝 Why was capturing the south of Okinawa necessary?
- 📝 Why were the drawings of Colossus burnt after WW2 and why was its very existence "of course" kept secret?
- 📝 Why was there a surge in the US incarceration rate during the 1990s?
- 📝 Why was the Treaty of Versailles so harsh?
- 📝 If the Ch’in dynasty was so short-lived, why was China named for it?
- 📝 Why was Switzerland not attacked during the two World Wars?
- 📝 Why was sugar cultivation more profitable in the Caribbean/Brazil than West Africa?
- 📝 Why was PTSD not written about as much before the 20th century?
- 📝 Why was Kaliningrad placed under the Russian SFSR rather than the Lithuanian SSR?
- 📝 Why is the late Russian Empire associated with Byzantium while having little in common with it?
- 📝 When and why was the samurai class abolished?