BUILDINGOF THE MUGHAL NAVAL FORCES

Abstract

The military was a major element of the Mughal Empires strength and integrity. Beginning with the formation and mobility of the Mughal land army which led to their victory in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, the Mughal military power grew rapidly alongside the development of the Mughal Empire itself. In compatibility with the position of the Mughal Empire which also controlled the Indian Ocean, Mughal rulers paid attention to the building of the naval force. Commencing with the onset of that statement, the purpose of this article is to examine the purpose of and approaches undertaken by the Mughals in building their naval strength, especially in dealing with enemy threats and consolidating their dominance in the Indian Ocean. This study applied a qualitative approach through historical research and content analysis when collecting and analyzing data from primary and secondary sources. Research findings show that the Mughal navy was built during the era of Akbars reign with the aim of reinforcing the position of the Mughal Empire in several key regions, Gujarat and Bengal being among them, which contributed to economic development within the kingdom. The naval force was given full attention by post-Akbar rulers for the purpose of providing movement support to the land army and dealing with the presence of European powers in India, such as the Portuguese and the British.