Home Region: North India (South Asia)

Mughal Empire

1526 CE 1858 CE

D G SC WF CC

EQ 2020 in_mughal_emp / InMugl*

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.

1370 CE 1526 CE Timurid Empire (uz_timurid_emp) [continuity]

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.

1710 CE 1801 CE Carnatic Sultanate (in_carnatic_sul) [None]

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General Description

The Mughal Empire was one of the largest centralized states in premodern world history. By the late 1600s, it covered most of the Indian subcontinent. The empire was founded by Babur (reigned 1526-1530 CE), who had invaded northern India from central Asia. He defeated the Delhi sultan at Panipat and occupied Delhi and Agra before moving on to Bengal. His grandson, Abu Akbar (’the Great’) consolidated Mughal rule in the north through a series of military campaigns, notable for their use of field artillery. Akbar was also a great administrator, establishing a system of salaried civil and military office holding, combined with efficient taxation. Revenue was collected on the basis of land assessments, administered by local tax farmers, and the system served to integrate both Hindu and Muslim elites into the state. This period saw a flourishing of Indo-Muslim culture, particularly in the fields of painting and architecture. Economically, India was the centre of mercantile activity within the Indian Ocean; its manufactured goods, especially cotton textiles, were in huge demand. The reign of Shah Jahan (1628-1658 CE) is seen as the high point of Mughal culture, represented above all by the construction of the Taj Mahal. His son Aurangzeb (reigned 1658-1707) was more aggressive military and eventually incorporated most of India into the empire, at least formally. The state was run on increasingly military lines and was more assertively Muslim. After Aurangzeb’s death the empire began to disintegrate, encouraged by infighting and corruption among elites. The Mughals had lost much of their territory and power by the mid-18th century. The Marathas, a dynasty of Hindu warriors, became the dominant force in India during the 1700s, followed by the British in the early 19th century. Delhi was taken by the armies of the East India Company in 1803, but the Mughals carried on as rulers of Delhi until 1857. Following the Indian Rebellion, the British exiled the last king, Bahadur Shah II, who had given the rebels his support. ^[1]
Population and political organization
The two main branches of the Mughal empire were dedicated to revenue and military affairs. The emperor, seen as a divinely inspired patriarch, supervised his revenue and military officials through frequent travelling, and curbed their political ambitions by transferring them frequently, requiring them to attend court regularly, and assigning them responsibilities that cross-cut those of other officials. ^[2]
At its peak, in the late 1600s, the Mughal Empire comprised between 100 and 150 million inhabitants. ^[3]

[1]: (Richards 1995, 1-5) John F. Richards. 1995. The Mughal Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[2]: (Blake 1979) Stephen Blake. 1979. ’The Patrimonial-Bureaucratic Empire of the Mughals’. The Journal of Asian Studies 39 (1): 77-94.

[3]: (Richards 1995, 1, 190) John F. Richards. 1995. The Mughal Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

6 Capital

1 Alternative Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Peak Years

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

1 Suprapolity Relations

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Relationship to preceding Entity

2 Polity Succession

1 Degree of Centralization

Language

1 Linguistic Family

2 Language

Religion

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

1 Population of the Largest Settlement

1 Polity Territory

1 Polity Population

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Religious Level

1 Military Level

1 Administrative Level

Professions

1 Professional Soldier

1 Professional Priesthood

1 Professional Military Officer

Bureaucracy Characteristics

1 Specialized Government Building

1 Merit Promotion

1 Full Time Bureaucrat

1 Examination System

Law

1 Professional Lawyer

1 Judge

1 Formal Legal Code

1 Court

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

1 Market

1 Irrigation System

1 Food Storage Site

1 Drinking Water Supply System

1 Entertainment Building

Transport Infrastructure

1 Road

1 Port

1 Canal

1 Bridge

Special-purpose Sites

1 Mines or Quarry

Information / Writing System

1 Written Record

1 Script

1 Phonetic Alphabetic Writing

1 Nonwritten Record

1 Non Phonetic Writing

Information / Kinds of Written Documents

1 Scientific Literature

1 Sacred Text

1 Religious Literature

1 Practical Literature

1 Philosophy

1 Lists Tables and Classification

1 History

1 Fiction

1 Calendar

Information / Money

1 Token

1 Precious Metal

1 Paper Currency

1 Indigenous Coin

1 Foreign Coin

1 Article

Information / Postal System

1 Postal Station

2 General Postal Service

1 Courier

Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications

1 Wooden Palisade

1 Stone Walls Non Mortared

1 Stone Walls Mortared

1 Settlements in a Defensive Position

1 Modern Fortification

1 Moat

1 Fortified Camp

1 Earth Rampart

1 Ditch

1 Complex Fortification

Military use of Metals

1 Steel

1 Iron

1 Copper

1 Bronze

Projectiles

1 Tension Siege Engine

1 Sling Siege Engine

1 Sling

1 Self Bow

1 Javelin

1 Handheld Firearm

1 Gunpowder Siege Artillery

1 Crossbow

1 Composite Bow

1 Atlatl

Handheld weapons

1 War Club

1 Sword

1 Spear

1 Polearm

1 Dagger

1 Battle Axe

Animals used in warfare

1 Horse

1 Elephant

1 Donkey

1 Dog

1 Camel

Armor

1 Wood Bark Etc

1 Shield

1 Scaled Armor

1 Plate Armor

1 Limb Protection

1 Leather Cloth

1 Laminar Armor

1 Helmet

1 Chainmail

1 Breastplate

Naval technology

1 Specialized Military Vessel

1 Small Vessels Canoes Etc

1 Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.

Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

Crisis Consequence Cases

1 Crisis Consequence

Power Transitions

22 Power Transition

Instability Events

38 Instability Event

NGA Settlements:

Year Range	Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp) was in:
(1526 CE 1687 CE)	Kachi Plain / Middle Ganga
(1687 CE 1720 CE)	Kachi Plain / Middle Ganga / Deccan
(1720 CE 1740 CE)	Kachi Plain / Middle Ganga
(1740 CE 1803 CE)	Middle Ganga

Home NGA: Kachi Plain

General Variables

Identity and Location Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	43 P	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Original Name	Mughal Empire	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Capital	Agra	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Capital	Fatehpur Sikri	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Capital	Agra	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Capital	Lahore	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Capital	Shahjahanabad	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Capital	Delhi	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Alternative Name	Mogul Empire	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Temporal Bounds Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Peak Years	[1630 CE ➜ 1707 CE]
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Duration	[1526 CE ➜ 1858 CE]
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Political and Cultural Relations Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Suprapolity Relations	none	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Succeeding Entity	Durrani Empire	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity	continuity	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Succeeding Entity 1710 CE 1801 CE	Carnatic Sultanate (in_carnatic_sul) [None]
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Preceding Entity 1370 CE 1526 CE	Timurid Empire (uz_timurid_emp) [continuity]
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Degree of Centralization	unitary state	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Language Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	Indo-European	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Language	Urdu	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Language	Persian	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Religion Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Population of the Largest Settlement	400,000 people	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Polity Territory	[3,200,000 to 4,500,000] km²	1700 CE
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Polity Population	[110,000,000 to 150,000,000] people	1700 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	4	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Religious Level	1	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Military Level	6	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Administrative Level	7	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Professions Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Soldier	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Professional Priesthood	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Professional Military Officer	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Government Building	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Merit Promotion	Present Inferred	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Examination System	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Law Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Lawyer	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Judge	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Formal Legal Code	Present Inferred	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Court	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Irrigation System	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Food Storage Site	Uncoded Undecided	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Entertainment Building	Uncoded Undecided	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Port	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Canal	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Bridge	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Mines or Quarry	Present Inferred	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Information / Writing System Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Script	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Nonwritten Record	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Non Phonetic Writing	Absent	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Scientific Literature	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Sacred Text	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Religious Literature	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Practical Literature	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Philosophy	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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History	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Fiction	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Calendar	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Information / Money Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Token	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Precious Metal	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Paper Currency	Absent Inferred	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Indigenous Coin	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Foreign Coin	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Article	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Information / Postal System Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Postal Station	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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General Postal Service	Absent	1526 CE 1799 CE
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General Postal Service	Present Inferred	1800 CE 1858 CE
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Courier	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Information / Measurement System Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wooden Palisade	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Stone Walls Mortared	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position	Present Inferred	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Modern Fortification	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Moat	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Fortified Camp	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Earth Rampart	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Ditch	Present Inferred	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Complex Fortification	Present Inferred	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Military use of Metals Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Steel	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Iron	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Copper	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Bronze	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Projectiles Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Tension Siege Engine	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Sling Siege Engine	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Sling	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Self Bow	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Javelin	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Handheld Firearm	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Crossbow	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Composite Bow	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Atlatl	Absent	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Handheld weapons Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
War Club	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Sword	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Spear	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Polearm	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Dagger	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Battle Axe	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Animals used in warfare Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Horse	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Elephant	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Donkey	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Dog	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Camel	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Armor Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wood Bark Etc	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Shield	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Scaled Armor	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Plate Armor	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Limb Protection	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Leather Cloth	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Laminar Armor	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Helmet	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Chainmail	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Breastplate	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Naval technology Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Military Vessel	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc	Present	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service	Unknown Suspected	1526 CE 1858 CE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Human Sacrifice Mughal Empire (in_mughal_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More