As compared to the Sultanat period, both source material and the research done on the Mughal period is much richer. In fact, we are only at the beginning of tapping the vast store of documents dealing with the period which is coming to light. A preliminary study of these documents and a more critical study of the existing sources has led to a new understanding in many fields. It has also created new controversies. The attempt to deal with the new approaches and controversies in a limited span is a daunting task. It is for the reader to judge the extent to which this has been done in the present work, without losing the overall perspective. In brief, the earlier picture of a rigid and static society and economy, has been replaced by one in which forces of growth were becoming stronger, despite the persistence of many negative elements. This process continued even during the first half of the 18th century till colonialism took over. Thus, many old concepts have had to be revised.

The Mughal Empire was one of the great powers of the early modern era, ruling almost all of South Asia, a conquest state, dominated by its military elite. Many historians have viewed the Mughal Empire as relatively backward, the Emperor the head of a traditional warband from Central Asia, with tribalism and the traditions of the Islamic world to the fore, and the Empire
not remotely comparable to the forward looking Western European states of the period, with their strong innovative armies implementing the ‘military revolution’. This book argues that, on the contrary, the military establishment built by the Emperor Babur and his successors was highly sophisticated, an effective combination of personnel, expertise, technology and tactics, drawing on precedents from Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and India, and that the resulting combined arms system transformed the conduct of warfare in South Asia. The book traces the development of the Mughal Empire chronologically, examines weapons and technology, tactics and operations, organization, recruitment and training, and logistics and non-combat operations, and concludes by assessing the overall achievements of the Mughal Empire, comparing it to its Western counterparts, and analyzing the reasons for its decline.
Mughal dynasty, Mughal also spelled Mogul, Persian Mughūl (“Mongol”), Muslim dynasty of Turkic-Mongol origin that ruled most of northern India from the early 16th to the mid-18th century. After that time it continued to exist as a considerably reduced and increasingly powerless entity until the mid-19th century. The Mughal dynasty was notable for its more than two centuries of effective rule over much of India; for the ability of its rulers, who through seven generations maintained a record of unusual talent; and for its administrative organization. A further distinction was the attempt of the Mughals, who were Muslims, to integrate Hindus and Muslims into a united Indian state.