Some rulers were very harsh regarding the taxation of the peole. For example, these hard taxes effected the poor farmers a lot, for 1/2 their crops were taken by force for the taxes, and if they couldn't pay enough, then all of their money would be taken and then their children would be sold off as slaves. While other rulers were not as harsh. For exmaple, some rulers would even get rid of taxes entirely when the crops were bad, or when the weather was not good enough.

But even with these different views that the rulers had towards many rulers, there were better things that made this new rulership better. For after all of the different groups of Hindu and Muslim cities being divided, the uniting cause people to feel more secure and belonging to the society. The stability that the society provided allowed many to gain considerable wealth causing a new class to be made for the wealthy nobles and wealthy merchants.

Not only was this new rulership good for the common person's well being, but it was considerably better for women for women living in this time. During the Mughal Empire, the treatment of women was better, for not only were the women playing more active roles in society, but they even were able to receive and education and were relied upon for political advice. They allowed women to also inherit land and earn money through business activities.

In the Mughal society the role of women was complicated but new. They were treated much better than any other women in their time. They were able to:

Own land
Be active in business affairs
Could go to curt and be educated
Could fight along side the men.

But also these women were restricted in many ways:

In the upper class Hindu part of society women were isolated
Widowed women were burned along with their husbands
Women were married as children, before they were 10

This new treatment of women didn't even go against the values of the religions that existed in this time. India at this time was mainly Hindu, but the rulers were all Muslim, so their was a big controversy regarding religion. Some emperors although being Muslim were very tolerant to the different religions. Now people were not persecuted for practicing different religions, not only were they able to practice their religion, but they were not as discriminated against, for Hindus and Muslims were both able to receive high ranking jobs and were respected in society. While other Emperors were very religious and would not tolerate the different views as nicely as was stated above. 3/4 of the Mughal population was Hindu although the conquering Mughals were Muslim, so people of different religions were tolerated based on the emperor's attitude towards the different religions

Religion was effected by the Emperors beliefs, and also by whom they married. Marraige also played a part in art at this time. In the Mughal society, art played a big role, this was mainly because the emperors expressed their feelings through art. Such as when one emperor, Shah Jahan, made the Taj Mahal, his wife's tomb, in dedication to his thirty nine year old wife Mumraz Mahal who died having Shah Jahan's thirteenth child. This expresses his great love for Mumraz Mahal.

Links used:

Ganeri, Anita. India Under the Mughal Empire. Austin, Texas: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, 1999.

Spielvogel, Jackson. World History The Human Odyssey. Albany, New York: West Publishing Company, 1998.