Although Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, a Muslim who founded the Mughal Empire, made little effort to assimilate to Indian culture, his grandson Akbar forged a culture that incorporated Indian and Persian, Hindu and… Under him, the Mughal Empire grew to encompass most of northern and much of central India, including the Sultanate of Gujarat, the heart of a rich Indian Ocean trade.

Under Aurangzeb, who attempted an Islamic revival and was largely intolerant of the Hindu population, the empire weakened as it battled the Maratha Empire for dominance over the states of seventeenth-century India Europeans sought to control India’s wealth.

joint stock company — a company in which numerous merchants pooled their money to fund a business venture like a trading voyage and shared both risk and profit. Sikhism — a monotheistic faith that combines elements of Hinduism and Islam, established in the Punjab region of northwestern India in the fifteenth century. Silhak — a late seventeenth-century Korean reform movement that promoted the study of the physical sciences and technology in order to solve practical problems. Undang-Undang Laut Melaka — a Malaccan maritime law code, part of the Undang-Undang Melaka, governing the conduct of sailors and traveling merchants.