| Emperor | Birth | Reign Period | Death | Notes |
|---|
| Babur | Feb 23, 1483 | 1526–1530 | Dec 26, 1530 | Was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother and was descendant of Timur through his father. Founded the Mughal Empire after his victories at the Battle of Panipat (1526) and the Battle of Khanwa. |
| Humayun | Mar 6, 1508 | 1530–1540 | Jan 1556 | Reign interrupted by Suri Dynasty. Youth and inexperience at ascension led to his being regarded as a less effective ruler than usurper, Sher Shah Suri. |
| Sher Shah Suri | 1472 | 1540–1545 | May 1545 | Deposed Humayun and led the Suri Dynasty. |
| Islam Shah Suri | c.1500 | 1545–1554 | 1554 | 2nd and last ruler of the Suri Dynasty, claims of sons Sikandar and Adil Shah were eliminated by Humayun's restoration. |
| Humayun | Mar 6, 1508 | 1555–1556 | Jan 1556 | Restored rule was more unified and effective than initial reign of 1530–1540; left unified empire for his son, Akbar. |
| Akbar | Nov 14, 1542 | 1556–1605 | Oct 27, 1605 | He and Bairam Khan defeated Hemu during the Second Battle of Panipat and later won famous victories during the Siege of Chittorgarh and the Siege of Ranthambore; He greatly expanded the Empire and is regarded as the most illustrious ruler of the Mughal Empire as he set up the empire's various institutions; he married Mariam-uz-Zamani, a Rajput princess. One of his most famous construction marvels was the Lahore Fort. |
| Jahangir | Oct 1569 | 1605–1627 | 1627 | Jahangir set the precedent for sons rebelling against their emperor fathers. Opened first relations with the British East India Company. Reportedly was an alcoholic, and his wife Empress Noor Jahan became the real power behind the throne and competently ruled in his place. |
| Shah Jahan | Jan 5, 1592 | 1627–1658 | 1666 | Under him, Mughal art and architecture reached their zenith; constructed the Taj Mahal, Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Jahangir mausoleum, and Shalimar Gardens in Lahore. Deposed by his son Aurangzeb. |
| Aurangzeb | Oct 21, 1618 | 1658–1707 | Mar 3, 1707 | He reinterpreted Islamic law and presented the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri; he captured the diamond mines of the Sultanate of Golconda; he spent the major part of his last 27 years in the war with the Maratha rebels; at its zenith, his conquests expanded the empire to its greatest extent; the over-stretched empire was controlled by Mansabdars, and faced challenges after his death. He is known to have transcribed copies of the Qur'an using his own styles of calligraphy. He died during a campaign against the ravaging Marathas in the Deccan. |
| Bahadur Shah I | Oct 14, 1643 | 1707–1712 | Feb 1712 | First of the Mughal emperors to preside over an empire ravaged by uncontrollable revolts. After his reign, the empire went into steady decline due to the lack of leadership qualities among his immediate successors. |
| Jahandar Shah | 1664 | 1712–1713 | Feb 1713 | Was an unpopular incompetent titular figurehead; |
| Furrukhsiyar | 1683 | 1713–1719 | 1719 | His reign marked the ascendancy of the manipulative Syed Brothers, execution of the rebellious Banda. In 1717 he granted a Firman to the English East India Company granting them duty-free trading rights in Bengal. The Firman was repudiated by the notable Murshid Quli Khan the Mughal appointed ruler of Bengal. |
| Rafi Ul-Darjat | Unknown | 1719 | 1719 | |
| Rafi Ud-Daulat | Unknown | 1719 | 1719 | |
| Nikusiyar | Unknown | 1719 | 1743 | |
| Muhammad Ibrahim | Unknown | 1720 | 1744 | |
| Muhammad Shah | 1702 | 1719–1720, 1720–1748 | 1748 | Got rid of the Syed Brothers. Tried to counter the emergence of the Marathas but his empire disintegrated. Suffered the invasion of Nadir-Shah of Persia in 1739. |
| Ahmad Shah Bahadur | 1725 | 1748–54 | 1775 |
|
| Alamgir II | 1699 | 1754–1759 | 1759 | He was murdered according by the Vizier Imad-ul-Mulk and Maratha associate Sadashivrao Bhau. |
| Shah Jahan III | Unknown | In 1759 | 1772 | Was ordained to the imperial throne by Sadashivrao Bhau. Shah Jahan III was overthrown after the Third Battle of Panipat by Prince Mirza Jawan Bakht. |
| Shah Alam II | 1728 | 1759–1806 | 1806 | Was nominated as the Mughal Emperor by Ahmad Shah Durrani after the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. 1764 saw the defeat of the combined forces of Mughal Emperor, Nawab of Oudh & Nawab of Bengal and Bihar at the hand of East India Company at the Battle of Buxar. Following this defeat, Shah Alam II left Delhi for Allahabad, ending hostilities with the Treaty of Allahabad (1765). Shah Alam II was reinstated to the throne of Delhi in 1772 by Mahadaji Shinde under the protection of the Marathas. He was a de jure emperor. In 1793 British East India company abolished Nizamat (Mughal suzerainty) and took control of the former Mughal province of Bengal marking the beginning of British reign in part of Eastern India officially. |
| Akbar Shah II | 1760 | 1806–1837 | 1837 | He became a British pensioner after the defeat of the Maratha's in the third Anglo-Maratha war who were till then the protector of the Mughal throne. Under East India company's protection, his imperial name was removed from the official coinage after a brief dispute with the British East India Company; |
| Bahadur Shah II | 1775 | 1837–1857 | 1862 | The last Mughal emperor was deposed in 1858 by the British East India company and exiled to Burma following the War of 1857 after the fall of Delhi to the company troops. End of Mughal dynasty. |
