The Mughals, who effectively ruled India during the 16^th-17^th c., built extensively, including palaces, mausoleums, mosques and vast gardens. These edifices reflect the dynasty’s past, often its imagined past, the glorious present and also the future in the guise of continuity and immortalization. The Taj Mahal of Agra, the tomb of the beloved wife of Shahjahan and the Red Fort he built are both the ultimate examples of this mélange of past, present and future all united for the glory of the empire. These edifices also exemplify the multicultural tendencies of this dynasty.

The manuscripts produced for Mughal rulers were heavily laced with propaganda as well. This phenomenon is evident mostly in the genres of portraiture and historical painting in which the figures are semi-realistic and motionless . By incorporating local and European modes of painting the Mughals glorified their achievements and propagated their agendas as the most exalted rulers in the world.

Most of the dynasty’s cultural achievements can be attributed to their multicultural policies and their deep commitment to impartiality towards members of different religious, ethnic, lingual and cultural groups.