A long time ago, India was divided into many small states. Then, in the 8th century, some people from the Islamic religion came and took over parts of northern India. They captured important cities like Delhi and Agra. One of the leaders who did this was a man named Babur.

Babur became the emperor of a new empire called the Mughal Empire. The word "Mughal" means "Mongol" in another language. Babur was related to another famous leader named Genghis Khan.

Babur's oldest son passed away after becoming emperor, so his young grandson, Akbar, became the new emperor. Akbar faced many challenges, but he made the Mughal Empire successful by respecting both the Hindu and Islamic religions. He wanted everyone to be treated equally, no matter what their religion was.

Akbar even wanted to conquer more land in India and trade with other countries through the ocean. He thought it would make the Mughal Empire very rich. During the time of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire became even stronger and controlled many parts of India. However, Aurangzeb made a decision that upset a lot of people. He banned all religions except for Islam, and people were not allowed to pray or go to temples. This caused many uprisings and fights in different parts of the empire.

After Aurangzeb passed away, the Mughal Empire started to lose power. At that time, the British and the French came to India and took control of different regions. In a big battle, the British won and took over India completely. In 1858, the last Mughal emperor was removed from power, and India became a colony of Britain.