Decline of Mughal Empire
Succession Disputes
- War of successions between sons and Grandsons of Aurangzeb
- Fighting between Muazzam, Khambaks and Azam
- Muazzam(Bahadur Shah Zafar)ascended at the age of 63 in 1714
- He was brave and competent but just died in 1719
- Muazzam’s four sons fought over the throne
- Jahandar Shah secured the throne in 1719
- In the same year he was murdered
- Alamgir II was assassinated on the order of his own chief minister
- Next emperor Shah Alam II did not return to Delhi for the next 10 years.
- Shah Alam II was defeated in battle of Buxar
- Shah Alam’s son Akbar II ruled parts of Delhi
- Bahadur Shah Zafar was expelled to Rangoon in 1857 where he died
Vastness of Empire
- Decision making was relayed over thousands of miles
- emperors were ignorant
- Inconvenient system of transportation
- Introduction of Mansabdari system by Aurangzeb was not helpful
- Mansabdars became corrupt and didn’t update the military
- the military became weak as weapons were not latest
- Mansabdar became corrupt
- They ruined the agriculture economy
- made their controlled areas independent
- Mansabdar helped the princes to become kings
- Mughals didn’t maintain navy
Rise of Marathas
- Marathas were skilled Fighters from Deccan
- Formed a Hindu Empire in South of India
- Aurangzeb spent large sums of economy and 25 years of his life fighting them
- In 1737 defeated Mughals and exploited Delhi
- Mughal Nobles used them to remove Farukhisar from the throne
- Marathas were given ¼ land revenue and 1/10 from the six provinces
- were defeated in 1761 in Panipat III
Sikhs
- Formed a small group of robber band in Punjab
- Ranjit Singh became their leader.
- 40 sikh tribe United to form Khalisa
- Conquered Lahore
- Found the sikh empire with and army of 80000 soldiers
- Later became a major problem for muslims in his region
Persians
- Persian army led by Nadir Shah attacked Mughals in 1738
- Captured and Sacked Delhi and territories west of Indus
- Thousands of soldiers were killed in this massacre
- Came with intention to win booty.
- left after two months
- took 200000 Gold Dinars, Kohi Noor Diamond and Peacock throne
- exempted his people from tax for two years
Afghans
- attacked Kabul, Peshawar and Lahore in 1747
- Gained control of Punjab in 1756
- Added Kashmir and Multan in 1756
- Left India in 1761
Pleasure Seeking
- Lust for luxuries
- wine addicted
- spent too much on construction buildings (Taj Mahal)
- Music and Dancing was made a hobby
- such an example is of Muhammad Shah who was nicknamed as rangila
British
- EIC was taking advantage since the time of British
- Made its own government
- built forts
- military strengths couldn’t match Mughals
- won the battle of Plassey
- won the battle of Buxar
Formation Of Small Empires
- Nawab of Oudh declared himself independent
- NizamulMulk of Huderabad declared himself independent
- Ali verdi of Bengal declared his territories independent
- refused to pay taxes
- The refusal of nawabs to pay the taxes concluded to the economy of mughals collapsing
Aurangzeb’s Policies
- Aurangzeb’s unpopular policies
- Fought for 3 years with sikhs
- For 25 years in hyderabad in Deccan
- Power was to courtiers
- Long absence from the capital
- large Amount from treasury spent in wars
- Launched Islamic policies
- reimposed Jizya
- wrote Fatwa e Alamgiriya
- long times away from capital weakened the control for future
- didn’t choose his successor