HISTORY PROJECT REPORT

ON

DECLINE AND DISINTEGRATION OF THE

MUGHAL EMPIRE

Submitted to:
Submitted by:
Dr. Vijaylakshmi
Prince Singh Assistant Professor, UILS, PU
B.A.LL.B.(5th sem.) 96/14
UILS, PU, CHD
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Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................3
(A) CHARACTER OF LATER MUGHAL EMPERORS..........................................3
(B) LATER MUGHAL NOBILITY......................................................................5
Parties at the Mughal Court......................................................................6
(C) THE RISE OF NEW STATES......................................................................6
Nizams of the Deccan...............................................................................7
Oudh.........................................................................................................7
Bengal......................................................................................................8
The Rajputs...............................................................................................8
The Sikhs..................................................................................................8
The Marathas............................................................................................9
(D) FOREIGN INVASIONS FROM THE NORTH-WEST......................................9
(a) Nadir Shahs Invasion, 1738-39..........................................................9
(b) Ahmad Shah Abdalis Invasions and the Third Battle of Panipat.......11
(E) CAUSE OF THE DOWNFALL OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE...........................12
1. Aurangzebs Responsibility.................................................................12
2. Weak Successors of Aurangzeb..........................................................14
3. Degeneration of Mughal Nobility........................................................14

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4. The Rise of the Marathas....................................................................15

5. Military Weakness...............................................................................15
6. Economic Bankruptcy.........................................................................16
8. Coming of the Europeans...................................................................18
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................................18

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INTRODUCTION
The Mughal Empire, which had dazzled the contemporary world by its
extensive of territories, military might and cultural achievements showed
unmistakable signs of decay towards the beginning of the eighteenth
century. The reign of Aurangzeb was the swan-song of the Mughal rule in
India. A complex disease struck the heart of the empire and gradually
spread to different parts. While nine Mughal emperors followed one
another in quick succession in the fifty years following the death of
Aurangzeb, many adventures, Indian and foreign, carved out independent
principalities for themselves. Mughal governors of Oudh, Bengal and the
Deccan freed themselves from the control of the central government and
the Hindu powers found the time opportune for assertion of their
independence. Invaders from the north-west repeated their incursions in
search of wealth and the European trading companies dabbled in Indian
politics. Notwithstanding all theses dangers, internal and external, so
great had been the prestige of the empire under the Great Mughals and so
strong the central structure that the dissolution was slow and a longdrawn-out process. Baji Rao Is raid of Delhi (1737) and nadir Shahs
invasion (1739) exposed the hollowness of the Mughal Empire and by
1740 the fall of the Empire was an accomplished fact.
William Irvine and Jadunath Sarkar attributed the decline to
deterioration in character of the emperors and their nobles.

(A) CHARACTER OF LATER MUGHAL EMPERORS

According to Sarkar, Aurangzeb was a religious bigot, therefore he failed.
His successors were mere shadow of their predecessor and were not able
to set right the evils of the legacy of Aurangzeb. Aurangzebs death in
March 1707 (at the age of 89) was a signal for a war of succession among
his three surviving sons, Prince Muazzam, Muhammad Azam and Kam

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Bakhsh. The eldest brother got the better of the other two and defeated
and killed Muhammad Azam (at Jajau, 18 June 1707) and Kam Baksh (near
Hyderabad, 13 January 1709). Muazzam assumed the title of Bahadur
Shah I. An elderly man (over 63 years of age), the new emperor was not
fitted for the role of an active leader. Whether it was the outcome of
statesmanship or weakness, the new emperor favoured a pacific policy.
The Maratha prince, Shahu, who had been in Mughal captivity since 1689,
was released and allowed to return to Maharashtra. Peace was made with
the Rajput chiefs confirming them in their states. However, Bahadur Shah
was forced to action against the Sikhs whose new leader Banda had
become a terror for the Muslims in the Panjab. Banda was defeated at
Lohgarh and the Mughal forces reoccupied Sirhind in January 1711;
however, the Sikhs were neither conciliated nor crushed. Bahadur Shah
died on 27 February 1712. Henceforth, the rapid and complete abasement
and practical dissolution of the Empire are typified in the incapacity and
political insignificance of its sovereigns.
The usual war of succession broke out again in 1712 amongst the four
sons of Bahadur ShahJahandar Shah, Azim-us-Shan, Rafi-us-Shan and
Jahan Shah. The contestants were in such indecent haste about deciding
the question of succession that the dead body of Bahadur Shah was not
buried for about a month. Jahandar Shah came out successful with the
help of Zulfikar Khan, a prominent leader of the Irani party. Jahandar Shah
(March 1712-February 1713) appointed Zulfikar Khan as his prime
minister. Jahandar Shahs position was challenged by Farrukhsiyar (son of
Azim-us-Shan) who with the help of the Sayyid brothers Abdulla Khan
and Hussain Alidefeated and killed Jahandar Shah (11 February 1713). In
token of gratitude, Farrukhsiyar (1713-19) appointed Abdulla Khan as his
Wazir and Hussain Ali as the Mir Bakshi. Soon the emperor found the yoke
of the Sayyid brothers galling and conspired to get rid of them. However,
the Sayyids proved too clever for him and with the help of Maratha troops
they strangled the emperor to death on 28 April 1719. Farrukhsiyars reign
saw a victory for the Mughal arms over the Sikhs whose leader Banda
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Bahadur was taken prisoner at Gurdaspur and later executed at Delhi (19
June 1716). In 1717 the Emperor heedlessly granted to the English East
Indian Company many trading priviliges including the exemption form
custom duties for its trade through Bengal.
After the execution of Farrukhsiyar, the Sayyid brothers raised in quick
succession Emperor Rafi-ud-Darajat (28 February-4 June 1719), Rafi-udDaula (6 june-17 September 1719) and then Muhammad Shah (September
1719-April 1748). The Wheel had gone full circle. The court intrigue under
the leadership of Turani nobles succeeded and Hussain Ali was murdered
(9 October 1720) and Abdulla Khan made prisoner (15 November 1720).
During the reign of Muhammad Shah, Nizam-ul-Mulk set up an
autonomous state in the Deccan, Saadat Khan carved out a state for
himself in Oudh while Murshid Kuli Khan became virtually independent in
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The Marathas under Baji Rao I raided Delhi in
March 1737 and terrorised the Emperor. In 1739 Nadir Shah invaded India
and left the Mughal empire prostrate and bleeding.
The next Mughal emperors Ahmad Shah (1748-54) and Alamgir II (175459) were too weak to check the rot that had set in. Ahmad Shah Abdali
from the north-west raided India several times in 1748, 1749, 1752, 175657 and 1759 making bold with every successive invasion. The Panjab was
lost to the Afghans, while the Marathas snatched Malwa and Bundelkhand
and carried on their raids in all parts of India. Shah Alam II (1759-1806)
and his successors were emperors only in name, being puppets in the
hands of their own nobles or the Marathas or the English. In 1803, the
English captured Delhi. The fiction of the Mughal Empire was kept up by
the English till 1858 when the last of the Mughal emperors Bahadur Shah
Zafar was exiled to Rangoon.

(B) LATER MUGHAL NOBILITY

Satish Chandra in his book, Parties and politics at Mughal
Court,1707-40 writes that stability of the empire as acentralized state in
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17th century depended on the efficient working of mansab and jagir

system. A sinister development in the later Mughal polities was the rise of
powerful nobles who played the role of king-makers. Wars of succession
were fought even in the heydays of the Mughal Empire but then the royal
princes were the principal contestants supported by powerful
mansabdars. In the later Mughal period the ambitious nobles became the
real contenders for political power and the royal princes receded in the
background. The powerful nobles and leaders of different factions used
the royal princes as pawns in their game and set up and removed royal
princess from the throne to suit their interests. Thus Jahandar Shah
became the emperor not by his own strength but because of the able
generalship of Zulfikar Khan, a leader of the Irani party. And worst of all,
these powerful parties were not political parties in the modern sense
having different programmes for the welfare of the nation but were
factions looking for self-advancement, more often at the cost of the nation
and against the interests of the Mughal Empire.
Parties at the Mughal Court
William Irvine mentions the multiplicity of parties at the Mughal Court.
Among these four were prominenetthe Turanis, the Iranis, the Afghans
and the Hindustanis. The first three were descendants of foreigners from
Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan who formed the backbone of the army
of occupation. Their number had greatly increased during the last twentyfive years of Aurangzebs reign when he waged incessant war in the
Deccan. Descendants from these foreigners held important military and
civil offices in India. Among these the Turanis from TransOxiana and the
Afghans from Khurasan and far were mostly Sunnis, while the Iranis from
Persia were mostly Shias. In opposition to the Mughal or Foreign Party was
the Indian born or Hindustani Party. It mostly comprised Muhammadans
born in India, whose ancestors though originally foreign immigrants, has
settled in India for generations. The party got the support of the Rajput
and the Jat chiefs and powerful Hindu landlords. The Hindus who filled
almost all the subordinate civil naturally were ranged on their side.
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However, it will not be correct to assume that the political parties were
based entirely on ethnic or religious groupings. As has been rightly offices
pointed out by Prof. Satish Chandra that, slogans of race and religion were
raised by individual nobles only to suit their convenience, and that the
actual groupings cut across ethnis and religious divisions.
Irfan Habib, in his book, The Agrarian System of Mughal India argues
that the mechanism of collection of revenue that Mughals evolved was
inherently flawed. If on the one hand the imperial policy was to set the
highest revenue rate possible so as to secure greatest military strength of
the empire, the nobles on the other hand tended to squeeze the
maximum from the jagirs, even if it ruined the peasantry and agricultural
development.

(C) THE RISE OF NEW STATES

The weakening central political structure of the Mughal empire and
erosion of its military strength created some sort of a political vaccum in
Indiatempting ambitious subahdars and powerful regional chiefs to
carve out semi-independent or independent principalities for themselves;
greedy foreign adventures from across the north-western frontier repeated
their incursions into India and these internal and external enemies lent a
multi-dimensional character to the political confusionall hastening the
doom of the Mughal empire.
Nizams of the Deccan.
The founder of the Asafjahia hopuse of Hyderabad was Kilich Khan,
popularly known as Nizam-ul-Mulk. It was Zulfikar Khan who had first
conceived the plan of an independent state in the Deccan. In 1708,
through the generosity of Bahadur Shah, Zulfikar Khan had obtained the
viceroyalty of the Deccan and administrated it through the deputy, Daud
khan. The death of Zulfikar khan in 1713 ended his dream. In 1713 Kilich
Khan through the good offices of the Sayyid brothers obtained the
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viceroyality of the Deccan. In 1715, however, Husain Ali replaced him as

Subahdaar of the Deccan. After the assassination of Husain Ali in 1720
fortune again smiled on Kilich Khan and he was reappointed Subahdar of
the Deccan.
In 1722 the Nazim was appointed Wazir at Delhi. Finding himself, the
emperor confirmed the Nizam as viceroy of the Deccan in 1725 and
conferred on him the title of Asafjah. The Nizam had all the qualities
necessary for founding an independent kingdom. He was a diplomat and a
benevolent ruler. He established peace and order in the Deccan, promoted
agriculture and industry and endeared himself to the people.
Sidney Owen calls the Nizam a wily politican and an opportunist. He tried
to put the Mughal Empire on its legs. Finding that impossible and
perceiving the state hopelessly doomed, the Nizam took a boat and saved
himself and some of the crew from the shipwreck.
Oudh
The founder of the independent principality of Oudh was Saadat Khan ,
popularly known as Burhan-ul-Mulk.
Saadat Khan was a Shia and descendant from Sayyids of Nishapur. In
1720 he was appointed the Faujdar of Biyana. He joined in the conspiracy
against the Sayyid brothers rose in the estimation of the emperor. He was
amply rewarded by a grant of a mansab first of 5,000 and then of 7,000 as
also given the title of Burha-ul-Mulk. From 1720 to 1722 he was Governor
of Agra which he administered through his deputy, Nilkanth Nagar. Soon
he fell in favour

at the court and was driven out of the capital and

appointed as Governor of Oudh. This proved a blessing in disguise for

Saadat Khan and he converted Oudh into an independent Muslim kingdom
for himself.

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Bengal
Murshid Kuli Khan was the founder of the independent state of Bengal.
Ever since the time of Aurangazeb, Murshid Kuli Khan held the office of
the Diwan and deputy Governor of Bengal first under Prince Azim-us-Shan
and later under Prince Farrukhsiyar. In 1713 Murshid Kuli Khan was
appointed Governor of Bengal and in 1719 Orissa was added to his
charge. Murshid Kuli was a capable administrator and Bengal made great
strides in trade and commerce.
The Rajputs
The Rajputs alienated by the imprudent policies of Aurangzeb found in the
weakness of the Mughal Empire in the 18th century the right opportunity
to re-establish their independence and even extend their sway in all
directions. The love-hate Mughal-Rajput relationship resulted in Emperor
Bhadur Shahs march towards Jodhpur and submission of Ajit Singh in
1708, followed by the formation of an anti-Mughal league by Ajit Singh,
Jay Singh II and Durgadas Rathor the same year; in 1714 Hussain Ali,
Commander-in-chief, again headed towards Jodhpur and forced Ajit Singh
to sue for peace by giving one of his daughters in marriage to Emperor
Farrukhsiyar.
In the Farrukhsiyar-Sayyid brothers tussle at Delhi, the chiefs of Jodhpur
and Jaipur followed the policy of opportune aloofness or adherence to
suit their interests. Thus to win Ajit Singh to their side, the Sayyids
rewarded Ajit Singh with the governorship of Ajmer and Gujarat, a position
which he held till 1721. The anti-Sayyid party appointed Jay Singh II of
Jaipur as governor of Agra in 1721 and he was further given the Sarkar of
Surat in the time of Emperor Muhammad Shah.
Thus the Rajputs at one stage controlled the entire territory extending
from some 600 miles south of Delhi to Surat on the Western Cost.
However, the internal dissensions prevented the Rajputs from

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consolidating their posisiton and madde them a prey to Maratha

intervention.
The Sikhs
Guru Gobind Singh, the last of the Sikh Gurus had transformed the Sikhs
into a militant sect in defence of their religion and liberties. Banda
Bahadur, who assumed leadership of the Sikhs after the death of Guru
Gobind Singh in 1708, waged a relentless struggle against the imperialists
for eight years but found odds heavily ranged against him; he was
captured and killed in 1716.
The invasion of Nadir Shah and repeated incursions of Ahmad Shah Abdali
virtually demolished the Mughal central authority and brought about the
collapse of Mugha administration in the Panjab. This political confusion
gave the much sought for opportunity to the Sikh misls (brotherhoods)
who brought a large part of the Panjab under their sway in the 1760s and
1770s.
The Marathas
Perhaps the most formidable challenge to Mughal authority both in the
Deccan and the north came from the Marathas. Under the capable
leadership of the Peshwas, the Marathas uprooted Mughal authority from
Malwa and Gujarat, extended their sway over Rajputana in the 1703s and
made a determined bid to fill in the political vacuum caused by the
disintegration of the Mughal empire.
The Maratha position swiftly improved and at one stage in the 1750s they
seemed to have established their claim as chief inherits of the Mughal
dominion till their authority was challenged by Ahmad Shah Abdali in the
third Battle of PaniPat (1761). The Marathas quickly recovered from the
reverse suffered at Panipat and offered the most formidable challenge to
the English East India Company in the struggle for political supremacy in
India.
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(D) FOREIGN INVASIONS FROM THE NORTH-WEST

(a) Nadir Shahs Invasion, 1738-39
The general deterioration in the Mughal Administration was visible in the
neglect of the defence of the north-western frontier. Aurangazeb had kept
a vigilant eye on the defence of the north-western frontier and the Mughal
provinces in these regions. The Mughal province of Kabul was very welladministered and the people regulalrly paid to taxes. The tribal people in
the north-west were pacified and regular subsides were paid to them, the
roads towards India were kept open and a constant and brisk
communication of political intelligence had been maintained between
Kabul and Delhi. However, after the departure of Prince Muazzam from
Kabul in 1707 the administration of Kabul and Ghazni became lax. The
same jobbery, corruption and carelessness which had exposed Gujarat
and Malwa to the attacks of the Marathas, exposed the northwest frontier
to the ambition of Nadir Shah of Persia. Ghulam Hussain, the author of
Siyar-ul-mutakherin, writes that incapable viceroys were appointed by
favoritism; the garrisons in the north-west were totally neglected; the
tribal subsides were withheld to swell the illicit gains of those in power or
their dependants; and the frivolous sovereign and his like-minded
ministers heard little, and cared less, about what was going on beyond the
mountains.
The real causes of Nadir Shahs invasion of India are to be found in the
ambition of Nadir Shah on the one hand apparent weakness of the Mughal
Emperor on the other. Nadir had heard about the fabulous India and his
greed was excited. To top all, Nadir had received definite information
about the condition of the Mughal administration and the internal
dissensions which had shaped its belief of his was fortified by the number
of letters of goodwill and invitation he had from Indian Amirs soliciting him
to invade India.
Nadirs March to Delhi.

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The selfishness and mutual rivalries of the Mughal noble, caused havoc at
this stage. Saadat Khan, who had coveted the office of the Mir Bakshi, was
so disappointed at the conferment of the post on the Nizam that he
sought a meeting with Nadir, him that he could easily secure 20 crores of
rupees only if he would proceed from the Nizam, his meeting with the
Nizam earlier, the Persian invader had asked him why in spite of the pre
brave men like him the Maratha had captured large territories of the
empire. The Nizam had told him that the court factions had created great
confusion and that was why he had himself away to the Deccan in disgust.
Now Nadir had himself tested the truth of the Nizams obsession.
Nadir ShaH now decided to march to Delhi where he reached on 20 March
1739. At khutba (emblem of sovereignty) was read for Nadir and coins
were struck in his name. The Empire had ended, the Persian Empire had
begun.
Return of Nadir Shah.
Nadir Shah remained in Delhi for about two months. He tired to collect
the maximum booty from Delhi. He laid all the nobles and even the genral
population under contribution. Saadat Khan, the villain of the piece, was
threatened with corporal punishment if he did not collect for the invader
an amount of 20 crores. Helpless, Saadat Khan took poison and ended his
life. Saadat Khans successor, Safdar Jang paid two crores as his part of
the contribution. The booty collected by Nadir amounted to 30 crores of
rupees in cash besides jewels, gold and silver plates, besides 100
elephants, 7,000 horses, 10,000 camels, 100eunuchs, 130 writers, 200
smiths, 300 masons and builders, 100 stone-cutters and 200 carpenters.
Above all, the invader carried with him the Peacock Throne of Shahjehan
which alone had cost a crore of rupees. The Mughal emperor was also
compelled to give a royal princess in marriage to Nadirs son, Nasir Allah
Mirza.

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Muhammad Shah also surrendered to Nadir Shah the Mughal provinces

west of the river Indus including Kashmir and Sind. The subah of Thatta
the ports subordinate thereto were also surrendered to the invader.
Besides, the Governor of the Panjab agreed to pay to Nadir a sum of
rupees 20 lakhs per annum to remove the reason for any Persian
garrison being left east of the Indus.
Nadir on his part declared Muhammad Shah as Emperor of the Mughal
Empire once again with the right to issue coins and have the khutba read
his name. Before leaving Delhi, Nadir also gave advice to Muhammad
Shah and exhorted his subjects to obey him. He also promised military
support to the Mughal emperor in time of need.
(b) Ahmad Shah Abdalis Invasions and the Third Battle of Panipat.
Ahmad Shah Abdali (so called because of the name of his tribe) was a
young Afghan officer of noble lineage. Nadir Shah held high opinion about
his merits and once said, I have not found in Iran, Turan or Hindi any
man equal to Ahmad Shah declared himself as ruler of Kandhar. He also
issued coins bearing his name. Soon after he seized Kabul and founded
the modern kingdom of Afghanistasn. He enlisted a large army of 50,000.
As the rightful successor of Nadir, he laid claim to Western Panjab. He
invaded India five times and fought the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761.
Ahmad Shah Abdalis first invasion of India in 1748 ended in a fiasco.
Abdali was not a man to be easily baulked. Early in 1749 he again crossed
the frontier and defeated Muni-ul-Mulk, the Governor of the Panjab. Abdali
invaded India the third time in 1752. Fearing a repetition of Nadirs
outrages, the Mughal Emperor Ahmad invaded India the third time in
1752. In January 1757 the invader entered Delhi and plundered as far as
Mathura and Agra. Before his return Abdali recognized Alamgir II as the
emperor, Imad-ul-Daula as the Wazir and the Rohilla chief najib-ud- Daula
as his personal supreme agent and as mir Bakshi of the Empire.

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In March 1758 Raghunath Rao appeared at Delhi, expelled Najib from the
capital and later overran the Panjab, appointing Adina Beg as governor of
the Panjab on behalf of the Peshwa. Abdali returned to India in 1759 to
avenge on the Marathas. The third battle of Panipat was fought on 14
January 1761, resulting in the total defeat of the Marathas.
Before leaving Delhi on 20 march 1761 Abdali named Shah Alam II as
emperor, Imad-ul-Mulk as Wazir and Najib-ud-Daula as Mir Bakshi. The last
of Abdalis invasions came in 1767.
Ahmad Shah Abdalis invasions hastened the downfall of the Mughal
Empire and created anarchy and confusion all around. So shallow was the
reality of the Mughal Empire that the new Emperor Shah Alam II was not
allowed to enter Delhi for twelve years and was escorted to his throne in
1772 only by the Marathas. The Rohilla leaders Najib-ud-Daula and later
his son Zabita Khan and grandson Ghulam Qadir exercised undisputed
power at Delhi. On 30July 1788 Ghulam Qadir took possession of the royal
palace and deposed Sha Alam and later blinded him comppletely (10
August 1788). It was the Maratha leader Mahadaji Sindhia who recovered
Delhi for the emperor once again in October 1788. In 1803 the English
captured the imperial city and Sha Alam II became a pensioner of the East
india Company.

(E) CAUSE OF THE DOWNFALL OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

1. Aurangzebs Responsibility.
Although the expansion of the Mughal Empire reached its optimum point
under Aurangzeb yet it only resembled an inflated balloon. The Mughal
Empire had expanded beyond the point of effective control and its
vastness only tented to weaken the centre. Considering; the undeveloped
means of communications in those days, Mughal Empire was faced with a
stupendous task far beyond the capacity of Alamgir Aurangzeb himself not
to speak of his weak successors.

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Whatever his compulsions, Aurangzeb sought to restore the Islamic

character of the state which he believed, had been disturbed by Akbar
and his successors. His policy of religious bigotism proved counterproductive and provoked a general discontent in the country and the
empire was faced with rebellions of the Sikhs, the jats, the Bundelas, the
Rajputs and, above all, the Marathas. Aurangzeb was no less stupid than
his contemporary James II of England.
The Ass Who lost three Kingdoms for a Mass.
Again like JamesII, Aurangzeb knew the art of making enemies. The
imperialist designs and narrow religious policy of Aurangzeb turned the
Rajputs, reliable supporters of the Imperial dynasty, into foes. The wanton
destruction of Hindu temples and the reimposition of jizyah (1679) and
other political and social indignities on the Hindus led to the rising of the
Satnamis, the Bundeals and the Jats. In the Panjab the Sikhs to the last
man rose against the empire paralyzing Imperial administration in the
province. In Maharashtra, Maratha resistance to Mughal rule assumed a
national character and the whole people participated in the struggle for
the defence of their religion and liberties. The Maratha guerrillas
demoralized the splendid armies of Aurangazeb, broke their spirit of
superiority and wore them out.
The over ambitious Aurangzeb followed the policy of aggressive
imperialism towards the Shia sultanates of Golconda and Bijapur. Being a
fanatical Sunni, perhaps an additional reason for his onslaught on these
Deccan kingdoms was religious. However, the Deccan state of Golconda,
Bijapur, Karnataka and the Marathas occasionally patched up their mutal
jealousies and offered a united front to Mughal imperialism. Though
Aurangazeb succeeded in reducing Bijapur(1686), Golcaonda (1687) and
killing Sambhaji (1689), but these successes only marked the beginning of
greater difficulties. The conquest of these Muslim kingdoms of the south
removed the strongest local check on Maratha activities and left them free
to organize resistance to Mughal imperialism.
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Aurangzebs mistaken policy of continuous war in the Deccan which

continued for twenty seven years drained the resources of the empire.
These wars meant a great financial drain on the treasury and the flower of
the Mughal soldiery perished in the long wars. Manucci noted in his book,
Storia Do Moger, thus until this day he has not been able to accomplish
the enterprise be interned (as he said) in two years. He marched carrying
with him three sons, Shah Alam, Azam Tara and Kam Baksh, also his
grandons. He had with him much treasure-houses of Akbar, Nur Jehan,
Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Besides this, finding himself with very little cash,
owing to the immense expenditure forced on him, and because the
revenue payers did not pay with the usual promptitude, he was obliged at
Aurangabad to melt down his household silver-wares. The Deccan
ulcerproved as fatal to the Mughal Empire as the Spanish ulcerwas to
prove later on to the Napoleonic Empire.
2. Weak Successors of Aurangzeb.
The Mughal system of government being despotic much depended on the
personality of the emperor. Under a strong monarch all went with the
administration, but the succession of a weak emperor was reflected in
every field of administration. Unfortunately, all the Mughal emperors after
Aurangzeb were weaklings and therefore unable to meet the challenges
from within and without. Far from stemming the tide of decline they
aggravated the situation by their idiosyncrasies and lax morals. Bahadur
Shah I (1702-12) was over 63 at the time of his succession to the throne
and was too old to maintain the prestige of the empire. He liked to
appease all parties by profuse grants of titles and rewards and was
nicknamed Shah-i-bekhabar (The Heedless King), Jahandar Shah (171213), the next in succession, was a profligate fool, Farrukhsiyar (1713-19) a
contemptible coward, while Mohammad Shah (1719-48) spent most of his
time watching animal fights. For his indifference towards public affairs and
addition to wine and woman, Mohammad Shah was nicknamed Rangila
Ahmad Shah (17454) excelled his predecessors in his sensual pursuits.
His harem extended over a full kos (an area of four square miles)
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wherefrom all males were excluded and the emperor spent a week and
sometime as month in the company of women. In the administrative
sphere Ahmad Shah did equally foolish thing. In November 1753, he
appointed his two and half years old son, Mahmud as Governor of the
Panjab and in perfect keeping with the spirit named a one-year old baby,
Muhammad Amin as the deputy under him. Similarly the governorship of
Kashmir was conferred on one-year old Tala Sayyid Shah with a boy of
fifteen as the Deputy. These appointments were made and imbecile
emperors could hardly act as worthy custodians of public interest or
maintain the integrity of the empire.
3. Degeneration of Mughal Nobility.
When gold rusts what will iron do?, is an old adage. Following the
unworthy example of the emperors, the nobles discarded hard life of
military adventure and took to luxurious living. They became knights of
romance against knights at arms. The nobles spent their time in drinking
bouts and gambling dens. Nobles like Bairam Khan, Muzzaffar Khan, Abdur
Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, Mahabat Khan, Asaf Khan, Saidulla Khan were no
longer available for the service of the state. The new nobility under the
later Mughals were at best courtiers and rivalled one another in the subtle
arts of finesse and flattery. At a time when the emperors ceased to be
impartial judges for rewarding merit, the nobles had no incentive to fight
and die for the empire.
4. The Rise of the Marathas.
Perhaps the most powerful external factor that brought about the collapse
of the Mughal Empire was the rising power of the Marathas under the
Peshwa. The Peshwas consolidated Maratha power in Western India and
channelized the energies of the nation in an attack on the Mughal Empire.
They inaugurated the policy of Greater Maharashtra and popularized the
ideal of Hindu-pad padshahi. The ideal of Hindu Empire could only be
realized at the cost of the Mughal Emperors and their viceroys on the

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defensive. The tide of Maratha expansion continued to rise till it engulfed

northern India also. At one time the Marathas seemed the most powerful
force in the politics of India, assuming the role of defenders of India
against foreign invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali and playing the role of
king-makers at Delhi as Sadashiv Rao Bhau seems to have done in 1759
and Mahadaji Sindhia in 1722. Though the Marathas were not successful in
laying the foundations of a stable empire in India, they certainly played a
great part in bringing about the disintegration of the Mughal Empire.
5. Military Weakness.
There were inherent defects in the Mughal military system. The army was
organized more or less on the feudal basis where the common soldier
owed allegiance to the mansabdar rather than the Emperor. The soldier
looked upon the mansabdar as his chief, not as an officer. The defects of
this system though evident enough in the revolts of Bairam Khan and
Mahabat Khan assumed alarming proportions under the later Mughal
kings.
William Irvine points out that excepting the want of personal courage
every other fault was found among the degenerate Mughalsindiscipline,
want of cohesion, luxurious habits, inactivity bad commissariat and
cumbrous equipment. Luxury and sloth penetrated every rank of the army
and the march of the spectacle of a Mughal army presented a long train
of elephants, camels, carts and oxen, mixed up with a crowd of campfollowers, women of all ranks, merchants, shopkeepers, servants, cooks,
and all kinds of ministers of luxury, amounting to ten time the number of
the fighting men.
In fighting capacity the unwieldy Mughal armies were nothing more than
an armed rabble. Bernier compares them to a herd of animals that fled at
the first shock. The Mughal artillery was crude and ineffective against the
guerrilla tactics of the Marathas; the Maratha fortresses which the Mughal

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armies could not capture despite repeated attempts easily succumbed the
British arms.
The chief defect of the Mughal armies of eighteenth century was their
composition. The soldiers were usually drawn from Central Asia and
collected by the captains of companies who supplied men to anyone able
to pay for them. These soldiers and their leaders came to India to make
fortunes not to lose them. As such, the leaders came to India to make
fortunes not to lose them. As such, the leaders of such armies changed
sides without scruples and were constantly plotting either to betray or
supplant their employers. Even the Mughal viceroys employing such
troops were constantly haunted by the fear of desertion. Such hired
soldiers without coherence or loyalty were unfit custodians of the interests
of the Empire. What the Urdu poet Sauda wrote about Shah Alam IIs time
was true of later Mughal period in general
Only forced by need does he (Mughal commander) come out of the moat
(of his fort); His Army but knows how to turn from the flight; The infantry
afraid of the barber that shaves; The cavalryfall off from their beds in
their sleep. If but in a dream they see their mount frisk.
6. Economic Bankruptcy.
What ate into the vitals of the Mughal Empire was the worsening
economic and financial conditions which were visible in the 17th century
and which steadily worsen end towards the end of Aurangzebs reign.
Aurangzebs long wars in the Deccan besides emptying the royal treasury
almost ruined the trade and industry of the country. The marches of the
Imperial army damaged crops in the Deccan while the beasts of burden
ate away all standing crops and greenery. The emperor ignored all
complaints brought to him because of financial difficulties. Whatever little
was left was destroyed by the Maratha raidersMaratha horses were fed
on standing crops and Maratha soldiers destroyed whatever property they
found too heavy to be carried. The peasant gave up agriculture in disgust
and many took to life of plunder and highway robbery. There was so great
dislocation of normal life in the Deccan that the agents of the English and
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French Companies found great difficulty in procuring supplies for export to

Europe.
Under the later Mughal Emperors the financial condition further
deteriorated. While the outlying provinces asserted their independence
one after the other and ceased the payment of any revenue to the centre,
the numerous wars of succession and political conclusions coupled with
the lavish living of the Emperors emptied the royal treasury to an extent
that salaries of soldiers could not be paid regularly. The crisis of the
jagirdari was reached when the land in the country was insufficient for the
total number of jagirs granted. Many a time jagirs were granted but the
recipient had to wait for long to get actual possession of land. An
aggrieved grantee sarcastically remarked that the time-gap between the
grant of a jagir and its actual possession was long enough to turn a boy
into greybeard person. Jagirdars in turn were so greatly under debt to
money lenders that they farmed out their jagirs to them. Commenting on
the poor financial condition of the Mughal nobles, the Urdu poet Sauda
wrote the mansabdars had no money to pay their retainers.
If you buy a horse, and take service with someone. Of your salary you
will see no sign except in the world above.
Writing of the times of Alamgir II, Sir Jadunath Sarkar says that at one
time the Emperor was reduced to such hard straits that for three days no
fire was kindled in the harem kitchen and the princesses in frantic
disregard of purdhah rushed out of the palace to the city.
Jadunath Sarkar argues that the Muslim state in India lacked a sound
economic basis. The holy scriptures of the Muslims provideor at least so
the medieval Muslim scholars interpretedthat the true profession of the
faithful is war. The state in India kept a huge army and was thus the
greatest single employer. Peace, argues Sir Sarkar, was an aesthesia to
the society and produced far reaching economic repercussions. When the
Muslim state in India under Aurangzeb reached its optimum expansion, it

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was no longer necessary to maintain a huge army and employ it profitably.

These conditions accentuated in the eighteenth century.
7. Invasion of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali.
The invasion of Nadir Shah in 1739 gave a death blow to the tottering
Mughal Empire. Besides depleting the Mughal treasury of its wealth, it
exposed to the world the military weakness of the Empire and its utter
degeneration. Turbulent elements in the country so far kept in check by
the name and prestige of the Empire rose in rebellion and circumscribed
the authority of the empire. The repeated invasions of Nadirs successor,
Mughal authority had so greatly shrunk that in 1761 Abdali fought the
battle of Panipat not against the Mughal Empire but against the Marathas
who virtually controlled the whole of Northern India. For about a decade
(1761-72) a virtual dictatorship under Najib-ud-daula was set up at Delhi.
8. Coming of the Europeans.
With the weakness of Mughal central authority in the eighteenth century,
war-lordism raised its ugly head. The European countries also acted as
warlords, and profited from the confused times. The European countries
out did Indian princes in every sphere whether it was trade and commerce
or diplomacy and war. In fact the static and stationary Indian society faced
a challenge from a dynamic and progressive West. It is a sad commentary
on the Mughal aristocracy that while they spent lakhs in importing
European luxury articles, none ever thought of purchasing a printing
press. When the Renaissance outlook had given an expansive touch to
European energies the Indian people were stepped in divinism and drew
sustenance from the philosophy of escapism. In fact, India was left far
behind in the race of civilization. Sir Jadunath Sarkar very aptly comments:
The English conquest of the Mughal Empire is only a part of the
inevitable domination of all Africa and Asia by the European nations
which is only another way of saying that the progressive races are
supplanting the conservative ones, just as enterprising families are

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constantly replacing sleepy self-satisfied ones in the leadership of our

society.

CONCLUSION
It can be said that it was not the one but a number of factors together
created the situation which brought about the decline of mighty Mughal
Empire in India. Some of the important factors include: autocratic
centralised government, policy of religious intolerance, long term battles
of Aurangzeb in Deccan, conspiracies of Aamirs and Sardars, selfish
Attitude of provincial governors, foreign invasions among other related
factors created a situation that the disintegration of Mughal Empire
became unavoidable. Thus, the inherent weaknesses of the Mughal bodypolitic and the numerous contemporary operative causes had sapped the
vitality of the Empire. When the phantom empire collapsed the surprise
was not that it crumbled ignominiously, but that the end was so long
delayed.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ali, M.Athhar, The Mughal Nobility under Aurangzeb, Oxford University Press, New Delhi,
1997
Quereshi,I.H., The Administration of Mughal Empire, DK Publishers, New Delhi, 1994

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