Decline of the Mughal Empire & Rise of Successor States (18th-Century India) (copy)

Dynastic Timeline of the Great Mughals

Babur $(1526\text{--}1530)$
Humayun $(1530\text{--}1540,\;1555\text{--}1556)$
Akbar $(1556\text{--}1605)$
Jahangir $(1605\text{--}1627)$
Shah Jahan $(1628\text{--}1658)$
Aurangzeb $(1658\text{--}1707)$

Akbar to Aurangzeb are often labelled the “Great Mughals.” Their combined reign ($1526\text{--}1707$) represents the apogee of Mughal political, cultural, and military power in the sub-continent.

Periodisation of Indian History

1. Three-fold division ➔ Ancient – Medieval – Modern.

2. Conventional watershed for “modern” India = death of Aurangzeb $1707$ → political fragmentation → eventual British domination → terminates with Independence $1947$.

3. Boundaries are heuristic, not absolute. Social, technological, and ideological traits of one era bleed into the next.

“Modern” as a Western-derived Ideal

• Anchored in science, reason, liberty, equality, democracy – ideas that reached India largely under British colonial rule.
• Hence $18^{\text{th}}$–$20^{\text{th}}$-century India can be simultaneously labelled modern and colonial.

The Later Mughals $1707\text{--}1857$

Political Arc

• Aurangzeb’s death ⇒ recurring wars of succession and factionalism.
• Real locus of authority shifts from emperor → nobility → provincial elites → European companies.

Key Emperors & Events

Foreign Invasions & Shocks

1. Persian ruler Nadir Shah – invades, defeats, and plunders Delhi $(1739)$; carries off Koh-i-Noor diamond & Peacock Throne.

2. Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani) – six expeditions $1748\text{--}1767$; victorious in Third Battle of Panipat $(1761)$ over the Marathas.

Systemic Causes for Mughal Decline

1 – Absence of Primogeniture

• Each imperial death ⇒ open contest for the throne.
• Nobles exploited rival claimants to enlarge personal fiefdoms.

2 – Aurangzeb’s Rigid Policies

• Reversed Akbar’s inclusive approach toward Rajputs, Marathas, Sikhs, Jats.
• Alienated groups that once buttressed Mughal authority.

3 – Weak Successors & Factional Nobility

• Post-Aurangzeb emperors lacked military charisma, administrative skill.
• Court factions (Iranis, Turanis, Hindustanis, Sayyids) vied for control.

4 – Depleted Treasury

• Extravagant architectural projects under Shah Jahan (e.g.
– Taj Mahal in Agra,
– Red Fort in Delhi).
• Costly, protracted wars (Deccan campaigns, anti-Sikh & anti-Maratha operations).

5 – Mansabdari System Collapse

• Introduced by Akbar to grade officers.
• Later emperors lacked funds to pay jagirs or inspect sawars (cavalry quotas), causing corruption & military decay.
• By late $17^{\text{th}}$ century it functionally disintegrated.

6 – Administrative Over-Extension

• Empire stretched from Hindukush to Bengal & from Kashmir to Karnatic – logistically unmanageable from a single centre (Delhi / Agra).
• Peripheral governors declared autonomy once central coercion weakened.

7 – Accelerating Foreign Invasions

• Nadir Shah and Abdali’s raids exposed Mughal impotence, encouraged provincial and European opportunism.

Successor & Break-Away States

Hyderabad (Asaf Jah Dynasty)

• Founder = Qamar-ud-din Siddiqi (Nizam-ul-Mulk).
• Initially Mughal viceroy of Deccan $(1712)$; reappointed $1724$ with title Asaf Jah ➔ de-facto independence.
• Consolidated power, crushed zamindars, placed nominee Anwar-ud-din on Carnatic throne.
• Post-$1748$ succession wars invited French/British meddling.

Carnatic

• Sub-province of the Deccan; theoretically under Nizam; practically independent Nawabs.
• Terrain became Anglo-French battleground during Carnatic Wars $1746\text{--}1763$.

Bengal

• Enlarged Bengal = Bengal + Bihar + Orissa.
• Murshid Quli Khan – Diwan under Aurangzeb; Subedar $1717$; shifted capital to Murshidabad; achieved autonomy.
• Successors Shuja-ud-Din & Alivardi Khan maintained prosperity & restricted fortification by Europeans.
• Lack of strong army/navy ⇒ Siraj-ud-Daula defeated at Plassey $(1757)$; province first to fall to EIC.

Awadh (Oudh)

• Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk appointed governor $1722$; crushed rebellious zamindars, founded efficient revenue system, capital at Faizabad.
• Safdar Jung – fostered peace, cultural efflorescence in Lucknow.
• Shuja-ud-Daula – fought at Panipat $1761$ & Buxar $1764$.
• Asaf-ud-Daula – shifted capital to Lucknow, built Bada Imambara.

Mysore

• Hindu Wodeyars displaced by Haider Ali $1761$ – illiterate yet brilliant soldier-administrator.
• Modernised army, used European drill & artillery; defeated British in First Anglo-Mysore War $(1767\text{--}1769)$.
• Succeeded by son Tipu Sultan: admirer of French Revolution, called “Tiger of Mysore,” innovated rocket artillery; killed during Fourth Anglo-Mysore War $(1799)$ at Srirangapatna.

Punjab & the Sikhs

• Militarisation begins under Guru Gobind Singh (creation of Khalsa $1699$).
• Banda Bahadur’s rebellion suppressed $1716$.
• Post-Nadir/Abdali chaos ⇒ $12$ autonomous misls emerge $1765\text{--}1800$.
• Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Sukerchakia misl) unifies West Punjab $1799\text{--}1839$; creates powerful Sikh kingdom; collapses after his death; British annex $1849$.

Rajputana

• Polity remained fragmented; most illustrious ruler = Sawai Jai Singh II of Amber $(1681\text{--}1743)$:
– Founded Jaipur $(1727)$.
– Built Jantar Mantar observatories in five cities for astronomical precision.
• Rajputs gradually overshadowed by expanding Maratha, then British, influence.

Marathas

• Shivaji (founder, d. $1680$) → weak successors → real power to Peshwas.
• Shahuji (released $1707$) appoints Balaji Vishwanath Peshwa $1713$ ➔ decentralised revenue via Chauth & Sardeshmukhi; five key houses: Gaekwad, Bhonsle, Scindia, Holkar, Peshwa.
• Baji Rao I – apex of Maratha expansion (east to Bengal/Orissa, north to Punjab).
• Clash with Abdali ➔ Third Battle of Panipat $(1761)$: catastrophic defeat.

Causes of Panipat Debacle

1. Guerilla tactics ill-suited to North Indian plains.

2. Over-stretched empire & intra-Maratha fissures.

3. Other Indian states (Awadh, Rohilkhand) sided with Abdali; none aided Marathas.

Consequences

• Dream of pan-Indian Maratha hegemony shattered.
• Political vacuum eased British ascendancy.
• Marathas later succumbed through three Anglo-Maratha wars $1775\text{--}1818$.

Landmark Battles & Treaties (Chronological)

1. Battle of Plassey $(23\;June\;1757)$ – EIC vs. Siraj-ud-Daula.

2. Battle of Buxar $(22\;Oct\;1764)$ – British + Awadh + Shah Alam II; led to Treaty of Allahabad $(1765)$, securing Diwani (revenue rights) for Bengal, Bihar, Orissa.

3. Third Battle of Panipat $(14\;Jan\;1761)$ – Marathas vs. Abdali.

4. Anglo-Mysore Wars $1767\text{--}1799$ (four phases).

5. Anglo-Maratha Wars $1775\text{--}1818$ – culminate in dissolution of Peshwa.

6. Anglo-Sikh Wars $1845\text{--}1849$ – Punjab annexed.

7. 1857 Revolt – last Mughal (Bahadur Shah Zafar) deposed; exiled to Rangoon.

Conceptual & Ethical Reflections

• Decline of Mughals illustrates how centralised empires disintegrate when fiscal, military, and ideological cohesion erodes.
• Successor states balanced autonomy with residual Mughal legitimacy, showcasing layered sovereignty in South Asian polity.
• European trading companies leveraged commercial privileges (e.g., duty-free trade, Diwani) into political dominance – a primer in economic imperialism.
• The modernity-colonialism nexus forces debate: can “progress” (science, democracy) be disentangled from coercive colonial structures?

Quick Self-Check (MCQ)

Q: The founder of the Mughal Empire in India was —
A. Babur B. Humayun C. Akbar D. Jahangir
Answer: $\text{A (Babur)}$