Decline of Mughals

REASONS FOR THE DECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIRE

It can be divided in two eras.

1. During the reign of Aurangzeb (1658- 1707) 2. After his Death (After 1707)

Q. Who was Aurangzeb?

• He was the last great/ powerful Mughal emperor

• He was born in 1618- 1707.

• He not only re-introduced the Jizya tax which was abolished by Akbar, but he also destroyed many
of the Hindu temples.

• He enforced Islamic teachings/ laws throughout the empire.

• He banned an old Hindu custom suttee.

• He fought Deccan wars for more than 25 years against Maraths.

• By the time of his death his empire was larger than it had ever been from Kashmir to Karnatak and
Gazi and Chittagong.

Reasons for Decline During the reign of Aurangzeb:

1. ECONIMIC REFORMS /POLICIES:

i. Jizya tax

ii. High taxes

iii. Spend huge sums on building of Pearl Mosque which was reserved only for his prayer

2. RELIGIOUS- SOCIAL REFORMS/POLICIES

i. Ban on Suttee

ii. Destroyed many of Hindu Temples

iii. Enforcement of Islamic laws throughout the empire, making Hindus and Sikhs live according to Quran.

Iv. He determined the maximum length of beard.

3. EXPANSION POLICIES:
 I. Deccan expansion policy

Remained continue for 25 years

Costly wars created economic or financial burden.

Military expertise decreased which weakened the defense of Mughal Empire .

Q. How did Deccan Wars Contribute in the decline of Mughal Empire? [7]

First of all, Deccan wars continued for more than 25 years. These wars were against one of the greatest enemies of
Mughals “the Marathas” , who gave tough time to Aurangzeb. As Aurangzeb was involved in these wars for a long
period so he had to remain absent from the center more and often, which caused many of the administrative and
communicative issues Making his empire weak and leading to decline.

Secondly, these wars proved to be very costly due to the long duration which created a lot of economic problems
for Mughals as they became bankrupt. In order to fill the military cost Aurangzeb had to put the burden of heavy
taxes on the population. As a result this created discontent amongst his population and they started hating him thus
contributing in the down fall of Mughal Empire.

Lastly, due to Deccan wars military expertise decreased as many soldiers were died during these wars and it
became very difficult to train the new soldiers in such a short period which ultimately made the defence weak. As a
result empire became vulnerable to foreign attack like in 1738 Nadir Shah and in 1747 Ahmed Shah Abdali attacked
the different areas of Mughal Empire which not only damaged their image and prestige but also took the empire to
the edge of decline.

Q. How did Aurangzeb’s policies contribute to the downfall of Mughal Empire?(7)

Aurangzeb reintroduced the Jizya Tax .It was a mandatory tax on non-Muslims. This tax was abolished by Akbar more
than a hundred years earlier but Aurangzeb re- imposed the tax in 1679, for the protection of non-Muslims as well as
to practice their religious duties. Non-Muslims took it as an unfair tax and they felt discriminated, which greatly
annoyed them. As a result they turned against Aurangzeb which contributed to the decline Mughal Empire.

Moreover, he enforced Islamic laws throughout the Empire. He banned consumption of alcohol and stopped singing,
dancing and gambling at court making Hindu and Sikhs live according to Islam. These actions enhanced the religious
insecurity in non-Muslims and they considered it as he was trying to convert them into Muslims by imposing
Islamic values on them. As non- Muslims were in majority in India, so the majority stopped supporting him which
weakened the Mughal Empire.

Besides that, he also banned Suttee. It was an old Hindus funeral custom, which was burning of widow along with
her husband’s body. For Aurangzeb it was unfair and cruel, but for Hindus it was their religious duty and they used to
give it high regard. As a result Hindus took it as interference in their religion and they started hating him which
resulted in the downfall of Mughal Empire.

2. RESONS OF DECLINE AFTER AURANGZEB’S DEATH:

1.SUCCESSION DISPUTES:

• No law of succession led to costly wars. Economic crises… making empire bankrupt.

• Succession disputes gave chance to mansabdars to take control of their own areas leading to administrative
issues.

• Succession dispute led to inefficiency in Mughal army as it was divided leading to defense issues.

Q. How did succession dispute contribute to the decline of Mughal Empire? [7]

There was no law of succession instead there was usually a struggle after the death of a ruler which ended up in wars
like after the death of Aurangzeb succession fights broke out among his sons despite of the fact he divided the
empire between his 3 sons. These wars proved to be very expansive which caused many financial issues, thus
brought the fall of Empire by making them bankrupt.

Moreover, due to succession disputes army had to be divided among the successors to win succession war. Due to
this division the overall defence of the empire became weak and foreign invaders took it as a golden chance to invade
India for example in 1738, Nadir Shah invaded many areas of India which damaged their reputation and prestige that
they were unable to protect the empire leading to constant threat of more invasions which gradually led to decline of
Mughal empire

Besides that, as Successors were busy in succession disputes so it ultimately diverted their attention from other
important matters of empire. As a result Mansabdars, who were responsible to strengthen the Mughal
administrative system, became strong and they started to take control of their own areas. Therefore it not only
made administration weak but Mughals also had to lost control of some areas which weakened the base of empire
leading to decline.

2: Courtiers became highly powerful:

Courtiers became highly powerful at Courts while Emperors were getting weak day by day so they found it difficult to
control them. As a result they started taking decisions against the the emperors like Alamgir II was assassinated by his
own powerful courtiers which eventually made the Mughal empire weak causing decline.

3. Foreign Invasions:

i) The Persians in 1738, ( Nadir Shah)

ii) The Afghans in 1747( Ahmed Shah Durrani)

iii) Marathas

4. Huge size of empire/ Vast empire

A huge empire was very difficult to administer

Huge size of empire the overall defense of empire became weak

Vast empire.... an array of different people and different religion created disunity.

Q. Explain how did vast Empire led to decline of Mughal Empire? [7]

Ans) A huge empire was very difficult to administer and decisions often had to be relayed over thousands
of miles obviously emperor could not know exactly what was happening in every part of the Empire. This
was the reason why Aurangzeb encouraged the use of Mansabdars, but many problems remained there.
When rebellions broke out it was often many months before the emperors could take decisive action to
end them so this weakened the empire greatly and contributed in decline.
Moreover due to huge size of empire the overall defense of empire became weak. The long distance
between the center and other areas, with less technology at that time, made the Empire to suffer the
foreign invasions like in 1738, Nadir shah from Persia and in 1747 Ahmed shah Abdali from Afghanistan
invaded many areas of India which not only made the Mughals bankrupt but also damaged the reputation
of later Mughals which made Empire vulnerable for other attacks as a result it damaged Mughal empire
leading to its downfall.

The Mughal Empire was huge and within the empire there was an array of different people and different
religions as a result their values, culture, way of thinking and approach was diversified so it was difficult to
bring them on same page in case of any emergency. This not only led to lack of nationalism but also created
disunity among them which was the major factor behind the fall of Mughals.

5. British Strength:

 British were united while Indians were not.

 British had the modern weapons due to industrial revolutions while Indians had old.
 British well- planned while Muslims were not

6. Pleasure seeking Successors

Q. How did the weak successors/ pleasure seeking successors contribute to the decline of Mughal
Empire? [7]

First of all, Aurangzeb’s successors were weak. They were neither skilled in warfare nor in running the
empire well. They had lack of experience to run the empire, therefore it was difficult for them to manage or
control it efficiently, which resulted in weak control and they started to lose control of different areas of
India, which became a strong cause for the decline of Mughal Empire.

Secondly, Aurangzeb’s successors were incompetent and they were pleasure seeking, and huge and fine
buildings were considered as the symbol of power and culture. Many of them had fine clothes, jewelry and
food. This pleasure seeking behavior of the successors made the empire weak as they were more
concerned about their own luxuries rather than to concentrate more on the development of Mughal
Empire therefore due to lack of developmental work, many people turned against the emperors. As a result
this lack of support led to decline.

Lastly, the weakness of successors also gave strength to courtiers. They were the people, who used to give
advices to emperors to run the empire efficiently but unfortunately with the passage of time they became
so strong that they started to take decisions against the emperors such as Alamgir II were assassinated by
his powerful courtiers. This showed the weakness and in efficiencies of late Mughals which made them to
face the Downfall.

8. Incompetent successors

Lack of experience to run the empire

9. Military expertise decreased.

Q. Explain why the Mughal Empire declined following the reign of Aurangzeb. [7] (J2006/P1/1b)

There was no law of succession instead there was usually a struggle after the death of a ruler which ended
up in wars like after the death of Aurangzeb succession fights broke out among his sons despite of the fact
he divided the empire between his 3 sons. These wars proved to be very expansive which caused many
financial issues, thus brought the fall of Empire by making them bankrupt.

Moreover, Aurangzeb’s successors were weak. They were neither skilled in warfare nor in running the
empire well. They had lack of experience to run the empire, therefore it was difficult for them to manage or
control it efficiently, which resulted in weak control and they started to lose control of different areas of
India, which became a strong cause for the decline of Mughal Empire.

Moreover due to huge size of empire the overall defense of empire became weak. The long distance
between the center and other areas, with less technology at that time, made the Empire to suffer the
foreign invasions like in 1738, Nadir shah from Persia and in 1747 Ahmed shah Abdali from Afghanistan
invaded many areas of India which not only made the Mughals bankrupt but also damaged the reputation
of later Mughals which made Empire vulnerable for other attacks as a result it damaged Mughal empire
leading to its downfall.

14 mark Questions:

Q. “Vast Empire was the major reason behind the decline of Mughal Empire” Do you agree? Explain your
answer.

A huge empire was very difficult to administer and decisions often had to be relayed over thousands of
miles obviously emperor could not know exactly what was happening in every part of the Empire. This was
the reason why Aurangzeb encouraged the use of Mansabdars, but many problems remained there. When
rebellions broke out it was often many months before the emperors could take decisive action to end them
so this weakened the empire greatly and contributed in decline.
L3/7

Moreover due to huge size of empire the overall defense of empire became weak. The long distance
between the center and other areas, with less technology at that time, made the Empire to suffer the
foreign invasions like in 1738, Nadir shah from Persia and in 1747 Ahmed shah Abdali from Afghanistan
invaded many areas of India which not only made the Mughals bankrupt but also damaged the reputation
of later Mughals which made Empire vulnerable for other attacks as a result it damaged Mughal empire
leading to its downfall. L3/8

The Mughal Empire was huge and within the empire there was an array of different people and different
religions as a result their values, culture, way of thinking and approach was diversified so it was difficult to
bring them on same page in case of any emergency. This not only led to lack of nationalism but also created
disunity among them which was the major factor behind the fall of Mughals.
L3/9

However there were many other reasons which contributed in the decline of Mughal Empire.

There was no law of succession, instead there was usually a struggle after the death of the ruler which
ended up in wars like after the death of Aurangzeb, succession fights broke, despite of the fact Aurangzeb
had divided the empire among his 3 sons. These wars proved to be very costly which caused many financial
issues thus brought the fall of Mughal Empire by making it bankrupt.
L4/10

Moreover Deccan wars continued for more than 25 years. These wars were against one of the greatest
enemy of Mughals “the Marathas”. To fight these wars, Aurangzeb had to remain absent from the center
more and often, which caused many administrative and communicative issues leading to decline.
L4/11

Furthermore, Aurangzeb’s successors were incompetent which resulted in weak control as these successors
were pleasure seeking, and huge and fine buildings were considered as the symbol of power and culture.
Many of them had fine clothes, jewelry and food. This pleasure seeking behavior of the successors made
the empire weak as they were more concerned about their own luxuries rather than to concentrate more
on the development of Mughal Empire therefore due to lack of developmental work, many people turned
against the emperors. As a result this lack of support led to decline.
L4/12

Besides that, one of the major reasons of decline was arrival of British and their strength. Although they did
not enter in India with an intention to take control of it but their unity, planning and most importantly their
industrial revolution gave them an edge on Indians and this industrial revolution enabled them to have
modern technology and weapons. As a result Indians were unable to compete them which resulted in
decline. L4/13

In my opinion although Vast Empire was one of the major reasons but other reasons of decline were surely
more important as all other reasons like successions disputes, arrival of British or foreign invasions greatly
damaged the empire and slowly and gradually these reasons brought the empire at the edge of decline. So
these reasons were more important. L5

"Deccan expansion policy was the main reason behind the decline of Mughal Empire"
Do you agree? Explain your answer.[14]
Guideline:

L3,

• Wars continued for more than 25 years.... led to administrative problems.

• Costly wars created economic or financial burden.
• Military expertise decreased, which weakened the defense of Mughal Empire.

L4: Other reasons

• Vast empire.... an array of different people and different religion created disunity.

• Incompetent and pleasure seeking successors..... More concentration on their own

luxuries …. Population turned against emperors.

• Arrival of British, their strength, unity and industrial revolution.... As a result, Indians
were unable to compete.

• Mansabdars were getting strong

Full Answer) First of all, Deccan wars continued for more than 25 years. These wars were against one of the
greatest enemies of Mughals “the Marathas” , who gave tough time to Aurangzeb. As Aurangzeb was involved in
these wars for a long period so he had to remain absent from the center more and often, which caused many of the
administrative and communicative issues Making his empire weak and leading to decline.

Secondly, these wars proved to be very costly due to the long duration which created a lot of economic problems
for Mughals as they became bankrupt. In order to fill the military cost Aurangzeb had to put the burden of heavy
taxes on the population. As a result this created discontent amongst his population and they started hating him thus
contributing in the down fall of Mughal Empire.
Lastly, due to Deccan wars military expertise decreased as many soldiers were died during these wars and it
became very difficult to train the new soldiers in such a short period which ultimately made the defence weak. As a
result empire became vulnerable to foreign attack like in 1738 Nadir Shah and in 1747 Ahmed Shah Abdali attacked
the different areas of Mughal Empire which not only damaged their image and prestige but also took the empire to
the edge of decline.

However there were many other reasons which contributed in the decline of Mughal Empire.

A huge empire was very difficult to administer and decisions often had to be relayed over thousands of
miles obviously emperor could not know exactly what was happening in every part of the Empire. This was
the reason why Aurangzeb encouraged the use of Mansabdars, but many problems remained there. When
rebellions broke out it was often many months before the emperors could take decisive action to end them
so this collectively damaged the empire greatly and contributed in decline.

Secondly, Aurangzeb’s successors were incompetent and they were pleasure seeking, and huge and fine
buildings were considered as the symbol of power and culture. Many of them had fine clothes, jewelry and
food. This pleasure seeking behavior of the successors made the empire weak as they were more
concerned about their own luxuries rather than to concentrate more on the development of Mughal
Empire therefore due to lack of developmental work, many people turned against the emperors. As a result
this lack of support led to decline.

Besides that, one of the major reasons of decline was arrival of British and their strength. Although they did
not enter in India with an intention to take control of it but their unity, planning and most importantly their
industrial revolution gave them an edge on Indians and this industrial revolution enabled them to have
modern technology and weapons. As a result Indians were unable to compete them which resulted in
decline.

Besides that, as Successors were busy in succession disputes so it ultimately diverted their attention from
other important matters of empire. As a result Mansabdars, who were responsible to strengthen the
Mughal administrative system, became strong and they started to take control of their own areas.
Therefore it not only made administration weak but Mughals also had to lost control of some areas. As a
result the greatest empire of Mughal had to face downfall in later yeras.

L5: Judgement:
Q. “Foreign invasions contribute more in Mughal’s decline. Do you agree? Explain your answer.[14]

Foreign invasions had great impact on the decline of Mughal Empire as many of them like Nadir Shah, a
Persian leader invaded Mughal Empire and took many of the areas including Delhi. He was not intended to
ruler over India but he took huge amounts of Gold and jewels with him. Therefore he gave great financial
and economic loss to Mughals which not only made them bankrupt but also damaged their reputation and
prestige which further destroyed their image and weakened their control over the empire leading to
decline.

Moreover, an Afghan leader Ahmed shah Abdali also gave great damage to Mughal Empire as he attacked
on different areas at different times like he attacked Pehawar, Lahore Multan and kashmir. He was the man
who defeated “Marathas” after the call of Shah Walliullah in the battle of Panipat. This proved him a strong
leader but it had negative impact on Mughal Empire as Mughals were unable to protect their major areas
and to stand firmly against him. This showed weakness of Mughals and it gave further chances to other
invaders to get benefit of the situation like it can be seen in the future that British took benefit of weak
condition of Mughals by taking control of India.

However, there many other reasons which led to decline.

• Vast empire.... an array of different people and different religion created disunity.

• Incompetent and pleasure seeking successors..... More concentration on their own

luxuries …. Population turned against emperors.

• Aurangzeb's religious policies like he enforced Islamic laws, making Hindus and Sikhs
live according to Islam ... which created insecurities among the Non- Muslims that he
was trying to convert them into Muslims…. non-Muslims greatly annoyed.
• Succession disputes

Q. How successful was Aurangzeb as an emperor? Explain your answer. [14]

First of all Aurangzeb employed many of Hindu advisors in his court, which shows that he was not biased
and was giving chances to Non- Muslims as well as was taking advices from them to run the empire . As a
result he got popularity amongst non- Muslims proving him successful.

Moreover, there were recorded instances of him making donations to Hindu temples which helped him to
get the confidence of Hindus, that they were free to practice their religion under the Muslim emperor. His
act of kindness contributed to his fame and strengthened his empire which shows how successful was he,
as an emperor.

Besides that, he abolished many of local taxes on traders when generally taxation was very high due to long
campaigns against Marathas. Therefore by abolishing many taxes he made himself popular among traders
proving him competent and successful ruler.
However, there many factors which proves him unsuccessful.

He reintroduced the Jizya Tax, a mandatory tax on non-Muslims. This tax was abolished by Akbar more
than a hundred year earlier but Aurangzeb re- imposed the tax in 1679, for the protection of non-Muslims
as well as to practice their religious duties .Non-Muslims took it as an unfair tax they felt discriminated,
which greatly annoyed them. As a result they turned against Aurangzeb, proving him unsuccessful.

Moreover, he banned an old Hindus funeral custom “Suttee”, which was burning of widow along with her
husband’s body. For Aurangzeb, it was unfair and cruel custom but for Hindu it was their religious duty. As a
result Hindus took it as interference in their religion and they start hating him which made him unpopular
ruler so he was less successful.

Besides that these wars proved to be very costly due to the long duration which created a lot of economic
problems for Mughals as they became bankrupt. In order to fill the military cost Aurangzeb had to put the
burden of heavy taxes on the population. As a result this created discontent amongst his population and
one of the reason of his unpopularity, showing his failure as an emperor.

He enforced Islamic laws throughout the empire like he banned singing, dancing and alcohol in the court.
As non-Muslims were in majority in India, they consider it as he was imposing Islamic values on them.
Consequently majority stopped supporting him. Therefore, he is considered as an unsuccessful emperor.

Judgement:

4 mark Questions:[ Find answers from book]

Q. Who was Aurangzeb?[4]

Q. Who was Nadir Shah? [4]

Q. who were Marathas?[4]

Q. Who was Ahmed Shah Durrani? [4]

Q. Describe Deccan wars? [4]

Q. Describe succession disputes? [4]

Q. what was Jizya tax?[4]

Q. What was mansabdari system? [4]

Q. What was ban on suttee?[4]

Q. How did foreign invasions weaken the Mughal Empire? [4]

Q. Describe Aurangzeb’s religious policies which made him unpopular?[4]

Q. Who was Shiva ji?[4]

Ans: Shivaji Maharaj was son of Shahaji Bhoslae. He was a Hindu leader of Marathas. He rose against
Aurangzeb in Deccan Wars. He was originally defeated in 1665 and brought as a prisoner to Agra. However,
he escaped and was soon back in Deccan leading the fight against Aurangzeb which continued for long
period. He founded a small Marathas kingdom within Mughal Empire.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Sourced based Questions:

Study source carefully and then answer the question which follow.

Source A:

1657, while Aurangzeb attacked Golconda and Bijapur in the Deccan, the Hindu Maratha warrior ,Shivaji
,used guerrilla tactic to take control of three Adil Shahi forts formerly under his father’s command. In 1670
Shiva assassination the Adil Shahi Commander Afzal Khan, and later nearly killed the Mughal viceroy Shaista
Khan. Aurangzeb lost about fifth of his army fighting rebellion led by the Maraths who were Hindus. With
these victories, shivaji, assumed de fecto leadership of many independent Maratha clan.

a) According to source A, what problems were faced by Mughals in Maratha Wars?[3]

Source B,
Q. What does the picture of the Taj Mahal tell us about the Mughal Empire? [5]