HISTORY STUDY MATERIAL

DECLINE OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

Introduction
• During the first half of 18th century, the Mughals lost the power and empire shrunk into smaller
size. The stability of empire had already been shaken during the time of Aurangzeb and after his
death many other factors were responsible for the decline of the Mughal Empire like war of
succession among his three sons. Eventually, Bahadur Shah Zafar ascended the throne in 1707 at
the age of 65. He became the first in the line of emperors referred to as the Later Mughals.

• The transition from the medieval to the modern period in India began with the decline of the
Mughal Empire in the first half of the 18th century. This was followed by the English East India
Company's territorial conquests and the beginning of political domination of India in the middle
of the 18th century.

• The Modern period in India began in the mid 18th century.

Topic
How was politics in Mughal court responsible for the decline of Mughal empire?

• The Mughal court was sharply divided between the four noble groups the Iranis(from
Persia),Turanis(from Transoxiana, Central Asia),Afghans (from mountainous border region
across Indus river) the Hindustani.

• Their mutual jealousies and rivalries for power caused great harm to the Mughal administration
and undermined the prestige and authority of the Mughal Empire.

How did the Jagirdari crisis lead to the downfall of the Mughal empire?

• The Mughal officers were given jagirs as payment for the services. Towards the end of 17th
century there were few jagirs left.

• To meet the demands of the newly recruited officers, the Crown lands (lands belonging to the
king) were converted to Jagir lands and were given to the nobles .

• This led to the loss of revenue for the royal treasury and led to the decline of the power of the
Emperor.

How was the weak military organisation and administration responsible for the downfall of the
Mughal empire?

• Under the mansabdari system, the mansabdars had a fixed number of troops.

• They were given Jagirs as payment which later when the number of mansabs increased led to a

shortage of the jagirs, this lead to corruption.

• The mansabdars did not maintain their quota of troops this led to the decline of the military
strength of the Mughal Empire.

• The Army did not keep up with the pace of the times.

• The rulers also did not have navy.

• The techniques of warfare were obsolete and ineffective. Nothing was done to reform,
modernize and strengthen the Army.
How did the War of succession destabilize the Mughal empire?

• After the death of every Mughal ruler, a war of succession followed among the rival claimants to
the throne.

• The civil war drained the resources of the empire and cost political upheavals and made the
empire unstable.

How did Aurangzeb’s policy of religious intolerance shook the foundation of the empire ?

• Aurangzeb's policy of religious intolerance shook the foundation of the empire and resulted in
the following:

o The Deccan campaigns undertaken by the emperor were costly and long drawn.

o Wars with the Sikhs, Marathas, Jats and the Rajput also drained the royal treasury.

o He did not get the support of the loyal Rajputs. This greatly led to the instability of the
Mughal empire.

What led to the drain of royal treasury during Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb''s reign?

• Huge sums of money was spent by Shah Jahan on building magnificent monuments like Taj
Mahal this had drained the royal treasury.

• Even Aurangzeb deccan campaign was a financial disaster that ruined the empire and made its
collapse inevitable.
To what extent foreign invasions were responsible in the downfall of the Mughal empire?

• Invasions of Nadir Shah, the ruler of Persia (Iran) and Ahmed Shah Abdali, the ruler of
Afghanistan shattered the power and prestige of the Mughals.

• Nadir Shah looted and plundered Delhi and carried the Kohinoor diamond and the Peacock
throne with him. Ahmed Shah Abdali plundered Northern India repeatedly.

Nadir Shah Ahmad Shah Abdali

Discuss the impact of weak successors in the downfall of the Mughal empire?

• Aurangzeb's successors were pleasure loving, weak and inefficient.

• They were controlled by the powerful and ambitious nobles.

• The provincial governors took advantage of them and set up independent kingdoms in the
Mughal province. This led to the breakup and collapse of the empire.

For this topic refer to the link below:

https://youtu.be/NtO3xll9Fqg