INTRODUCTION TO DECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIRE
The foundation of Mughal Empire was laid down by BABAR in 1526 . Babar in first Battle of Panipat of 1526 , defeated Lodhi rulers and laid down the foundation of Mughal Empire . After Babar various rulers like Humayun ( 1530 – 1556 ), Akbar ( 1556 – 1605 ) , Jahangir ( 1605-1627 ) , Shah Jahan ( 1628 – 1658 ) , Aurangzeb ( 1658 -1707 ) , Bahadur Shah ( 1707 – 1712 ) , Jahandar Shah ( 1712 – 1713 ) , Farrukh Siyar (1713 – 1719 ) ,Muhammad Shah Rangeela ( 1719 – 1748 ) ruled Mughal Empire . However the factors behind the decline of Mughal Empire lies in the failure of Central Mughal authority to address the political , economic , social and military related problems . Let us now discuss each of them one by one and know in detail what led to the decline of Mughal Empire – causes and consequences .
POLITICAL CAUSES OF DECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIRE
Death of Aurangzeb in 1707 created an atmosphere of political instability which led to the decline of Mughal Empire . Mughals lacked any clear rule of succession and did not follow any norms of primogeniture ( Primogeniture is a norm which says that the eldest son will be next ruler , in case father dies ) . This created an atmosphere of political confusion following Aurangzeb’s death . Hence , the succession disputes greatly contributed to political instability , resulting in Mughal crown changing hands 4 times between 1707 to 1719 . It was only with the appointment of Muhammad Shah Rangeela that some sort of political stability returned to the Mughal Empire .
Infighting , factionalism and internal rivalry within the Mughal nobility further complicated the matter . For eg. Sayyid brothers who led the Hindustani faction assassinated Farrukhsiyar ( Mughal ruler ) in 1719 and replaced him with Muhammad Shah Rangeela to increase their political influence on Mughal court. However , this only deepened the political crisis as the Turani and Irani faction led by Asaf Jahan 1 assassinated Sayyid brothers in an effort to re-assert their hold over the Mughal court . On one hand there was a fight for becoming the ruler and on the other hand the nobility of the Mughal court was divided into groups / factions . So , there was political instability .
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ECONOMIC CAUSES
Jagirdari system was riddled with a number of weaknesses , for eg. the Jagirdari revenue collection system was a relatively inefficient revenue collection system as a significant share of revenue was siphened off by the Jagiradar himself . The Jagirdari system fuelled intense political competition between potential Jagirdars and the number of jagirs were limited . This had been termed as Jagirdari crisis – Too many potential Jagirdars chasing too few number of jagirs . Agriculture in Deccan region witnessed a stagnation in productivity , associated with recurrent droughts in the region between 1760s to 1790s , which negatively affected the revenue generation from the Deccan .
Financially expensive nature of prolonged Deccan expansionist campaign which lasted for 3 decades between 1760s to 1790s , though territorially expanded Mughal Empire , ended up weakening it financially and to that extent it contributed to decline of Mughal Empire . While to bring more efficiency in revenue collection process , Aurangzeb introduced the Khalisa system of appointing salaried revenue collection officials in the Deccan region , it was not enough to address the worsening financial position of Mughal Empire .
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MILITARY RELATED CAUSES
By the 1700s the Mughal army was undergoing a technological stagnation and it’s military weakness were exposed in the battles against European troops during 1700s , for eg. While the European troops relied on a strong infantry and modern cannons / artillery , the Mughal army with its heavy reliance on cavalry could not match the Europeans . Secondly , by 1700s , the Mughal army dealt with large scale corruption as Jagirdars often failed to maintain the requisite number of troops and horses in the absence of central supervision . This negatively affected the preparedness of Mughal troops and further contributed to the decline of Mughal Empire .
SOCIAL CAUSES OF DECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIRE
Recurrent peasant revolts witnessed during the early 1700s due to high burden of taxation and agricultural stagnation , contributed to the decline of Mughals . The imposition of Jasiyah , the religious tax imposed in the non – Muslim subjects who constituted the majority of the subject population also contributed to the decline of Mughals.
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CONCLUSION
Thus , the decline of Mughals was precipitated by the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 . However , the underlying causes that led to the decline of Mughal empire were rooted in the inability of the Mughal administrative system to modernize itself in the political , economic and military arenas .
CONSEQUENCES OF THE DECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIRE
The first visible manifestation of decline of central Mughal authority was visible when Nadir shah plundered Delhi in 1739 . The plunder of Delhi became possible due to the decline of Mughal authority which failed to guard the north-west frontier along the Bolan pass . Post 1719 , the decline of central Mughal authority was followed by the rise of successor and rebellious states where the successor states like Bengal , Hyderabad and Awadh , recognized a nominal control of central Mughal ruler but largely became autonomous , whereas the rebellious states like Maratha , Mysore challenged the Mughal authority . Decline of central Mughal authority indirectly benefited the British / European rulers to establish their presence in the region during 1750 to 1800 period and eventually established a pan Indian empire .