Later Mughals - The Crisis

Introduction

From the latter half of the 16th century, the Mughal expansion started its course with Babar, and by the 18th century, the political legacy of the Mughals spread to nearly all the subcontinent. During the reign of Aurangzeb, till his death in 1707, the Mughal empire flourished to its peak. The term ‘Later Mughals’ refers to the time period between 1707 to 1857.

During this period, around 14 rulers sat on the throne of the Mughal Empire. Unlike the early Mughal rulers, the later Mughals could not hold the territory for long. Many external and internal factors contributed to the crisis of the Mughal Empire, and none of the rulers could revive the falling empire.

The Later Mughal Rulers

The Mughal rulers that ruled the empire after 1707 were -

• Muhammad Azam Shah

• Bahadur Shah

• Jahandar Shah

• Farrukhsiyar

• Rafi-ud-Darajat

• Shah Jahan II

• Muhammad Shah

• Ahmad Shah Bahadur

• Alamgir II

• Shah Jahan III

• Shah Alam II

• Shah Jahan IV

• Akbar Shah II, and

• Bahadur Shah Jafar.

All the rulers faced a lot of difficulty during their ruling period from many kingdoms and rulers, and even internal conflicts were a major factor behind their short ruling periods.

The Start of Mughal Crisis

The crisis of the Mughal empire began after the reign of Aurangzeb in 1707. Following are the various factors that contributed to the fall of the strong Mughal empire:

• Financial and Military Depletion − During the reign of Aurangzeb, expanding the kingdom over the Deccan was difficult because of the strong rulers ruling southern India. Thus, Aurangzeb used a lot of financial and military resources to fight the wars.

• Inefficiency in Administration − Aurangzeb expanded the territory to a large geographical extent, but without any strategy to consolidate them. Also, the next rulers were not properly skilled. It became difficult to keep the Mansabdars, especially the powerful ones, in check. The subadars, apart from their military and revenue administration powers, took over the economic and political power as well. Tax remission from different provinces declined.

• Competition among the Nobles of the Mughal Court − There was an increase in a rivalry between the two factions of nobles - Irani and Turani nobles, thus, leading to a decrease in the efficiency of the Mughal empire. There were high levels of conspiracies among the nobles which had a negative effect on the administration of the Mughal Empire. The later Mughal rulers became the puppets of such groups. Farrukhsiyar and Alamgir II, the successor of Ahmad Shah Bahadur was both assassinated by the nobles. Also, Ahmad Shah and Shah Alam II were blinded for not obeying the nobles.

• Growing of Powerful Rebellions − Though rebellions were common in the Mughal era, they were not as powerful as the rebellions in the later Mughal period. As the Manasabdars and subadars started consolidating their territory, zamindars and peasants started revolting against the increasing taxes and refused to pay taxes as well. The later Mughal rulers could not control the shifting of the economic authority in the hands of provincial subadars, and local chiefs of the Mughal territories.

• Persian and Afghan Invasion − The declining Mughal empire became prone to foreign invasions following its political as well as economic crisis. During the reign of Muhammad Shah, though he got rid of the Sayyid Brothers, he could not save Malwa and Deccan provinces from the Marathas. During his time, the Persian ruler Nadir Shah sacked and raided Delhi in 1739.After the assassination of Nadir Shah, Ahmad Shah Abdali plundered Northern India five times from 1748 to 1761. Ahmad Shah Abdali was an Afghan ruler who worked closely with Nadir Shah.

Emergence of New States

During the eighteenth century after the crisis of the Mughal Empire, it got scattered into independent and regional states.

Mughal Empire was bifurcated and it can be categorised into three broad groups-

• Provinces of Awadh, Hyderabad, and Bengal

• Watan Jagirs, states that enjoyed favorable independence from the Mughal Empire

• States under the Sikhs, Marathas, Jats, and similar others.

Awadh

Awadh was founded in 1722 and Burhan-ul-Mulk Sa’adat Khan was appointed as the governor. In order to decrease the Mughal influence, Sa’adat Khan, the subadar of Awadh reduced the number of jagirdars and reduced the size of jagirs.

Hyderabad

The founder of Hyderabad, Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jha was one of the nobles in the court of Farrukhsiyar. During 1720-22, Nizam-ul-Mulk had full control over the political and financial administration of the region. The growing conspiracies of the nobles in the court and the turmoil in Deccan, helped Asaf Jha become the actual ruler of Hyderabad.

Bengal

Murshid Quli Khan was the naib, a deputy governor of Bengal, and to minimise the influence of Mughals, Murshid Quli Khan sent the Mughal jagirdars to Orissa and reassessed the revenue policy. Revenue collection was done in cash and the procedures became strict.

Conclusion

Expansion of territory without proper consolidation weakened the Mughal Empire. The war to seize the Deccan region drained out much of the finances of the Mughal treasury, along with the internal conspiracies among the nobility of the Mughal court that loosened the root of the powerful empire. The later Mughal rulers were misguided by the noble factions as well as the external groups like the Sayyid Brothers. The plundering of the foreign invaders in Delhi and its northern provinces weakened the overall Mughal administration. From the death of Aurangazeb in 1707, the lack of proper administration and strong rulers led to the ultimate decline of the great Mughal empire.

FAQs

Qns 1. Who were Mansabdars?

Ans. The term ‘Mansabdars’ relate to the Mansabdari system which was founded by the Mughal ruler Akbar. Mansabdars were provincial governors, high-ranked military, and civil officers and military commanders.

Qns 2. Who were ‘Subadars’?

Ans. Subadars were the governors or rulers of a province appointed by the Mughal ruler.

Qns 3. Who was the last ruler of the Mughal empire?

Ans. Bahadur Shah Jafar was the last ruler of the Mughal Empire