Mughal Empire Crisis & Later Mughals

• The subcontinent experienced significant changes during the first half of the 18th century
• The Mughal Empire's boundaries were reshaped by the rise of independent kingdoms

The Crisis of the Empire and the Later Mughals

• The Mughal Empire faced crises due to several factors as the 17th century closed
• Aurangzeb depleted military and financial resources through a long war in the Deccan
• Imperial administration efficiency decreased under Aurangzeb's successors
• Later Mughal emperors found it difficult to control powerful mansabdars
• Nobles appointed as governors (subadars) increasingly controlled offices, including revenue and military administration
• This concentration of power by governors gave them extraordinary political, economic, and military control over vast regions
• Governors consolidating control over provinces led to a decline in revenue remitted to the capital
• Peasant and zamindari rebellions in northern and western India compounded challenges, sometimes due to high taxes
• Powerful chieftains attempted to solidify their positions, contributing to revolts
• Rebellious groups were able to exploit economic resources, consolidating their positions
• Mughal emperors after Aurangzeb were unable to stop the shift of political and economic authority to provincial governors
• Nadir Shah, Iran's ruler, plundered Delhi in 1739, seizing immense wealth
• The invasion was followed by raids by Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Afghan ruler, between 1748 and 1761
• The devastation of Delhi was described regarding wealth looted from the Mughal treasury, including the Peacock Throne
• Internal competition among nobles further weakened the Empire and they divided into two groups, the Iranis and Turanis
• Mughal emperors became puppets of these groups
• Two Mughal emperors, Farrukh Siyar (1713–1719) and Alamgir II (1754–1759), were assassinated
• Ahmad Shah (1748–1754) and Shah Alam II (1759–1816) were blinded by their nobles
• As the authority of Mughal emperors declined, subadars and zamindars consolidated power in regions
• These regions included Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad

The Rajputs

• Rajput kings in Amber and Jodhpur served under the Mughals and were allowed autonomy within their watan jagirs
• In the 18th century, Rajput rulers tried to extend control over adjacent regions
• Ajit Singh, the ruler of Jodhpur, was involved in Mughal court politics
• Rajput families claimed the subadari of Gujarat and Malwa
• Ajit Singh of Jodhpur became governor of Gujarat; Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Amber became governor of Malwa
• Emperor Jahandar Shah renewed these offices in 1713
• Efforts were made to expand territories by seizing portions of imperial lands neighboring their watans
• Nagaur was conquered by Jodhpur; Amber seized parts of Bundi
• Sawai Raja Jai Singh founded Jaipur and in 1722 was given subadari of Agra
• Maratha campaigns into Rajasthan in the 1740s put pressure on these principalities and curbed expansion
• Rajput chieftains constructed forts on hilltops, serving as centers of power
• These forts, such as Chittorgarh Fort, housed urban centers, palaces, temples, trading centers, and water resources
• Raja Jai Singh, in a Persian account from 1732, was described as wealthy and powerful with a large army and artillery
• Sawai Jai Singh constructed five astronomical observatories known as Jantar Mantar in Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura, and Varanasi

The Sikhs

• Organization of the Sikhs into a political community in the 17th century aided regional state-building in Punjab
• Guru Gobind Singh fought battles against Rajput and Mughal rulers
• The Khalsa rose in revolt under Banda Bahadur after Guru Gobind Singh's death in 1708
• The Khalsa declared their sovereign rule with coins in the names of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh
• They established their administration between the Sutlej and Jamuna rivers
• Banda Bahadur was captured in 1715 and executed in 1716
• Sikhs organized themselves into jathas and later misls and their combined forces were known as the dal khalsa
• The dal khalsa met at Amritsar during Baisakhi and Diwali to take collective decisions
• The rakhi system was introduced, offering protection to cultivators for 20% of their produce
• Guru Gobind Singh inspired the Khalsa with the belief that they were destined to rule
• Their organization enabled them to resist the Mughal governors and Ahmad Shah Abdali
• Khalsa declared their sovereign rule by striking their own coin in 1765 bearing the same inscription as Banda Bahadur's orders
• Sikh territories extended from the Indus to the Jamuna but were divided under different rulers
• Maharaja Ranjit Singh reunited these groups and made Lahore his capital in 1799

The Marathas

• The Maratha kingdom was established by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1630 out of opposition to Mughal rule
• Shivaji (1630–1680) created a stable kingdom with warrior families (deshmukhs)
• Peasant-pastoralists (kunbis) formed the backbone of the Maratha army
• Shivaji used these forces against the Mughals
• Effective power shifted to a family of Chitpavan Brahmanas serving as Peshwa, or principal minister
• Poona became the capital of the Maratha kingdom
• Under the Peshwas, the Marathas developed a military organisation which avoided the Mughal areas, by raiding and engaging Mughal armies
• Between 1720 and 1761, the Maratha empire expanded, diminishing Mughal authority
• The Marathas seized Malwa and Gujarat from the Mughals by the 1720s
• By the 1730s, the Maratha king was recognized as overlord of the Deccan peninsula with rights to levy chauth and sardeshmukhi
• Maratha domination expanded after raiding Delhi in 1737, with tribute paid as a way of accepting Maratha sovereignty
• Military campaigns made other rulers hostile towards the Marathas, and they did not support in the third battle of Panipat in 1761
• The Marathas developed an administrative system and revenue demands were introduced gradually
• Agriculture was encouraged, and trade revived
• Maratha chiefs employed resources to raise armies
• Ujjain expanded under Sindhia, and Indore under Holkar
• New trade routes emerged
• Silk from Chanderi found a new outlet in Poona
• Burhanpur expanded its hinterland to include Poona and Nagpur.

The Jats

• The Jats consolidated power during the late 17th and 18th centuries under Churaman
• They controlled territories west of Delhi; by the 1680s, they dominated the region between Delhi and Agra
• The Jats were prosperous agriculturists; Panipat and Ballabhgarh became trading centers
• Under Suraj Mal, the kingdom of Bharatpur emerged
• When Nadir Shah sacked Delhi in 1739, city notables sought refuge there
• Jawahir Shah had 30,000 troops and hired 20,000 Maratha and 15,000 Sikh troops to fight Mughals
• At Dig, the Jats built a garden palace combining styles from Amber and Agra
• Its buildings were modeled on architectural forms associated with royalty under Shah Jahan
• Suraj Mal consolidated the Jat state at Bharatpur and built forts and palaces
• Lohagarh fort in Bharatpur is regarded as one of the strongest forts in the region