Mughal Empire: Decline and the Rise of the English

• The Mughal Empire, under the Great Mughals, began in 1526 with Babur's accession

• It ended in 1707 when Aurangzeb died

• Aurangzeb's policies of intolerance sparked revolts

• Aurangzeb`s extended wars in North India and the Deccan depleted the Mughal treasury

• Nobles and officials gained power and ambition due to Aurangzeb's absence from Delhi

• After Aurangzeb died the empire declined and territories became independent kingdoms

• The English and French were trade rivals during Aurangzeb's reign, especially on the Carnatic (Coromandel), Konkan, and Bengal coastlines

• The Carnatic Wars (1744-1763) ended with the French ousted from Indian trade

• By 1765, the English controlled the Carnatic, Northern Circars, Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, becoming a political power in India

The Later Mughals

• Aurangzeb's successors, the Later Mughals, held power for 150 years (1707–1857)
• The important rulers included Bahadur Shah I (1707-1712), Jahandar Shah (1712-1713), Farrukhsiyar (1713-1719) and Muhammad Shah (1719–1748)
• They were not as skilled as the Great Mughals and became controlled by their nobles
• Nobles were split into three rival groups: Turanis (Turkistan), Iranis (Iran) and Hindustanis (India)
• Provincial governors and important revenue/military officials were powerful and acted as kingmakers
• They conspired to place favorites on the throne
• They murdered rulers: Farrukhsiyar, Alamgir II (1754–1759), blinded Ahmad Shah (1748-1754) and Shah Alam II (1759-1806)
• Frequent changes of rulers weakened central authority
• Provinces broke away, depriving Mughals of revenue
• Mughal revenue collectors became corrupt and oppressive, causing peasant revolts
• Unguarded north-western frontiers attracted foreign invaders

Breaking Up of the Mughal Empire

• Many independent states during Muhammad Shah's reign
• Bengal, Awadh, and Hyderabad were old Mughal provinces, and did not formally break ties
• Rajput states like Amber (Jaipur) and Jodhpur were watan jagirs asserting independence
• Other states were formed after groups like the Sikhs, Jats, and Marathas rebelled against the Mughals and won independence

Bengal

• Aurangzeb appointed Murshid Quli Khan as the diwan (revenue minister). of Bengal
• Farrukhsiyar gave Murshid Quli the posts of deputy governor of Bengal and governor of Odisha
• 1717: Murshid Quli appointed nazim (governor) of Bengal
• He controlled Bengal as the Nawab of Bengal
• Though he sent annual revenue to the Mughal ruler, he was almost free from Mughal control
• Revenue administration in Bengal improved considerably
• He transferred Mughal jagirdars of Bengal to Odisha, converting their jagirs into crown land
• This reduced Mughal authority
• Murshid Quli surveyed and assessed all cultivable land, fixing new revenue rates
• He appointed revenue collectors contractually bound to make timely payments
• The contractors became zamindars, or landlords
• The powerful zamindars were severely punished for not paying
• To avoid this, they sold their land to bigger zamindars or took loans from moneylenders and bankers, who took land as security
• A rich and politically active class of big zamindars, moneylenders and bankers arose
• The banking house of Fateh Chand, or Jagat Seth, became very prosperous and politically powerful
• Silk, textiles, sugar, and oil trade flourished, Bengal's trade thrived with English, French and Dutch trading companies

Awadh

• Awadh was in modern Uttar Pradesh
• Its location on the trade route linking Bengal and north-western India was advantageous
• Awadh was close to Delhi, and played a role in Mughal politics
• 1722: Saadat Khan, a Mughal officer, was appointed Awadh's governor for suppressing local revolts and got the title Burhan-ul-Mulk
• He became powerful but did not sever ties with the Mughal Empire
• Saadat Khan suppressed rebellious zamindars and protected peasants from oppression
• He annexed neighboring fertile tracts and controlled them
• Saadat Khan freed himself from Mughal control by reducing the number of Mughal jagirdars
• He promoted trade and improved Awadh's economy
• He auctioned the right to collect revenue to ijaradars (revenue farmers)
• The ijaradars had to make time-bound payments
• They were free to extract revenue amounts from the cultivators
• High revenue rates forced cultivators and ijaradars to take loans from moneylenders and bankers
• A powerful class of revenue farmers, bankers and moneylenders emerged
• Under Saadat Khan and successors, Lucknow became a center of art and literature and a new architecture based on regional and Islamic styles developed
• This is seen in Awadhi monuments like the Bara Imambara

Hyderabad

• Chin Quilich Khan was a powerful Mughal noble
• As a reward for loyalty to Emperor Farrukhsiyar, he was named Nizam-ul-Mulk and was appointed governor of the Deccan, where he had his headquarters
• He then went to Delhi and placed Muhammad Shah on the Mughal throne
• 1724: He returned to the Deccan and established the state of Hyderabad
• He forced Muhammad Shah to give him the title Asaf Jah, and started the Asaf Jahi dynasty
• Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah ruled virtually independent of Mughal control
• He continued to issue coins in the Mughal Emperor's name and had the khutba read in his name
• The Nizam crushed rebellious chiefs and zamindars, and fought against the Marathas He rewarded faithful officers with hereditary jagirs and titles
• The Carnatic was a wealthy Mughal province due to textile trade
• When its governor died, the Nizam controlled its capital, Arcot, and placed his nominee on the throne
• The Nizam's death in 1748 caused succession wars in Hyderabad and the Carnatic
• The English and French took opposite sides, ending in the second Carnatic War

Foreign Invasions

• Nadir Shah's invasion exposed the Mughals' weakness
• Nadir Shah invaded India and defeated Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah at Karnal (1739)
• Muhammad Shah was restored after ceding territories west of the Indus
• Afghanistan went permanently to Mughals
• Nadir Shah carried away enormous wealth, including the Kohinoor diamond and Shah Jahan's jewel-studded Peacock Throne
• After Nadir Shah's invasion, the Marathas expanded northwards and challenged Mughal authority
• Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India several times (1748-1761)
• 1761: Ahmad Shah Abdali crushed the Marathas in the third battle of Panipat
• This destroyed the chance of the Marathas replacing the Mughals and paved the way for the British to emerge as a political force

The Rajput States

• Rajput rulers with watan jagirs under the Mughals had freedom
• During the weak Later Mughals reign, they grew territories and established states, participating in Mughal court intrigues
• Some won high posts and became powerful, like Maharaja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur (governor of Ajmer and Gujarat) and Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber (governor of Malwa and Agra)
• Sawai Raja Jai Singh founded Jaipur, a scientific learning center

The Jat State of Bharatpur

• The Jats, farmer people, lived around Delhi, Agra and Mathura and rebelled against oppressive Mughal collectors
• Led by Churaman and Badan Singh, they established Bharatpur
• Suraj Mal (1756–1763) - greatest ruler of Bharatpur.
• Suraj Mal built new forts (Deeg) and repaired old ones
• The Jats under Suraj Mal fought Ahmad Shah Abdali
• Jat state declined after Suraj Mal's death in 1763

The Marathas

• Hardy Maratha people lived in hilly Maharashtra
• Centuries of Maratha bhakti saints enriched Marathi language and literature increased unity
• 1674: Shivaji proclaimed himself ruler of the Marathas and took the title Chhatrapati and united the Marathas and founded Maratha state
• The powerful Maratha hereditary chiefs called deshmukhs supported Shivaji
• Farmer-herders comprised Shivaji's army
• Shivaji collected taxes called chauth and sardeshmukhi from subjugated rulers
  • 1/4 of the revenue was for protection from Maratha attacks
  • 1/10 of the revenue was a tribute as the headman
• Aurangzeb killed Shivaji`s son in 1689
• Shivaji's grandson Shahu occupied the Maratha throne, after Aurangzeb's successor released Shahu from captivity
• Shahu ruled with the help of peshwa (chief minister)
• The peshwa made the Mughal Emperor recognize Shahu as the ruler of the Marathas and allowed him to collect taxes in the Mughal Deccan
• The Marathas promised tribute and military support in return
• Peshwa became the real rulers of the Marathas and his post became hereditary
• The Peshwa gave revenue collection tasks to Maratha chiefs, keeping part of the expenses.
• Some chiefs became like Sindhia of Gwalior, Bhonsle of Nagpur, Gaekwad of Baroda and Holkar of Indore powerful and ambitious
• Maratha capital was in Satara during Shahu`s region
• The Peshwa shifted the capital to Pune after his death
• Maratha influence extended into Gujarat and over the Carnatic by the mid-18th century

Third Battle of Panipat

• The expansion was harmed by those silk weavers of Gujarat who has fled
• They influenced over Gujarat and Malwa, up to the outskirts of Delhi, and over the Carnatic
• 1757: The Marathas had helped the Mughal Emperor by removing the agent posted in Delhi by Ahmad Shah Abdali
• Thereafter taking over Sirhind and Lahore from the Afghans
• Resulting into Marathas VS Afghans
• In 1761 Ahmad Shah Abdali attacks over Marathas
• Ahmad Shah Abdali had joined some of the ruler of Rohilkhand and Awadh. The Marathas anger all of the local rulers, and did not receive support.
• They had short supplies and were starvin , because the eve of the war came upon them, They were weakend by infighting among chiefs
• Afghans defeated by Marathas destroyed hopes of replacing the Mughals

The Sikhs

• He had established administration and placed coins
• Mughal Control weakens when 1708: after the death of Guru Gobindh Singh
• Banda Bahadur led Sikhs against Mughals, capturing land.
• Nadir enters
• The Dal Kahalsa were regarding decisions taken at periodic meetings
• Maharaja Ranjit Sngh unites them all