Decline of the Mughal Empire Flashcards
What were the reasons for the decline of Mughal Empire?
There were 5 main reasons for the decline of Mughal Empire:
1) Intolerant policies of Aurangzeb
2) Infighting among successors
3) Weak and incompetent successors
4) Foreign Invasions
5) Minor Reasons
What were the policies of Aurangzeb?
There were two main policies Aurangzeb i.e religious and political.
Religious Policies
It is believed that the intolerant religious policies of Aurangzeb remained responsible for sowing the seeds for the decline of the Mughal Empire. The religious policies of Auragnzeb were as follows:-
1) He enforced Quranic law and appointed caliphs
2) He banned music and musical parties
3) He also banned drinking of alcohol e.g wine
4) He tried to ban ‘Sattee’
5) He issued the orders of destruction of temples
6) He ordered for reimposing ‘jizya’ on Hindus
7) He deprived Hindus of most of the high post and banned their further hiring
8) The pilgrimage tax was also reimposed on non-Muslims
9) Hindu Festivals e.g Holi, Diwali etc were banned
10) Hindu were not allowed to carry arms/ weapons
Deccan Policies
1) Aurangzeb’s mistaken policies of war in Deccan during the latter half of his long rule, fighting unsuccessful and inconclusive wars against Marathas remained responsible in losing the grip of administration
2) Marathas were guerrilla fighters and Aurangzeb also lost his best soldiers and army men
3) Because of his long wars, the Mughal Empire became bankrupt
Why was there infighting among successors?
Before Aurangzeb died he divided the Mughal Empire between his 3 sons, Muazzam, Azam and Kambaksh. Prince Muazzam came to the throne after defeating his 2 brothers and got the title of ‘Bahadur Shah I’
According to a famous historian “After Aurangzeb his 17 sons, grandson and great-grandsons tried to grab the wealth and power, and within 10 years after Aurangzeb’s death hundreds of battles were fought for succession in which many capable soldiers and nobles were killed.”
According to another historian “Mughal family was the only ruling family of the world in which grandfathers, fathers, sons, grandsons and great-grandsons, considered one another as enemies.”
Why were the successors of Aurangzeb incompetent?
Besides infighting the successors of Aurangzeb were weak, incompetent and were involved in luxurious activities. When Bahadur Shah I (Muazzam) got to the throne he was 63 years old and was too old to manage the affairs of the state. His son Jahandar Shah was a fool, then his son Farukh Siyar was a coward, then his son Muhammad Shah spent all his time in watching animal fights and was nicknamed as ‘Rangilla’ for his addiction to alcohol and his son Ahmed Shah was blinded by his own ministers.
How did foreign invasions cause the decline of Mughal Empire?
It is believed that the continuous invasions by Nadir Shah between 1738-1719 from Persia further weakened the Mughal Empire. It was more than just a successful looting expedition. He killed 20,000 people within 57 days and plundered everything, including the Peacock Throne, to make a city like Delhi in Persia.
Ahmed Shah Abdali or Durrani, further worsened the situation. He attacked on India between 1749-1769 and remained responsible for the eventual downfall of the Mughal Empire.
The arrival of the British remain the most responsible reason for the decline of the Mughal Empire. They had superior weapons, war techniques, naval power, spy system, railways, telegraph line all supported their victory. Besides that their forceful annexations, different doctrine, policies, fabric treacheries all supported their expansion in India.
What were some minor reasons for the decline of Mughal Empire?
Besides all these reasons there were some minor reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire. They were:
1) Lack of naval power
2) Lack of support by the family of the Emperor
3) Failure of Mansabdari system
4) Vastness of Empire
5) Weak and exhausted army
6) Local revolts by Jatts, Rajpoots, Marathas, Sikhs and Pindaris also weakened the Mughal Empire
What was the Mansabdari System?
The Mansabdari System was the administrative system of the Mughal Empire introduced by Akbar in 1571. The word ‘mansab’ is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position. The system, hence, determines the rank of a government official. Every civil and military officer was given a ‘mansab’ and different numbers which could be divided by ten, were used for ranking officer. It also meant for fixing the salaries and allowance of officers.
It was a system whereby nobles were granted the rights to hold a ‘jagir’, which meant revenue assignments for services rendered by them but the authority bestowed upon them was not unbridled but with the direct control of the nobles in the hands of the kings.
Who was Nader Shah?
Nader Shah was one of the most powerful Iranian rulers in the history of the nation, ruling as a Shah of Persia from 1736 to 1748, when he was assassinated during a rebellion. Nader Shah was an Iranian who belonged the the Turcoman Afshar tribe of Khorasan in the northeast Iran, which had supplied military power to the Safavid Dynasty.
Nader Shah’s numerous campaigns created a great empire that, at its greatest extent briefly encompassed what is now Iran, but his military spending’s had a ruinous effect on the Persian economy. Nader Shah idolized Genghis Khan and Timur, the previous conquerors from Central Asia. He has been described as ‘The Last Asiatic Military Conqueror.’
Who was Ahmad Shah Durrani or Abdali?
Ahmad Shah Durrani or Abdali was the founder of Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan. He began his career by enlisting as a young soldier in the military of the Afsharid kingdom and rose quickly to become the commander of the Abdali Regiment, a cavalry of 4,000 Abdali Pathan soldiers.
After the assassination of Nader Shah, in 1747, Ahmad Shah was chosen as the King of Afghanistan. Rallying hif Afghan tribes and allies, he pushed east towards the Mughal and Maratha Empire of India, west towards the disintegrating Afsharid Empire of Persia, north towards Khanate of Bukhara. Within a few years, he extended his control from Kharosan in the west to Kashmir and Northern India in the east, and from the Amu Darya in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south
Who was Shivaji Bhonsle?
Shivaji Bhonsle was an Indian warrior king and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha Clan. Shivaji carved out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi Sultanate of Bijapur that found the genesis of the Maratha Empire. In 1674 he was formally crowned as tha Chhatrapati of his realm in Raigad. Shivaji established a competent and progressive civil rule with the help of a disciplined military and well structured administrative organisation.
Shivaji innovated military tactics, pioneering unconventional methods which leveraged strategic factors like geography, speed and surprised and focused pinpoint attacks to defeat his larger and stronger enemies. He revived the ancient Hindu political traditions and court conventions and promoted usage of Marathi and Sanskrit, rather than Persian, in courts.
