Decline of Mughals

Introduction

The downfall of the Mughal empire began in 1707 CE, after Aurangzeb’s death. Even though Mughal rulers were still in power, they didn’t hold the same powers as the previous ones. Therefore, they were known as the ‘Later Mughals.’ In other words, the lesser Mughals weren’t as effective and contributed to the inevitable demise of this dynasty. We’d be focusing on the numerous reasons for this decline, such as the growing powers of provinces and so on, as we move further.

Reasons behind the decline of mughals

Weak Successors

The foremost reason for the decline of Mughals was the inefficacy of the later rulers. For instance, when Bahadur Shah came to power, he was 63 years old, which already made him a less ideal choice. He didn’t have the vigor or the zeal to control an empire or even expand it. There were other rulers after him that followed the same path, like Jahandar Shah, Muhammad Shah etc. For these successors, luxury and wealth were the only priority, and they reveled in it. They were incapable of suppressing revolts or mutinies, and were involved in their conspiracies and power play.

Influence of the Nobles

Under the Mughal rule, there were four divisions of nobles:

• Turanis
• Iranis
• Afghans
• The Indian Muslims

Once these nobles understood that their loyalty meant nothing, and they weren’t immune      to degradation, they started fighting to occupy more jagirs and high offices. The growing influence of the nobles was evident as they formed alliances with zamindars, regional governors and chieftains. They collected all the income of the jagirs and limited the number of troops in the army; thus, weakening the military.

Incompetent Army led to Decline of Mughals

Another reason behind the decline of Mughals was the unproductive military force. Due to the relaxation of the rulers, the mansabdars began to possess wealth for themselves instead of for the betterment of the army. Moreover, there was no direct contact between the emperor and the troops, which led to the lack of discipline in them. They weren’t punished for their crimes, and no action was taken for overlooking their duties. The army that once contributed to consolidating territories had become a mob by now.

Economic decline

The long wars and other luxurious expenses had a toll on the kingdom’s treasury. Shah Jahan’s ambitious idea of building the Taj Mahal had depleted the resources, and Aurangzeb’s war in the south didn’t help matters. The production of crops declined as the revenue demand rose. Battles were fought to choose the successors as well. All these incidents led to the Mughal empire becoming bankrupt, and the economic collapse was more evident during the rule of Alamgir II. Their bankruptcy went on for 50 years.

Invasions

As the decline of the Mughals became apparent, the others didn’t lose the opportunity to invade the Mughal empire. Nadir Shah’s invasion 1739 was one of the biggest blows to the empire because Nadir Shah’s troops outnumbered Muhammad Shah’s troops. As mentioned earlier, the military of the Mughals was also affected by their downfall; therefore, they lost the battle against Nadir Shah, the king of Persia and Muhammad Shah surrendered. The invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali also impacted the empire’s resources.

Regional powers and growing power of provinces

The entire Mughal empire was controlled from Delhi effectively by the Great Mughal emperors; however, it was difficult for the lesser Mughals to do the same. Their administration over such a vast territory was ineffective. Subsequently, the far away provinces started becoming independent; thus, the growing power of the provinces eventually led to the decline of the Mughals and the disintegration of their empire.

Conclusion

The decline of Mughals was a result of numerous events that took place during that time and the wrong decisions of the emperors. However, the major issues that were especially responsible for this downfall were the wrong choice of successors, in-fighting among nobles, deterioration of the army, economic decline, attempts to seize the empire through invasion and the lack of administrative skills that led to independent provinces. If you focus closely on these issues, the decline of Mughals could have been avoide