The Mughal empire is one of the largest empires in Central Asia during the pre-modern era. The news of their grandeur wealth was a hot topic in European countries. The British were attracted by these stories and plotted to rule over India. It was enriched with culture, heritage, gold, expensive stones. That’s why it is compared with Turkey and the Persian empire. The courtly culture of Mughals was very sophisticated. But as we know, in the end, everything will fall apart. There are reasons behind the decline of the Mughal Empire.  

History of Mughals 

Mughal Empire, which is also known as Mogul Empire, ruled the lands of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Mughals were Mongols by ethnicity , but were Islam by religion. The first Mughal empire was Babur. He was the one to establish a stable Empire in 1526, after the Afghan rule in Delhi. It was said that Babur was connected with both dangerous leaders named Genghis Khan and Tamerlane. After Babur Humayun, his son was the empire. 

Akbar, the son of Humayun, was one of the most famous emperors in Indian history. During his period, the Mughal empire was expanded greatly. Except for some states in South India, the whole Indian subcontinent was under his rule. He was not only a great warrior , but also a great ruler. People of a different religion under him felt safe. He was incredibly good with the common people. During his time, India was known as a golden bird because of its immense wealth. He improved freedom of religion, education system, health system, and so on. 

After Akbar, his son Jehangir ruled India from 1605 to 1627. His son Shah Jahan who ruled from 1627, erected the famous Taj Mahal. He enriched the Mughal structural heritage in another way. After Shah Jahan, his son Aurangzeb became the empire. But with Aurangzeb’s death in 1707, the whole empire fell apart. The Maratha and Afghans repeatedly destroyed their empire. There are several reasons behind the decline of the Mughal empire.

Reasons behind the decline of the Mughal empire

If you go through history, you will see there are a plenty of reasons behind the fall of the Mughal Empire. After Jahangir, the rulers were known to be weak and extravagant addicts. Let’s look into the history.

The causes of decline of Mughal empire is elaborated below :

• Weak-willed rulers –  Mughal rulers become weak-willed and lazy rulers in their later life. After Aurangzeb, the rulers were incapable. Most of their time used to get wasted on wine and women. They became so lazy to run their court. Their fancy habits and love for luxuries made them very bad rulers. Their weak mentality was the reason behind the Mughal empire decline.

• Repeated attacks by foreign force –  Mughal empire was attacked by many Afghan rulers. Among them, Nadir Shah, in 1739, plundered Delhi dangerously. Also, repeated attacks by Turks and other Afghan rulers broke the year-long power of Mughals. 

• Repeated attacks by Maratha Empire – Internally, Mughals were attacked by Maratha leaders benevolently. The Marathi leaders are known to be fierce fighters. Maratha ruler Shivaji did huge harm to the structure of the empire. South Indian rulers and Rajput rulers also attacked the empire badly.
• Communal policies of Aurangzeb against the non-Muslim people – The communal policies of Aurangzeb did a lot of harm to their empire. Aurangzeb destroyed thousands of ancient temples and idols of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religions. He destroyed the infamous Somnath temple, Vishwanath Temple, Mathura, Hampi Temple, Ellora temples, and so on. The Hindus were enraged with his benevolent attitude and started reading against him. 

• Pressure on treasury – Mughals were known as the architect of many heritage sites of India. But building these sites cost a lot of money. Shah Jahan’s fancy hobby drained the finances of the empire. The luxury items, jewels, harems, etc., were also the reason behind the Mughal empire decline. Their unnecessary investment ruined their military strength. The businesses, agriculture, and export-import fell apart. 

• British came into the motions – The British came into motion after 1600 A.D. They entered the land of India as traders but soon, they captured the whole country with their strong military strategy. The Mughals failed to match their status with the British. The East India Company made a bond with Faruq Shiar to do trade without paying any interest. These blue-blooded British people understood the weak condition of the Mughal Empires. The decline of the Mughal empire was unavoidable after the 1800s.

• The great mutiny of 1857 

The mutiny of 1957 was the last blow to the empire. After the mutiny, the British officially ended the rule and transferred the power to the British Crown. The last emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, escaped to Rangoon, Myanmar.

Conclusion 

The Mughals enriched the culture of India in many ways. Famous architectures were residing in Delhi and Agra. But they also damaged the Indian culture in many ways. Their benevolent nature destroyed many ancient royal families. Thousands of ancient structure was destroyed by their one order. The riches paid by the taxpayers were wasted on luxuries. The actual culture of India was also affected. With the decline of the Mughal empire, a new era took place in history.