Decline of Mughal Empire

Introduction: Towards the end of Aurangzeb’s reign the Mughal empire began to show signs of weakness. Revolts took place here and there. And after Aurangzeb’s death in 1707 the process of decline set afoot.

The top 6 reasons for the decline and downfall of Mughal Empire in India is given below:

1. None of Aurangzeb’s successors could give any stability to the empire. They were absolutely inefficient.

2. The nobles took advantage of this situation and they enriched and strengthened themselves.

3. Aurangzeb’s son Muajjan won the first round of succession war and sat on the throne under the name Bahadur Shah. He was very inefficient and after his death a quarrel took place among his four sons.

4. The eldest, Jahandar Shah got the throne but was assassinated in 1713 and his nephew Farruksiyar was made emperor by two very influential brothers – the Sayyids. The Sayyid brother (Sayyid Hussain Ali and Sayyid Abdullah) now were so influential that they could make or unmake everything. Farruksiyar was soon dragged down and killed and now the Sayyids made Muhammad Shah emperor of Delhi.

5. Muhammad Shah was pleasure-loving but he ruled for longer time than did his immediate predecessors. It was he who at last broke the power of the Sayyids. It was, moreover, in his reign that Nadir Shah of Persia invaded India in 1739 A.D.. He carried destruction everywhere. India hardly recovered from this shock. Muhammad shah died in 1748.

6. During the next reign the different parts of the empire began to fall apart. Oudh or Ayodhya, Bengal and Hyderabad became independent. The two later emperors, Alamgir II and Shah Alam II, were powerless. The Mughal empire from that time remained just a name without any real power.

Conclusion: Thus, there were many reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire. The downfall of the empire that existed and ruled for over two centuries was not sudden but gradual.