Decline of the Mughal Empire
Various factors frequently cited to be responsible for the decline include internal conflicts, Rajput, Sikh and Maratha rebellions, Afghan and Persian invasions and expansion of East India Company influence and power.
Irfan Habib argues the excessive exploitation of the peasantry by the rich, which stripped away the will and the means to support the regime causing the empire to collapse.
[20] When Bahadur Shah reached Hyderabad on 28 June 1708, he learned that Kam Bakhsh had attacked Machilipatnam (Bandar) in an attempt seize over three million rupees worth of treasure hidden in its fort.
On 20 December 1708, Kam Bakhsh marched towards Talab-i-Mir Jumla, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, with "three hundred camels, [and] twenty thousand rockets" for war with Bahadur Shah.
According to historian William Irvine, Farrukhsiyar's close aides Mir Jumla III and Khan Dauran sowed seeds of suspicion in his mind that they might usurp him from the throne.
[31] The brothers became highly influential in the Mughal Court after Aurangzeb's death in 1707 and became de facto sovereigns of the empire when they began to make and unmake emperors.
[34] When Emperor Aurangzeb died and Prince Muhammad Mu'azzam Shah Alam, reached Lahore on his march to Agra to contest the throne, the Sayyids presented themselves, and their services were gladly accepted.
[39][40] Upon hearing of this news, the Marwar loyalists led by Sonig Rathore and Ram Bhati captured the fort of Jodhpur from the Mughal officers, Tahir Beg and Tahawar Khan.
[53] In 1681, Sambhaji was contacted by Prince Akbar, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's son, who was keen to enter into a partnership with the Marathas in order to assert his political power against his ageing father's continuing dominance.
Sambhaji's wife and minor son, later named Shahuji was taken into the Mughal camp, and Rajaram, who was now an adult, was re-established as ruler; he quickly moved his base to Gingee, far into the Tamil country.
[61]The new teenaged emperor, Rafi ud-Darajat and a puppet of the Sayyid brothers, granted Shahu rights to collecting Chauth and Sardeshmukhi from the six Mogul provinces of Deccan, and full possession of the territories controlled by Shivaji in 1680.
[71] Alivardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal made peace with Raghuji in 1751 ceding Cuttack up to the river Subarnarekha, and agreeing to pay Rs.
[78] Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech sought assistance in an agreement formed with the Nawab of Oudh, Shuja-ud-Daula, by which the Rohillas agreed to pay four million rupees in return for military help against the Marathas.
Beginning an epic flank-march of over 80 kilometres through some of the most unnavigable terrain in Asia, Nader reached close to Ali-Masjed where the 10,000 troops of his army curved their route of march northwards and onto the eastern end of the Khyber Pass.
The cavalry of Khan Dowran, consisting of Indian Muslims,[89] looked down on fighting with muskets with contempt, which was a talent of the mostly Hindu infantrymen in India.
The company established a fortified enclave throughout the region, and attain independence of the surrounding subah from the Mughal territory by bringing the local governors and the Hooghly River to their control, which would later allow to form relationships with the Kingdom of Mrauk U based in Arakan (today's Myanmar) and hold substantial power in the Bay of Bengal.
[113] Following the dispatch of twelve warships loaded with troops, a number of battles took place, leading to the Siege of Bombay Harbour and bombardment of the city of Balasore.
However, the war was decided in the south, where the British successfully defended Madras, and Sir Eyre Coote decisively defeated the French, commanded by the Comte de Lally at the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760.
[122] The Battle of Plassey was fought by the British East India Company, under the leadership of Robert Clive and the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies in 1757.
[130][131] Furthermore, Siraj-ud-Daula believed that the British East India Company did not receive any permission from the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II to fortify their positions in the territories of the Nawab of Bengal.
[136] The Battle of Buxar was fought between the British East India Company, under Hector Munro, and the combined armies of Balwant Singh, Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula, Shah Alam II.
[138] The defeated Indian rulers were forced to sign this treaty, granting the East India Company diwani rights, which allowed them to collect revenue from the territories of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa on behalf of the Mughal emperor.
In return, the Company paid an annual tribute of twenty-six lakh rupees while securing for Shah Alam II the districts of Kora and Allahabad.
The Nawab of Awadh Shuja ud Daulah also had to pay fifty lakhs of rupees as war indemnity to the East India Company.
[157] Mir Momin Khan, Lakhpath Rai and Surat Singh pleaded to Durrani to spare the city from plunder and paid a ransom to the Afghans.
He had faced Mughal, Rajput and Sikh coalitions in Sirhind, Ahmad Shah's Afghan troops swept aside the Mughal army's left flank [165] and raided their baggage train but a fire beginning in a captured rocket cart went on to ignite the Durrani artillery store, roasting thousands of soldiers alive and forcing Ahmad Shah Durrani's retreat.
[168] In the winter of 1751, he invaded India for the third time on the pretext that Mir Mannu, the Mughal governor of the province of Lahore, had refused to pay him tax which he had promised to give on a monthly basis.
[203] In 1733, the subahdar of Lahore Zakariya Khan Bahadur attempted to negotiate a peace with the Sikhs by offering them a jagir, the title Nawab to their leader, and unimpeded access to the Harmandir Sahib.
[210] After a crushing defeat in the war of 1857–1858 which he nominally led, the last Mughal, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was deposed by the British East India Company and exiled in 1858.
At 4 am on 7 October 1858, Zafar along with his wives, and two remaining sons began his journey towards Rangoon in bullock carts escorted by 9th Lancers under the command of Lieutenant Ommaney.
