Reign of Aurangzeb and decline of empire
Reign of Aurangzeb and decline of empire
The last of the great Mughals was Aurangzeb. During his fifty-year
reign, the empire reached its greatest physical size but also showed the
unmistakable signs of decline. The bureaucracy had grown corrupt, and the huge
army demonstrated outdated weaponry and tactics. Aurangzeb restored Mughal military dominance and expanded power southward, at least for a while. A
zealous Muslim, Aurangzeb reversed the earlier policies that had helped to
maintain good relations with non-Hindus, imposing Islamic law and dealing
harshly with Hindus. He destroyed many Temples. Aurangzeb had
the khutbah (Friday sermon) proclaimed in his own name, not in that
of the Ottoman caliph. Aurangzeb defeated the British between 1688 and
1691, but their victory over the French at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 soon
led to their controlling Bengal. From their original base in Serat, the British
built forts and trading stations in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay (later the
three Presidencies). In 1717, Furrukhsiyar would grant them
a fireman (royal dictate) exempting them from customs duties. The
treaty of 1765 gave them the right to collect taxes on behalf of the emperor
(the Diwani of Bengal). This virtually gave them control of the land, since
taxation was linked to land ownership. Well before the dissolution of theMughal Empire in 1857, the British system of District Collectors was firmly
established. The District Collector remained the senior regional official
throughout British rule.
Aurangzeb was involved in a series of protracted wars: against the Pathans
in Afghanistan, the sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda in the Deccan, the Marathas
in Maharashtra and the Ahoms in Assam. Peasant uprisings and revolts by local
leaders became all too common, as did the conniving of the nobles to preserve
their own status at the expense of a steadily weakening empire. The increasing
association of his government with Islam further drove a wedge
between the ruler and his Hindu subjects. Contenders for the Mughal throne were
many, and the reigns of Aurangzeb's successors were short-lived and filled with
strife. The Mughal Empire experienced dramatic reverses as
regional nawabs (governors) broke away and founded independent
kingdoms. The Mughals had to make peace with Maratha armies, and Persian and
Afghan armies invaded Delhi, carrying away many treasures, including the
Peacock Throne in 1739, subsequently used by the shahs of Persia (Iran).
Descendants (the lesser Mughal Emperors)
Bahadur Shah I (Shah Alam I), born October 14, 1643, in Burhanpur, ruler
from 1707-1712, died February 1712, in Lahore.
Jahandar Shah, born 1664, ruler from 1712-1713, died February 11, 1713, in
Delhi.
Furrukhsiyar, born 1683, ruler from 1713-1719, died 1719 in Delhi. Granted
the British East India Company customs exemption in Bengal.
Rafi Ul-Darjat, ruler 1719, died 1719 in Delhi.
Rafi Ud-Daulat (Shah Jahan II), ruler 1719, died 1719 in Delhi.
Nikusiyar, ruler 1719, died 1719 in Delhi.
Mohammed Ibrahim, ruler 1720, died 1720 in Delhi.
Mohammed Shah, born 1702, ruler from 1719-1720 and 1720-1748, died April
26, 1748 in Delhi.
Ahmad Shah Bahadur, born 1725, ruler from 1748-1754, died January 1775 in
Delhi.
Alamgir II, born 1699, ruler from 1754-1759, died 1759.
Shah Jahan III, ruler 1760?
Shah Alam II, born 1728, ruler from 1759-1806, died 1806. Ruled as a puppet
of the British, granting them the Diwani of Bengali, Bihar and Orissa.
Akbar Shah II, born 1760, ruler from 1806-1837, died 1837.
Bahadur Shah II or Bahadur Shah Zafar, born 1775 in Delhi, ruler from
1837-1857, died 1862 in exile in Rangoon, Burma.
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