After Aurangzeb’s death in 1707, the Mughal Empire declined fast. Weak emperors, invading armies, and rising regional powers steadily eroded its authority. This article covers exactly how: the kingmakers who controlled the throne, the invasion that broke Delhi’s prestige, and the treaty that quietly handed real power to the British.
Must Know
Weak Successors and Regional Fragmentation
- StoryAurangzeb died in 1707 leaving no named heir. A war of succession followed, decided at the Battle of Jajau, which brought Bahadur Shah I to the throne. His fuller reign, including Banda Bahadur’s armed rebellion in Punjab that directly challenged his authority, is covered in MedHist0078.
- HowAfter Bahadur Shah I’s death, a rapid churn of weak emperors followed. The Sayyid Brothers, Abdullah Khan and Hussain Ali Khan, deposed and installed several of them between 1713 and 1719, earning the label “kingmakers.”
- InsteadIn 1719, the Sayyid Brothers deposed and executed Emperor Farrukhsiyar, notably using Maratha troops to do it. This is a genuine, documented cross-link point to the Maratha story that the Maratha-cluster articles do not cover from this angle.
- ResultRegional Mughal governors turned effectively independent while still nominally recognising the emperor. The Nizam of Hyderabad (Asaf Jah I) founded his autonomous state in 1724. The Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh followed the same pattern, ruling as hereditary rulers in fact if not in name.
Good to Know
Nadir Shah and the Power Vacuum
- StoryNadir Shah of Persia invaded in 1738-39, crushing Emperor Muhammad Shah “Rangila’s” much larger army at the Battle of Karnal (24 February 1739) in under three hours.
- InsteadA riot against Persian soldiers in occupied Delhi triggered the Katl-e-aam massacre on 22 March 1739, killing an estimated 20,000-30,000 people in about six hours.
- ResultNadir Shah carried off enormous plunder, including the Peacock Throne and the Koh-i-Noor diamond. This is widely seen as marking the effective collapse of Mughal military prestige.
- HowAhmad Shah Abdali, founder of the Durrani Empire, invaded India roughly eight times between 1748 and 1767, largely for plunder. The Third Battle of Panipat (14 January 1761) pitted Abdali’s coalition against the Marathas, who were then defending the Mughal capital region rather than their own territory. The battle devastated the Marathas and finished off what remained of Mughal military credibility. For the Maratha side of this story, see MedHist0020 — The Maratha Confederacy and the Peshwas.
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Great to Know
The British Rise and the Formal End
- StoryThe British East India Company’s rise ran alongside this decline. Victory at the Battle of Plassey (1757) gave the Company control of Bengal.
- ResultAt the Battle of Buxar (22 October 1764), the Company defeated a combined force that included Mughal emperor Shah Alam II himself, a direct military defeat of the emperor, not just a regional Nawab.
- HowThe 1765 Treaty of Allahabad saw Shah Alam II grant the Company Diwani, the right to collect revenue, over Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha. This converted the Company from trader to de facto ruler of the richest Mughal provinces, while nominal Mughal sovereignty stayed on paper.
- InsteadHistorian Satish Chandra points to deep structural weaknesses in the empire, not any single event, as the primary underlying cause of Mughal decline. The astronomical observatories called “Jantar Mantar,” built by Sawai Jai Singh II, show scientific patronage continuing even as central power waned.
- TakeawayBahadur Shah II (Zafar), the last Mughal emperor, was made the symbolic figurehead of the 1857 rebellion despite holding no real power. After Delhi fell, he was captured, tried, and exiled to Rangoon, formally ending a Mughal line stretching back to Babur. For Aurangzeb’s own reign and administration, see MedHist0016 — Aurangzeb and Mughal Administration.
Exam Point of View
What the PYQs Keep Testing
- QuestionCAPF (ACs) 2017 asked which statement about the Treaty of Allahabad was NOT correct. The trap: Banaras was not the district handed to Shah Alam II — it was Kora and Allahabad. The 1765 date, the Diwani grant, and Awadh’s restoration for 50 lakhs were all genuinely correct.
- QuestionCDS (II) 2017 asked which statement about the Sayyid Brothers was NOT true. The trap: they raised Farrukhsiyar to the throne, not Jahandar Shah. Their tolerant religious policy and agreement with Maratha King Shahu were both genuinely true.
- QuestionCDS (I) 2020 asked who wrote Siyar-ul-Mutakherin, the contemporary account of Plassey. The answer is Ghulam Husain Tabatabai, not Salabat Jung, Qasim Khan, or Ram Mohan Roy.
- QuestionCAPF (ACs) 2021 asked who assumed the title Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah to make Hyderabad independent. The answer is Chin Qilich Khan, not Kartalab Khan, Bahadur Shah, or Alivardi Khan — each a real but different figure of the same period.
- LinkSources: CAPF (ACs) 2017 Q15, CDS (II) 2017 Q38, CDS (I) 2020 Q77, CAPF (ACs) 2021 Q89.
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ModHist0004 — The Decline of the Mughal Empire: Causes Behind the CollapseModHist0357 — Lord Wellesley: The Subsidiary Alliance and the Conquest of IndiaMedHist0078 — Bahadur Shah I: The Oldest Man Ever Crowned a Mughal EmperorMedHist0020 — The Maratha Confederacy and the PeshwasRobert Clive: The Foundation of British Rule in India❓ Practice this topic
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