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Decline of the Mughal Empire

Period in Indian history, c. 1712–1857

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Several historians have debated the cause of decline. Irfan Habib argues the excessive exploitation of the peasantry by the rich (the agrarian crisis), which stripped away the will and the means to support the regime causing the empire to collapse. Habib developed this argument at length in The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556–1707 as the agrarian crisis, characterised by peasant flight, zamindar militarisation, and a widening gap between assessed (jama) and realised (hasil) revenue. William Dalrymple largely attributes the decline to the rigid religious policies under Aurangzeb and the Deccan Wars. Jeffrey G. Williamson argues that the South Asian economy underwent deindustrialization in the later half of the 18th century as an indirect outcome of the collapse of the Mughal Empire, local supply-side influences such as political and economic fragmentation, and global commodity price shocks, which led to a decline in agricultural productivity that drove up food prices, nominal wages and textile prices. Williamson further argues that this led to India losing a share of the world textile market to Britain.

Karen Leonard focuses on the failure of the regime to work with Hindu bankers. In a religious interpretation, some scholars argue that the Hindu powers revolted against the rule of a Muslim dynasty. Some historians assert such orthodox policies resulting in decline of Mughal power in the Indian subcontinent. Aurangzeb imposed Islamic orthodoxy based on the Fatawa 'Alamgiri. This resulted in the persecution of Shias, Sufis and non-Muslims. G. N. Moin Shakir and Sarma Festschrift argue that he often used political opposition as pretext for religious persecution, resulting in revolts of groups of Jats, Marathas, Sikhs, Satnamis and Pashtuns.

Other scholars argue that the very prosperity of the Empire inspired the provinces to achieve a high degree of independence, thus weakening the imperial court. Aurangzeb's son, Bahadur Shah I, repealed the religious policies of his father and attempted to reform the administration. However, after he died in 1712, the Mughal dynasty began to sink into chaos and violent feuds. In 1719 alone, four emperors successively ascended the throne.

Mughal war of succession (1707–1709)

Following the Deccan Wars, the three sons of Aurangzeb, Bahadur Shah I, Muhammad Azam Shah, and Muhammad Kam Bakhsh fought each other for the throne. Muhammad Azam Shah lived in Ahmednagar. Khafi Khan suggested that whoever reached the capital city of Agra first would capture the throne. The distances to Agra from Jamrud and Ahmednagar were 715 and 700 miles, respectively. Azam Shah and Bahadur Shah were involved in the Battle of Jajau, south of Agra, on 20 June 1707. Azam Shah and his three sons were killed in the battle and were buried with other royals in Humayun's Tomb in Delhi.

Bahadur Shah's half-brother, Muhammad Kam Bakhsh, marched to Bijapur in March 1707 with his soldiers. When the news of Aurangzeb's death spread through the city, the city's monarch, King Sayyid Niyaz Khan surrendered the fort to Baksh without a fight. In May 1708, Bahadur Shah sent a letter to Kam Bakhsh warning that he hoped would prevent him from proclaiming himself an independent sovereign. Bahadur Shah then began a journey to the Tomb of Aurangzeb to pay his respects to his father. Kam Bakhsh replied, thanking him "without either explaining or justifying [his actions]".

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. The subahdar of the province, Jan Sipar Khan, refused to hand over the money. Enraged, Kam Bakhsh confiscated his properties and ordered the recruitment of four thousand soldiers for the attack. In July, the garrison at the Gulbarga Fort declared its independence and garrison leader Daler Khan Bijapuri "reported his desertion from Kam Bakhsh". 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. Although Kam Bakhsh had little money and few soldiers left, the royal astrologer had predicted that he would "miraculously" win the battle. At sunrise the following day, Bahadur Shah's army charged towards Kam Bakhsh. His 15,000 troops were divided into two bodies: one led by Mumin Khan, assisted by Rafi-ush-Shan and Jahan Shah, and the second under Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung. Two hours later Kam Bakhsh's camp was surrounded, and Zulfiqar Khan impatiently attacked him with his "small force". With his soldiers outnumbered and unable to resist the attack, Kam Bakhsh joined the battle and shot two quivers of arrows at his opponents. A dispute arose between Mumin Khan and Zulfikar Khan Nusrat Jung over who had captured them, with Rafi-us-Shan ruling in favor of the latter. Bahadur Shah I was crowned the Mughal emperor after the conflicts.

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