Mughal Successor History - General Knowledge of Modern India

Mughal Successor History - General Knowledge of Modern India

Aurangzeb's death laid the foundation for the decline of the Mughal Empire as the long-lasting war of succession between his three sons- Muazzam, Azam and Kambaksh after his death weakened the mighty Mughal Empire. 

Read More History: Rajput And Aurangzeb History - General Knowledge of Modern India

Aurangzeb had made his three sons the governors of different regions for administrative purposes, such as Muazzam was the governor of Kabul, Azam was the governor of Gujarat and Kambaksh was the governor of Bijapur. Due to this, differences arose between these three, which gave rise to factionalism regarding succession. Following are the details of the succession war between the succeeding Mughals after the death of Aurangzeb-

Muazzam (1707-1712 AD)

• He was known as Shah Alam I, whom Khafi Khan also called "Shah-e-Bekhbar" because he was too careless about government affairs.
• He ascended the Mughal throne in 1707 AD after killing his two brothers and defeating Kambaksh in the battle of Jajau. He was the last Mughal ruler to exercise his official rights freely.
• He tried to establish cordial relations with the Sikhs and Marathas. That is why he gave the Marathas the right to collect the Sardeshmukhi of the Deccan but did not give the right to collect Chauth.
• After the death of Muazzam, a war broke out between his sons – Jahandar Shah, Azim-us-Shah, Rafi-us-Shah and Jahanshah, over a renewed succession.

Jahandar Shah (1712-1713 AD)

• He ascended the throne in the Mughal court with the support of the leader of the Iranian faction, Zulfiqar Khan, after killing three of his brothers.
• He was merely a puppet in the hands of Zulfiqar Khan, who acted as the de facto ruler. From here the concept of ruler builders arose. He was also under the influence of his beloved Lal Kunwar which reminds of the influence of Nur Jahan on the Mughal rule.
• He conferred the title of 'Mirza Raja' to Jai Singh of Malwa and 'Maharaja' to Ajit Singh of Marwar.
• His move to grant the Marathas the right to collect chauth and sardeshmukhi marked the beginning of the weakening of the Mughal rule.
• He promoted the Ijara system i.e. revenue agriculture/contract farming and abolished the jizya tax.
• He was the first Mughal ruler to be assassinated in a prison by the Sayyid brothers-Abdullah Khan and Hussain Ali (who was the leader of the Hindustani faction).

Rafi-ud-Darjat (1719 AD)

• He was one of the Mughal rulers who ruled for only a few months.
• He captured the fort of Agra during the revolt of Nicosier and declared himself the ruler.

Rafi-ud-Daulah (1719 AD)

• He is known as 'Shah Jahan II'.
• It was during his reign that Ajit Singh took his widowed daughter back from the Mughal harem and later converted to Hinduism.

Muhammad Shah (1719-1748 AD)

• His name was Roshan Akhtar, who was an influencing and comfort-loving Mughal ruler. He was also known by the name 'Rangeela' due to his ease-loving tendency.
• It was during his reign that the Marathas under the leadership of Bajirao, for the first time in Mughal history, attacked Delhi.
• During his reign, King of Persia, with the help of Saadat Khan, invaded Delhi and defeated the Mughal army in the battle of Karnal.

Ahmad Shah (1748-1754 AD)

• During his reign, the former commander of Nadir Shah, Ahmad Shah Abdali, attacked India five times.
• Alamgir II was appointed as the new ruler after it was overthrown from the rule by its Wazir Imad-ul-Mulk.

Alamgir II (1754-1759 AD)

• He was known as 'Azizuddin'.
• During his reign, the Battle of Plassey took place.
• It was overthrown from the rule by its Wazir Imad-ul-Mulk and Shah Alam II was appointed as the new ruler.

Shah Alam II (1759-1806 AD)

• Known as 'Ali Gauhar', this Mughal ruler was defeated in the Battle of Buxar (1764 AD).
• During his reign, the Third Battle of Panipat took place.
• After the Battle of Buxar, under the Treaty of Allahabad, the Mughals gave the civil rights of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the British, which were again obtained by the Mughals after 1772 with the help of Mahadji Scindia.
• He was the first Mughal ruler who was a pensioner of the East India Company.

Akbar II (1806-1837 AD)

• He was the first Mughal emperor to be made under the protection of the British.
• During his reign, the Mughal power remained confined to the Red Fort.

Bahadur Shah II (1837-1862 AD)

• He was the son of Akbar II and Rajput princess Lalbai and the last ruler of the Mughal Empire.
• During his reign, the revolution of 1857 took place and after that he was exiled as a prisoner to Rangoon, where he died in 1862 AD.
• He used to write excellent Urdu poetry under the nickname 'Zafar'.

Reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire

The decline of the Mughal Empire did not happen suddenly but in a gradual manner, the main reasons for which were the following-

Great Expansion of Empire: It was not easy to rule such a vast empire without cooperative federalism. Therefore, the Mughal Empire started sinking due to its internal reasons.

Centralized Administration: Such a vast empire could be governed only on the basis of decentralization and mutual cooperation of various government units.

Aurangzeb's Policies: His religious policy, Rajput policy and Deccan policy gave rise to discontent, due to which the disintegration of the Mughal Empire started.

War of Succession: The prolonged wars of succession created a rift in the administrative units of the Mughals.

Weakness of Upper Class: The Mughal upper class was known for its loyalty to the Mughals but their loyalty was divided due to wars of succession.