Question

The Mughal Empire had to face a variety of crises towards the closing years of the 17th century. What were the causes behind it?

Answer 1

Hint:
The main problem was Aurangzeb’s exploitations in Deccan India.
Another problem for the Mughals were the powerful mansabdars and nobles.



Complete answer:
Primary Cause-
By the 17th century, the Mughal Empire started facing a lot of crises. The main cause for this was Aurangzeb’s exploitations in Deccan India. Aurangzeb fought a long war in the Deccan. This war resulted in the depletion of military and financial resources of the Mughal Empire. It left the Empire unstable for future generations. Under the rule of his successors, the efficiency of imperial administration broke down too.
The peasants and zamindars added to this problem by starting rebellions in northern and western India. They did this because of the taxes which had been increased due to the corruption by mansabdars. Also during this period, Nadir Shah (ruler of Iran) attacked Delhi and looted away a large amount of wealth. Another Afghan ruler started invading the Mughal Empire. He was ‘Ahmad Shah Abdali’, who invaded north India five-time from 1748 to 1761.

The Mansabdars-
The next problem for the Mughals were the powerful mansabdars and nobles. Mansabdars were rank holding officers who had high salaries and responsibilities in the military and administration. During the 17th century, the Mughals found it extremely difficult to keep an eye on the mansabdars. They started making critical political decisions, controlled offices and militaries and increased corruption which led to a downfall in the revenue collection of the Capital.
To further weaken an empire that was already falling apart, the nobles inside the empire divided themselves into two groups, the Iranis and the Turanis. These nobles competed with each other and in the process assassinated the emperor Farrukh Siyar and Alamgir II. Rulers Ahmed Shah and Shah Alam II were blinded by their nobles.

Note:
In the 18th century, the Mughal Empire got divided into independent regional states.
Some places like Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad, still supported the Mughals even though they were strong independent provinces.
The states under the Marathas, Sikhs and Jats finally seized their independence from the Mughals after a long-armed struggle.