Decay of the Mughal Empire

Decay of the Mughal empire:

* Policies of Aurangzeb

- He imposed jazia and forbade the celebration of Hindu festivals thus lost their friendship and loyality.
- His execution of the Sikh guru and his enmity with the Marathas forced them to raise arms against him.
- He laid stress on simplicity and was against singing, dancing and drinking which were common habits of the Muslim nobles. They did not like a king who was so much against their ways.

* Weak Successors

- The successors of Aurangzeb were both weak and incompetent.
- The later Mughals spent more time in pleasure and soon lost control of the states.

* No Definite Law of Succession

- The Mughals did not follow any definite law of succession.
- After the death of every emperor, there ensued a bloody war of succession amongst his sons.
- Each one, used nobles to get the throne thereby dividing the nobles who fought for their self-interest only.

* Poor Economy

- The economic stability of the empire was ruined because of the constant wars.
- Besides this, the Mughal rulers spent lavishly on buildings and monuments.

* Moral Degradation of the Soldiers

- The soldiers and the generals became pleasure loving and easygoing.
- Often they proved to be disloyal.

* Coming of the Europeans

- The Europeans, especially the British, played an important role in putting an end to the Mughal Empire.
- They first obtained a freeman to trade with India, but gradually began interfering in Indian politics and gradually set up a British empire in India that lasted for 200 years.

* Foreign Invasions

- The invasions of Nadir Shah and his General Ahmad Shah Abdali proved fatal for the Mughal Empire.
- Not only were the Indians defeated but their weakness was exposed and India became as easy prey to other foreign powers too.