One of the thirteen gates at the Lahore Fort, this one was actually built by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and named Alamgir
The last of the Great Mughals was Aurangzeb Alamgir. During his fifty-year reign, the empire reached its greatest physical size (the Bijapur and Golconda Sultanates which had been reduced to vassaldom by Shah Jahan were formally annexed), but also showed unmistakable signs of decline. The bureaucracy had grown corrupt; the huge army used outdated weaponry and tactics. Aurangzeb restored Mughal military dominance and expanded power southward, at least for a while. Aurangzeb was involved in a series of protracted wars against the sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda in the Deccan, the Rajputs of Rajasthan, Malwa, and Bundelkhand, the Marathas in Maharashtra and the Ahoms in Assam. Peasant uprisings and revolts by local leaders became all too common, as did the conniving of the nobles to preserve their own status at the expense of a steadily weakening empire. From the early 1700s the campaigns of the Sikhs of Punjab under leaders such as Banda Bahadur, inspired by the martial teachings of their last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, also posed a considerable threat to Mughal rule in Northern India.
But most decisively the series of wars against the Pashtuns in Afghanistan weakened the very foundation upon which Moghul military rested. The Pashtuns formed the backbone of the Muhgal army and were some of the most hardened troops. The antagonism showed towards the erstwhile Mughal General Khushal Khan Khattak, for one, seriously undermined the Mughal miltary apparatus.
Aurangzeb made his religion an important part of his reign. However, that brought about some resentment. For instance, the jiziya tax which non-Muslims had to pay was re-introduced; the reason for the jiziya tax is because military service is compulsory for Muslims in the Mughal empire.[citation needed] Non-Muslims were not required to fight in the army of their own empire (it wasn't compulsory for non-Muslims to serve in the amry).[citation needed] Since taxation is how the government continued to fund its services, this is the reason Aurangzeb reinstated the jiziya tax.[citation needed] Muslims had a different form of taxation, the zakat. In this climate, contenders for the Mughal throne were many,[citation needed] and the reigns of Aurangzeb's successors were short-lived and filled with strife. The Mughal Empire experienced dramatic reverses as regional nawabs or governors broke away and founded independent kingdoms such as the Marathas to the southwest and the Sikhs in the northwest.[citation needed] In the war of 27 years from 1681 to 1707, the Mughals suffered several heavy defeats at the hands of the Marathas. In the early 1700s the Sikhs became increasingly militant in an attempt to establish their own country where only they would control and govern.[citation needed] They had to make peace with the Maratha armies.[citation needed] Nader Shah defeated the Mughal army at the huge Battle of Karnal in February, 1739. After this victory, Nader captured and sacked Delhi, carrying away many treasures, including the Peacock Throne.[5] In 1761, Delhi was raided by Ahmed Shah Abdali after the Third battle of Panipat.
The decline of the Mughal Empire has been ascribed to several reasons. Some historians such as Irfan Habib have described the decline of the Mughal Empire in terms of class struggle.[6] Habib proposed that excessive taxation and repression of peasants created a discontented class that either rebelled itself or supported rebellions by other classes and states. Athar Ali proposed a theory of a "jagirdari crisis." According to this theory, the influx of a large number of new Deccan nobles into the Mughal nobility during the reign of Aurangzeb created a shortage of agricultural crown land meant to be allotted, and destroyed the crown lands altogether.[7] The most obvious concept is that of increasing European hegemony and spheres of influence in the region. The powers of Europe were challenging themselves to the game of who could conquer these foreign lands and exploit their riches and wealth for their own personal gain. Other theories put weight on the devious role played by the Saeed brothers in destabilizing the Mughal throne and auctioning the agricultural crown lands to the Dutch or the British for revenue extraction.
The last of the Great Mughals was Aurangzeb Alamgir. During his fifty-year reign, the empire reached its greatest physical size (the Bijapur and Golconda Sultanates which had been reduced to vassaldom by Shah Jahan were formally annexed), but also showed unmistakable signs of decline. The bureaucracy had grown corrupt; the huge army used outdated weaponry and tactics. Aurangzeb restored Mughal military dominance and expanded power southward, at least for a while. Aurangzeb was involved in a series of protracted wars against the sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda in the Deccan, the Rajputs of Rajasthan, Malwa, and Bundelkhand, the Marathas in Maharashtra and the Ahoms in Assam. Peasant uprisings and revolts by local leaders became all too common, as did the conniving of the nobles to preserve their own status at the expense of a steadily weakening empire. From the early 1700s the campaigns of the Sikhs of Punjab under leaders such as Banda Bahadur, inspired by the martial teachings of their last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, also posed a considerable threat to Mughal rule in Northern India.
But most decisively the series of wars against the Pashtuns in Afghanistan weakened the very foundation upon which Moghul military rested. The Pashtuns formed the backbone of the Muhgal army and were some of the most hardened troops. The antagonism showed towards the erstwhile Mughal General Khushal Khan Khattak, for one, seriously undermined the Mughal miltary apparatus.
Aurangzeb made his religion an important part of his reign. However, that brought about some resentment. For instance, the jiziya tax which non-Muslims had to pay was re-introduced; the reason for the jiziya tax is because military service is compulsory for Muslims in the Mughal empire.[citation needed] Non-Muslims were not required to fight in the army of their own empire (it wasn't compulsory for non-Muslims to serve in the amry).[citation needed] Since taxation is how the government continued to fund its services, this is the reason Aurangzeb reinstated the jiziya tax.[citation needed] Muslims had a different form of taxation, the zakat. In this climate, contenders for the Mughal throne were many,[citation needed] and the reigns of Aurangzeb's successors were short-lived and filled with strife. The Mughal Empire experienced dramatic reverses as regional nawabs or governors broke away and founded independent kingdoms such as the Marathas to the southwest and the Sikhs in the northwest.[citation needed] In the war of 27 years from 1681 to 1707, the Mughals suffered several heavy defeats at the hands of the Marathas. In the early 1700s the Sikhs became increasingly militant in an attempt to establish their own country where only they would control and govern.[citation needed] They had to make peace with the Maratha armies.[citation needed] Nader Shah defeated the Mughal army at the huge Battle of Karnal in February, 1739. After this victory, Nader captured and sacked Delhi, carrying away many treasures, including the Peacock Throne.[5] In 1761, Delhi was raided by Ahmed Shah Abdali after the Third battle of Panipat.
The decline of the Mughal Empire has been ascribed to several reasons. Some historians such as Irfan Habib have described the decline of the Mughal Empire in terms of class struggle.[6] Habib proposed that excessive taxation and repression of peasants created a discontented class that either rebelled itself or supported rebellions by other classes and states. Athar Ali proposed a theory of a "jagirdari crisis." According to this theory, the influx of a large number of new Deccan nobles into the Mughal nobility during the reign of Aurangzeb created a shortage of agricultural crown land meant to be allotted, and destroyed the crown lands altogether.[7] The most obvious concept is that of increasing European hegemony and spheres of influence in the region. The powers of Europe were challenging themselves to the game of who could conquer these foreign lands and exploit their riches and wealth for their own personal gain. Other theories put weight on the devious role played by the Saeed brothers in destabilizing the Mughal throne and auctioning the agricultural crown lands to the Dutch or the British for revenue extraction.
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