death of Aurangzeb

1707

successor of aurangzeb

Bahadur Shah I

official reason for decline of Mughals

revolt of 1857

Aurangzeb's religious intolerance

Reimposed jizyah and pilgrimage tax on non-Muslims

subjugation of the marathas by aurangzeb

aurangzeb spent the last 25 years of his reign trying to do this, but instead drained his treasury with these campaigns.

incompetency of aurangzeb's successors

they could not manage the whole empire. hence nobles gained power and began to manipulate the rulers into giving them control, eventually declaring themselves independent.

later mughals

rulers who came after Aurangzeb. First was Bahadur Shah I, and last was Bahadur Shah Zafar.

the Iranis

Persia

the Turanis

Transoxiana[modern day Uzbekistan]

the Afghans

the mountainous border regions across the Indus

the Hindustanis

failure in the mansabdari system

after Akbar, more mansabdars appeared due to territorial expansion, so there were less jagirs available. this caused conflict amongst the mansabdars. also, the mansabdars did not maintain the required no of troops, leading to a decline in the strength of the mughal army.

lack of military reforms

1. the mughals did not have a navy. 2. no effort was made to modernise or strengthen the army. 3. they continued to use old equipment and techniques. 4.the strong navy of the europeans gave them an edge over their rivals, which allowed them to take control of the mughal empire.