Encyclopedia of Islam

Mughal dynasty

  

489  J

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Hindu tribal confederacy in the Deccan. Over the 

course of Aurangzeb’s long reign, uprisings were 

common; his sons were all imprisoned for insti-

gating rebellions. By the time he died, after ailing 

for almost 50 years, the empire was in decline.

The empire was soon under attack from both 

without and within. Aurangzeb’ s death was fol-

lowed by a series of struggles for the throne. 

Between 1707 and 1719, the empire had five rul-

ers. In 1739 Persian leader Nadir Shah invaded 

from the northwest, defeating the Mughal army 

and sacking Delhi. His successor made regular 

attacks on India. At court, the disputed succes-

sions and brief reigns led to chaos within the 

administration, and various regions began to 

rule as independent states. The British also took 

advantage of the fractured empire, pressing for—

and receiving—trade privileges.

At the same time, the British and French 

extended their hostilities in Europe to the Indian 

subcontinent. Soon both the British East India 

Company and its French counterpart, the Com-

pagnie des Indes, were supporting contenders for 

power in various Indian states. By the mid-1700s, 

although the Mughals still ruled in name, the Eng-

lish East India Company was effectively the main 

power in India. The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur 

Shah Zafar II, was tried for sedition by the British 

in 1857 and exiled to Burma. The English East 

India Company was abolished and India became a 

British colony, governed directly by parliament.

See also c

hishti

 s

UFi

 o

rder

; 

colonialism

.

Kate O’Halloran