Unity and stablitlity shaken during his reign. Died in 1707.

Yet despite his harmful policies, Mughal army was strong and efficient at that time. 3 sons fought among themselves.

he was the last emperor writes Sidney own of whom anything favourable can be said. More tolerant attitude towards hindu chiefs and rajas. Attempt to gain control of Rajput states of Amber and Marwar by replacing jai singh with vijai singh at amber and by forcing ajit singh of marwar to submit to Mughal authority. Their demand for high mansabs(ranks) and the offices of subedars of important provices such as Malwa and Gujarat was not accepted. He granted Maratha sardars sardeshmukhi(additional 10% levy on top of the chauth) he failed to satisfy them fully.

Harsh attitude towards Sikhs(tried to capute lohgarh(build by guru gobind singh) but they recovered it under the leadership of banda bahadur.

Supported by zulfikar khan the most powerful nobel of the time. Jahandar khan was weak,degenerate prince , devoted to pleasure. Zulfikar khan became his wazir(admin was virtually in his hand) Hated jizyah(tax levied on non muslims) was abolished . Jai singh given title of Mirza Raja Sawai and appointed governor of malwa Ajit singh was awarded the titile of maharaja and aapointed governor of Gujarat. Maratha ruler granted chauth and sardeshmukhi of the deccan(condition collected by Mughals) Evil tendency of revenue farming(izarah) continues(govt contact middlemen to pay the govt a fixed amount of money) unlike todar mal land revenue system(fixed rate).

defeated him at agra) 1713 Owned victory with the help of Saiyid brothers(k/a king makers), Abdullah khan(wazir) and Husain Ali Khan(mir bakshi). Farrukh lacked the capacity to rule, coward,cruel,undependable and faithless. Weak minded, frivolous. Saiyid brother killed farukkh(wanted full autonomy but was a puppet) and made 18 year old Muhammad shah the emperor of india. In 1717 the emperor heedlessly granted to the English east india company many trading privileges including the exemption from custom duties for its trade through Bengal. Saiyid brother adopted the policy of religious tolerance. They won over the rajputs to their side and transformed raja ajit singh from a rebel to an ally. Marathas sided with the sayyids and the chhatrapati became a duputy of the Mughal emperor. Abolished the jizyah . Made agreement with king shahu by granting him the swarajya(of shivaji) and the right to collect the chauth and sardeshmukhi of the six provinces of the decaan. Their admin ends with the killing of Husain ali khan and defeat of Abdullah khan near agra. An effect of the appointements of sayyid brothers to such exalated offices was the jealously it excited in the minds of turani and irani nobles who spared no efforsts to disgrace and procure the removal of these brothers. Nizam-ul-Mulk the most powerful nobel of the time become wazir in 1722 and had made a vigorous attempt to reform the administration. He marched to south(leaving emperor to his fate) 1724and found the state of Hyderabad.(Physical breakup of the Mughal empire had begun)

In 1738 Nadir Shad descended upon the plains of northern India and the empire lay prostrate.(karnal ) Empire was devastrated by the repeated invasion of nadir shah and admed shah abdali from 1748 and 1767. Empire ceased as the kingdom of delhi.

Spent the initials years as an emperor wandering living in the mortal fear of his own wazir. 1n 1764 he joined mir qasim of Bengal and shuja ud daula of awadh in declaring was upon the English east india company. Defeated by british at the battle of buxar.

Emperor shah alam 2 was not allowed to enter delhi for 12 years and was escorted to his throne in 1772 only by the marathas.

Stated like Bengal awadh and Hyderabad are called as succession states.(inherited functioning Mughal admin structure and institutions) Mughal influence had not reached in the areas of south west and south east coasts and of north eastern india. In general there was decentralisation of political authority with chiefs jagirdars and zamindars gaining in economic and political powers. The next Mughal emperors ahmad Shah(1748-54) and Alamgir 2(1754-59) were too weak to check the rot that had set in. In 1803 english captured delhi.

Breakdown of Mughal empire was followed by anarchy or breakdown of law and order in different parts of india. None of the stated succeded in curbing the economic crisis of 17th century.

Four were prominent The turanis, iranis, afghans and the hindustanis. The first 3 were descendants of foreigners from central asia, iran and Afghanistan who formed the backbone of the army of occupation. Hinduatani were mujammadans borin in india . this party got the support of the Rajput and the jat chiefs and powerful hindu landlords.(saiyid brothers were the leaders of the Hindustani party and represented the anti Mughal and quasi national interests.

Founded by Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah in 1724. Tolerant policy towards hindus. Followed jagirdari system of Mughals. Attempt to rid the revenue system Never openly declared indepence from Mughals but in practise he acted like an independent ruler. Died in 1748

Subahs of the Mughal deccan and as such came under the nizam of Hyderabad. Nawab of Carnatic had freed himself of the control of the viceroy of the deccand and make his office hereditary(nawab saadutullah khan to nephew dost ali)

Murshid Quli Khan and Alivardi khan made Bengal virtually independent. Murshid died in 1727, and his in law suja ud din ruled Bengal till 1739. Alivardi khand deposed and killed shuja ud-dins son and made himself the nawab He did not depend upon the emperor for the defence of his provinces against the frequent raids of the marathas. Granted agricultural loans(taccavi) to the poor cultivators. Tolerant towards reliwuion. Thanas and chowkies for the safety of roads and rivers. They had the power to deal with east india company but they continue to believe that a mere trading company could not threaten their power. Marathas continues troubled Bengal and he gave a large part of Orissa to them. In 1756 company declared war on siraj-ud-daulah the successor of alivardi. Qazis and mufti were given to taking bribes.

Founder was saadat khan burhan ul mulk who was appointed governor of awadh in 1722. Bold, energetic, iron willed and intelligent person. Succeded by his nephew Safdar Jang who simultaneously appointed the wazir of the empire in 178 and granted in addition the province of Allahabad. Safdar jang have long period of peace to the people of awadh and Allahabad before his death in 1754. He organised an equitable system of justice. Toleratn attitude towards hindus. Lucknow became an important centre of handicrafts.

Founder was haider ali. Kingdom of mysore had preserved its precarious independence ever since the end of vijayanagar empire and had been only nominally part of the Mughal empire. Though uneducated he possessed a keen intellect and was a man of great energy daring and determination. He was also a brilliant commander and a shrewd diplomat. He eastalished a modern arsenal in dindigal in 1755 with the help of frence experts. In 1761 he overthrew Nanjaraj and established his authority over the Mysore state. He died in 1782 in the course of 2nd Anglo-Mysore was and was succeded by his son tipu.

His infantry was armed with muskets and bayonets in the European fashion. He was hasty in action and unstable in nature.

English looked upon him as their most dangerous enemy in india. Mysore flourished economically in comparison to the rest of the country. Peasantry of his dominios are protected and their labour encouraged and rewarded. He made attempt to introduce modern industried in india by importing foreign workmen as experts and by extending state support to many industries. He sent emissaries to France, Turkey, Iran and Pegu Myanmar to develop foreign trade. He tried to promote trade with Russia and Arabia by setting up state trading institutions in the port towns.

The four important states were Calicut under the Zamorin, Chirakkal, cochin and Travancore. Kingdom of Travancore rose into prominence after 1729 under king martanda verma one the leading statesmen of the 18th century. He subdued the feudataties,conquered quilon and Elayadam and defeated the dutch thus ending their political power in kerela. By 1763 all the petty principalities of kerela had been absorbed by the three big states of cochin , Travancore and Calicut. Travancore:famous centre for sanskri scholarship.

Rajas Sawai Jai singh of Amber(1681-173) he was a distinguished statesman law maker and reformer. He founded the city of Jaipur and made a great seat of science and art. Jaipur was built upon the strictly scientific principles and according to a regular plan.(jantar mantar-delhi Jaipur,Ujjain,Varanasi and Mathura) He was also a social reformer(treid to reduce the levish expenditure incurred on the marraiges)

A caste of agriculturists, lived in the region around delhi, agra and Mathura. Jat state of bharatpur was set up by churaman and badan singh. Jat power reached his highest glory under suraj mal who ruled from 1756 to 1763. He was an extremely able administrator and soldier and a very wise statesman. -

Ali muhhamed khan carved out rohilkhand . Rohillas clashed constantly with awadh, delhi and the jats.

It alone had the strength to fill the gap of Mughals. It had no of brilliant commanders and statesmen for the task. They lacked the outlook and unity for founding an all india empire. Shahu grandson of shivaji had been a prisoner in the hands of aurandgzeb since 1989( released after the death of aurengzeb) Civil war broke out between shahu at satara and his aunt tara bai at kolhapur. A new system of Maratha admin was transformed under the leadership of Balaji Vishwanath, the peshwa of king Shahu. So Maratha state was transformed into an empire. Balaji and his son baji rao 1 made the peshwa the functional head of the Maratha empire. Balaji took full advantage of the internal conflicts of the Mughal officials to increase Maratha power. In 1719 balaji at the head of the Maratha force accompanied saiyid hussain ali khan to delhi and helped the saiyid in overthrowing farrukh siyar. The system of watans and saranjams(jagirs) had made Maratha sardars strong, autonomous and jealous of central power. Balaji vishwanath died in 1720. He was succeeded as peshwa by his 20 year old son Baji Rao 1. He was a bold and brilliant commander and an ambitious and clever stateman. He was described as the greatest exponent of guerrilla tactics after shivaji. Marathans waged numerous campaign against the Mughal empire so given the right to collect chauth of vast areas and then to cede these areas to the Maratha kingdom By 1940 they had won control over malwa, Gujarat,and parts of budelkhand.(baji rao died) The Maratha families of gaekwad, holkar, sindhia and bhonsle came into prominence during this period. In 1733 baji rao started a long campaign againt the Sidis of Janjira and in the end expelled them from the mainland. Also campaign against poruguese. His old son Balaji Baji Rao k/a Nana Saheb was the peshwas from 1740 to 1761. He was able as his father but less energetic. King shahu died in 1749 leavind all management of state affairs in the peshwas hands. Peshwa was the de facto ruler of the state.(shifted headquarter to poona) Maratha control over mawa, Gujarat and bundelkhand was consolidated. Bengal was repeatedly invaded and in 1751 the Bengal nawab had to cede Orissa. In 1760 nizam of Hyderabad was defeated at Udgir and was compelled to cede vast territories yielding an annual revenue of rs 62 lakh. They helped imad-ul-mulk in 1752 to become the wazir.The new wazir soon became the puppet in their hands. The 17 year old Madhay Rao became the Peshwa in 1761. He was a talented soldier and stateman. He restored the lost fortunes of the Maratha empire within 11 years. He defeated haider ali(compelled to pay tribute), rohelas and subjugating the Rajput states and jat chiefs. Narayan rao become the king. Killed in 1773. He was succeeded by his son Sawai Madhav Rao. Out of frustration raghunath Rao went over to the British and tried to capture power with their help. This resulted in the first anglo Maratha war. Gaekwad at baroda, bhonsle at Nagpur, holkar at indore and sindhia at Gwalior were the most important.

Among the Maratha rulers in the north, mahadji sindhia was the mos important. He organised a powerful European style army, consisting equally of hindu and muslim soldiers with the help of French and Portuguese officers and gunners. Nana Phadnis who died in 1800 was the last of the great soldier who had raised the Maratha power to its height in 18th century. Sawai Madhav Rao died in 1795 and was succedde by the utterly worthless Baji Rao 2, son of RAghunath Rao. The british divided the mutually warring Maratha sardars through clever diplomacy and then overpowered them in separate battles during the 2nd Maratha war, 1803-1805 and the 3rd Maratha war 1816-10. While other Maratha states were permitted to remain as subsidiary states , the house of the peshwas was extinguished. They failed to encourage science and technology, took interest in trade and industry. Revenue system was same as that of Mughals.

Founded in the 15th century by guru nanak spread among the jat peasantry and other lower castes of the Punjab. Became a political and military force under the 10th guru guru gobind singh. After his death the instituition came to an end and the leadership of Sikhs passed to his trusted sisciple banda bahadur . He was captured and put to death in 1715. Sikhs were organised in 12misls or condeferacies which operated in different parts of the province. At the end of the 18th centry ranjit singh chief of Sukerchakia Misl rose to prominence. He captured Lahore in 1799 and Amritsar in 1802. He soon brough all sikh chief west of the stulej under his contrl and established his own kingdom in the Punjab. Later he conquered Kashmir, Peshawar and multan. It is said that he possessed the second best army in asia after the britishers.

Failed to make economically socially or culturally at an adequate pace. The peshwas imposed a tax called patdam on remarriage of widows. Economic distress, famines , natural calamities, extreme poverty compelled some to sell their children for a price. Agriculture during 18th century was techinically backward and stagnant. India imported pearls, raw silk, wool , dates , dried fruits and rose wter from the Persian guld region, coffee , gold, drugs, and honey from Arabia, Tea sugar porcelain and silk from china Gold musk and woollen cloth from Tibet Tin from Singapore spices perfumes arrack and sugar from the Indonesian islands

Ivory and drugs from Africa and woollen cloth meals such as cooper iron and lead the paper from Europe. Indias most important article of export was cotton textiles. Also exported raw silk and silk fabrics hardware indigo saltpetre opium rice wheat sugar pepper and other spices precious sotones and drugs. India was known as a sink of precious metal silk. Town handicrafts in india reached a high level of development and attracted world wide market. Emergence of new courts and local nobility and zamindars led to the emergence of new cities such as faizabad lucknow Varanasi and patna. India was large scale manufacturer of cotton and silk fabrics sugar jute dye stuffs mineral and metallic products like arms metal wars and saltpetre and iols. The importane centres were textile industry in decca and murshidabad in Bengal, patna in bihar surat Ahmedabad and broach in Gujarat chanderi in mp burhanpur in maharashtha jaunpur Varanasi lucknow and agra, multan and Lahore in Punjab masulipatam in andhre Bangalore in Karnataka and Madurai in tamilnadu . Kashmir was the woollen centre of woollen manufacturers.

Knowledge imparted was confined to literature, law, religion, philosophy and logic and excluded the study of physical and natural sciences technology and geography. Persian being the court language was learnt both by the muslims and the hindus.(patna(azimabad)). Muslim elementary schools were popularly known as maktabs. Muslims get education through the maulvis in maktabs situated in mosques. Average literacy was not less than wahat it was under the british later.

Brahmins were involved in trade and govt service and held zamidaris. Shudras achieved worldly success and wealth and used them to seek highter ritual and caste ranking in society. Caste regulations were strictly enforced by caste councils and panchayats and caste chiedfs through fines penaces and expulsion from the caste. Asaf ud daula built the great imambara(muharram festival celebratinon) at lucknow in 1784. At Amritsar maharaja ranjit singh renovated the sikh shrine. The irani, afghan turani and Hindustani muslim nobles and officailas often stood apart from one another. Sharif muslims consisting of noblels, scholars, priests and armay offices looked down upon the ajlaf mulslims or the lower class muslims in a manner similar to the at adopted by hindus. In kerela however family among Nairs was matrilinear. Purdah was common mostly among the higher classes in the North. It was not practised in south.

The evil of Dowry was widespread in Bengal and rajputana. Sati mostl prevalent in rajputana engal and other parts of norther india. In the south in was uncommon and marathas did not encourage it. Even in rajputana and Bengal it was practised only by the families of rajas chiedfs big zamindars and upper caste. Among non Brahmins in maharashta, the jats and people of hill regions of the north widow remarriage was quite common. Music continued to flourish in north and south, Produced brilliant poets like sauda, nazir and In the 19th century Mirza Glalib. Hindi too was developing thorougout the country. Revival of malyalam literature, especially under the patronage of the Travancore rulers martanda varma and rama varma. Heer ranja famous romantic epic in punjai was composed at this time by Warris Shah. Main weakness of indian culture lay in the field of science. Througout the 18th century india remained far behind the west in s and t. Indians remained wholly ignorant of the scientific, cultural political and economical achievements of the west, they failed to respond to the European challenge. They showed interest in only weapons. Friendly relation between hindus and muslims.(brothers among brothers) Hindu writers often wrote in Persian while muslim writers wrote in hindi, Bengali and other vernculars.(dealing with sita, and ram nal and damyanti)

. Mistaken policy of continuous war in the deccan which continued for 27 years drained the resources of the empire. . Weak successors of auranzeb:- nicknamed shah-i-bekhabar9the heedless king), jahandar shah, . Degenration of Mughal nobility:- new nobility under the later Mughals were at best courtiers and rivalled one another in ths subtle arts of finesse and flattery. .Defective law of succession

Rise of the marathas. Military weakness: common soldier owed allegiance to the mansabdar rather than the emperor. .ecnomic bankruptcy