UPSC : Decline of Mughal Empire UPSC Notes | EduRev
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- The most important reason for the worsening of state finances during the reign of Bahadur Shah was reckless grant of jagirs and promotions.
- The action of Bahadur Shah which could be called a great diplomatic move was the release of Sahu, the son of Sambhaji, from the Mughal captivity.
- The most powerful noble during the reign of Bahadur Shah and Jahandar Shah was Zulfiqar Khan.
- The last Mughal emperor who was deported to Rangoon by the English on the charge of par-ticipating in the revolt of 1857 was Bahadur Shah II.
- A courtesan called Lal Kunwar dominated the affairs of the Mughal empire during the reign of Jahandar Shah.
- The main reason for the defeat of the Mughal forces at the hands of Nadir Shah was disunity, poor leadership, mutual jealousies and distrust were responsible for the defeat.
- The Saiyid Brothers came into prominence and emerged powerful during the reign of Farrukh siyar.
- Defeat of the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat became practically inevitable on account of postponement of battle for two and a half months by Bhau.
- The number of Later Mughal rulers placed on and overthrown from the throne by the Saiyid Brothers was Four.
- In the early eighteenth century several areas in the South were called do-amlis, where the Mughal and Maratha or some other dual rule was forced on the people
Fig: Shah Alam II
- The Later Mughal emperor Shah Alam II was actually known as Ali Gauhar.
- In 1788 the Later Mughal emperor Shah Alam II was blinded by an Afghan chief called Ghulam Kadir.
- At the time of Third Battle of Panipat, the Mughal emperor was Shah Jahan II.
- Murshid Quli Khan, the Mughal governor of Bengal, was originally A South Indian Brahmin.
- The governorship of Bengal became hereditary with Shujauddin Khan.
- From 1761 to 1770, the supreme dictator of Delhi was Najib Khan.
- After nearly twelve years of exile, Shah Alam II was escorted back to the throne of Delhi by Mahadi Sindhia.
- The Nawab of Bengal who shifted the capital from Dacca to Murshidabad was Murshid Quli Khan.
- The Nawab of Bengal who concluded a treaty with the Marathas and agreed to pay them an annual tribute as chauth and ceded to them the revenue of part of Orissa was Alivardi Khan.
- Nadir Shah defeated the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah in the battle of Karnal.
- “Everywhere in lane and bazar lay the headless trunks of the slain. For seven days following the general slaughter, the water (in the Yamuna) flowed of a blood-red colour”. The statement describes the sack of Delhi during the invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali.
- The early capital of the nawabs of Awadh was Fyzabad.
- The nawab of Awadh who committed suicide to save himself from disgrace at the hands of Nadir Shah was Saadat Khan
Fig: Ahmad Shah Abdali
- After the Third Battle of Panipat Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India three more times to punish The Sikhs.
- The emergence of the Sikhs as a territorial power synchronised with their organisation into misls or confederacies.
- The Sikhs were transformed from a devotional religious sect into a militant anti-Muslim brotherhood in the seventeenth century. The Sikh Guru who started this transformation was Guru Hargobind.
- After Guru Gobind Singh’s death, the institution of Guruship came to an end and the spiritual authority passed to Granth Sahib.
- The backbone of the armies of the misls was the cavalry
- From Shah Shuja to Ranjit Singh acquired the world-famous diamond—the Koh-i-noor.
- The primary reason for the defeat of the Sikh army in the First Anglo-Sikh War was half-heartedness and treachery of the Sikh generals.
- Saadat Khan was the founder of the autonomous kingdom of Awadh or Oudh.
Fig: Saadat Khan
- The nawab of Awadh who was appointed the wazir of the Mughal empire was Safdarjang.
- The Nawab of Bengal whose sense of justice was so famous that the people believed that they “lived in Naushirvan’s reign” was Shujauddin.
- Chin Qulich Khan founded the state of Hyderabad.
- The sarkar of Guntur was the bone of contention between Nizam Ali, the ruler of Hyderabad, and the English.
- Lord Wellesley’s main objective in concl-uding a subsidiary treaty (1798) with the Nizam was to exterminate French influence and intrigues in India.
Fig: Lord Wellesley
- A distinguished Rajput ruler of the eighteenth century who was a great law maker, astronomer, town-planner and scientist, was Sawai Jai Singh of Amber.
- The greatest contribution of Sultan Tipu to Malabar was Building a chain of roads.
- A Hindu ruler of the eighteenth century who performed two asvamedha sacrifices was Sawai Jai Singh of Amber.
- Surajmal is known as the ‘Plato of the Jat tribe’.