The British won India, not from the Mughals, but from the Hindus.—Before we appeared as conquerors, the Mughal Empire had broken up. Our final and most perilous wars were neither with the Delhi king, nor with his revolted Muhammadan viceroys, but with the two Hindu confederacies, the Maráthás and the Sikhs. Muhammadan princes fought against us in Bengal, in the Karnátik, and in Mysore; but the longest opposition to the British conquest of India came from the Hindus. Our last Maráthá war dates as late as 1818, and the Sikh Confederation was overcome only in 1849.
The following summary must suffice to show the principal events in the ruin of the Mughal Empire after the death of Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughal emperors, in 1707.
The Decline and Fall of the Mughal Empire, 1707-1862.
1707. Succession contest between Muázzim and Alam, two sons of Aurangzeb; victory of the former, and his accession with the title of Bahádur Sháh; but under the complete control of his military prime minister, Zul-fikár Khán. Revolt of Prince Kambaksh; his defeat and death.
1710. Expedition by the Mughal emperor against the Sikhs.
1712. Death of the emperor Bahádur Sháh, and accession of his eldest son, Jahándar Sháh, who only ruled as the creature of his prime minister, Zul-fikár Khán. Revolt of his nephew, Farukhsiyyar; and murder of the emperor, Jahándar Sháh, and his wazír.
1713. Accession of Farukhsiyyar as emperor under the control of the two Sayyid 'king-makers,' Husáin Alí and Abdullá.
1716. Invasion of the imperial territories by the Sikhs; their defeat, and cruel persecution.
1719. Deposition and murder of the emperor Farukhsiyyar by the two Sayyids. They nominate in succession three boy emperors, the first two of whom die within a few months; the third, Muhammad Sháh, commences his reign in September 1719.
1720. Overthrow of the two Sayyids, the 'king-makers.'
1720-1748. The Governor of the Deccan or Southern India, or Nizám-ul-Múlk, establishes his independence at Haidarábád.
1732-1743. The Governor of Oudh, who was also wazír or prime minister of the empire, becomes practically independent of Delhi.
1735-1751. General decline of the empire; revolts within it: invasion of Nádir Sháh from Persia (1739). First invasion of India by Ahmad Sháh Durání (1747). The Maráthás finally secure the cession of Málwá (1743); and of Southern Orissa and tribute from Bengal (1751).
1748-1750. Accession of the emperor Ahmad Sháh, son of Muhammad Sháh; disturbances by the Rohillás in Oudh, and defeat of the imperial troops.
