Condition of Awadh, Bengal, and Deccan after Aurangzeb

The death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707 CE marked a decisive turning point in the history of the Mughal Empire. His long and expansionist reign had stretched the empire’s resources to their limits, and his successors proved incapable of maintaining central authority. As a result, regional powers such as Awadh, Bengal, and the Deccan gradually asserted autonomy, laying the groundwork for the fragmentation of Mughal India. These regions, though once vital to imperial prosperity, transformed into semi-independent states that played crucial roles in eighteenth-century Indian politics.

General Background after Aurangzeb

After Aurangzeb’s death, the Mughal Empire entered a period of political instability. The succession struggles among his sons—Bahadur Shah I, Azam Shah, and Kam Baksh—weakened the empire further. By the early eighteenth century, the authority of the Mughal emperor became largely nominal, confined to Delhi and its surroundings. Provincial governors (subahdars) began to act independently, while local elites and military leaders consolidated power in their respective regions.
Economic decline, peasant revolts, corruption, and the burden of prolonged wars, especially in the Deccan, eroded the administrative unity established under Akbar and his successors. Amidst this disintegration, regions such as Awadh, Bengal, and the Deccan emerged as powerful and semi-autonomous states.

Condition of Awadh

The province of Awadh (Oudh), located in north-central India, became one of the earliest Mughal provinces to assert regional autonomy after Aurangzeb’s death.

Emergence of Regional Power

• Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk, an Iranian noble, was appointed as the Subahdar of Awadh in 1722 CE by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.
• Saadat Khan established his headquarters at Faizabad and began consolidating his position by reorganising revenue administration, strengthening the army, and reducing the power of the Mughal-appointed jagirdars.
• Although he maintained nominal allegiance to the Mughal emperor, he effectively ruled as an independent monarch.

Political and Administrative Developments

• Saadat Khan and his successors — Safdar Jang and Shuja-ud-Daula — established a stable and efficient administration.
• They reformed the revenue system, controlled local zamindars, and ensured regular tax collection.
• Awadh became a prosperous region due to fertile lands, particularly in the Ganges plain, and thriving trade in textiles and agricultural produce.
• The rulers maintained a delicate balance between asserting autonomy and avoiding direct confrontation with the Mughal centre.

Economic and Cultural Growth

• Awadh’s wealth was enhanced by its position on the trade routes connecting Delhi, Bengal, and the Deccan.
• The region became a centre of art, music, and Persian culture, particularly under Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula, who later shifted the capital to Lucknow.
• Lucknow developed into a renowned centre of Indo-Persian culture, architecture, and literature, symbolising the synthesis of Mughal and regional traditions.

By the mid-eighteenth century, Awadh had become one of the most powerful successor states of the Mughal Empire, maintaining a degree of stability amidst the wider political chaos of northern India.

Condition of Bengal

Bengal, one of the wealthiest provinces of the Mughal Empire, also witnessed a shift toward autonomy in the early eighteenth century. Its strategic location, fertile soil, and thriving trade made it a valuable region for both Indian and European powers.

Rise of Murshid Quli Khan

• Murshid Quli Khan, originally appointed as the Diwan of Bengal by Aurangzeb, became its effective ruler by 1717 CE, when the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar granted him the title of Nawab Nazim of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.
• He transferred the capital from Dhaka to Murshidabad, which became a prosperous centre of administration and commerce.
• Murshid Quli Khan established a strong fiscal and administrative structure, emphasising strict revenue collection and fiscal discipline.

Administrative and Economic Condition

• Bengal’s administration under Murshid Quli Khan was characterised by efficiency, but also by strictness and autocracy. He ensured regular revenue payments to the Mughal centre while keeping most of the provincial surplus for local development and the army.
• The economy of Bengal flourished due to the expansion of agriculture, trade, and industry. The region produced fine muslin, silk, and saltpetre, which were in great demand in international markets.
• European trading companies — particularly the British, French, and Dutch — established prosperous factories in cities such as Calcutta, Chinsurah, and Chandernagore.

Successors and Growing European Influence

• After Murshid Quli Khan’s death in 1727, his son-in-law Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan and later his grandson Alivardi Khan continued to rule Bengal with increasing independence from Delhi.
• Alivardi Khan successfully defended Bengal against Maratha invasions but struggled to curb the growing influence of the British East India Company.
• After his death in 1756, his successor Siraj-ud-Daulah confronted the British but was defeated at the Battle of Plassey (1757), marking the beginning of British political dominance in Bengal.

Bengal, once the most prosperous Mughal province, became the first Indian region to fall under British control, symbolising the shift from Mughal to colonial power.

Condition of the Deccan

The Deccan region, comprising modern-day Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and parts of Karnataka, had been a persistent challenge to Mughal authority even during Aurangzeb’s lifetime. His prolonged Deccan campaigns drained the empire’s resources and destabilised the region.

Political Fragmentation after Aurangzeb

• After Aurangzeb’s death, Mughal control over the Deccan collapsed rapidly. The empire’s governors and local chiefs asserted independence, while the Marathas emerged as the dominant power.
• The weakening of Mughal authority allowed the rise of the Nizam of Hyderabad, who established an autonomous state under nominal Mughal suzerainty.

Rise of the Nizam of Hyderabad

• Chin Qilich Khan, better known as Asaf Jah I, was appointed Viceroy (Subahdar) of the Deccan by Emperor Farrukhsiyar in 1713 and again by Muhammad Shah in 1724.
• He declared virtual independence and founded the Asaf Jahi dynasty, ruling from Hyderabad.
• Asaf Jah I reorganised the administration, restored order, and balanced relations with the Marathas and other regional powers.

The Maratha Ascendancy

• The Marathas, under leaders such as Shahu, Balaji Vishwanath, and Baji Rao I, established a powerful confederacy that expanded northwards and westwards.
• They became the principal challengers to Mughal and Nizam authority in the Deccan and beyond.
• By the mid-eighteenth century, the Marathas controlled a vast empire extending from the Deccan plateau to northern India, collecting chauth (tribute) from several Mughal provinces.

Socio-Economic Developments

• The Deccan witnessed a blend of political instability and economic recovery. Agricultural and craft production revived under regional rulers, while trade routes through Surat, Poona, and Hyderabad remained active.
• The Nizam’s court in Hyderabad became a centre of Persianate culture and architecture, while Maratha rule fostered vernacular traditions and military organisation.