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Rise of New States after Sayyids
The decline of the Sayyid brothers and the weakness of the later Mughals led to the rise of new provincial states.

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Nizam-ul-MulkThe decline of the Sayyid brothers destabilized the imperial fabric of the Mughal Empire. The erosion of the military strength created a political vacuum in India during the later years of the Mughal emperors. The ambitious subahdars and the powerful regional chiefs wanted to carve out the independent kingdoms of their own. The repeated foreign invasions especially from the northwest led to the ruin of the administrative machinery. The internal anarchy and the external aggression hastened the doom of the Mughal Empire. Finally the Mughal Empire was disintegrated into several small new provincial states under several houses.

Nizams of Deccan
Nizam-ul-Mulk, the leader of the Counter Revolution founded the provincial state of the Nizams in Deccan. He already established the supremacy of the Asafjahia house in Hyderabad.

However it was Zulfikar Khan, who conceived the plan of the independent state in Deccan. In 1708 Zulfikar obtained the viceroyalty of Deccan and administered it through his deputy Daud Khan. After the death of Zulfikar Khan, Nizam-ul- Mulk attained the viceroyalty of Deccan. In 1715 Nizam ul Mulk was appointed as the Subahdar of Deccan by Hussain Ali. In due course Nizam ul Mulk strengthened his position in Deccan. After the death of Hussain Ali, Nizam got the superiority to establish his position. In 1722 Nizam was appointed as the Wazir of Delhi. Now Nizam became more powerful. As a Wazir he added Malwa and Gujrat to the Subhadari of Deccan. Towards the end of 1723, Nizam again moved to Deccan.

Muhammad Shah, the then Mughal emperor at the throne of Delhi was offended at the insolence of Nizam. He then appointed Mubriz Khan as the viceroy of Deccan. Moreover Mubriz was asked to send Nizam back to Delhi either dead or alive. However Nizam proved too strong to Mubriz Khan and finally killed him in the battle of Shakr- Kheda. Now Nizam became the entire political scenario in Deccan. In this circumstances emperor Muhammad Shah had nothing to do but to confirm Nizam as the viceroy of Deccan. Nizam was reappointed as the viceroy of Deccan in 1725 with the prestigious title

Asafjah.
Nizam was a shrewd diplomat and a clever politician. He was wise enough to understand that he could not fight out with the powerful Marathas at this stage. Nizam adopted trickery and suggested the Peshwa Baji Rao I to expand his kingdom in the northern part of India. Thus he diverted the Maratha raids from Deccan. But such a diplomat had to surrender, when he was defeated in a war against Baji Rao I. The condition of Deccan was more worsened when Nadir Shah invaded it. However after Nadir Shah`s invasion Nizam retired to Deccan and again consolidated his position there.

Nizam founded and consolidated an independent kingdom of his own in Deccan. He was a shrewd diplomat and a benevolent ruler. He established peace and order in his new state at Deccan and also promoted the material prosperity in Deccan

Kingdom of Oudh

The founder of the independent principality of Oudh was Saadat Khan, popularly known as Burhan-ul- Mulk. Saadat Khan belonged to the Shia sect of the Muslims. However it was believed that he was the descendant of the Sayyids of Nishapur. In 1720 he was appointed as the Faujdar of Biyana. He joined in the conspiracy against the Sayyid brothers and rose in the estimation of the emperor. He was rewarded by a grant of mansabs. He was conferred with the title Burhan-ul-Mulk. From 1720 to 1722 he was the governor of Agra. But he administered Agra through his deputy, Nilkanth Nagar. Later Nilkanth Nagar was appointed as the governor of Oudh. Thus Saadat Khan got the full opportunity to establish in Oudh an independent Muslim kingdom for himself. In 1739 Saadat Khan was called to Delhi to assist the emperor in fighting against Nadir Shah. He fought bravely at Karnal and later he was taken into prison. In the prison Saadat Khan died in the years 1739. After Saadat Khan, Safdar Jung succeeded as the Nawab of Oudh. In 1748 Ahmed Shah appointed Safdar Jung as his Wazir. In 1819 the seventh ruler of the House of Saadat Khan attained the title "King of Oudh". However the name of the seventh rule of the House is not known clearly.

Ruhelas and Bangash Pathans
The extensive region of the Gangetic valley became identified as the independent principality of the Ruhelas and the Bangash Pathans. Daud, an Afghan soldier and his son Ali Mohammad Khan became the ruler of the entire Gangetic Valley. They enlarged their small estate in Barreily to an independent state of Rohilkhand. Their territory of Rohilkhand was extending from the Kumaon hills in the north to the Ganges in the south. Further in the east Mohammed khan Bangash, another Afghan adventurer declared himself as the independent ruler of Farukkhabad. He later extended his sway over Allahabad and Bundelkhand.

Kingdom of Bengal
Murshid Kuli Khan was the founder of the independent state of Bengal. Murshid Kuli Khan used to be the Dewan or deputy Governor of Bengal for a long period of time. In 1713 Murshid Kuli Khan was appointed as the Governor of Bengal .In 1719 Orissa was added to his charge. Murshid Kuli Khan was an efficient administrator and trade and commerce received a huge impetus under him.

After Murshid Kuli, his son Shuja-ud-Din succeeded him. In this time the governorship of Bihar was added with his charge. After Shuja Ud-Din his son Saraf Raj Khan ascended the throne .In 1740 Alivardi Khan, the Deputy general of Bihar rebelled against his master and ultimately killed Sarfaraz Khan and seized the authority. With the passage of time, the authority of the vast territory including Bengal, Bihar and Orissa came under the sole control of Alivardi Khan.

Alivardi Khan maintained the newly acquired kingdom of Bengal so competently. He never depends upon the Mughal Emperor for the defence of his province from the Maratha raids.

The Rajputs
During the closing years of the Muhgal period, the weakness of the Mughal emperors, gave opportunity to the Rajputs to re-establish their supremacy. The strained relationship of the Rajputs with the Muhgals led them to the formation of an anti-Mughal league. Ajit Singh, Jay Singh II and Durgadas Rathod led the league. During the tussle between the Sayyid brothers, the Rajputs followed several policies in order to fulfill their self-interest. In this way the Rajputs won the prestigious posts in the Mughal court during the Sayyid brothers. Thus the Rajputs got the power of controlling vast Empire extending from Delhi to Surat on the Western coast.

The Jats
The agriculturists Jat settlers living round Delhi, Mathura and Agra had revolted against the oppressive policies of Aurungzeb. However the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb suppressed the revolt but the area remained disturbed. In this circumstances Chauraman, the Jat leader built a strong fort at Thun and challenged the Muhgal authority in the region. The Mughal Army under Jay Singh II, the governor of Agra marched against Chauraman and captured the fort in 1721. Chauraman as a result committed suicide. Badan Singh, the nephew of Chauraman assumed the leadership of Jats. He considerably strengthened his army and built four forts of Dig, Kumber, Ver and Bharatpur. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Mughal power, Badan Singh established his sway over the districts of Mathura and Agra and laid the foundation of the Bharatpur kingdom. At this circumstance, Ahmed Shah accepted his defeat and conferred on Badan Singh the title of Raja. Badan Singh was also conferred with an additional epithet "Mahendra". Suraj Mal succeeded to the kingdom in 1756 and he was a political diplomat. After Suraj Mal`s death in 1763 the Jat kingdom subsequently passed into oblivion.

The Sikhs
The Sikhs originally existed as the religious sect during the Mughal era in India. Guru Govind Singh transformed the Sikhs into a militant sect in order to defend their religion and liberties. Banda Bahadur assumed the leadership of the Sikhs after the death of Guru Govind Singh. He waged a relentless Struggle against the imperialists for eight years. Later he was captured and killed in 1716. The invasion of Nadir Shah and repeated incursions of Ahmed Shah Abdali completely shattered the central authority the Mughals in the region of Punjab. This political confusion gave the opportunity for the growth of the Sikh misls. The Sikh misls brought a large part of Punjab under their sway in 1760`s and 1770`s.

The Marathas
The Marathas were the most violent Hindu tribes during the Mughal supremacy. The Marathas posed the most formidable challenge to the Mughals in Deccan and in northern India. Under the competent leadership of the Peshwa the Marathas uprooted the Mughal authority from Malwa and Gujrat. Further they extended their sway over the Rajputana in the 1730. The Marathas swiftly improved their position by1750. But later Ahmed Shah Abdali challenged the Maratha authority, in the third battle of Panipat in the year 1761. The Marathas however recovered from the reverses suffered at Panipat. They also offered a formidable challenge to the English East India Company in the struggle for political supremacy in India.


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