(i) In the middle of the economic and political crisis, the ruler of Iran, Nadir Shah, attacked and
plundered the city of Delhi in 1739.
(ii) He took away immense amount of wealth. (Hi)A series of plundering raids by the Afghan ruler
Ahmad Shah Abdali occurred afterwards. He invaded North India five times between 1748 and
1761

The state of Hyderabad was constantly engaged in
struggle because:
(i) It was against the Marathas to the west and with independent Telugu warriors chief (nayakas) of the plateau.
(ii) The ambitions of the Nizam to control the rich textile producing areas of the Coromandal Coast in the east were checked by the British.
(ii) They were becoming increasingly powerful in that region.

Peshwas were the principal minister who served as successors of Shivaji. They were the Chitpavan Brahmanas. Deshmukhs were the powerful warrior families and the Kunbis were the peasant pastoralists who were the backbones of Maratha Army.

Burhan-ul-Mulk reduced Mughal supremacy by taking following steps:
(i) He first of all reduced the number of office holders (jagirdars) appointed by the Mughals.
(ii) He also reduced the size of jagirs and appointed his own loyal servants to vacant positions.
(iii) The accounts of jagirdars were checked to prevent cheating and the revenues of the entire district were re-assessed by officials appointed by the Nawab's court.

This tale is about an old Rajput Chief, named Bhamashah, whole ancestors had been a ministers of Chittor. He had quite a large amount of money and valuables lying safely at his home. When he saw the Rana leaving Mewar forever, he felt very sad. There could be no better use of his treasure, he thought that it to be placed at the feet of the Rana. So he brought out the treasure and presented it to the Rana saying. "My Lord, what will do with this wealth when you are gone? It was earned by my ancestors from Chittor. It belongs to you."
It was indeed a glorious example of devotion, self sacrifice and tears of joy appeared in the eyes of Rana as he gathered Bhamashah in a warm embrace. So he turned back and raised another army with the money Bhamashah had brought in. The war with Akbar was resumed. This time the Mughals were taken by surprise and Rana was stronger than they had expected. Fort after fort fell to the Rajputs till the Rana had won back almost the whole of his lost kingdom. He was now again the king of Mewar.

Architecture: The new court of Bengal was influenced by the Mughal Empire. So they set up many mosques. In this time many temples were also made. These were built using bricks and terracotta. The temples were made double or four roofed. It was a typical Bengali style architecture. The temples were built on square platform. In a four roofed structure, four triangular roofs placed on the four walls move up to converge on a curved line. The interior was plain but the outer walls were decorated with paintings, ornamental tiles & terracotta tablets. In Vishnupur, such decorations reached a high degree of excellence.
Culture: The new court of Bengal had better cultural harmony. All the people respect each others culture and religions. Different cultural activities flourished during this time. 'Jatra' an open stage drama, different form of religious song such as Kirtan, Shyama Sangeet, Baul Sangeet had flourished during this time. A new culture of money lending from richest merchant had developed. During this time the banking house of Jagat Seth became very prosperous.

i) The Mughal Emperor Jahangir looked upon the Sikh communiry as a potential threat and he ordered the execution of Guru Arjan in 1606. The Sikh movement began to get politicised in the 17th century, a development that culminated in the institution of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. The community of the Sikhs, called the Khalsa panth, became a political entity.
ii) He emphasised the worship of one God.
iii) He laid stress on the importance of right belief and worship, honest living and helping others.

Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah was the founder of Hyderabad state.
Asaf Jah was one of the most powerful members at the court of the Mughal Emperor Farrukh Siyar. He was first given the governorship of Awadh and later the Deccan. He brought skilled soldiers and efficient administrators from northern India. He appointed mansabdars and granted them Jagirs. There was turmoil in the Deccan due to the fierce competition amongst the nobility. Asaf Jah took the advantage of this situation and gathered power in his hands. Gradually he became the actual ruler of that region.

In 1722, Burhan-ul-Mulk Sa'adat Khan was appointed as Subadar of Awadh. Later he founded the state 'Awadh'. It was one of the most important states to emerge out of the break-up of the weak Mughal Empire.
Awadh was a prosperous region. It controlled the main trade route between North India and Bengal. Burhan-ul-Mulk held the combined offices of subadari, diwani and faujdari. He controlled completely the political, financial and military affairs of Awadh.

Under Murshid Quli Khan, Bengal gradually broke away from Mughal control. First he was appointed as the naib, deputy to the governor of the province. Although, never a formal Subadar, Murshid Quli Khan very quickly seized all the power.
Soon, he began to command the revenue administration of the state. In order to reduce the Mughal influence in Bengal he transferred all the Mughal Jagirdars to Orissa and ordered a major re-assessment of the revenues of Bengal.

i) The people of Awadh relied solely on the local bankers and mahajans for loans. It sold the right to collect tax to the highest bidders.
ii) These revenue farmers known as ijaradars agreed to pay the state a fixed sum of money. Local bankers guaranteed the payment of this contracted amount to the state.
iii) In turn, the revenue farmers were given considerable freedom in the assessment and collection of taxes. Thus, the position of moneylenders and bankers became influential which was not in the past.

Burhan-ul-Mulk tried to reduce Mughal influence in the Awadh region by taking the following steps
(i) He reduced the number of office holders (Jagirdars) appointed by the Mughals.
(ii) He reduced the size of Jagirs and appointed his own loyal servants to vacant positions.
(iii) The accounts of Jagirdars were checked to prevent cheating and the revenues of all districts were re-assessed by officials appointed by the Nawab's court

The effective administration broke down under the later Mughal Emperors. It became increasingly difficult for them to keep a check on their powerful mansabdars. Nobles appointed as governors often controlled their offices of revenue and military administration as well. This gave them extraordinary political, economic and military powers over vast regions of the Mughal empire. The periodic remission of revenue to the capital declined as the governors enhanced their control over the provinces

Marathas wanted to expand beyond the Deccan because of the following reasons
(i) They wanted to reduce the authority of the Mughal Empire. Maratha king wanted to be recognised as the overlord of the entire Deccan Plateau.
(ii) To possess the right to collect chauth and sardeshmukhi in the entire region.

The Nawabs of Awadh and Bengal tried to do away with the jagirdari system because they wanted to reduce the Mughal influence in their kingdoms.