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▶Preface.
Within a decade or two of Aurangzeb's death, India was divided into feudal divisions. The Mughal court still existed, but the actual jurisdiction became smaller and smaller, and most of the emperors of the late Mughal period were raised as puppets, and most of them were cowardly and incompetent or addicted to alcohol, and those who wanted to be autonomous were also deposed. The court was left behind, not because it still had vitality, but because it still had the value of being a puppet. In the struggle between court magnates and separatist forces, no one has absolute superiority, and each side must use the imperial court to blackmail the princes and elevate their status. The imperial court was in fact just an empty shell. The former unified country really became a leaderless scattered sand in the 50s.
I. The Marat Union
The Marat Union was an uprising neutral country opposed to the rule of the Mughal Empire, developed in foreign expansion, and evolved from a single Marat state to the Marat Union. In the 40s and 50s, its rule included almost the entire Deccan Plateau and most of Hindustan, and for a time even the Delhi court was under its control, becoming the most extensive and powerful country among the feudal forces in India.
The Marats were under the rule of the Bijapur state in the 17th century, mostly peasants, some small feudal lords, and a few held high- and middle-ranking official positions in the Bijapur court and were awarded zagil. Bijapur and his neighbors fought for years in Maharashtra, bankrupting the peasants.
In the second half of the 17th century, the Mughal Empire began to conquer the area, and the exploitation of the Marat peasants became more severe, and the interests of the small Marat feudal lords were also harmed. The peasants demanded lightening of their burdens, and the petty feudal lords demanded the maintenance and development of their economic power, all of which were possible only by getting rid of the rule of foreign feudal lords.
In this way, they were united under the slogan of establishing an independent state of the Marats, and Siwaji became their leader. Aurangzeb's policy against Hinduism only strengthened their resolve to resist Mughal conquest and domination.
Sivaji's father served as an official at the court of Bijapur and acquired large areas of Zagil territory. Sivaji lives in Pune territory, and it is here,
Responding to the demands of the petty feudal lords and peasants, he began to act. In the mid-17th century, he used a strategy to seize the surrounding feudal lords' territories and establish contiguous territories. Such actions were naturally intolerated by the rulers of Bijapur, and Aurangzeb, who was conquering here, did not want to see.
Both sent large armies to requisition. Sivaji failed at one point and ceded the land to make peace. By 1670 it resumed operations , recovered lost territory, turned to the offensive, hit the territory of the Mo Zhier Empire, occupied parts of the region, and inflicted several heavy losses on the Bijapur army.
In 1674, Siwaji solemnly proclaimed the establishment of the state of Marat and crowned himself king, with Raigarh as its capital. Taking advantage of the Mughal Empire's busy war with Bijapur, he continued to expand his territory, extending his power to Kannara and Karnatik in southern India.
After conquering Bijapur and Gokonda, Aurangzeb attacked the Marat state with all his might. By this time Siwaji had died (1680), his son and heir Shambuji could not resist, most of the country was occupied, and he himself was captured and executed.
However, the Marathians soon regained their strength and began their war against the Mughal Empire again. The Marat army attacked everywhere and constantly won. Aurangzeb personally led his army to capture fortress after fortress, but as soon as he left, the fortress was lost again. The war dragged on endlessly, depleting the Mughal Empire's financial and material resources.
The Marat people were able to win because of Siwaji's policy of lightening the burden on the peasants and relying on them to fight. He expelled the Islamic Regidar, abolished the tax package system, replaced it with direct state taxation, and established cadastral books to prevent fraud in tax collection
These measures reduced the amount of land taxes to only 30-40% of production, and the country's revenue increased slightly. Sivaji's army consisted of peasants, and the liberating nature of the war and Siwaji's policy of lightening the burden on the peasants gave this army a strong combat effectiveness.
It is relatively mobile and flexible in battle, can penetrate deep behind enemy lines, can disperse and concentrate at any time, copes with ease, and is surprisingly victorious. The Malats also won because of their relative internal unity, not only because the Marat had few large feudal lords at this time, but also because of the religious oppressive policies practiced by Aurangzeb, which greatly strengthened their resolve to unite against their enemies.
II. The wars of aggression and plunder of the Marats.
They took advantage of the decline of the Mughal central power to penetrate deep into the heart of the Mughal Empire and plunder wealth. The Mughal rulers could not resist and had to make a contract with them, agreeing to the collection of choth (41 tax) by the Marathers in Deccan. The Marats ruled outside Maharashtra without any policy of lightening the burden on the people, and the invasion and plunder of their armies aroused the hatred of the people everywhere.
As the nature of the war changed, the Marat nation evolved into the Marat Union. In the course of external expansion, the senior leaders of the Marat army (who turned out to be mostly small feudal lords) rose to the peak of power, and their greedy desires also swelled dramatically. From 1713 to 1720, the Marat state was ruled by Pašva (Prime Minister) Baraj Wiswanat, who was succeeded by his son Baji Rao I.
Peshwa became hereditary, and Peshwa became de facto ruler of the Marat state and made the area inhabited by the Marat her hereditary domain
Previously, the state of Marat had restored the Zagir system, and the military chiefs who had conquered large areas in the war were given the conquered lands as Zagil and granted hereditary rule. In this way, these chiefs became great feudal lords with ruling power, and thus semi-independent princes within the Marat state.
Their obligation to the central authority is to pay tribute and provide military services. And in fact, Nagon is practically not realized, and as for the provision of military services, it is only carried out when it coincides with its own interests. Such semi-independent princes were Sindia (in Gwalior), Holka (in Indore), Ponsra (in Nagpur) and Gekhua (in Baroda).
This transformation took place in the 20s of the 18th century, and from this time on, the Marat state evolved into the Marat Union, with Peshwa in Pune becoming the supreme leader of the alliance. The Marat princes fought in various places for plundering purposes, which made the territory of the Marat Union expand more and more, and Delhi was also under its control.
However, this greatly swollen country is only outwardly exterior, but inside it contains a deep crisis. Zagil was hereditary, which satisfied the land private tendencies of the great feudal lords, but inevitably brought about the division of the country.
Although the massive plundering of the outside world has slightly relaxed their internal oppression of the peasants, it has caused extreme hardship to the vast number of people in the non-Marat districts and hindered the normal economic development of those areas.
Plunder everywhere also corrupted the army, officers were keen to spend, the discipline of ten soldiers was lax, the army went on expedition, followed by more and more servants, and lost mobility. Many of the shortcomings of the later Mughal Empire were repeated in the Marat League. Its political outlook is cloudy.
3. Rivalry between different regions
Mysore was a Hindu state established by Hindu chiefs during the collapse of the Mughal Empire. In the subsequent evolution, the prince was gradually deprived of real power, and great power was in the hands of the commander of the army. From 1760 onwards, the army was commanded by a Muslim general, Haider Ali, who became the de facto ruler of the country.
Haider Ali carried out military reforms, abolished the Zajdar military maintenance system, recruited troops by the state, unified salaries, unified training, unified command: European officers were hired with high salaries, new tactics were taught, and trained according to the European military method: in addition to strengthening troops, emphasis was placed on infantry, artillery was equipped, and artillery units were established.
As a result, the Mysore army became the best-equipped army of the Indian princes, numbering about 55,000 men and 26,000-31,000 internal soldiers. Haider Ali used this army to actively expand around, annexing many small feudal chieftains, making Mysore one of the strongest states in South India.
At its peak, it reached the Krishna River in the north, the Koferi River in the south, Karnatik in the east, and the coast in the west. None of these feudal countries, whether Hindu or Islamic, no longer engaged in religious persecution, but none of them adopted a policy that conformed to the new trend of economic development while maintaining national unity. Therefore, they are as handless and angry as in the late Mughal Empire.
In the first half of the 18th century, these many feudal states fought endlessly with each other in different regions, competing for territory, resources and regional hegemony. Small countries around large countries are first and foremost victims, and large countries also confront each other directly. The most contested regions are Hindustan and South India. In Hindustan, the main object of contention was the remnants of the Mughal Empire.
The Marat Union is the main pretender, and Rohilkander and Aude are also in the competition. At Baji Raozhenpeshiva (1720-1740), the Marat occupied Gujarat, Malwa, Bilal and Gundwana and plundered the area of Gingyu. In 1758 the Marat attacked again and briefly occupied Delhi.
In South India, the struggle took place mainly between the Marat Union, Hyderabad and Mysore, and in addition to competing for the territory of the surrounding small countries, the three often conquered each other and occupied each other's territory. The Marathers were militarily strong, and Hyderabad suffered repeated defeats. The Marat army also ravaged Karnatik.
Mysore's foreign expansion inevitably clashed with Marat. In 1757 the Marat army captured most of Mysore, forcing the other side to cede land and pay reparations. The Marat Union was the protagonist of both the North and the South, with the ambition of reconquering and unifying India.
As Peshwabaki Rao said in 1720, let the Marat flag "fly from the Krishna River to the Indus River." However, it is actually a fierce inward, and can only be prestige in invasion and plunder, and has no power to conquer and unify India. India's civil strife is a great temptation for the rulers of its northwestern neighbors Iran and Afghanistan.
In 1738, Shah Nadir Shah of Iran invaded India with an army of 50,000 and occupied Peshawar, arriving in Delhi the following year. The Mughal army was defeated and Emperor Muhammad Shah surrendered.
Nadir Shah ransacked Delhi, slaughtering 20,000 inhabitants and robbing 700 million rupees of wealth, including Shah, Jahan's priceless peacock throne. Ten years later, King Ahmad Shah Abdali of Afwan followed in Nadir Shah's footsteps and invaded.
In the more than 10 years since 1748, the Afghan army has invaded Delhi 12 times and reached Delhi many times, and its looting and destruction is more serious than that of Denalsha, and the value of the loot transported is incalculable. India, which has suffered many disasters, has been repeatedly looted by this. The country's exhaustion has reached the point where it cannot be increased.
The Afghan invasion was a serious challenge to the Marats, who wished to establish hegemony in northern India. In order to regain their prestige and expel the Afghans from India, the Maraths organized an army of 45,000 men to go north under the command of Sadarsif Rao and Bao to face the Afghans.
The Marat army had lost its former combat effectiveness and had no allies to rely on, while the Afghans were supported by some Muslim rulers in northern India.
On January 14, 1761, the army of Marat and the Afghan army led by Ahmad Shah Abdali (plus 60,000 troops provided by the Indian allies) fought a decisive battle at Panipat, in which the army of Marat suffered a crushing defeat, almost all of the army was destroyed, and the commander was killed. The battle dealt a devastating blow to the Marats.
The country, which had ambitions to unify India, was powerless to regain its strength. The Afghans also failed to gain a foothold in India, and due to political instability in the country and the constant attacks by Sikh military forces, the invading forces eventually had to withdraw from India. India's separatist forces weakened each other, and this situation facilitated the British invasion of India.
As Marx graphically described, "The unlimited power of the Great Mughal was overthrown by his governors, the power of the governors was overthrown by the Marats, the power of the Marats was overthrown by the Afghans, and while everyone was fighting like this, the Britons broke in and subjugated all the people." "
bibliography
Aboul Fazl, "The Akbar Case"
Karl Heinrich Marx, British Rule in India
Karl Heinrich Marx, The Future Results of British Rule in India