CLASS 7 · NCERT HISTORY · CH 8: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS (NCERT CLASS 7 — OUR PASTS II)
What sacked Delhi in 1739?
NADIR SHAH (Persian ruler) defeated the Mughal army at KARNAL (24 Feb 1739); occupied Delhi for 57 days; massacred ~30,000 in one day; carried away the PEACOCK THRONE and the KOH-I-NOOR diamond. Marked the COLLAPSE of Mughal prestige.
Who invaded India after Nadir Shah and how many times?
AHMAD SHAH ABDALI (Durrani) — Afghan king, ex-general of Nadir; invaded India SEVEN TIMES (1748-67); decisive victory over Marathas at THIRD BATTLE OF PANIPAT (14 Jan 1761) — broke Maratha power. Did not establish lasting rule.
Why is the Third Battle of Panipat 1761 a turning point?
Marathas (Sadashiv Rao Bhau, Vishwasrao) defeated by Abdali. Killed ~40,000+ Marathas and most leadership. CHECKED Maratha bid for paramountcy in north India — created vacuum the British exploited from Bengal eastward.
Why was the Mughal empire so vulnerable after Aurangzeb?
(i) 26-year DECCAN WAR exhausted treasury + manpower; (ii) AGRARIAN CRISIS — over-assigned jagirs, no rotation, jagirdars over-exploited peasants → revenue collapse; (iii) MARATHAS under Shivaji + Sambhaji + Tarabai never crushed; (iv) Aurangzeb left no clear successor (3 sons fought after his death); (v) Religious policy alienated Sikhs + Rajputs.
Who succeeded Aurangzeb and how quickly did the Mughal empire fragment?
BAHADUR SHAH I (Shah Alam I, r. 1707-12) — won succession war against Azam Shah + Kam Bakhsh; weak ruler. Then JAHANDAR SHAH (1712-13) → FARRUKHSIYAR (1713-19) → MUHAMMAD SHAH "RANGILA" (1719-48) — by 1722 every major province was effectively independent: HYDERABAD (1724), AWADH (1722), BENGAL (1717), MARATHAS dominant in Deccan + central India.
Sayyid Brothers — kingmakers?
ABDULLAH KHAN + HUSSAIN ALI KHAN (the "Sayyid Brothers") — controlled Mughal court 1713-22; deposed Jahandar Shah (1713); raised Farrukhsiyar (1713); deposed + killed Farrukhsiyar (1719); raised + deposed 2 puppet emperors; finally raised Muhammad Shah (1719). Killed by Muhammad Shah's faction (1720-22) — but the Mughal court never recovered prestige.
Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah was Nadir Shah's contemporary at sack of Delhi in?
1739
Nadir Shah carried away which throne?
Peacock Throne (and Kohinoor)
How did Awadh become independent?
SADAT KHAN BURHAN-UL-MULK (Persian noble) appointed Mughal subadar of Awadh in 1722; gradually became INDEPENDENT in fact; founded the dynasty of Nawabs of Awadh (Persian Shia origin).
Who was Asaf-ud-Daula and where did he move the capital?
ASAF-UD-DAULA (r. 1775-97) — moved capital to LUCKNOW; built the iconic BARA IMAMBARA (1784, during a famine — to provide employment); patron of poetry, architecture, dance — Lucknow became the cultural capital of north India.
How was Awadh subdued by the British?
After defeat at BUXAR (1764), Awadh became a Subsidiary Ally; eventually annexed by DALHOUSIE in 1856 on charge of "misgovernance" — a major cause of the 1857 Revolt.
Awadh's Persian-influenced culture under the Nawabs?
Lucknow under Asaf-ud-Daula + Saadat Ali Khan + Wajid Ali Shah became the cultural capital of north India after Delhi declined: KATHAK dance (Lucknow gharana); URDU GHAZAL poetry (Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib lived there briefly); LUCKNAVI cuisine (kebabs, biryani); TAZIYA processions during Muharram; CHIKANKARI embroidery. Many Mughal courtiers shifted from Delhi after Nadir Shah's sack 1739.
This topic is part of the NCERT Class 7 History syllabus, specifically the textbook Our Pasts II, drawn from the chapter Ch 8: Eighteenth-Century Political Formations (NCERT Class 7 — Our Pasts II). Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar, Satish Chandra for history; G.C. Leong, Savindra Singh for geography; the UPSC Civil Services prelims + mains syllabus).
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