UPSC CORE · NCERT HISTORY · BIPAN CHANDRA VOL I CH 1: DECLINE OF MUGHALS + 18TH-CENTURY INDIA'S POLITICAL-ECONOMIC SETTING
Mughal Decline + 18th-c. Setting ⏳
NCERT-aligned UPSC Core History topic from NCERT Class 11/12 + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar). Every item is anchored to a real location on India's map — built for boards (CBSE, ICSE, state) and UPSC aspirants.
📚 NCERT TEXTBOOK ALIGNMENT
Class UPSC History — NCERT Class 11/12 + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar) — Chapter: Bipan Chandra Vol I Ch 1: Decline of Mughals + 18th-century India's political-economic setting.
8LOCATIONS
41QUESTIONS
UPSC CORENCERT LEVEL
Open interactive map quiz →
Key locations covered (8)
- Why the Mughal Empire Fell — Bipan Chandra's Analysis — Delhi · Mughal collapse epicentre
- European Trading Companies — Race for India — Coastal India
- Successor States — Awadh + Bengal + Hyderabad + Carnatic — Pan-India
- Black Hole + Plassey Setting (1756-57) — Bengal
- Murshidabad — Bengal Nawabi capital — West Bengal
- Hyderabad — Nizam capital — Telangana
- Pune — Peshwa capital — Maharashtra
- Lucknow — Awadh Nawabi — Uttar Pradesh
Sample questions (12 of 41)
Bipan Chandra's 6 causes of Mughal decline?
(i) AGRARIAN CRISIS — over-assignment of jagirs; jagirdars over-exploited peasants; ZAMINDARS revolted (Jat 1669+, Satnami 1672, Sikh 1709, Maratha 1657-1818); (ii) JAGIRDARI CRISIS — too many mansabdars chased too few good jagirs ("be-jagir"); (iii) AURANGZEB's ENDLESS DECCAN WAR (1681-1707) exhausted treasury + manpower; (iv) WEAK SUCCESSORS after 1707; 4 succession wars in 12 years; (v) RELIGIOUS POLICY — jizya (1679) alienated Hindus + Sikhs + Marathas; (vi) ARRIVAL of European trading companies disrupted Indian commercial economy.
How quickly did the Mughal empire fragment?
BAHADUR SHAH I (1707-12) → JAHANDAR SHAH (1712-13) → FARRUKHSIYAR (1713-19, controlled by SAYYID BROTHERS) → MUHAMMAD SHAH "RANGILA" (1719-48). By 1722 EVERY major province was effectively independent: BENGAL (1717), AWADH (1722), HYDERABAD (1724); MARATHAS controlled most of central India; SIKHS in Punjab; AFGHANS (Abdali) in NW. The Mughal empire was a SHELL by 1739 (Nadir Shah's sack).
NADIR SHAH's sack of Delhi 1739 — significance?
NADIR SHAH (Persian Afsharid king) defeated Mughal Muhammad Shah at the BATTLE OF KARNAL (24 Feb 1739, 6-hour battle). OCCUPIED Delhi 21 March; reportedly killed 30,000+ in retaliation for an attack on his soldiers; LOOTED 70 crore rupees + the PEACOCK THRONE (with Koh-i-Noor + Timur Ruby + 100s of jewels); enslaved THOUSANDS of artisans + women. Returned to Persia April 1739 — assassinated 1747. PSYCHOLOGICAL DEATH-BLOW to Mughal prestige; the SECOND coming of Timur (1398) — but worse.
AHMAD SHAH ABDALI's 7 invasions?
AHMAD SHAH DURRANI / ABDALI (1722-1773) — Afghan king; ex-general of Nadir Shah; founded the Durrani Empire after Nadir's assassination. Invaded India 7 TIMES (1748-67). MAJOR campaigns: (i) 1748 — battle of Manupur; defeated by Mughals (only Mughal victory of the era). (ii) 1756-57 — sacked Delhi + Mathura + Vrindavan; took Punjab. (iii) 1761 — THIRD BATTLE OF PANIPAT (14 January 1761) — defeated MARATHAS comprehensively; ~70,000 killed. After this Abdali GAVE BACK the throne to the Mughal Shah Alam II + returned to Afghanistan; never tried to rule India himself.
BIPAN CHANDRA — main reasons for Mughal decline?
(i) AURANGZEB's OVEREXTENSION + Deccan wars (1681-1707) drained treasury; (ii) JAGIR CRISIS — too many mansabdars + too few jagirs; (iii) RELIGIOUS POLICIES alienated Sikhs (Tegh Bahadur execution), Marathas, Rajputs; (iv) ECONOMIC stagnation + peasant impoverishment; (v) WEAK SUCCESSORS after 1707 — 6 puppets in 12 yrs; (vi) NADIR SHAH 1739 + AHMAD SHAH ABDALI 1748-67 raids; (vii) SUCCESSOR STATES (Bengal, Hyderabad, Awadh, Marathas) emerged independent.
Aurangzeb's reign ended in which year?
1707
Aurangzeb died at which place?
Ahmednagar (3 March 1707)
Nadir Shah invaded India in?
1739 (Battle of Karnal)
Nadir Shah took which famous diamond from Delhi?
Kohinoor (and the Peacock Throne)
Ahmad Shah Abdali fought the Third Battle of Panipat against the Marathas in?
14 January 1761
Successor states emerged in 18th century India — name the three main ones.
Awadh, Bengal, Hyderabad (plus Carnatic, Mysore, Punjab)
Founder of Hyderabad state was?
Mir Qamar-ud-Din (Asaf Jah I, Nizam-ul-Mulk) — 1724
All 41 questions are available in the interactive map quiz.
About this topic
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, specifically the textbook NCERT Class 11/12 + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar), drawn from the chapter Bipan Chandra Vol I Ch 1: Decline of Mughals + 18th-century India's political-economic setting. 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).
Use the interactive India map to learn mughal decline + 18th-c. setting the way memory works best — by spatial location. Each pin opens a flashcard. Mark "Knew it" or "Didn't know" to track your mastery over time.
Built with Claude (AI authorship)
The questions, answers, item descriptions, and period chips on this page were authored with the help of Claude, an AI assistant by Anthropic, under human editorial direction. The catalog is our best approximation of factual knowledge synthesised from NCERT textbooks, the UPSC syllabus, and standard reference works. For high-stakes exams, please cross-check critical facts against your official NCERT textbook. Reports to support@bharatgeoquiz.com are folded into future updates as the community grows. Full disclosure on the Terms page →
Related topics
More on भारत GeoQuiz