The Moguls of Hindustan: An Indian TL

India has been a land of rising and collapsing empires. It has a rich history of unification and division. The last time India was semi-unified was during the Mughal, or Mogul, Empire. For one hundred years, the empire achieved riches and wealth. It led to wealth, power, and progress. But by 1750, 50 years after the empire's territorial apex, India was broken into hundreds of small kingdoms. How did such a vast empire collapse and fall apart? The answer is simply due to one ruler. This ruler was named Aurangzeb. He ruined the empire through zealotry and over-expansion. The empire broke up shortly after his death, Britain was able to dig itself into India after this. But he could have died several times throughout his life. What if he died one of these times? This TL attempts to answer this question.
 
A more interesting proposition would be the accession of Prince Akbar, or simply have Autangzeb die by chance at an earlier time; Mu'azzam was a good ruler
 
An earlier POD than that. But Dara Shikoh will become Padishah.


That POD would be far too early.


Who is Mu'azzam? Aurangzeb will die at an earlier time though.

Prince Akbar, as in Aurangzeb's son, not Emperor Akbar. Prince Akbar launched a rebellion with Rajput help against his father's rule. Autangzeb defeated it using his cunning, and Akbar fled to Sambaji's court thereafter and thence to Persia. Most Indian historians believe Prince Akbar had inherited the tolerance of his great great grandfather... His accession would be a later POD but interestig nonetheless. Unlike Dara Shukoh, Mirza Akbar had the confidence of his soldiers, and some cunning of his own.

Mu'azzam is Bahadur Shah
 
Prince Akbar, as in Aurangzeb's son, not Emperor Akbar. Prince Akbar launched a rebellion with Rajput help against his father's rule. Autangzeb defeated it using his cunning, and Akbar fled to Sambaji's court thereafter and thence to Persia. Most Indian historians believe Prince Akbar had inherited the tolerance of his great great grandfather... His accession would be a later POD but interestig nonetheless. Unlike Dara Shukoh, Mirza Akbar had the confidence of his soldiers, and some cunning of his own.
Hmm, how interesting. But the empire would have already over-expanded itself, hence its collapse would only be delayed.
Mu'azzam is Bahadur Shah

Ah. That would most certainly be too late of a POD. Sikhism was already a warrior religion, the Marathas were already rebelling, et cetera. The Mughal Empire would have surely collapsed even with such a POD.
 
Hmm, how interesting. But the empire would have already over-expanded itself, hence its collapse would only be delayed.


Ah. That would most certainly be too late of a POD. Sikhism was already a warrior religion, the Marathas were already rebelling, et cetera. The Mughal Empire would have surely collapsed even with such a POD.

Don't be so sure.

And in five years, Bahadur Shah reconciled with the Sikhs, and adopted an uneasy peace with the Marathas. There is potential.

The Mughals didn't just collapse into obscurity once Aurangzeb died. They had a slow decline, with a few resurgences that were later quashed; Muhammad Shah, Shah Alam II, and even Bahadur Shah Zafar, considering how potent his appeal was.
 
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