Different aspects of the Mughal Empire-its power, wealth, stability, territoriality, exquisite, surreal character, and also its 'decline'-have engaged historians for several decades in a complex, contentious debate. This volume attempts to understand the divergent views and discussions that surround the withering of the empire and focuses on the different paradigms and assumptions that have shaped the interpretations on the decline of the Mughal Empire.

• Series Editors' Note


• Preface


• Acknowledgments


• Introduction Meena Bhargava


• 1. The Economic Influence of the Administration (excerpts) and Summary and Conclusion (excerpts) W.H. Moreland


• 2. The Jagirdari Crisis, A Fresh Look Satish Chandra 3. The Agrarian Causes of the Fall of the Mughal Empire Irfan Habib


• 4. The Imperial Crisis in the Deccan John F. Richards


• 5. Shivaji and the Decline of the Mughal Empire Michael N. Pearson


• 6. The 'Great Firm' Theory of the Decline of the Mughal Empire Karen Leonard


• 7. The Passing of the Empire, The Mughal Case M. Athar Ali


• 8. The Structure of Administration Chetan Singh


• 9. The Formation of a Regionally Oriented Ruling Group in Bengal, 1700-1740 Philip Calkins


• 10. From The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh and Punjab, 1707-48 Muzaffar Alam


• 11. From Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion 1770-1870 Christopher A. Bayly


• 12. The Slow Conquest: Administrative Integration of Malwa into the Maratha Empire, 1720-60 Stewart Gordon


• About the Editor and Contributors


• Index

Meena Bhargava is Associate Professor, Department of History, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. Among her other publications is Women, Education and Politics (OUP, 2005).