The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c3.7

v4.c3.7

Aurangzīb's dying efforts to prevent his sons from repeating the fratricidal war for which he had set them an example failed. His son Shāh ‘Ālam Bahādur defeated his brothers, but was old and tired and reigned only a few years. The Delhi empire now becomes the subject of contests between nobles who set up puppet rulers, establish a new hereditary rule of succession to public office, and carve out principalities for themselves which are independent of the emperor in all but name, and of which Hyderābād, Bengal, Oudh and Rohilkhand are the chief. The Marāthās, first enlisted by the Deccan kingdoms to oppose Jahāngīr's invading army, and gradually turning into a compact nation in their homeland, later engage in guerrilla expeditions beyond its limits. The Nizām of Hyderābād, to protect himself, diverts them against Delhi, and the Nawāb of Oudh rashly invites their assistance against his rival the Nawāb of Farrukhābād and thus brings them into the Dūāb. Weakened by the shattering raid of Nādir Shāh the Delhi empire cannot withstand them and they advance far into the Punjab. With a stable and effective administration at home their activities outside the Deccan are chiefly predatory till their military officers in Gujarāt, Mālwā and Nāgpur assume independence.