Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c38.s2.13

v3.c38.s2.13

But the Emperor, his administrative officers and the army were bound to starve unless these Crownlands were brought back to the management of his own collectors and the unauthorised extensions of fiefs were wrested from the hands of the usurping captains. This was a task beyond the power of Shah Alam and the attempts made by his successive regents after Najaf’s death to effect it only led to mutinies and their downfall, till at last a supremely strong regent like Māhādji Sindhiā imposed his will and his master’s authority on these countless rebels,—and that too after a most dangerous and all but fatal challenge to his authority in 1787-1788.