A Mughal Destiny

One of the greatest empires on Earth- the Mughal Empire- controlled, at it's peak, all of the Indian subcontinent(minus Sri Lanka), Afganistan, and a small part of Siam (Modern day Thailand). A mere twenty years later, it was reduced to a strip of land between Delhi and Agra. By the time Bahudar Shah II, the last Emperor, was in power, he did not even control Delhi.

What happened? How could such a powerful nation lose it's power so fast?

The answer lies with the last of the Great Mughals; Aurangzeb. He was an excellent general, with large amounts of ambition- but no vision- lots of grab- but no reach. He was a meticulous admistrator, but only in the sense that everything must be recorded. Every single province except Bengal, in one year, reported a loss. Resources could not be allocated, and in addition, Aurangzeb's anti Hindu laws angered the Marathas and Rajputs, making them serious problems, his anti Shia laws made him unpopular with the Persians, who promised to invade (their invasion was later the event that collapsed the Empire.

So what if Aurangzeb was never Emperor? What if his brother, the true heir, Dara Shukoh, became King? When he faced Aurangzeb at Samogarrh, he had the larger army, public support, and the generals of the Empire all behind him. He would have won- he should have won- but for one accident of fate; he got off his elephant. His troops thought he was fleeing (he was actually protecting himself against a desperate fussilade by Aurangzeb's artillerymen) and ran. He was a better administrator, diplomat, and a decnt general. Under him, would the MUghals have fallen?

The Persians would not have invaded. The Marathas would not have rebelled.

The Empire would not have fallen.