After Aurangzeb, the Marhattas became the unchallenged rulers of the Deccan. In Punjab, Sikh power became a force to reckon with. One of the reasons for springing up of these new power centers, was that from 1707 to 1857 AD, nearly 17 kings were throned and dethroned in the Empire.

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	Bahadur Shah Zafar succeeded Aurangzeb Alamgir

	Nadir Shah

The weakening Mughal Empire invited havoc in the form of Nadir Shah, a Persian King, who in 1738-39 AD, ordered a general massacre of Delhi, resulting in the death of 30,000 people. By the middle of the 18th century, the Rohillas, lying northeast of Delhi, and the Jats, also became independent of the Mughal rule.

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