In the midst of this economic and political crisis, the ruler of Iran, Nadir Shah, sacked and plundered the city of Delhi in 1739.

Aurangzeb died in 1707. There was emergence of new political groups in the subcontinent during the first half of the eighteenth century roughly from 1707, when Aurangzeb died till the third battle of Panipat in 1761.

Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah, the founder of Hyderabad state, was one of the most powerful members at the court of the Mughal Emperor Farrukh Siyar.

All three states were founded by members of the high Mughal nobility who had been governors of large provinces Sa‘adat Khan (Awadh), Murshid Quli Khan (Bengal) and Asaf Jah (Hyderabad).

The Jats were prosperous agriculturists, and towns like Panipat and Ballabhgarh became important trading centres in the areas dominated by them.

Maratha state was wielded by a family of Chitpavan Brahmanas who served Shivaji’s successors as Peshwa or principal minister.

The state depended on local bankers and mahajans for loans. It sold the right to collect tax to the highest bidders. These “revenue farmers” (ijaradars) agreed to pay the state a fixed sum of money.

The military campaigns made other rulers hostile towards the Marathas. As a result, they were not inclined to support the Marathas during the third battle of Panipat in 1761.

Under a number of able leaders in the eighteenth century, the Sikhs organized themselves into a number of bands called jathas, and later on misls.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh, reunited sikh groups and established his capital at Lahore in 1799.