Nadir Shah's departure in 1739 inaugurated a period of turmoil in the life of Shahjahanabad. The first part of the period, from 1739 to 1803, was a dismal and dispiriting time. The decline of the city was a direct result of the collapse of the Empire, and the story of Shahjahan's capital during the late eighteenth century is one of destruction, misery, and heartache.

The second part of the period, from 1803 to 1857, was an interval of peace and healing. Without the clash and blood of the eighteenth century, this story is duller but it does introduce the themes of growth and prosperity. British rule in the city began in 1803 and the fifty-odd years preceding the mutiny witnessed a profound transformation. No longer an imperial capital, hostage to the fortunes of the emperor and his court, Shahjahanabad developed into an upcountry commercial and cultural center, depending on the British army and the new cash crops for its prosperity and on the remnants of the Mughal nobility, newly risen Hindu merchants and professionals, and British administrators for its cultural and intellectual vitality.

Politics

Following the death of the Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal army returned to north India. Although Bahadur Shah, Aurangzeb's successor, spent his entire reign touring and fighting, the presence of the imperial camp helped to reinvigorate Shahjahanabad.