The decline of the Mughal Empire commenced soon after the death of Aurangzeb. For a while, the military successes of the Marathas gave rise to the feeling that they would fill the vacuum left by the Mughals and don the imperial mantle. This was not to be. In the anarchy that followed, regional forces tended to reassert themselves and states with ancient antecedents, many of which had been independent during Medieval times, like the states of Rajputana, re-emerged. The dilution of central authority prompted Provincial Governors of the Mughals, to assume independence (e.g., the states of Avadh and Hyderabad). The turbulence of the times also gave rise to Military Adventurers who through force carved out kingdoms for themselves, like Scindia (Gwalior), and Hyder Ali (Mysore). Finally, there were 'states of convenience', - titular states whose ruling dynasty was supported either by the British (e.g., the Wodeyars) or the regional hegemon in the interest of high politics. When the British Crown took over the administration from the East India Company in 1858 there were over a hundered Princely States which were issuing coins nominally in the name of the Mughal Emperor. With the deportation of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah to Rangoon, the native rulers gradually replaced the Mughal superinscriptions on their coins with the name or portrait of the Queen of England as an expression of acceptance of British supremacy. Some coins like those of Mewar inscribed the word 'Dosti London' i.e. 'Friends of London' on their coins. The British over time curtailed the rights of the the Native States to strike their own coins. Representative Coinage of some of the States are depicted below.
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