Which Muslim Empire ruled most of modern India and Pakistan from the 16th century until British colonization?

Most scholars and historians hold that the rise of British colonialism brought the end of the Mughal Empire which had ruled most of modern India and Pakistan. In fact the history of modern Islam is often used to explain the growth and impact of the “Western countries.” From this perspective the 18th century was a period of degeneration and a prelude to European domination, symbolized by Napoleon I’s conquest of Egypt in 1798.

Nonetheless, it is also possible to argue that the period of Western domination was just an interlude in the ongoing development of indigenous styles of modernization. In order to resolve this debate, it is necessary to begin the “modern” period with the 18th century. Activism and revival were then present throughout Islamdom.

The three major Muslim empires saw most decline during the 18th century, as compared with their own earlier power and with the rising powers in Europe. Yet most Muslims were not aware that Europe was partly to blame for their problem. Similar declines had occurred many times in the past. They were products of the inevitable weaknesses of the military-conquest state turned into centralized absolutism, overdependence on continuous expansion, weakening of training for rule, the difficulty of maintaining efficiency and loyalty in a large and complex royal household and army, and the difficulty of maintaining sufficient revenues for an increasingly lavish court life.

The Mughal Empire was able to rule for over 300 years.