When the heir of an empire turns out to be incompetent, then no matter how big the empire is, it cannot survive. Let us know some such examples from the history of India.
disintegration of maurya empire
Who does not know Emperor Ashoka, he was a great king. He united the whole of India and gave the message of peace. But after Ashoka, no one among his sons and subsequent generations proved to be as capable. Even his son Kunal and grandson could not handle the empire. The result of which was that within a few decades of Ashoka’s death, the Maurya Empire broke into pieces.
fall of the gupta empire
The Gupta period is called the golden age of India. Emperors like Samudragupta and Vikramaditya gave a golden period to science, art and literature. But the Gupta rulers who came after Skandagupta proved to be so weak that invaders like the Huns easily broke that empire. After which gradually the identity of the Gupta dynasty was erased.
Weak offspring of Delhi Sultanate
The same story was repeated during the period of Delhi Sultanate also. Iltutmish made his daughter Razia Sultan his heir, who was capable, but the courtiers and the rich community removed her and installed incompetent rulers on the throne. The same pattern was seen in the Khilji, Tughlaq and Lodhi dynasties that the next generation was not capable of handling power and the Sultanate kept falling apart.
The crumbling crown of the Mughals
The Mughal Empire is considered to be the largest empire of India. This empire flourished from Babar to Aurangzeb. But after Aurangzeb, his children did not prove worthy. Weak rulers like Jahandar Shah, Farrukhsiyar, Muhammad Shah Rangeela took command of the empire. As a result, Mughal power gradually reduced to mere name and the British took the opportunity and captured the entire country.
defeat of marathas
Shivaji Maharaj gave a tough challenge to the Mughals by creating the Maratha Empire, but after his death, his son Sambhaji was also martyred soon and the subsequent rulers did not prove to be as capable. The Peshwas definitely came to power, but internal strife and incompetent successors weakened the Marathas and then ultimately the British defeated them too.
Sikh Empire after Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh is called Sher-e-Punjab. He created a strong and prosperous Sikh empire in Punjab. But after his death, his successors kept fighting among themselves. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the British also captured Punjab and this empire also collapsed.