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Eternal India
encyclopedia
LURE - THRU THE AGES
Bahadur Shah
1707-1712 A.D.
Original name Muhammad Mu'azzam, he
assumed the title Bahadur Shah. According
to J. N . Sarkar
"Bahadur Shah had a mild
and calm temper, great dignity of behaviour,
and excessive and inconsiderate generosity of
disposition
."
It was during his reign that intrigues began
to increase in the court. He released Sahu, the
son of Sambhaji, and the grandson of Shivaji,
who had been imprisoned since the time of
Aurangzeb. He followed a policy of concili-
ation with the Rajputs. He withdrew the Jizya
and acknowledged the independence of Me-
war and Marwar. Bahadur Shah died in Feb.
1712.
Jahandar Shah
1712-13
After Bahadur Shah's death, the war of
succession among his four sons was won by
Jahandar Shah. The repeated interference of
his mistress, Lai Kunwar, rapidly dislocated
the administrative machinery, and he ruled
for only one year. After a reign of 11 months,
he was strangled in the fort of Delhi on the
orders of Farrukhsiyar in 1713.
Farrukhsiyar
1712-19
Farrukhsiyar owed his elevation to the
throne to the two Sayyid brothers, Husain Ali,
deputy governor of Patna and Abdullah,
governor of Allahabad, who began to exer-
cise the real power in the state. Abdullah be-
came the Wazir and Husain Ali the Com-
mander-in-Chief of the army. Farrukhsiyar
under the influence of some of his anti-Sayyid
friends acted ungratefully towards his Sayyid
ministers.
Their resentment was so great that they
deposed and blinded the Emperor and exe-
cuted him in an ignominious manner.
Rafi-ud-Darajat, Rafi-ud-Daula
1719 AD
The Sayyid brothers now raised to the
throne, two phantom Kings Rafi-ud-Darajat
and Rafi-ud-Daula. Both suffered from con-
sumption and died very soon.
Nasirud-Din
Muhammad Shah
1719-48 A.D.
The Sayyid brothers later appointed Rohsan
Akhtar, son of Jahan Saha (the fourth son of
Bahadur Shah), who as-
cended the throne as Mo-
hamad Saha.
By 1722 both the Sayyid
brothers were killed by
him. During his rule prov-
ince after province de-
clared independence from
Mughal rule.
During his reign, Nadir
Shah, the Persian ruler
invaded India in 1739. The
invader
soon
conquered
Delhi where he butchered
the citizens with savagery.
His soldiers looted the city
indiscriminately and three
crores of rupees were
realised by force from its helpless inhabitants.
Nadir at last stopped his soldiers and left
the city for his own country. The conqueror
carried away all the Mughal Emperor's jew-
els, including the famous Kohinoor diamond,
the Peacock Throne and the celebrated illus-
trated Persian manuscript on Hindu music
written under the command of the Emperor
Mohammad Shah.
He also took with him 15 crores of rupees
in cash, a vast amount of jewels, apparel, fur-
niture and other valuable articles from the
imperial store house, 300 elephants, 10,000
horses and the same number of camels.
This invasion drained the tottering Mughal
Empire of its wealth and the empire soon col-
lapsed subsequently.
Ahmed Shah
1748-54
He came to the throne at the age of 21. He
favoured Javid Khan, his chief eunuch. Javid
Khan came to be known as Nawab Bahadur
and he dominated the whole of the admini-
stration. In 1754 Ahmed Shah was deposed
after Javid Khan had been assassinated.
Alamgir II
1754-59
He was 55 years old when he ascended the
throne. He had no experience of administration
or war. He was a puppet in the hands of his
minister Imad-ul-Mulk. In 1759 Alamgir II
was murdered at the instigation of Imad-ul-
Mulk.
Shah Alam II
1759-1806
Original name Ali Gauhas, he was the son
of Alamgir II. He did not go to Delhi for 12
years. From 1760-71 he was under the con-
trol of the English. In 1764 he was defeated
in the battle of Buxar and taken prisoner. In
1765 he gave the Diwana of Bengal, Bihar
and Orissa to the English East India Com-
pany. The latter promised to pay him an
annual tribute of Rs 26 lakhs.
The Company recognised him as the
Mughal Emperor throughout his long reign;
he remained a puppet in the hands of the
ministers and the Marathas. He was blinded
in 1788 and died in 1805.
Akbar II
1806-37
Son of Shah Alam II. He was a pensioner
of the British. He was the head of the royal
establishment in the Red Fort of Delhi and
enjoyed the imperial title only by courtesy.
Bahadur Shah II
1837-57
He was allowed to retain the imperial title.
However, due to his involvement in the mu-
tiny of 1857, he was tried by the British and
deported to Rangoon where he died in 1862.
The Mughal dynasty ended with him. He
was a gifted Urdu poet (pen name Zafar),
Persian scholar and talented calligrapher.