Later Mughals Period

 

Later Mughals

 

Bahadur Shah I (1709–March 1712)

                                                               After a nearly two year long war of succession, the 63-year-old Prince Muazzam, the eldest son of Aurangzeb, became the emperor, taking the title Bahadur Shah by killing his brothers Muhammad Azam and Kam Bakhsh. After becoming emperor Maratha prince, was released from Mughal captivity and Rajput chiefs were confirmed in their respective states. However, the Sikh leader Banda Bahadur attacked the Muslims in Punjab and hence the emperor took action against him. Khafi Khan gave the title of Shah-i-Bekhabar.

 

 

Jahandar Shah (March 1712-February 1713)

                                                       With the help of Zulfikar Khan, Jahandar Shah became the emperor. Zulfikar Khan introduced izara system to improve the financial condition of the empire after he was appointed prime minister. Jahandar Shah abolished Jaziya.

 

 

Farrukhsiyar (1713-1719)

                                              After killing Jahandar Shah Farrukhsiyar became the new emperor with the help of Sayyid brothers, Abdulla Khan and Hussain Ali. They also known as “King Makers”. Farrukhsiyar followed a policy of religious tolerance by abolishing Jaziya and pilgrimage tax.

                                             In 1717, he gave farmans to the British. In 1719, the Sayyid Brothers, with the help of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, dethroned Farrukhsiyar. Later, he was blinded and killed. It was the first time in the Mughal history that an emperor was killed by his nobles.

 

 

Rafi-ud-Darajat (February 28 to June 4, 1719)

                                                    Rafiud-Darajat ruled for the shortest period of February 28 to June 4, 1719 among the Mughals.

 

Rafiud-Daula (June 6 to September 17, 1719)

                                                        Rafiud-Daula was placed on throne with the help of The Sayyid Brothers. He was given the title Shah Jahan II. But The new emperor was an opium addict.

 

Muhammad Shah (1719-48)

                                    After the death of Rafiud-Daula, Raushan Akhtar became the choice of the Sayyid Brothers. In history he came to be known as Muhammad Shah, also was given the title of ‘Rangeela’ due to his luxurious life-style.

             Muhammad Shah, with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk, killed the Sayyid Brothers. Nizam-ul-Mulk became the wazir and founded the independent state of Hyderabad in 1724. In 1737, the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I invaded Delhi with a small army of 500 horsemen. In 1739, Nadir Shah defeated the Mughals in the Battle of Karnal and later imprisoned Muhammad Shah and annexed areas west of the Indus into the Persian empire.

 

 

Ahmad Shah (1748-1754)

                                    After Muhammad Shah, Ahmad Shah became emperor. Ahmad Shah was an incompetent ruler who left the state affairs in the hands of Udham Bai, the ‘Queen Mother’. Udham Bai was given the title of Qibla-i-Alam. She was a lady of poor intellect who ruled with the help of her paramour, Javid Khan who was a notorious eunuch.

 

 

Alamgir II (1754-1758)

                            Alamgir II was a grandson of Jahandar Shah, The Iranian invader, Ahmed Shah Abdali, reached Delhi in January 1757. During reign of Alamgir II, the Battle of Plassey was fought in June 1757.

 

 

Shah Alam II (1759-1806)

                                    Shah Alam II’s  reign saw two decisive battles the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) and the Battle of Buxar (1764). He also signed Treaty of Allahabad in August 1765, after the Battle of Buxar in 1765, according to the terms of Treaty of Allahabad he was taken under the East India Company’s protection and resided at Allahabad. He also issued a farman granting to the Company in perpetuity the Diwani of of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, which was the right to collect revenue. In 1772, the Marathas took him to Delhi where he lived till 1803.

                                          In 1803, after the defeat of Daulat Rao Scindia by the English, he again accepted the protection of the English. Afterwards, the Mughal emperors became the pensioners of the English.

 

 

 

Akbar II (1806-37)

                                 Akbar II gave the title of Raja to Rammohan Rai. In 1835, the coins bearing the names of Mughal emperors were stopped during the time of Akbar II.

 

 

Bahadur Shah II (1837-1857)

                                Bahadur Shah II was the last Mughal emperor. He was also called Bahadur Shah Zafar, Zafar being his surname. The Revolt of 1857 had made a futile attempt to declare him the Emperor of India. After The Revolt of 1857 he was captured by the English and sent to Rangoon where he died in 1862. In legal terms, the Mughal Empire came to an end on November 1, 1858 with the declaration of Queen Victoria.