Shah Alam II (; 25 June 1728 – 19 November 1806), also known by his birth name Ali Gohar, or Ali Gauhar, was the seventeenth

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

and the son of

Alamgir II Mirza Aziz-ud-Din Muhammad (June 6, 1699 – November 29, 1759), better known by his regnal name Alamgir II, was the fifteenth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor from 1754 to 1759. He was the son of Jahandar Shah. Born Mirza Aziz-ud-Din, the secon ...

. Shah Alam II became the emperor of a crumbling

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

. His power was so depleted during his reign that it led to a saying in the

Persian language Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...

, ''Sultanat-e-Shah Alam, Az Dilli ta Palam'', meaning, 'The empire of Shah Alam is from Delhi to Palam', Palam being a suburb of Delhi. Shah Alam faced many invasions, mainly by

Ahmed Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

, which led to the

Third Battle of Panipat The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha Empire and the invading army of the Durrani Empire. The battle took place in and around the city of Panipat, approximately north of Delhi. The Afghan (ethnonym), Af ...

(1761) between the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. ...

, and the Afghans led by Abdali. In 1760, the invading forces of Abdali were driven away by the Marathas, led by Sadashivrao Bhau, who deposed Shah Jahan III, the puppet Mughal emperor of Imad-ul-Mulk, and installed Shah Alam II as the rightful emperor (17601772). Shah Alam II was considered the only and rightful emperor, but he was unable to return to Delhi until 1772, under the protection of the

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

general

Mahadaji Shinde Mahadaji Shinde (23 December 1730 – 13 February 1794), later known as Mahadji Scindia or Madhava Rao Scindia, was a Maratha statesman and general who served as the Gwalior State, Maharaja of Gwalior from 1768 to 1794. He was the fifth and the ...

. He also fought against the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

at the

Battle of Buxar The Battle of Buxar was fought between 22 and 23 October 1764, between the forces of the British East India Company, under the command of Major Hector Munro, against the combined armies of Balwant Singh, Maharaja of the Benaras State; Mir Qa ...

(1764). In 1788, when he was a prisoner of Ghulam Qadir, he was blinded. Shah Alam II authored his own '' Diwan'' of poems and was known by the pen-name ''Aftab''. His poems were guided, compiled and collected by Mirza Fakhir Makin. Shah Alam also composed the famous book ''Ajaib-ul-Qasas'', which is considered one of the earliest and most prominent books of prose in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Early life

Ali Gohar was born to Shahzada (Prince) Aziz-ud-Din, son of the deposed Mughal Emperor Jahandar Shah, on 25 June 1728. Alongside his father, he grew up in semi-captivity in the Salatin quarters of the

Red Fort The Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila () is a historic Mughal Empire, Mughal fort in Delhi, India, that served as the primary residence of the Mughal emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1639, fo ...

. However, unlike the majority of Mughal princes growing up in similar circumstances, he is not recorded to have become a decadent prince by the time his father became emperor, and therefore was naturally given high appointments in the course of his father's reign. Upon his father's accession, he became the Wali al-Ahd (

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

) of the empire, and became his father's principal agent, though almost all power lay in the Wazir Imad-ul-Mulk's hand. His quarrels with that amir, and fear for his own life, caused him to flee from Delhi in 1758.

Escape from Delhi

Prince Ali Gauhar, afterwards Emperor Shah Alam II, had been the heir apparent of his father

. Prince Ali Gauhar's father had been appointed

Mughal Emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

Imad-ul-Mulk and Maratha

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

's cousin Sadashivrao Bhau. Prince Ali Gauhar organized a militia and made a daring escape from Delhi. He appeared in the Eastern Subah in 1759, hoping to strengthen his position by attempting to regain control over

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

and

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. Very soon however, Najib-ud-Daula forced the usurper Imad-ul-Mulk to flee from the capital by gathering a large

Mughal Army The army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 16th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselve ...

outside Delhi. He used the army to depose the recreant Shah Jahan III. Najib-ud-Daula and Muslim nobles then planned to defeat the Marathas by maintaining correspondence with the powerful

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

. After Durrani decisively defeated the Marathas, he nominated Ali Gauhar as the emperor under the name Shah Alam II.

Bengal War

In 1760, after Shah Alam's militia gaining control over pockets in

and parts of

, Prince Ali Gauhar and his Mughal Army of 30,000 intended to overthrow Mir Jafar and Imad-ul-Mulk after they tried to capture or kill him by advancing towards

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

and

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

in 1759. But the conflict soon involved the intervention of the assertive

. The Mughals clearly intended to recapture their breakaway Eastern Subah led by Prince Ali Gauhar, who was accompanied by a

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

consisting of persons like Muhammad Quli Khan, Kadim Husein, Kamgar Khan, Hidayat Ali, Mir Afzal and Ghulam Husain Tabatabai. Their forces were reinforced by the forces of Shuja-ud-Daula, Najib-ud-Daula and Ahmad Khan Bangash. The Mughals were also joined by Jean Law and 200 Frenchmen and waged a campaign against the British during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. Prince Ali Gauhar successfully advanced as far as Patna, which he later besieged with a combined army of over 40,000 in order to capture or kill Ramnarian, a sworn enemy of the Mughals. Mir Jafar was in terror at the near demise of his cohort and sent his own son Miran to relieve Ramnarian and retake Patna. Mir Jafar also implored the aid of

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British List of governors of Bengal Presidency, Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for l ...

, but it was Major John Caillaud, who dispersed Prince Ali Gauhar's army in 1761 after four major battles including Battle of Patna, Battle of Sirpur, Battle of Birpur and Battle of Siwan. After negotiations assuring peace Shah Alam II was escorted by the British to meet Mir Qasim the new

Nawab of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal (, ) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the mod ...

, who was nominated after the sudden death of Miran. Mir Qasim soon had the Mughal Emperor's investiture as

Subedar Subedar ( ) is a military rank in the militaries of South Asia roughly equivalent to that of a warrant officer. Historically classed in the British Indian Army as a Viceroy's commissioned officer, the rank was retained in the Indian Army an ...

of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, and agreed to pay an annual revenue of 2.4 million ''dam''. Shah Alam II then retreated to

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

and was protected by the Shuja-ud-Daula,

Nawab of Awadh The Nawab of Awadh or Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers of Kingdom of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in northern India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to an Iranian dynasty''Encyclopædia Iranica'', R. B. B ...

from 1761 until 1764. Meanwhile, Mir Qasim's relations with the East India company began to worsen. He initiated reforms that withdrew the tax exemptions enjoyed by the

, he also ousted Ramnarian and created firelock manufacturing factories at Patna with the sole purpose of improving the newly reformed

. Angered by these developments, the East India Company sought to oust Mir Qasim. Court intrigues encouraged by the East India Company forced Mir Qasim to leave Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. Mir Qasim on his part encouraged Shuja-ud-Daula the

and Shah Alam II to engage the British. File:Ghází al-Dín Xán ʿImád al-Mulk.jpg, Imad-ul-Mulk was the regent imposed by the

in 1757, who assassinated

and prominent members of the imperial family, within the Maratha controlled city of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

; Shah Alam II managed to escape to safety with the

. File:Mir Jafar and his son Miran delivering the Treaty of 1757 to William Watts.jpg, Mir Jafar, his son Miran and Ramnarian refused to submit to Shah Alam II, who initiated the Bengal War causing the eventual intervention of the

Emperor from Allahabad

Shah Alam II was acknowledged as the emperor by the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

. His rule extended to the 24 Parganas of the

Sundarbans Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal ...

, Mir Qasim,

Nawabs of Bengal and Murshidabad The Nawab of Bengal (, ) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the mod ...

(and

),''

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

of Banares'',

Nizam of Hyderabad Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I wh ...

, Nawab of Ghazipur, Sahib of Punjab,

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, Nawab of Kadapa and Nawab of Kurnool, Nawab of the Carnatic of Arcot and Nellore, Raja of Kashmir, Nawab of Junagarh,

Rohilkhand Rohilkhand (today Bareilly, Moradabad, Badaun and Rampur; ) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the ...

of Lower Doab,

of Upper Doab, and Nawab of Bhawalpur.

Battle of Buxar

The Battle of Buxar was fought on 22 October 1764 between the combined armies of Mir Qasim, the

; Shuja-ud-Daula the

; the

Shah Alam II and the forces under the command of the

led by Hector Munro. The battle fought at

Buxar Buxar is a nagar parishad city in the state of Bihar, India, sharing border with Balia and Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the eponymous Buxar district, as well as the headquarters of the community development ...

, a town located on the bank of the

Ganges river The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

then within the territory of

, was a decisive victory for the East India Company. File:अवध के नवाब शुजाउद्दौला.jpg, Shuja-ud-Daula served as the leading

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

of the

, during the

and the

File:The Navab's arrival before Clive's position.jpg,

, Mir Qasim defected to Shah Alam II. File:Mughal amir horseback large c hi.jpg, Mirza Najaf Khan, the commander-in-chief of the

Treaty of Allahabad

Soon after the

, Shah Alam II, a sovereign who had just been defeated by the British, sought their protection by signing the Treaty of Allahabad in the year 1765. Shah Alam II was forced to grant the ''Diwani'' (right to collect revenue) of

(which included

and

) to the

in return for an annual tribute of 2.6 million rupees to be paid by the company from the collected revenue. Tax exemption status was also restored to the company. The company further secured the districts of Kora and Allahabad which allowed the

to collect tax from more than 20 million people. The East India Company thus became the Imperial tax collector in the former Mughal province of

(which included

and Northern

). The Company appointed a deputy,

Muhammad Reza Khan to collect revenue on their behalf. File:Shah 'Alam conveying the grant of the Diwani to Lord Clive.jpg, Shah Alam II granting

the "

Diwani Diwani is a calligraphic variety of Arabic script, a cursive style developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks (16th century - early 17th century). It reached its height of popularity under Süleyman I the Magnificent (1520–1566 ...

rights of

, Behar and

" in return for the annexed territories of the

after the

, on 12 August 1765 at the

Benares Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.* * * * The city ...

. File:Portrait of East India Company official.jpg, A member of the

enjoying a Durbar.

Absence from Delhi

Shah Alam II's absence from Delhi was due to the terms of the treaty he had signed with the British. But his son and heir apparent Prince Mirza Jawan Bakht and

Najib-ul-Daula Najib ad-Dawlah (), also known as (), was an Afghan (ethnonym), Afghan Yousafzai Rohilla who earlier served as a Mughals, Mughal serviceman but later deserted the cause of the Mughals and joined Ahmad Shah Durrani, Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1757 ...

, represented the emperor for the next 12 years in Delhi.

Bengal Famine

The

Great Bengal famine of 1770 The Great Bengal famine of 1770 struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people, which was about ⅓ of the current population of the area. It occurred during a period of dual governance in Bengal. This existed ...

was a massive catastrophe that signalled the end of the

and disorder in the

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. By the time the famine occurred it became very clear that the

was no longer a major political power, not only in the general world but also within

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Return to Delhi

Shah Alam II resided in the fort of Allahabad for six years.

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-gener ...

, the head of East India Company got appointed as the first Governor of Bengal in 1774. This was the period of "Dual rule" where East India Company enacted laws to maximise collection of revenue and the Mughal Emperor appointed Nawab looked after other affairs of the province. East India Company later discontinued the tribute of 2.6 million Rupees and later also handed over the districts of

and Kora to the

. These measures amounted to a repudiation of the company's vassalage to the emperor as Diwan (tax collector). In 1793 East India Company was strong enough and abolished Nizamat (local rule) completely and annexed Bengal. Weakened Shah Alam II agreed to the consultation of the East India Company, who advised him never to trust the

s. In the year 1771 the

s under

returned to northern India and even captured

. Shah Alam II, was escorted by Mahadaji Shinde and left Allahabad in May 1771 and in January 1772 reached Delhi. Along with the Marathas they undertook to win the crown lands of Rohilkhand and defeated Zabita Khan, capturing the fort of Pathargarh with its treasure. The emperor returned to the throne in Delhi in 1772, under the protection of the

general

. The emperor became a client of the Maratha whose

demanded tribute, which the Moguls are known to have paid so as to avoid any further conflict with the Confederacy. After killing Ghulam Qadir and restoring Shah Alam II to the throne, a

garrison permanently occupied

in 1788 and ruled on north India for next two decades until they were usurped by the

in the

Second Anglo-Maratha War Second Anglo-Maratha War (from 1803 –1805) was a large conflict within the Maratha Confederacy, Maratha Empire involving the British East India Company. It resulted in major loss of territory for the Marathas, including regions around Delhi a ...

. File:Shahalam2court.jpg, The Royal Chamber in the Public Audience Hall in the Middle of Yazdah Darreh, with the Ruler, ''Alam Bahador Badshah'', and the Great Commanders, a page from the Lady Coote Album. File:An imperial order, farman, from the time of Shah 'Alam II, dated 1776.jpg, A

Firman A firman (; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English word ''firman'' co ...

issued by the

Shah Alam II, dated 1776. File:Silver Rupee coins of the Bengal Presidency, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, photographed by Yogabrata Chakraborty.jpg, Silver Rupee coins of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II; From top left: Rupee of George Saunders' issue of 1819 (Calcutta), Broad rimmed Rupee of Farrukhabad, Narrow rimmed Rupee of Farrukhabad, Rupee of Murshidabad from the 1780s, Rupee of Muhammadabad Benaras with the inverted mace symbol and rare fish mint mark.

Reformation of the Mughal Army

One of his first acts was to strengthen and raise a new

, under the command of Mirza Najaf Khan. This new army consisted of infantrymen who successfully utilised both

Flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

s and

Talwar The talwar (), also spelled talwaar and tulwar, is a type of curved sword or sabre from the Indian subcontinent. Etymology and classification The word ''talwar'' originated from the Sanskrit Language, Sanskrit word ''taravāri'' () which means ...

s in combat formations, they used elephants for transportation and were less dependent on artillery and cavalry. Mirza Najaf Khan is also known to have introduced the more-effective Firelock muskets through his collaboration with Mir Qasim, the

. File:The royal procession of Shah Alam II with his army processing from right to left along the banks of a river..jpg, The newly reestablished

during the reign of Shah Alam II. File:A Mughal Infantryman.jpg, A Mughal infantryman. File:A large Mughal encampment.jpg, Large

encampments during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II.

Foreign relations

Shah Alam II, was well supported by Jean Law de Lauriston and 200 Frenchmen during his campaign to regain the Eastern Subahs (during the

). The brainchild of the campaign was Ghulam Husain Tabatabai, who had gained much administrative and military experience from both the French and the Dutch. After Shah Alam II's defeat in the

, the French once again reached out to emperor under Pierre André de Suffren in the year 1781, who initiated a plan to capture

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

and

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

from the

and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, with the co-operation of Mirza Najaf Khan, this action would eventually lead to Asaf Jah II to join Shah Alam II and the French and assist Hyder Ali to capture

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

from the

. The internal conflicts within the Mughal imperial court would not allow the emperor to make such a bold move against the British. File:Admiral Suffrein gravure anglaise.jpeg, Pierre André de Suffren ally of

and also Shah Alam II. File:Hyder Ali.jpg,

was bestowed the title ''Shams ul-Mulk'' and ''Amir ud-Daula'' by Shah Alam II, his pro- French policies were a continuation of the

's policies during the

Political turmoil

Jats

Jats rose in retaliation of religious intolerance pursued by Aurangzeb. The Hindu Jats, Jat kingdom of Bharatpur State, Bharatpur waged many wars against the Mughal Delhi and in the 17th and 18th century carried out numerous campaigns in Mughal territories including Agra. Mughals were defeated by

s in 1757; and Mughal possessions and territories were under the annexation of the Jats led by Suraj Mal. During one massive assault, Jats sieged Agra in 1761, after 20 days on 12 June 1761 the Mughal Empire, Mughal forces at Agra surrendered to Jats. Jats plundered the city and carried the bounty, including the two great silver doors to the entrance of the famous Taj Mahal. which were carried off and melted down by Suraj Mal in 1764. Suraj Mal's son Jawahar Singh, further extended the Jat power in Northern India and captured the territory in Doab, Ballabgarh and Agra. Jats kept Agra fort and other territories closer to Delhi under their control from 1761 till 1774 CE.The province of Agra, Author: Dharma Bhanu Srivastava, page 8-10
/ref>

Sikhs

Sikhs had been in perpetual war against Mughal intolerance specially after beheading of the Sikh Guru - Guru Teg Bahadur by the Mughals. Simmering Sikhs rose once again in the year 1764 and overran the Mughal (tribe), Mughal Faujdar of Sirhind, Zain Khan Sirhindi, who fell in battle and ever since the Sikhs perpetually raided and took the bounties from the lands as far as

practically every year. The Marathas Capture of Delhi (1771), took Delhi in 1771 before Shah Alam II arrived. Mirza Najaf Khan had restored a sense of order to the Mughal finances and administration and particularly reformed the

. In 1777 Mirza Najaf Khan decisively defeated Zabita Khan's forces and repelled the Sikhs after halting their raids. In 1778, after a Sikh incursion into Delhi, Shah Alam ordered their defeat by appointing, the Mughal Grand Vizier, Majad-ud-Daula marched with 20,000 Mughal troops against the Sikh army into hostile territories, this action led to the defeat of the

at Battle of Muzzaffargarh and later at Battle of Ghanaur, due to the mounted casualties Shah Alam II reappointed Mirza Najaf Khan, who soon died of natural circumstances leaving the Mughal Empire weaker than ever. In the year 1779, Mirza Najaf Khan carefully advanced his forces who successfully routed the treasonous Zabita Khan and his Sikh allies who lost more than 5,000 men in a single battle and never returned to threaten the

during the commander Mirza Najaf Khan's lifetime. Najaf Khan as prime minister, granted sovereign rights to the Sikhs as agreement. In the year 1783, Begum Samru, Farzana Zeb un-Nissa had saved Delhi from a possible invasion by a force of 30,000 Sikh troops, under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, and Baghel Singh, Mughal empire disintegrated to such an extent that Shah Alam II was only left with Delhi city to rule. In 1783, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Baghel Singh laid siege to the city. After entering Red fort, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia sat on the Mughal throne on behest of Baghel Singh and a title of Badshah Singh was given to him. Begum Samru requested Baghel Singh to show mercy on Shah Alam II. Baghel Singh accepted and stated his demands such as 30,000 of his troops to stay in Delhi and the Mughal Empire would pay for their maintenance. Other demands were the construction of at least 5 Gurdwaras and annual tax payment of 13.5%. The demands were agreed upon by Shah Alam II with a written agreement. Since Sikhs refused to accept authority of the Mughal court due to politics, Mahadji Scindia, Mahadji Shinde was given the regency with an agreement that Sikhs will not plunder the crown lands and they will be paid 1/3 of the Delhi revenue annually instead.

Downfall

After the defeats at Muzaffargarh and later at Ghanaur, Majad-ud-Daula was arrested by the orders of Shah Alam II, who then recalled Mirza Najaf Khan. This led to the former Grand Vizier's arrest for causing miscalculations and collaborating with the enemies of the emperor. The traitor was imprisoned and a sum of two million ''dam'' in stolen revenue recovered from him. It was Shah Alam II's poor judgement and vacillation that led to his own downfall. Mirza Najaf Khan had given the Mughal Empire breathing space by having a powerful, well managed army in its own right. In 1779 the newly reformed

decisively defeated Zabita Khan, the rebels lost 5,000 men including their leader and therefore did not return during the lifetime of Mirza Najaf Khan . Upon the general's death, Shah Alam's bad judgement prevailed. The dead man's nephew, Mirza Shafi whose valour had been proven during various occasions, was not appointed commander in chief. Shah Alam II instead appointed worthless individuals whose loyalty and record were questionable at best . They were soon quarrelling over petty matters. Even the corrupt and treasonous former Grand Vizier, Majad-ud-Daula was restored to his former office, he later colluded with the Sikhs and reduced the size of the

from over 20,000 to only 5,000 thus bringing the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II at the mercy of his enemies.

Prisoner of Ghulam Qadir

Nawab Majad-ud-Daula was followed by a known enemy of the Mughals, the grandson of Najib Khan, Ghulam Qadir, with his Sikh allies forced Shah Alam II to appoint him as the Grand Vizier of the

. Ghulam Qadir ravaged the palaces in search of the Mughal treasure believed to be worth Rs. 250 million. Unable to locate such a sum and angered by the Mughal Emperor's attempts to eliminate him and his Sikh allies, Ghulam Qadir himself blinded Shah Alam II with an Afghani knife on 10 August 1788. Ghulam Qadir behaved with brutality to the emperor and his family. Three servants and two water-carriers who tried to help the bleeding emperor were beheaded and according to one account, Ghulam Qadir would pull the beard of the elderly Mughal Emperor. After ten weeks, during which Ghulam Qadir stripped the princesses of the royal family naked and forced them to dance naked before him (after which they jumped into Yamuna river to drown) and the honour of the royal family and prestige of the

reached its lowest ebb,

intervened and killed Ghulam Qadir, taking possession of Delhi on 2 October 1788. He restored Shah Alam II to the throne and acted as his protector.

sent the ears and eyes of Ghulam Qadir to Shah Alam.

Client of Mahadji Shinde

Thankful for his intervention, he honoured Mahadji Shinde with the titles of ''Vakil-ul-Mutlaq'' (Regent of the Empire) and ''Amir-ul-Amara'' (Head of the Amirs). He made a deal with the

granting tribute to Pune in return for the protection provided Mahadji Shinde of the Maratha Confederacy. After killing Ghulam Qadir and restoring Shah Alam II to the throne, a

garrison permanently occupied

in 1788 and ruled on north India for next two decades until they were usurped by the

following the

in 1803.

Second reign

Recent photograph of the tombs of the Mughal Emperors Shah Alam II and Akbar Shah II

The French threat in Europe and its possible repercussions in India caused the British to strive to regain the custody of Shah Alam II. The British feared that the French military officers might overthrow Maratha power and use the authority of the Mughal emperor to further French ambition in India. Shah Alam II also corresponded with

and later with his son Tipu Sultan during their conflicts with the

during the Anglo-Mysore Wars and was very well informed about the expansionist agenda of the British. After the Battle of Delhi (1803), during the

, on 14 September 1803 British troops entered Delhi ending the Maratha rule on the Mughals, bringing Shah Alam, then a blind old man, seated under a tattered canopy, under British protection. The Mughal Emperor no longer had the military power to enforce his will, but he commanded respect as a dignified member of the House of Timur in the length and breadth of the country. The

s and

s still sought formal sanction of the

on their accession and valued the titles he bestowed upon them. They struck coins and read the ''khutba'' (Friday sermons) in his name. The Marathas in 1804 under Yashwantrao Holkar tried to snatch Delhi from the British in Siege of Delhi (1804), but failed.

Death

Shah Alam II died of natural causes on 19 November 1806. His grave lies in a marble enclosure adjoined to the Moti Masjid (Mehrauli), Moti Masjid, next to the dargah of the 13th century Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, in Mehrauli,

. Also in the enclosure are the tombs of Bahadur Shah I (also known as Shah Alam I), and Akbar Shah II.

In popular culture

* In the 1994 Hindi TV series ''The Great Maratha'', Shah Alam's character was portrayed by Rishabh Shukla.

Gallery

File:IGI1908India1765a.jpg, Map of India in 1765, before the fall of

s and Princely states ''nominally allied to the emperor'' (mainly in Green). File:Joppen1907India1795a.jpg, Map of India in 1795, 11 years before the death of Shah Alam II File:Shah Alam II.png, Blind

Shah Alam II sits at throne of

File:Silver Rupee of the princely state of Chhatarpur, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II.jpg, Silver Rupee of the Chhatarpur State, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. File:Silver Rupee of the Orchha State, minted during the reign of Vikramajit Mahendra, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II.jpg, Silver Rupee of the Orchha State, minted during the reign of king Vikramajit Mahendra, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. File:Two silver rupee coins from the Bengal Presidency, during the reign of Shah Alam II in Company Raj, minted in Old Calcutta Mint, photographed from a personal collection in West Bengal, India, by Yogabrata Chakraborty on August 19, 2023.jpg, Silver rupee coins from the

, struck in the name of Shah Alam II, India Government Mint, Kolkata, Calcutta Mint. Silver Rupee of the Rohilkhand Kingdom, minted in Qasba Panipat, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, with having "saya-e-fazle elah" couplet, Swastika and Parasol marks.jpg, Silver Rupee from the Kingdom of Rohilkhand, minted in Qasba Panipat, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, with having "saya-e-fazle elah" couplet, Swastika and Parasol marks. File:Silver Rupee of the Bengal Presidency, struck in Muhammadabad Benaras, in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II.jpg, Silver Rupee of the Bengal Presidency, struck in Muhammadabad Benaras, in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. File:Silver Rupee of Krishna Raja Wodeyar, Mysore State, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, Zarb Mahisur Mint, AD 1805.jpg, Silver Rupee of Krishna Raja Wodeyar, Kingdom of Mysore, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, Zarb Mahisur Mint, AD 1805.

References

*
Shah Alam II (1728–1806)
*[https://san.beck.org/2-10-Marathas1707-1800.html Marathas and the English Company 1707–1800]