Modern History After the death of Aurangzeb on 3rd march 1707 at Daulatabad, a war of succession broke out among his three sons – Muazzam (the governor of Kabul), Muhammad Kam Baksh (the governor of Deccan) and Muhammad Azam Shah (the governor of Gujarat). Muazzam emerged victorious and ascended the throne with the title of Bahadur Shah Ⅰ.
Bahadur Shah I (1707-1712) :-
- Muazzam ascended the throne and assumed the title of Bahadur Shah, at the age of 65.
- He pursued Pacific policies therefore the historian khafi Khan called him Shah-i-bekhabar
- The only military achievement of Bahadur Shah was the defeat of Banda Bahadur bairagi (the great Sikh leader after Guru Gobind Singh) in the battle of lohgarh Earlier Banda bairagi had killed Wazir Khan the governor of sirhind.
- He released Shahu(son of Sambhaji and grandson of Shivaji) from Mughal captivity and sent him to Deccan.
- He tried to restore peace with Rajput chiefs.
- He showed a tolerant attitude towards Hindus, though he never abolished jizya.
Jahandar Shah (1712-13) :-
- After the death of Bahadur Shah, a new form of politics emerged in the Mughal’s political sphere wherein the nobles became ‘king makers’ and the kings were ‘puppets’ in their hands. Jahandar Shah was the first puppet ruler in Mughal India. He was supported by Zulfiqar Khan (wazir) .
- He built friendly relations with the Marathas, the Rajputs and different Hindu chieftains.
- He abolished jizya
- Gave the title of “Maharaja” to Ajit Singh (Marwar) and appointed him as the subedar of Gujarat and he also honoured Mirza Raja Sawai to Jai Singh of Amber and appointed him as the subedar of Malwa.
- He also granted the Chauth and Sardeshmukhi of the Deccan to Shahu. However, the old policy of suppression was continued against Banda Bahadur and the Sikhs.
- He also strengthened friendly ties with Jat leader Churaman and Chhatrasal Bundela.
- He was a puppet in the hands of Lal Kunwar who began to imitate the style of Noor Jahan and her name was inscribed on coins.
- Farrukhsiyar with the help of Sayyid brothers , deposed , imprisoned and murdered Jahandar Shah on 11th Feb 1713.
Farrukhsiyar (1713-1719) :-
- He ascended the throne with the support of the Sayyid brothers (the kingmakers):- Sayyid Abdullah Khan (Wazir) and Hussain Ali Khan (Mir Bakshi).
- The Sayyid brothers captured Banda bairagi at the fort of Gurdaspur in 1715 and later killed him.
- In 1717, Farrukh Siyar granted many trading privileges to the East India Company and also exempted customs duties for its trading through Bengal.
- The Sayyid brothers completely did away with jizya and also abolished pilgrimage tax at a number of places.
- Sayyid brothers sought the help of Maratha Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath to depose Farrukhsiyar . Balaji Vishwanath for the first time reached Delhi and under Delhi pact, helped Sayyid brothers in getting Farrukhsiyar deposed and killed and in return got Shahu ‘s mother released from Mughal captivity.
- Two young princes :- Rafi-ud-Darajat(25 February to 4 June 1719) and Rafi-ud-Daula ( 6 june 1719-17 september 1719) ascended the throne,but their tenure was short and both died.
Muhammad Shah (1719-48):-
- Another Name:- Rangeela/Roshan Akhtar.
- In 1720, he successfully dislodged the Sayyid brothers with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk, Chin Qilich Khan and his father’s cousin Muhammad Amin Khan.
- He appointed Muhammad Amir Khan, who killed Hussain Ali Khan, as wazir under the title of Itmad-ud-Daula.
- Independent states emerged during his reign, the Deccan under Nizam-ul-Mulk, Awadh under the leadership of Saadat Khan and Murshid Quli Khan reigned Bihar, Bengal and Orissa.
- He finally withdrew jizya in 1720 at the instance of Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur.
- Most powerful woman in the life of Mohammad Shahbaz Rahim-un-nissa popularly known as Koki Jin.
- Mohammed Shah had to face a series of invasions:-
- Peshwa Bajirao I invaded Delhi in 1737.
- The invasion of Persian ruler Nadir and sack , massacre and plunder of Delhi in 1739.
- Nadir Shah took away the Kohinoor diamond, Takht-i-taus (peacock throne built by Shahjahan) and all the wealth accumulated by predecessors of Muhammad Shah. He was defeated by Nadir Shah in the battle of Karnal on 13th Feb 1739.
Ahmad Shah (1748-54):-
- He was the son of Muhammad Shah Rangeela , who was a very weak ruler.
- The Marathas snatched Malwa and Bundelkhand.
- Initially he was a puppet in the hands of his mother udham Bai. Udham Bai had patronized an eunuch Javed Khan who took the mansab of 7000 and the title of Nawab Bahadur.
- The Wazir of Ahmed Shahbaz Safdarjung (second nawab of awadh), who got Javed Khan killed and in retaliation Queen dismissed Safdarjung.
- After his dismissal, Queen appointed Imad-ul-mulk as Wazir of the Empire, who imprison Queen mother and Ahmed Shah both at Salimgarh.
- Ahmad Shah Abdali (ruler of Afghanistan) invaded Delhi many times, most important being the third battle of Panipat in 1761 and Punjab along with Multan was ceded to him.
Alamgir II (1754-59):-
- Another name:- Aziz-ud-din
- He was the grandson of Jahandar Shah and was raised to the throne by Imad-ul-Mulk after he deposed Ahmad Shah.
- The famous Battle of Plassey ( 23 June 1757) was fought during his tenure.
- He was also murdered by his wazir, Imad-ul-Mulk and his naked dead body was thrown behind the Red Fort.
Shah Alam -II(1759-1806) :-
- Another Name:- Ali Gauhar
- During the reign of Shah Alam II , Imad entered into a pact with marathas for the security of the North West Frontier against the invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali leading to the third battle of Panipat in 1761.
- After the battle, Abdali appointed Nawab Khan Rohilla as Wazir of Delhi and his successor Gulam Kadir became supreme leader of Delhi.
- Shah Alam II lived in exile at the mercy of Nawab Shuja-ud-daulah of Awadh.
- The Battle of Buxar was fought in 1764 between the forces under the command of the British East India Company, led by Hector Munro and the combined armies of Mir Qasim (Nawab of Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daula (Nawab of Awadh) and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam Ⅱ.
- The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Allahabad 1765 under which Diwani rights (right to collect land revenue) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa were granted to the British East India Company.
- Shah Alam II surrendered Delhi to the English in 1803.
- He was the last sovereign Mughal emperor and became the first pensioner of East India company.
Akbar II (1806-37) :-
- Akbar II was the son of Shah Alam Ⅱ.
- He was the first Mughal emperor to rule India under the Britishers.
- Akbar II gave the title “Raja” to great social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Rai.
Bahadur Shah II (1837-58):-
- Bahadur Shah II was the last emperor of Mughal to live in Red Fort.
- He was an accomplished poet and his pen name was Zafar (victory).
- He lead the revolt of 1857 and after the separation of the revolt his sons were shot dead before his eyes in Red Fort.
- He was deposed and exiled out of India to Rangoon where he died in 1862.