Bahadur Shah, also known as Muhammad Mu’azzam and Shah Alam, was India’s eighth Mughal emperor, reigning from 1707 until 1712. He plotted to depose his father, the sixth Mughal emperor, and take to the throne while he was young. At the age of 63, Muazzam ascended the throne and acquired the title of Bahadur Shah.
Table of Contents
- Bahadur Shah – Early Life
- Bahadur Shah – Reign
- Sikh Rebellion
- Coinage of Bahadur Shah
- Conclusion
- FAQs
- MCQs
Bahadur Shah – Early Life
- Bahadur Shah was born on October 14, 1643, at Burhanpur, as Mu’azzam, the third son of Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor, and his wife Nawab Bai.
- Mu’azzam was appointed vizier of Lahore from 1653 until 1659 under the reign of Shah Jahan. In 1663, Mu’azzam succeeded Shaista Khan as administrator of Deccan.
- Shivaji stormed the fringes of Mughal Deccan capital Aurangabad, but Mu’azzam did little to stop him.
- Enraged, Aurangzeb dispatched his most capable commander, Raja Jai Singh, to fight Shivaji, and it was here that the momentous Treaty of Purandar was signed.
- After Raja Jai Singh I defeated Shivaji at Purandar in May 1667, Mu’azzam was granted command of the Deccan and was aided by Maharaja Jaswant Singh.
- Mu’azzam organised an insurgency in 1670 to depose Aurangzeb and make himself Mughal emperor.
- However, Mu’azzam nearly revolted again in 1680, this time over Aurangzeb’s scorched earth tactics in suppressing Rajput rebellions.
- Aurangzeb gently discouraged Mu’azzam once again and kept a closer eye on him.
Bahadur Shah
Bahadur Shah – Reign
- Aurangzeb died in 1707, without choosing a crown prince, when Mu’azzam was governor of Kabul and his younger half-brothers (Muhammad Kam Bakhsh and Muhammad Azam Shah) were administrators of the Deccan and Gujarat, respectively.
- All three sons were determined to obtain the throne, and Kam Bakhsh began minting coins in his honor.
- Azam planned to march to Agra and declare himself the new ruler, but he was defeated by Mu’azzam in the Battle of Jajau in June 1707. In the struggle, Azam and his son, Ali Tabar, were slain.
- At the age of 63, Muazzam ascended the throne and acquired the title of Bahadur Shah.
- He had a liberal approach toward the nobles, granting them their preferred domains and promoting them.
- As a result, the state’s finances have deteriorated. The true authority, according to legend, was held by the wazir, Zulfiqar Khan.
- He was accommodating of Hindus, however he never eliminated the jizya tax.
- The independence of Marwar and Mewar was recognized during his rule.
- The settlement, however, was unable to return these nations to their former status as completely devoted combatants for the Mughal cause.
- He had a half-hearted reconciliation programme with the Marathas as well. He didn’t see Shahu (whom he freed) as the legitimate Maratha ruler.
- He gave Maratha the Deccan sardeshmukhi, but not the Chauth, and hence could not completely please them.
- As a result, the Marathas continued to battle one other as well as the Mughals.
- Bahadur Shah attempted to make peace with the Marathas, who had been the biggest danger to Mughal power under Aurangzeb, who had held Shahu, Shivaji’s grandson, as a captive at his court.
- Bahadur Shah wanted to appease the Marathas by putting Shahu as Raja of Satara in the heart of the Maratha land.
- Shahu was a pleasant courtier who appeared to serve the Great Mughal well, but he was nominated as peshwa of Pune the cunning Chitpavan Brahman Balaji Vishvanath, whose son Baji Rao rose to become the biggest threat to Mughal control.
- In his war against the Sikhs, he was assisted by Jat chief Charuman and Bundella chief Chattrasal.
- Guru Gobind Singh, the eleventh Sikh Guru, was given high mansab.
- He did, however, have to deal with Banda Bahadur’s insurrection, and it was during his war against Banda Bahadur that he died (in 1712 CE).
- Mughal historians such as Khafi Khan gave him the title “Shah-i-Bekhabar.”
- His son Jahandar Shah succeeded him, and his reign was much less successful than his father’s.
- Nonetheless, Mughal control persisted.
- Rather, the Mughal empire became hollow, with numerous groups utilising it for their own ends, and Bahadur Shah’s successors became mere puppets in the political game of eighteenth-century India.
Sikh Rebellion
Sikh Rebellion
- Bahadur Shah left the Deccan for the north after learning of the insurrection launched by Banda Bahadur in Punjab, just a year after Guru Gobind Singh’s death.
- The Sikhs proceeded slowly towards Delhi, where they joined the sarkar of Hissar and began preparing for a military operation.
- In November 1709, they assaulted Samana and beat the faujdar in the Battle of Samana while plundering the town.
- The Sikhs attempted to drive the Mughals out of Jalandhar and Amritsar. They demanded that Shamas Khan, the Faujdar of Jalandhar, implement reforms and hand over the money.
- Shamas feigned to submit before assaulting them. In the guise of religion, he appealed to Muslims and vowed war against the Sikhs.
- Sikhs exploited their newfound authority to depose Mughal officials and replace them with Sikhs.
- Banda created a mint in Lohgarh, where he founded his capital.
- He dismantled the mughal Zamindari system and granted growers ownership of their own land.
Coinage of Bahadur Shah
Coinage of Bahadur Shah
- He issued gold, silver, and copper coins, however, his predecessors’ coinage was also used to pay government officials and in commerce.
- Copper coins from Aurangzeb’s reign were re-minted with his name.
- Unlike the previous Mughal emperors, his coins did not have his name in a couplet; poet Danishmand Khan wrote two lines for the coins, but they were rejected.
Conclusion
Conclusion
His rule lasted only 5 years, from 1712 to 1713, and during that time he attempted to overthrow his father’s severe edicts. He was unable to abolish Jizya, but he did encourage music, allowing people to hear the tunes once more. He attempted to make peace with the Sikhs and the Marathas. He died in 1712 while overseeing the repairs at Lahore’s Shalimar Gardens. Jahandar Shah, his son, trailed him.
FAQs
Question: What do you mean by Sardeshmukhi?
Answer:
The sardeshmukhi was a ten percent surcharge on top of the chauth. It is an homage to the king. Koli Maharaja Som Shah of Ramnagar founded it.
Question: Explain the Treaty of Purandar?
Answer:
The Treaty of Purandar was a pact signed on March 1, 1776, in Calcutta, by the peshwa of the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company’s Supreme Council of Bengal. The British were able to secure Salsette under the provisions of the agreement.
Question: Who is Zulfiqar Khan?
Answer:
Zulfiqar Khan, also known as Nusrat Jung, was the first Nawab of the Tamil Carnatic State, having been born as Muhammad Ismail in 1657. He was the son of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s Wazir, Asad Khan, and his wife Mehr-un-Nisa Begum.
MCQs
MCQs
Question: Which of the following statements is/are correct about the Chauth.
- Chauth was a sort of tax collected in South India, primarily in the Maratha Empire.
- Chauth and Sardeshmukhi levies were two types of taxes that were key income sources for the Maratha administration.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) See the Explanation
- During mediaeval times, two sorts of taxes were collected in South India, specifically the Maratha Empire.
- These two levies were significant income sources for the Maratha administration.
- However, neither Chauth nor Sardeshmukhi was introduced by the Marathas nor were they their primary sources of revenue.
Therefore option (c) is the correct answer.
Question: Consider the following statements
- He adopted a pacific policy with the Marathas, the Rajputs, and the Jats
- The Sikh leader Banda Bahadur attacked the Muslims in Punjab during his reign.
Which of the above statements is/are correct.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) See the Explanation
- He pursued a pacifist policy with the Marathas, Rajputs, and Jats.
- The Maratha ruler, Shahu, was freed from Mughal captivity, and Rajput leaders were confirmed in their various domains.
- However, when the Sikh leader Banda Bahadur attacked the Muslims in Punjab, the emperor intervened.
Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.
