Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth
emperor of the
Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor
Jahandar Shah.
Reportedly a handsome man who was easily swayed by his advisers, he lacked the ability, knowledge and character to rule independently. He was an emperor only in name, with all effective power in the hands of the
Sayyids of Barah. Farrukhsiyar was the son of
Azim-ush-Shan (the second son of emperor
Bahadur Shah I) and Sahiba Niswan.
Early life
Muhammad Farrukhsiyar was born on 20 August 1683 (9th
Ramzan 1094
AH) in the city of
Aurangabad on the
Deccan plateau. He was the second son of
Azim-ush-Shan, who was a grandson of the
Mughal emperor Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
and son of the later emperor
Bahadur Shah I. In 1696, Farrukhsiyar accompanied his father on his campaign to
Bengal. Aurangzeb recalled Azim-ush-Shan from Bengal in 1707 and instructed Farrukhsiyar to take charge of the province. Farrukhsiyar spent his early years governing the capital city of
Dhaka (in present-day
Bangladesh); during the reign of his grandfather Bahadur Shah I, he moved to
Murshidabad (present-day
West Bengal, India).
In 1712 Azim-ush-Shan anticipated Bahadur Shah I's death and a struggle for power, and recalled Farrukhsiyar. He was marching past
Azimabad
Azimabad ( hi, अज़ीमाबाद, ur, ) was the name of modern-day Patna during the eighteenth century, prior to the British Raj. Today, Patna is the capital of Bihar, a state in North India. In ancient times, Patna was known as Pata ...
(present-day
Patna,
Bihar, India) when he learned of the Mughal emperor's death. On 21 March, Farrukhsiyar proclaimed his father's accession to the throne, issued coinage in his name and ordered ''
khutba'' (public prayer). On 6 April, he learned of his father's defeat. Although the prince considered suicide, he was dissuaded by his friends from Bengal.
War of succession
In 1712,
Jahandar Shah (Farrukhsiyar's uncle) ascended the throne of the
Mughal empire by defeating Farrukhsiyar's father, Azim-ush-Shan. Farrukhsiyar wanted revenge for his father's death and was joined by Hussain Ali Khan (the ''
subahdar
Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...
'' of Bengal) and Abdullah Khan, his brother and the ''subahdar'' of
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...
.
When they reached
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...
from Azimabad, Jahandar Shah's military general Syed Abdul Ghaffar Khan Gardezi and 12,000 troops clashed with Abdullah Khan, resulting in Abdullah retreating to the
Allahabad Fort
Allahabad Fort is a fort built by the Mughal emperor Akbar at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1583. A stone inscription inside fort describe 1583 as a foundation year. The fort stands on the banks of the Yamuna near its confluence with the r ...
. However, Gardezi's army fled when they learned about his death. After the defeat, Jahandar Shah sent general Khwaja Ahsan Khan and his son Aazuddin. When they reached Khajwah (present-day
Fatehpur district,
Uttar Pradesh, India), they learned that Farrukhsiyar was accompanied by Hussain Ali Khan and Abdullah Khan. With Abdullah Khan commanding the
vanguard, Farrukhsiyar began the attack. After a night-long artillery fight, Aazuddin and Khwaja Ahsan Khan fled and the camp fell to Farrukhsiyar.
On 10 January 1713, Farrukhsiyar and Jahandar Shah's forces met at Samugarh, east of
Agra in present-day Uttar Pradesh. Jahandar Shah was defeated and imprisoned, and the following day Farrukhsiyar proclaimed himself the Mughal emperor. On 12 February, Farrukhsiyar marched to the Mughal capital of
Delhi, capturing the
Red Fort and the citadel. Jahandar Shah's head, mounted on a bamboo rod, was carried by an executioner on an elephant and his body was carried by another elephant.
Reign
Hostility with the Sayyid brothers
Farrukhsiyar defeated
Jahandar Shah with the aid of the
Sayyid brothers, and one of the brothers, Abdullah Khan, wanted the post of ''
wazir
Wazir often refers to:
* Vizier or wazir, a high-ranking political advisor or minister
Wazir may also refer to:
Places
* Wazirabad, a City in Punjab, Pakistan
* Waziristan, a region in tribal belt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
* Wazir Akbar K ...
'' (prime minister). His demand was rejected, since the post was promised to Ghaziuddin Khan, but Farrukhsiyar offered him a post as
regent under the name of ''wakil-e-mutlaq''. Abdullah Khan refused, saying that he deserved the post of ''wazir'' since he led Farrukhsiyar's army against Jahandar Shah. Farrukhsiyar ultimately gave in to his demand, and Abdullah Khan became prime minister.
According to historian
William Irvine, Farrukhsiyar's close aides
Mir Jumla III
{{Infobox noble, type
, name = Ubaidullah Khan
, title = Mir Jumla
, image =
, caption =
, alt =
, CoA =
, more = no
, succession = Subahdar ...
and Khan Dauran sowed seeds of suspicion in his mind that they might usurp him from the throne. Learning about these developments, the other Sayyid brother (Hussain Ali Khan) wrote to Abdullah: "It was clear, from the Prince's talk and the nature of his acts, that he was a man who paid no regard to claims for service performed, one void of faith, a breaker of his word and altogether without shame". Hussain Ali Khan felt it necessary to act in their interests "without regard to the plans of the new sovereign".
Campaign against Ajit Singh
Maharaja Ajit Singh
Ajit Singh Rathore ( hi, अजीत सिंह राठौड़; – 24 June 1724) was the ruler of Marwar region in the present-day Rajasthan and the son of Jaswant Singh of Marwar, Jaswant Singh Rathore.
Early life
Jaswant Singh of ...
captured
Ajmer with the support of the Marwari nobles and expelled Mughal diplomats from his state. Farrukhsiyar sent Hussain Ali Khan to subjugate him. However, the anti-
Sayyid brothers faction in the Mughal emperor's court compelled him to send secret letters to Ajit Singh assuring him of rewards if he defeated Hussain Ali Khan.
Hussain left Delhi for Ajmer on 6 January 1714, accompanied by Sarbuland Khan and Afrasyab Khan. As his army reached Sarai Sahal, Ajit Singh sent diplomats who failed to negotiate a peace. As Hussain Ali Khan advanced to Ajmer via Jodhpur, Jaiselmer and Mairtha, Ajit Singh retreated to the deserts hoping to dissuade the Mughal general from a battle. As Hussain advanced, Ajit Singh surrendered at Mairtha. As a result, Mughal authority was restored in
Rajasthan. Ajit Singh gave his daughter,
Indira Kanwar, as a bride to Farrukhsiyar. His son,
Abhai Singh, was compelled to accompany him to see the Mughal emperor.
Campaign against the Jats
Due to
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
's 25-year campaign on the
Deccan plateau, Mughal authority weakened in
North India with the rise of local rulers. Taking advantage of the situation, the
Jats
The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...
advanced. In early 1713, Farrukhsiyar unsuccessfully sent ''
subahdar
Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...
'' of
Agra Chabela Ram to defeat
Churaman
Churaman (died 1721) was a Jat chieftain of Sinsini, Rajasthan. He became leader of the Jats after Rajaram's death. Bahadur Shah I made him a ''mansabdar'' after he supported him against Muhammad Azam Shah in becoming the emperor. He was also m ...
(the Jat leader). His successor, Samsamud Daulah Khan, compelled Churaman to negotiate with the Mughal emperor. Raja Bahadur Rathore accompanied him to the Mughal court, where negotiations with Farrukhsiyar failed.
In September 1716 Raja
Jai Singh II undertook a campaign against Churaman, who lived in Thun (in present-day
Rajasthan, India). By 19 November, Jai Singh II began besieging the Thun fort. In December Churaman's son,
Muhkam Singh
Raja Muhkam Singh was a Jat Chieftain and son of Churaman. He succeeded his father to the leadership of Jats from c. September, 1721 to 18 November 1722. Fransoo, while giving the genealogy of the Jat rulers, mentions him as the first Raja
...
, marched from the fort and battled Jai Singh II; the Raja claimed victory. With the Mughals running out of ammunition, Syed Muzaffar Khan was ordered to bring gunpowder, rockets and mounds of lead from the arsenal at Agra.
By January 1718, the siege had lasted for more than a year. With rain coming late in 1717, prices of commodities increased and Raja Jai Singh II found it difficult to continue the siege. He wrote to Farrukhsiyar for reinforcement, saying that he had overcome "many encounters" with the Jats. This failed to impress Farrukhsiyar, so Jai Singh II (via his agent in Delhi) informed
Syed Abdullah that he would give three million rupees to the government and two million rupees to the minister if he championed his cause to the emperor. With negotiations between Syed Abdullah and Farrukhsiyar successful, he accepted his demands and dispatched Syed Khan Jahan to bring Churaman to the Mughal court. He also gave a
''farman'' (royal decree) to Raja Jai Singh II, thanking him for the siege.
On 19 April 1718, Churaman was presented to Farrukhsiyar; they negotiated for peace, with Churaman accepting Mughal authority. Khan Jahan was given the title of ''Bahadur'' ("brave"). It was decided that Churaman would pay five million rupees in cash and goods to Farrukhsiyar via Syed Abdullah.
Campaign against Sikhs and execution of Banda Bahadur
Banda Singh Bahadur was a
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
leader who, by early 1700, had captured parts of the
Punjab region.
Mughal emperor
Bahadur Shah I failed to suppress Banda's uprising.
In 1714, the Sirhind ''
faujdar'' (garrison commander) Zainuddin Ahmad Khan attacked the Sikhs near
Ropar. In 1715, Farrukhisyar sent 20,000 troops under Qamaruddin Khan, Abdus Samad Khan and
Zakariya Khan Bahadur to defeat Bahadur.
After an eight-month siege at
Gurdaspur, Bahadur surrendered after he ran out of ammunition. Bahadur and his 200 companions were arrested and brought to Delhi; he was paraded around the city of
Sirhind
Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab.
Demographics
In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and female ...
.
Bahadur was put into an iron cage and the remaining Sikhs were chained. They were pressured to give up their faith and become Muslims. Although the emperor promised to spare the Sikhs who
converted to Islam
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...
, according to William Irvine "not one prisoner proved false to his faith". On their firm refusal all were ordered to be executed. The Sikhs were brought to Delhi in a procession with the 780 Sikh prisoners, 2,000 Sikh heads hung on spears, and 700 cartloads of heads of slaughtered Sikhs used to terrorise the population. When Farrukhsiyar's army reached the
Red Fort, the Mughal emperor ordered Banda Bahadur,
Baj Singh
Baba Baj Singh (died 1716), also known as Baj Bahadur, was a Sikh general, governor, scholar and martyr from present-day India.
Family
Baj Singh's family was native to Mirpur Patti, a village in Amritsar district of the Punjab. He was born into ...
, Bhai Fateh Singh and his companions to be imprisoned in
Tripolia. After three months of confinement, On 19 June 1716 Farrukhsiyar had Bahadur and his followers executed, despite the wealthy
Khatris of Delhi offering money for his release. Banda Singh's eyes were
gouged out, his limbs were severed, his skin removed, and then he was killed.
Trade concession
In 1717, Farrukhsiyar issued a ''farman'' giving the
British East India Company the right to reside and trade in the Mughal Empire. They were allowed to trade freely, except for a yearly payment of 3,000
rupees
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
. This was because
William Hamilton, a surgeon associated with the company cured Farrukhsiyar of a disease. The company was given the right to issue ''
dastak'' (passes) for the movement of goods, which was misused by company officials for personal gain.
The ''farman'' allowed the
British East-India company to carry out duty-free trade in the
province of Bengal. They were given ''dastaks'' (passes), which were misused by the employees of the Company. They used the dastaks in their own private trade, which angered the
Nawab of Bengal
The Nawab of Bengal ( bn, বাংলার নবাব) 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, ...
,
Alivardi Khan. Later on,
Mir Qasim (Nawab of Bengal) abolishes the duty for the local Indian traders as well, to place them at an equal footing as the Company.
Final struggle with the Sayyids
By 1715, Farrukhsiyar had given
Mir Jumla III
{{Infobox noble, type
, name = Ubaidullah Khan
, title = Mir Jumla
, image =
, caption =
, alt =
, CoA =
, more = no
, succession = Subahdar ...
the power to sign documents on his behalf: "The word and seal of Mir Jumla are my word and seal". Mir Jumla III began approving proposals for ''
jagirs'' and ''
mansabs'' without consulting Syed Abdullah, the prime minister. Syed Abdullah's deputy Ratan Chand accepted bribes for him to do work and was involved in
revenue farming
Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contract ...
, which was forbidden by the Mughal emperor. Taking advantage of the situation, Mir Jumla III told Farrukhsiyar that the Sayyids were unfit to hold office and accused them of insubordination. Hoping to depose the brothers, Farrukhsiyar began making military preparations and increased the number of soldiers under Mir Jumla III and Khan Dauran.
After Syed Hussain learned about Farrukhsiyar's plans, he felt that their position could be cemented by controlling "important provinces". He asked to be appointed viceroy of the Deccan, instead of
Nizam ul Mulk
Abu Ali Hasan ibn Ali Tusi (April 10, 1018 – October 14, 1092), better known by his honorific title of Nizam al-Mulk ( fa, , , Order of the Realm) was a Persian scholar, jurist, political philosopher and Vizier of the Seljuk Empire. Rising fr ...
; Farrukhsiyar refused, transferring him to the Deccan instead. Fearing attack by Farrukhsiyar's supporters, the brothers began making military preparations. Although Farrukhsiyar initially considered giving the task of crushing the brothers to Mohammad Amin Khan (who wanted the position of prime minister in return), he decided against it because removing him would be difficult.
Arriving at the Deccan, Syed Hussain made a treaty with
Maratha ruler
Shahu I in February 1718. Shahu was allowed to collect ''
sardeshmukhi'' in Deccan, and received the lands of
Berar and Gondwana to govern. In return, Shahu agreed to pay one million rupees annually and maintain an army of 15,000 horses for the Sayyids. This agreement was reached without Farrukhsiyar's approval, and he was angry when he learned about it: "It was not proper for the vile enemy to be overbearing partners in matters of revenue and government."
State of the Mughal Empire
Appointments
Farrukhsiyar appointed Sayid Abdullah Khan as chief minister and placed Muhammad Baqir Mutamid Khan in charge of the
Exchequer. The title of ''
bakshi'' was first conferred on
Hussain Ali Khan (with the titles of Umdat-ul-Mulk, Amir-ul-umara and Bahadur Firuz Jung) and then to
Chin Qilich Khan
Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (11 August 16711 June 1748) also known as Chin Qilich qamaruddin Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah and Nizam I, was the 1st Nizam of Hyderabad. He was married to the daughter of a Syed nobleman of Gulbarga. He ...
and Afrasayab Khan Bahadur.
The following were governors of the provinces; the governor of
South India was Chin Qilich Khan, who appointed deputy governors:
Deposition
In 1713 the new Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar appointed
Ajit Singh of Marwar
Ajit Singh Rathore ( hi, अजीत सिंह राठौड़; – 24 June 1724) was the ruler of Marwar region in the present-day Rajasthan and the son of Jaswant Singh Rathore.
Early life
Jaswant Singh of Marwar died at Jamrud in ...
as governor of
Thatta Subah
A Subah was the term for a province (State) in the Mughal Empire. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a ''Subah'' was known as a '' subahdar'' (sometimes also referred to as a "''Subeh''"), which later became ''subed ...
. Ajit Singh refused to go to the impoverished province and Farrukhsiyar sent
Husain Ali Braha
Nawab Sayyid Hassan Ali Khan Barha (1666 – 12 October 1722), also known as Qutub-ul-Mulk, Nawab Sayyid Mian II, Abdullah Khan II, was one of the Sayyid brothers, and a key figure in the Mughal Empire under Farrukhsiyar.
He was the eldest so ...
to subdue Ajit Singh, but also sent a private letter to Ajit Singh promising him blessings if he defeated Husain. Instead Ajit Singh chose to negotiate with Husain, accepting the governorship of Thatta with a promise for a return to Gujarat in the near future. One of the other conditions of this peace agreement was the marriage of one of the daughters of the Jodhpur Raja with the Mughal emperor.
Ajit Singh later took his revenge against Farrukhsiyar on 28 February 1719. Ajit Singh, besieged Farrukhsiyar in the
Red Fort and after a night-long battle entered the palace grounds, at first Qutb-Ul-Mulk tried to stop Ajit Singh from entering, upon which the enraged Ajit stabbed him to death and told his Rajput and Pathan soldiers to arrest Farrukhsiyar. The emperor was caught hiding in the harem with his mother, wives and daughters, he tried to resist but was caught and dragged to a small room in Tripoliya gate, where he was tortured and blinded with a needle. The old Mughal officials cried for mercy and Raja Jai singh of Jaipur and Nizam-Ul-Mulk of Hyderabad did send threats but none of them took any action. On 2nd March 1719, Rafi-Ud-Darjat was chosen from the princes and Ajit Singh and the Nawab took his hand and placed him on the peacock throne.
Personal life
Family
Farrukhsiyar's first wife was Fakhr-Un-Nissa Begum, also known as Gauhar-Un-Nissa, the daughter of Mir Muhammad Taqi (known as Hasan Khan and then Sadat Khan). Taqi, from the Persian province of
Mazandaran, married the daughter of Masum Khan Safawi; if she was the mother of Fakhr-un-nissa, this would account for her daughter's selection as the prince's wife.
His second wife was Bai
Indira Kanwar, the daughter of Maharajah Ajit Singh. She married Farrukhsiyar on 27 September 1715, during the fourth year of his reign, and they had no children. After Farrukhsiyar's deposition and death she left the imperial harem on 16 July 1719, she returned to her father with her property and lived her remaining years in Jodhpur.
Farrukhsiyar's third wife was Bai Bhup Devi, daughter of Jaya Singh (the raja of
Kishtwar, who had converted to Islam and received the name of Bakhtiyar Khan). After Jaya Singh's death he was succeeded by his son, Kirat Singh. In 1717, in response to a message from the
Mufti of
Delhi, her brother Kirat Singh sent her to Delhi with her brother Mian Muhammad Khan. Farrukhsiyar married her, and she entered the imperial harem on 3 July 1717.
Titles
His full name was Abul Muzaffer Muinuddin Muhammad Farrukhsiyar Badshah.
Posthumously, he was known as ''"Shahid-i-marhum"'' (the martyr received with mercy).
Coinage
On coins issued during Farrukhsiyar's reign, the following phrase was inscribed: ''"Sikka zad az fazl-i-Haq bar sim o zar/ Padshah-i-bahr-o-bar Farrukhsiyar"'' (By the grace of the true God, struck on silver and gold, the emperor of land and sea, Farrukhsiyar).
There are 116 coins from his reign on display at the
Lahore Museum and the
Indian Museum
The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...
in
Kolkata. The coins were minted in
Kabul,
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
,
Ajmer,
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...
,
Bidar and
Berar.
Legacy
The town of
Farrukhnagar in
Gurgaon district, south of
Delhi, was named for him. During his reign, he built a ''Sheesh Mahal'' (palace) and a
Jama Masjid (mosque) there.
The town of
Farrukhabad in
Uttar Pradesh was also named after him.
References
Bibliography
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{{Mughal Empire
Mughal emperors
Murdered Indian monarchs
1683 births
1719 deaths
People from Aurangabad, Maharashtra
People from Marathwada
18th-century murdered monarchs
1719 in India
1719 murders in Asia
18th-century murders in India