Mughal War Of Succession (1707–1709)
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The Mughal war of succession (1707–1709) or the Mughal Civil War was a period of general political and military disorder in the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
. It followed the death of the sixth 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 ...
() in March 1707 and lasted for about two years.


History

Mughal emperor Aurangzeb died in 1707 after a 49-year reign without officially declaring a crown prince. His three sons
Bahadur Shah I Bahadur Shah I (14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712), also known as Muhammad Mu'azzam and Shah Alam I. was the eighth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father Aurangzeb, t ...
,
Muhammad Azam Shah Qutb-ud-Din Muhammad Azam (28 June 1653 – 20 June 1707), commonly known as Azam Shah, was briefly the Mughal emperor who reigned from 14 March 1707 to 20 June 1707. He was the third son of the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his chief cons ...
, and
Muhammad Kam Bakhsh Muhammad Kam Bakhsh ( fa, محمد کامبخش; 7 March 1667 – 14 January 1709) was the youngest son of Emperor Aurangzeb, born to his wife Udaipuri Mahal. Early life Kam Bakhsh was born on 7 March 1667 at Delhi. He was the fifth son of six ...
fought each other for the throne. Azam Shah declared himself successor to the throne, but was defeated in battle by Bahadur Shah. In the meantime Kam Bakhsh moved to
Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...
where he established his own empire. His forces were later engaged in battle by the Shah's army and Kam Bakhsh was killed.


Principals

* Prince Muzzam at Jamrud along with his sons Prince Jahandar Shah, Prince Azim-ush-Shan at Bengal, Prince Rafi-ush-Shan at Malakand Fort, Prince Jahan Shah at Agra Fort, Muzzam Rule (Kabul Subah, Bengal Subah, and Malakand Fort). Consort – Nizam Bai (daughter Of Raja of Amber). * Prince Azam Shah at Ahmednagar His sons Prince Bidar Bakht at At Gujarat, Prince Jawan Bakht At Gujarat, Prince Sikandar Along his father, Prince Wala Jah at Belapur Fort in Deccan Subah, Azam Rule (Gujarat, and Mirza Part of Deccan). Consort – Sabana Begum (daughter of Persian Ruler). * Prince Kam Bakhsh At Bijapur with his All sons And Support by Aurangzeb queen consort Diwani Begum. Consort – Jamilat Begum (daughter of Sulan Nazir Mirza Of Bihar) * Prince Musa Khawja at Lahore with his Brothers, Prince Umar Mirza at Badakhshan, Prince Sultan Muzzam at Deccan Half Part, Prince Akbar and Prince Nasir with his father Aurangzeb, Khawja (Multan, Orisha, Mathura, Badakhshan, Berar, Half Deccan, Kanthkot Fort). Consort – Najib begum (Daughter Of Wali ahd Azam shah). * Prince Hasim Mirza at Khandesh With his Only Brother Imam and Support By Nadira Begum the chief consort Of Mughal Empire (Khandesh)


Conflict between Azam Shah and Bahadur Shah I

Aurangzeb left a will advising his sons to divide the empire among themselves. At the time of his death his eldest son
Bahadur Shah I Bahadur Shah I (14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712), also known as Muhammad Mu'azzam and Shah Alam I. was the eighth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father Aurangzeb, t ...
inhabited Jamrud, 12 miles west of Peshawar in present-day Pakistan. His second son
Muhammad Azam Shah Qutb-ud-Din Muhammad Azam (28 June 1653 – 20 June 1707), commonly known as Azam Shah, was briefly the Mughal emperor who reigned from 14 March 1707 to 20 June 1707. He was the third son of the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his chief cons ...
lived in Ahmednagar in present-day India.
Khafi Khan Muhammad Hashim (c. 1664–1732), better known by his title Khafi Khan, was an Indo-Persian historian of Mughal India. His career began about 1693–1694 as a clerk in Bombay. He served predominantly in Gujarat and the Deccan regions, including th ...
suggested that whoever reached the capital city of Agra first would capture the throne. The distances to Agra from Jamrud and Ahmednagar were 715 and 700 miles, respectively. Azam Shah and Bahadur Shah were involved in an armed conflict at Jajau, near
Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
(current day
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
, India). The ensuing battle led to the death of Azam Shah and his three sons on 20 June 1707. Azam Shah and the other royals who died in battle were buried in
Humayun's Tomb Humayun's tomb (Persian language, Persian: ''Maqbara-i Humayun'') is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi, India. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum under her patronage in 1558, an ...
,
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, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
.


Conflict between Bahadur Shah and Kam Bakhsh

Shah's half-brother, Muhammad Kam Bakhsh, marched to Bijapur in March 1707 with his soldiers. When the news of Aurangzeb's death spread through the city, the city's monarch, King Sayyid Niyaz Khan surrendered the fort to Baksh without a fight. Once on the throne, Kam Bakhsh proclaimed the Bakshi (general of the armed forces) Ahsan Khan. His advisor Taqarrub Khan was made chief minister. Kam Bakhsh proclaimed himself Emperor Kam Bakhsh – Protector of Faith (Padshah Kam Bakhsh-i-Dinpanah). He then conquered Kulbarga and Wakinkhera. Taqarrub Khan formed a conspiracy to eliminate Ahsan Khan, alleging that meetings of Ahsan Khan, Saif Khan (Kam Bakhsh's archery teacher), Arsan Khan, Ahmad Khan, Nasir Khan and Rustam Dil Khan (all of them Kam Bakhsh's former teachers and members of the then court) to discuss public business were a conspiracy to assassinate Kam Bakhsh "while on his way to the Friday prayer at the great mosque". After informing Kam Bakhsh of the matter, he invited Rustam Dil Khan for dinner and had him arrested en route. Rustam Dil Khan was crushed under the feet of an elephant, Saif Khan's hands were amputated, and Arshad Khan's tongue was cut off. Ahsan Khan ignored warnings by close friends that Kam Bakhsh would arrest him, which then occurred and he was imprisoned and his property seized. In April 1708, Shah's envoy Malabar Khan came to Kam Bakhsh's court. When Taqarrub Khan told Kam Bakhsh that Malabar Khan intended to dethrone him, Kam Bakhsh invited the envoy and his entourage to a feast and executed them. In May 1708, Shah sent a warning letter to Kam Bakhsh that he hoped would prevent him from proclaiming himself an independent sovereign. Shah then began a journey to the Tomb of Aurangzeb to pay his respects to his father. Kam Bakhsh replied, thanking him "without either explaining or justifying is actions. When Shah reached Hyderabad on 28 June 1708, he learned that Kam Bakhsh had attacked Machhlipatnam (Bandar) in an attempt seize over three million rupees' worth of treasure hidden in its fort. The subahdar of the province, Jan Sipar Khan, refused to hand over the money. Enraged, Kam Bakhsh confiscated his properties and ordered the recruitment of four thousand soldiers for the attack. In July, the garrison at the Gulbarga fort declared its independence and garrison leader Daler Khan Bijapuri "reported his desertion from Kam Bakhsh". On 5 November 1708 Shah's camp reached Bidar, 67 miles (108  km) north of Hyderabad. Historian William Irvine wrote that as his "camp drew nearer desertions from Kam Bakhsh became more and more frequent". On 1 November, Kam Bakhsh captured Pam Naik's (zamindar, the landlord of Wakinkhera) holdings after Naik abandoned his army. On 20 December 1708, Kam Bakhsh marched towards Talab-i-Mir Jumla, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, with "three hundred camels, ndtwenty thousand rockets" for war with Shah. He made his son Jahandar Shah commander of the advance guard, later replacing him with Khan Zaman. On 12 January 1709, Shah reached Hyderabad and prepared his troops. Although Kam Bakhsh had little money and few soldiers left, the royal astrologer had predicted that he would "miraculously" win the battle. At sunrise the following day, Shah's army charged towards Kam Bakhsh. His 15,000 troops were divided into two bodies: one led by Mumin Khan, assisted by Rafi-ush-Shan and Jahan Shah, and the second under Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung. Two hours later Kam Bakhsh's camp was surrounded, and Zulfiqar Khan impatiently attacked him with his "small force". With his soldiers outnumbered and unable to resist the attack, Kam Bakhsh joined the battle and shot two quivers of arrows at his opponents. According to Irvine, when he was "weakened by the loss of blood", Shah took him and his son Bariqullah prisoner. A dispute arose between Mumin Khan and Zulfikar Khan Nusrat Jung over who had captured them, with Rafi-us-Shan ruling in favour of the latter. Kam Bakhsh was brought by palanquin to Shah's camp, where he died the next morning.


See also

*
Battle of Samugarh Battle of Samugarh, Jang-e-Samugarh, (May 29, 1658), was a deciding battle in the struggle for the throne during the ''Mughal war of succession (1658–1659)'' between the sons of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan after the emperor's serious illness ...


Notes


References

* irst published 1921* ranslation first published 1877 1707 in India Battles involving the Mughal Empire Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Asia Wars involving the Mughal Empire {{DEFAULTSORT:Mughal war of succession (1707-1709)