Mirza Mu'izz-ud-Din Beg Muhammad Khan (10 May 1661 – 11 February 1713), more commonly known as Jahandar Shah (), was the ninth

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

who ruled for a brief period in 1712–1713. He was the son of Bahadur Shah (Shah Alam), and the grandson of Alamgir. Jahandar Shah ruled for only eleven months before being deposed. In his reign, the Deccan Subah was made almost independent by Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jang. Jahandar Shah was deposed by the badishahgar(king-makers), and succeeded by his nephew

Farrukhsiyar 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 ...

in 1713 CE.

Early life

Prince Jahandar Shah was born on 10 May 1661 in Deccan Subah to Prince Muazzam, later Emperor

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 ...

. His mother was Nizam Bai, the daughter of Fatehyawar Jang, a noble from

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. Jahandar Shah was appointed as governor of

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

in 1671 by his grandfather,

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 ...

. When their father died on 27 February 1712, both Jahandar and his brother,

Azim-ush-Shan Azim-ush-Shan ( fa, ; 15 December 1664 – 18 March 1712) was the second son of Mughal emperor Shah Alam I, by his second wife, Amrita Bai, Princess of Kishangarh. He was the grandson of Emperor Aurangzeb, during whose reign, he was the ''suba ...

, declared themselves emperors and battled for succession.

Azim Azim (''ʿAẓīm'' ) is one of the names of Allah in Islam, meaning "''Great''" or "''Magnificent''" or "''Protector''" Also used as a personal name, as short form of the Abdolazim, Abdul Azim, "''Servant of the Magnificent''". It is used by ma ...

was killed on 17 March 1712, after which Jahandar Shah ruled for an additional eleven months. Before ascending the throne, Jahandar Shah sailed around the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

and was a very prosperous trader. He was also appointed subahdar of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. He fathered three sons, including Aziz-ud-Din, who reigned as an emperor between 1754 and 1759.

Reign

Lal Kunwar, by Indian School of the 18th century

Abd al-Samad Khan received by Jahandar Shah

Jahandar Shah led a frivolous life, and his court was often enlivened by dancing and entertainment. He chose a favourite wife,

Lal Kunwar Imtiaz Mahal ( Persian "distinguished one of the palace"), better known by her birth name Lal Kunwar, was the Empress consort of the Mughal Empire as the wife of Mughal emperor Jahandar Shah. She was a former dancing girl who exercised supreme ...

, who was a mere dancing girl before her elevation to the position of Queen Consort. Together they shocked 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 ...

and were even opposed by

's surviving daughter,

Zeenat-un-Nissa Zinat-un-Nissa Begum ( fa, زینت النساء بیگم 5 October 1643 – 7 May 1721) was a Mughal princess and the second daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb and his chief consort, Dilras Banu Begum. Her father had conferred upon her the honorabl ...

. His authority was rejected by the third

Nawab of the Carnatic The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

Muhammed Saadatullah Khan I Sa'adatullah Khan I or Sa'adatullah Khan was Nawab of Carnatic (r.1710–1732) and founder of Nawayath dynasty. He was an adventurer from Konkan in Maharashtra. Life Mohammed Sayyid was the last mughal governor who was appointed as Nawab of ...

, who killed De Singh of

Orchha Orchha is a town, near city of Niwari in Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh state, India. The town was established by rajput ruler Rudra Pratap Singh some time after 1501, as the seat of an eponymous former princely state of covering parts of c ...

, primarily due to the

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

's belief that he was the righteous commander of the

Gingee Fort Gingee Fort or Senji Fort (also known as Chenji, Chanchi, Jinji or Senchi) in Tamil Nadu, India is one of the surviving forts in Tamil Nadu, India. It lies in Villupuram District, from the state capital, Chennai, and is close to the Union Terr ...

. Khan began a smear campaign referring to Jahandar Shah as an usurper to the Mughal throne. To further strengthen his authority, Jahandar Shah sent gifts to the Ottoman

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Ahmad III.

Marriages

Jahandar Shah's first wife was the daughter of Mirza Mukarram Khan Safavi. The marriage took place on 13 October 1676. After her death he married her niece, Sayyid-un-Nisa Begum, the daughter of Rustam Mirza. The marriage took place on 30 August 1684. Qazi Abu Sa'id united them in the presence of Emperor

, and Prince Muazzam (future

). The marriage was consummated on 18 September. Sayyid-un-Nisa Begum was presented with jewels worth 67,000 rupees. The celebrations were supervised by Princess Zinat-un-nissa Begum. His third wife was a Rajput Princess, Anup Bai. She was the mother of Prince Muhammad Aziz-ud-din Mirza, born on 6 June 1699. She died at Delhi on 17 April 1735, nineteen years before her son's accession to the throne as Emperor Alamgir II. His fourth wife was

, the daughter of Khasusiyat Khan. Jahandar Shah was very fond of her, and after his accession to the throne, he gave her the title Imtiyaz Mahal.

Death

He was defeated in the battle at

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 ...

on 10 January 1713 by

, his nephew and the second son of

, with the support of the

Sayyid Brothers The term Sayyid brothers refers to Abdullah Khan and Syed Husain Ali Khan, who were powerful in the Mughal Empire during the early 18th century. They were Indian Muslims who claimed to belong to the family of Sayyids or the descendants of ...

. He fled to

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 ...

where he was captured and handed over to the new emperor, who confined him along with Lal Kunwar. He lived in confinement for a month, until 11 February 1713, when professional stranglers were sent to murder him. Jahandar Shah's body was paraded around Delhi in parts, hanging upside down from two elephants.

Full Title

His full title was ''Shahanshah-i-Ghazi Abu'l Fath Mu'izz-ud-Din Muhammad Jahandar Shah Sahib-i-Qiran Padshah-i-Jahan (Khuld Aramgah)''.

Coins

Jahandar Shah reintroduced couplets and issued coins in gold, silver, and copper. Two couplets i.e. Abu al-Fateh and Sahab Qiran were used. Copper coins were issued in both weight standard i.e. 20 grams and 14 grams. Jahandar Shah, Silver Rupee, Khujista Bunyaad, AH1124 Ry.Ahd, Abu al-Fateh couplet.jpg, Silver Rupee of Abu al-Fateh couplet, Khujista Bunyaad, AH1124 Ry.Ahd Jahandar Shah, Rupee, Itawa, AH1124 Ry.Ahd, Sahab Qiran couplet.jpg, Silver Rupee of Sahab Qiran couplet, Itawa, AH1124 Ry.Ahd Jahandar Shah, AE Paisa, Surat, 20.2 grams.jpg, Copper paisa of 20.21 grams from Surat mint Jahandar Shah, AE Paisa, Surat, 13.85 grams.jpg, Copper paisa of 13.85 grams from Surat mint

Notes

References

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External links

Coin Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jahandar Shah Mughal emperors Shah, Jahandar Shah, Jahandar Murdered Indian monarchs 18th-century murdered monarchs 1713 murders in Asia 18th-century murders in India