Ahmad Shah Bahadur

The main servant of the Mughal court, Javed Khan, was given the official title of Nawab Bahadur and an army of 5000. Together with the emperor's mother, who was given a force of 50,000, Javed Khan became the effective regent. Javed Khan's rise to power and his authority was seen as an affront to the nobility and the aristocracy of the empire, and in particular to the emperor's soldiers.^{[citation needed]}

Internal transgressions (1750–1754)

Safdarjung's opposition to favouritism

Qudsia Begum made every effort to protect the high authority that was granted to Javed Khan and authorised him to use force against those who opposed and resented both him and her. After Safdarjung survived an assassination attempt in 1749 (plotted by Javed Khan), due to his response^{[clarification needed]} tensions erupted in the Mughal court when he tried to de-legitimise any relatives of his predeceasing Grand Viziers he also tried to drive out all the members of the imperial Afghan faction from positions of authority due to the stipends they received from the eunuch. These policies brought Safdarjung in conflict with the principal members of the Turani Faction and particularly Javed Khan.^{[citation needed]}

Salabat Khan's imprisonment and disarray in the Mughal Army

In 1750, Javed Khan arrested the Mughal commander Sayyid Salabat Khan, who had demanded pay for his 18,000 troops who had been recalled to Delhi after completing the assigned expedition against Marwar. While imprisoned, Salabat Khan sold all his property to pay his troops in order to halt a possible revolt and thenceforth lived in poverty like a Dervish.

Safdarjung's advance against Javed Khan's allies in Rohilkhand

Angered by the policies of the Grand Vizier, Ahmad Khan Bangash attacked Safdarjung's possessions in Awadh, during which Safdarjung was wounded in the neck.

Safdarjung responded by amassing an army that included

In the year 1752 the

According to the Marathas, 8000 warriors were captured (mostly women)[13] and the imperial household was humiliated.^[12]

"Sikandarabad Incident" is considered to be the last raid conducted by the emperor against the Maratha empire.^[12]

But

Meanwhile, following the battle at Sikandarabad, the ailing Safdarjung fled to Awadh and a Mughal general laid siege to Bhurtpore, which Suraj Mal and his Jat rebels controlled. After being reinstated as the Grand Vizier, Imad-ul-Mulk moved out of Delhi to support his lieutenant with a fresh supply of ammunition.^{[citation needed]}

It was during this confrontation that Imad-ul-Mulk claimed that Ahmad Shah Bahadur sent secret dispatches to Suraj Mal, encouraging him to fight and promised to advance to the aid of the

Muhammad Shah bestowed him^[who?] with the title Nasir Jung and later the next Mughal Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur appointed him as the Subedar of the Deccan and bestowed him with the title Nasir-ud-Daula, he was killed by the renegade Himmat Khan in 1750.^[15]

First Carnatic War (1746–1748)

Main article:

Carnatic Wars

Muzaffar Jang welcomes Joseph François Dupleix

.

In 1749,

Battle of Ambur.^[16]

Nawab of Arcot

in the Carnatic, during a battle against the French in 1749.

In response to this power struggle among the Mughal subjects in the Deccan,

Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah and Nasir Jung aligned themselves with the English in 1750. When Nasir Jung tried to recapture Gingee Fort, from De Bussy he was halted, defeated and killed by the forces of the troublesome Himmat Khan, the Nawab of Kadapa. Dupleix, who was the real power behind the successors, soon delegated a formidable governance to his allies: Muzaffar Jung was declared the Nizam of Mughal lands in eastern-Deccan and Chanda Sahib was declared the new Nawab of the Carnatic. The French were perceived as powerful aristocrats throughout the Mughal Empire; their English counterparts, however, had their reputations tarnished by the alleged acts of piracy since the days of Aurangzeb

.

Madras^[17]

Mughal Army expedition against Marwar

Salabat Khan, the

Ishvari Singh. The sides fought each other in 1750 at the Battle of Raona.^[18] Immediately after the battle, Ishwari Singh reconciled with Salabat Khan and the confrontation ended in ceasefire. Soon afterwards the Maratha Confederacy invaded Jaipur

and Ishwari Singh committed suicide.

2nd and 3rd Invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali

In 1749,

Nadir Shah in 1739. Abdali's forces fought Moin-ul-Mulk

, the Mughal governor of Punjab, to a stalemate, but the latter was duped into signing a treaty accepting Abdali's demands.

The terms of the 1749 not being fulfilled, Abdali invaded India a third time in 1752 and swept all before him before the gates of Lahore. Here a fierce battle was fought, and Moin-ul-Mulk's brave lieutenant, Raja Koramal was killed. Moin-ul-Mulk was captured, but Abdali pardoned him due to his courageousness in battle, afterwards reappointed him governor of the Subah. The Mughal Court became frantic lest a repeat of 1739 should occur. The Grand Wazir,

Imad-ul-Mulk

's aborted attempt to restore them to Mughal control.

Loss of Gujarat and Orissa to the Maratha Confederacy

Various chieftains of the Maratha Confederacy had defeated the subjects of Ahmad Shah Bahadur in

Orissa. Until 1753 Gujarat continued to be a part of the Mughal Empire, but in that year the Imperial Governor was deposed by the Marathas, and it was during that havoc that the Raj Bovri Mosque complex was destroyed during a massive fray.^{[citation needed]} In response to the annexation of Gujarat, the Mughal Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur appointed and strengthened the Nawab of Junagarh Nawab Muhammad Bahadur Khanji and bestowed various titles and authority to various entities loyal to the Mughal Empire in the region.^[19] Ahmad Shah Bahadur and Safdarjung also dispatched Salabat Khan and an army of 18,000 to an expedition to quell all rebels in Rajput

territories and to gather support for the regions garrisons.

Alivardi Khan loses Orissa

In 1751 after defending his territories from the Marathas for nearly 11 years,

Raghoji I Bhonsle, who eventually annexed Odisha for the Maratha Confederacy. Only Midnapore remained in Mughal hands, and Alivardi Khan, the Mughal governor of Bengal, was forced to pay the Chauth tribute to the Marathas, as had been instructed to him by the late Emperor Muhammad Shah

.

Second Carnatic War (1749–1754)

Nawab of the Carnatic, Chanda Sahib, assisted by a small number of troops from the French East India Company

.

In 1751, Chanda Sahib and his lieutenants Reza Sahib and

Savanur after they jointly attacked Muzaffar Jung' encampments of 3000 troops, during the confrontation the Nawab of Savanur was killed, the Nawab of Kurnool was shot and wounded but apathetic Himmat Khan, the Nawab of Kadapa, challenged Muzaffar Jung to a duel. Charging their Howdah's at each other, they eliminated each other in combat.^[21]

French-Nizam Alliance

The news of Muzaffar Jung's death had created a great sense of shock and panic among the Mughals and the

Balaji Bajirao

.

Instead of awaiting an imminent invasion Dupleix decided to challenge the Marathas and inflicted a defeat upon their leader Balaji Bajirao by taking advantage of a lunar eclipse in December 1751. The coalition of De Bussy and Salabat Jung efficiently marched towards Poona delivering a series of crushing defeats upon the Marathas and their allies for the first time in decades. In the following year De Bussy enforced the Peace Treaty of Ahmadnagar upon the Marathas.

Intizam-ud-Daula was poisoned by his own troops for pursuing an alliance with Balaji Bajirao. The

Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah

and Clive in 1752. Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah was then recognised as the next Nawab of the Carnatic, mainly by arousing the sympathies of Ahmad Shah Bahadur.

In 1753, De Bussy led his coalition in order to capture the

Poona. This alliance with the French had greatly contributed to the advancement of Salabat Jung's forces, in 1756 Salabat Jung's forces utilised heavy muskets known as Catyocks, which were attached to the ground, it was known to have fired more rapidly than a cannon.^[7]

These new weapons would completely reverse fortunes of the Maratha rebels.

Death

After his deposition in 1754, Ahmad Shah Bahadur was imprisoned at the

Shah Jahan IV

.

His tomb is located in a burial enclosure enjoined to the Moti Masjid, in the vicinity of Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki's dargah in Mehrauli.^[23]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Sarkar, Jadunath (1964). "Fall Of The Mughal Empire, Volume 1". Internet Archive. pp. 334–5. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
2. ^ Sir Jadunath Sarkar (1966). Fall of the Mughal Empire: 1754-1771 (Panipat) (3 ed.). M. C. Sarkar. p. 89.
3. ISBN 9788171568192
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4. ^ The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture, p. 59, at Google Books
5. ^ ^{a b} Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F–O, p. 631, at Google Books
6. ^ History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Development in contrast, p. 287, at Google Books
7. ^ ^{a b} War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849, p. 29, at Google Books
8. ^ History of Indian Nation : Medieval India. K. K. Publications. 2022. p. 178.
9. ^ Jagadish Narayan Sarkar (1976). A Study of Eighteenth Century India: Political history, 1707-1761. Saraswat Library. p. 101.
10. ISBN 9788129126603
    .
11. ^ Gordon, Stewart (1993). The Marathas 1600–1818, Volume 2. Cambridge University Press.
12. ^ ^{a b c} "The Last Raid : Dying Embers of the Mughal Empire". Hindu History. 20 June 2014.
13. ISBN 9781476608891
    – via Google Books.
14. ISBN 9788129126603
    .
15. ^ Kulakarṇī, A. Rā; Nayeem, M. A.; Insṭīṭiyūṭ, ʻAbūlkalām Āzād Oriyanṭal Rīsarc (1 January 2000). History of Modern Deccan, 1720/1724-1948: Political and administrative aspects. Abul Kalam Azad Oriental Research Institute.
16. ^ A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East, p. 756, at Google Books
17. ^ Palk Manuscripts, four-volume collection of the correspondence of Sir Robert Palk relating to Indian affairs, Historical Manuscripts Commission: Report on the Palk manuscripts in the possession of Mrs Bannatyne of Haldon, Devon, p.XII [1]
18. ISBN 9788125003335
    .
19. ^ "Collect Britain has moved". Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
20. ISBN 9781843310044
    .
21. ^ Nizam-British Relations, 1724–1857, p. 51, at Google Books
22. ^ A History of Modern India, 1480–1950, p. 220, at Google Books
23. OCLC 1024165136.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )

Ahmad Shah Bahadur Timurid dynasty
Preceded by Muhammad Shah	Mughal Emperor 26 April 1748– 2 June 1754	Succeeded by Alamgir II

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