Muhammad Shah

The Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah with his Falcon visits the imperial garden at sunset on a palanquin.

On 9 October 1720, Syed Hussain Ali Khan Barha, the commander and chief of the Mughal army, was assassinated in his encampment in Todabhim and Muhammad Shah took direct command of the army. Asaf Jah I was then dispatched to gain complete control of six Mughal provinces in the Deccan, and Muhammad Amin Khan Turani was assigned as the Mansabdar of 8000. He was sent to pursue the Mughal Grand vizier Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha, who was defeated at the battle of Hasanpur by Muhammad Amin Turani, Khan-i Dauran, Sher Afkan Panipati, and Amin-ud-Din Sambhali. Hassan Khan Barha fought on the side opposing Khan-i-Dauran where the most danger was anticipated,[8] was captured on 15 November 1720 and executed two years later. The fall of the Sayyid Brothers would mark the beginning of the end of the Mughal Empire's direct control over its dominions in the Deccan.

On 21 February 1722, Muhammad Shah appointed the Asaf Jah I as Grand Vizier. He advised Muhammad Shah to be "as cautious as Akbar and as brave as Aurangzeb". Asaf Jah used his influence with the emperor to fulfil his territorial ambitions in the Deccan. He lost the emperor's confidence when he appointed Hamid Khan, a relative to Saadullah Khan and his maternal uncle, to administer Gujarat after having sending him on the pretext of restoring order to the province.[9] Realising his loss of influence and trust from the emperor, Asaf Jah resigned as Grand Vizier and returned to the Deccan.[10]

Asaf Jah I appointed commander Ewaz Khan as the master of the garrison at Aurangabad, and much of his logistical duties were carried out by Inayatullah Kashmiri.[11] In 1723 he set out on an expedition to the Deccan, where he fought Mubariz Khan, the Mughal Subahdar of the Deccan, who had kept the ravaging Maratha Empire at bay. Mubariz Khan was a former ally of the Barha Sayyids, who was appointed by Muhammad Shah to kill Asaf Jah I.[12] Taking advantage of Mubariz Khan's conventional weaknesses, Asaf Jah I defeated and eliminated his opponent during the Battle of Shakar Kheda. Asaf Jah I then established the Hyderabad State and appointed himself the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1725.

The Mughal-Maratha Wars (1728–1763)[13] would cause irreparable devastation to six Deccan subahs–Khandesh, Bijapur, Berar, Aurangabad, Hyderabad and Bidar. Asaf Jah would the Marathas to invade Malwa and the northern territories of the Mughal empire to protect his newfound independence.[14][15][16] The Nizam described the Maratha army to be an instrument to be wielded to his own advantage in the Maasir-i Nizami:[17]

"I consider all this army (Marathas) as my own and I will get my work done through them. It is necessary to take our hands off Malwa. God willing, I will enter into an understanding with them and entrust the Mulukgiri (raiding) on that side of the Narmada to them."

The ears of the Muhammed Shah were possessed by the Amir-ul-Umara, Khan-i Dauran.[18] Muhammad Shah appointed Qamar-ud-Din Khan as Grand Wazir to succeed Asaf Jah. However, he was quickly dismissed in favour of Roshan-ud-Daulah Turrah Baz Khan, a native of Panipat,[19] who was appointed the Grand Wazir, in order to reduce the influence of the Turani family.[20]

Despite the loss of the Deccan subahs in 1724, the Nawab of Awadh Saadat Ali Khan and the Mughal subahdar Dilawar Khan (r.1726–1756) remained loyal to the emperor and established a well-protected bastion on the Malabar Coast.

The phrase Zuban-i Urdū-yi Muʿallá (literally "Language of the exalted Horde", contextually the exalted Urdu Language) written in Nastaʿlīq script

Lashkari Zabān ("military camp language" or "Battalionese language") title in Nastaʿlīq script

Baagh e Naazir was built by Muhammad Shah the year 1748.

While Urdu (derived from Zuban-i Urdū-yi Muʿallá or in local translation Lashkari Zaban, shortened to Lashkari) was already in use before Muhammad Shah's reign, it was during his reign that it became more popular among the people and he declared it as the court language, replacing Persian. During Muhammad Shah's reign, Qawwali was reintroduced into the Mughal imperial court and it quickly spread throughout South Asia. Muhammad Shah is also known to have introduced religious institutions for education such as Maktabs. During his reign, the Quran was translated for the first time into simple Persian and Urdu. Also, during his reign, the formal Turkic dress, normally worn by the high Mughal nobility since Mughals originally hailed from Samarqand, was replaced by the Sherwani. However, Muhammad Shah's adoption of the Deccan-influenced dress to court would lead to derisive comments, such as "See how the Deccan monkey dances!"[21][22]

Mohammad Shah was a patron of the performing arts, almost at the cost of administrative priorities, paving the way for the disintegration of governance. While Mughal political power did decline in his reign, the Emperor encouraged the arts, employing master artists such as Nidha Mal (active 1735–75) and Chitarman, whose vivacious paintings depict scenes of court life, such as Holi celebrations, hunting and hawking.[23] The Mughal court of the time had musicians such as Naimat Khan, also known as Sadarang, and his nephew Firoz Khan (Adarang), whose compositions popularised the musical form of khyal. Naimat Khan composed khyal for his disciples and he never performed khyal.[24] This key component of Indian classical music evolved, ascended and received princely patronage at the court of Muhammad Shah.[25]

He himself was a poet under the penname "Sadrang" and was also a composer of Indian classical raga songs in the bhairav, kafi, dhamar and malkauns genres. These included songs on the themes of love and the festival of Holi.[7]

During the reign of Muhammad Shah, a significant scientific work known as the Zij-i Muhammad Shahi was completed by Jai Singh II of Amber between the year 1727 and 1735; it consisted of 400 pages.[26]

Muhammad Ali Khan the Mughal Faujdar of Rangpur and his stern ally Deena Narayan were ambushed out of Koch Bihar by Upendra Narayan a Hindu Bihari and Mipham Wangpo (r.1729–1736) the ruler of Bhutan. Ali Mohammed Khan had established the barons of Rohilakhand. In the Punjab region, the Sikhs were at war with local Mughal subahdars, devastating them with their hit-and-run tactics.

In Ajmer, Ajit Singh carved out a vast territory and allied himself with the Marathas. The Marathas, who had already expanded up to the Narmada river, invaded Malwa in early 1723 and reached its capital Ujjain by the winter. In 1725, Sarbuland Khan was appointed the subah of Gujarat. Enraged by the attempt of the Mughal emperor to exert his authority, the Marathas invaded Gujarat but their secondary force was routed by Sarbuland Khan and his forces. The main Maratha force, including Peshwa Bajirao I, were fighting Asaf Jah I in Hyderabad.

After decisively defeating Asaf Jah in February 1728 at the Battle of Palkhed, Bajirao I and his brother Chimaji Appa re-invaded Malwa. The Mughal subahdar Giridhar Bahadur was defeated and killed at the battle of Amjhera in November 1729.[27] Chimnaji Appa then unsuccessfully attempted to besiege the remnants of the Mughal army at Ujjain.[28]

Elephants pushing Mughal artillery cannons drawn also by bullocks.[29]

In 1731, Asaf Jah managed to secure the defections of influential Maratha leaders, such as Trimbak Rao Dabhade and Sanbhoji who threatened to abandon the Marathas and join the forces with the emperor Muhammad Shah. However, the defectors were overrun and killed by a large Maratha force led by Bajirao I and Chimnaji Appa during Battle of Dabhoi.[28] Bajirao I then attacked Gujarat with his full force and drove out Sarbuland Khan by 1735.

An elephant and its mahout in service of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah.

On 19 April 1736, the Siddis of Murud-Janjira set out to recapture Raigad Fort from the forces of Bajirao. Chimaji Appa attacked the encampments of the gathering forces near Riwas, killing 1,500, including their leader Siddi Sat. Peace was concluded in September 1736, with the Siddis confined to Janjira, Gowalkot and Anjanvel.

In 1737, Asaf Jah I led a large Mughal army to assist the Nawab of Bhopal Yar Muhammad Khan Bahadur but was instead besieged inside the city of Bhopal by 80,000 Marathas led by Bajirao I. The Battle of Bhopal continued until Safdar Jang and his relief forces were driven away by Malhar Rao Holkar. The Marathas annexed Gujarat, Malwa and Bundelkhand, and raided the Mughal capital Delhi.

Bajirao I defeated a well-trained Mughal army led by Amir Khan Bahadur, but was forced to withdraw when well-armed Mughal reinforcements fought major skirmishes with the Marathas on the outskirts of Delhi. Bajirao and his Marathas fled southeast to Badshahpur, where he corresponded with the emperor Muhammad Shah, who ratified peace by agreeing the handover of Malwa to the Marathas.[28]

Nader Shah used the pretext of the Mughal empire sheltering his Afghan enemies, particularly the Ghilzai tribe, in the region around Kandahar.[30] and demanded that emperor Muhammad Shah close his frontiers around Kabul and the Indus Valley so that the rebels may not flee or seek refuge. Muhammad Shah gave a confirming reply to Nader Shah but did not take any action because the local subahdars and faujdars were sympathetic to the Afghans and rejected Persian rule. The Afghan rebels would eventually flee into the Mughal empire. Outraged by this, Nader Shah sent an ambassador to Muhammad Shah, demanding deliverance of the fugitives. The Mughal emperor did not provide a positive response and kept the Persians marginalised from Delhi for an entire year.

In May 1738, Nader Shah attacked northern Afghanistan and captured Ghazni. He captured Kabul in June and Jalalabad in September. By November, he had crossed the Khyber Pass and besieged and razed the fortress of Peshawar. In January 1739, he captured Lahore, after completely subduing the forces of the Mughal viceroy, Zakariya Khan Bahadur and his 25,000 sowars,[31] by the Chenab river. The Afsharid forces soon encountered bands of Sikh rebels whom Nader Shah predicted would clearly benefit after his invasion.[31] The Afsharids would capture territory all the way up to Attock, forcing Muhammad Shah and his court to realise that the Persian emperor would not be satisfied with the loot of a province. The cities of Wazirabad, Eminabad and Gujrat were not only sacked but razed to the ground. Near Larkana, the Afsharids completely routed the Mughal army of the Nawab of Sindh, Main Noor Mohammad Kalhoro, and later captured him and his two sons. Sirhind was then captured by the Persians in February 1739, opening the route towards the Mughal capital of Delhi.

Nader Shah decisively defeated a 100,000-strong Mughal army with only 55,000 men in less than three hours at the Battle of Karnal. Mughal commander-in-chief Khan Dowran VII was killed in the battle, writing in his will that the Mughal and Afsharid emperors should not meet and that Nader Shah should be turned away at all costs.

Muhammad Shah with the Persian invader Nader Shah, art from Nader's court historian Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi, who was a firsthand witness of the encounter

Muhammad Shah with an Afsharid prince, art from Nader's court historian Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi, who was a firsthand witness of the encounter

Rao Bal Kishan of Rewari, with his army of 5,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry and with the forces of Delhi, attempted a desperate defence of the city but was killed in battle and has been immortalized the name "Vijay or "Veergati". Nadir Shah remarked to emperor Muhammad Shah that "if your combined forces helped Rao Balkrishna of Rewari, then I might not able to enter in Delhi. I had never seen any warrior like him brave, Fierce and strong. Muhammed Shah commissioned a royal chhatri to pay tribute to Rao Bal Kishan.[32][33][34]

Muhammad Shah surrendered to Nader Shah on 26 February in the Afsharid encampments, thirteen days after the battle of Karnal. Handing over the keys of the Delhi Gate, he was marched as a captive by Nader Shah to the city, which was then completely plundered.

After entering Delhi, Nader Shah claimed to invasion and occupation of the Mughal Empire was borne out of religious devotion and that if "the wretched Marathas of the Deccan" moved towards Delhi, he might "send an army of victorious Qizilbash to drive them to the abyss of Hell."[35][36]

Nader Shah finds his troops had been killed in rioting. From Surridge, Victor (1909). Romance of Empire: India.

Provinces of the Mughal Empire in the year 1740

The occupation of Delhi was initially cordial, however, rumours spread throughout the city that Nader Shah was assassinated. The masses attacked the Persian force and killed some soldiers. Nader Shah, furious, ordered to massacre the populace, and leaving at least 30,000 dead. Muhammad Shah and Asaf Jah I had to beg Nader Shah for mercy and thus he stopped the massacre and turned to looting the Mughal treasury.[37] The famous Peacock Throne, the Daria-i-Noor and Koh-i-Noor diamonds and unimaginable wealth was looted. In addition, elephants, horses and everything that was liked was taken. Muhammad Shah also had to hand over his daughter Jahan Afruz Banu Begum as a bride for Nader Shah's youngest son. Asaf Jah I retired to Deccan after installing his eldest son Intizam-ud-Daula as a major commander in the Mughal Army.[38]

After the whole event, Muhammad Shah was crowned as emperor by Nader Shah himself on 12 May, and ceding the area west of river Indus to Nader Shah, although the Kalhora Nawabs of Sindh continued to fight the invading Afsharids. Nader Shah and his forces then started to return to Persia.

The Mughal empire rapidly disintegrated after the invasion. The weak Mughal army was no match to the Sikh and Maratha forces, with rebellions becoming commonplace.