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Muhammad Shah
Muhammad Shah
Emperor of Mughal Empire
	Muhammad Shah
Reign	1719 - 1748
Full name	Abu al-Fatah Roshan Akhtar Naseer-ud-din Muhammad Shah
Born	1702
Birthplace	Fatahpur
Died	1748
Place of death	Delhi
Buried	Delhi
Predecessor	Shah Jahan II
Successor	Ahmad Shah Bahadur
Wife	Badshah Begam Malika-uz-Zamani,; Udhambai
Offspring	Ahmad Shah Bahadur
Dynasty	Timurid
Father	Khujista Akhtar Jahan Shah
Mother	Qudsiya Begam

For the ruler of Persia, see Mohammad Shah Qajar.

For the Afghan warlord and later Nawab of Sardhana, see Jan Fishan Khan.

Muhammad Shah (محمد شاه) (1748 – 1702) also known as Roshan Akhtar was a Mughal emperor of India between 1719 and 1748.^[1]^[2]^[3] He was son of Khujista Akhtar Jahan Shah, the 4th son of Bahadur Shah I. Ascending the throne at the age of seventeen with the help of the Syed Brothers, he later got rid of them with the help of Nizam ul Mulk Chin Qilich Khan. He was nicknamed as Rangeela meaning merrymaker by many historians. ^[4]

[edit] Reign

During his reign, the Mughal empire eventually broke up into a loosely-knit collection of several regional states, each with its own ruler, thus declining the authority of the emperor into a greater extent^{[citation needed]}.

In 1722, Muhammad Shah got rid of the Syed Brothers.The following year he lost Malwa to the Marathas. In 1725, the Marathas took Gujrat. In 1737, the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah had to fight the Marathas once again. He asked the Nizam-ul-Mulk to help him. Both forces fought the Marathas at Bhopal but were defeated. Under the terms of a treaty, Muhammad Shah gave the Marathas 5 million rupees and also ceded Malwa to them.

[edit] Invasion of Nadir Shah

In February 1739, the Persian emperor, Nader Shah decided to conquer India^{[citation needed]}. Due to poor tactics, Muhammad Shah's army was easily defeated, and Nader Shah triumphantly entered Delhi within the span of one month, where he had the Khutba read in his name^{[citation needed]}. In the violence that followed, more than 30,000 civilians were killed by the Persian troops, forcing Muhammad Shah to beg for mercy and handing the keys to his treasury^{[citation needed]}.

In response, Nader Shah agreed to withdraw, but Muhammad Shah paid the consequence - handing over the keys of his royal treasury and losing even the Peacock Throne, along with the Koh-i-Noor and Darya-ye Noor diamonds, to the Persian emperor^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Aftermath

After Nadir Shah's invasion, the Mughal Empire disintegrated rapidly. Nawab Ali Wardi Khan of Bengal proclaimed independence in 1740.In 1748, to the people's relief, the Mughal prince Ahmad Shah Bahadur defeated Ahmad Shah Abdali.

Muhammad Shah died in 1748 at the age of 46.

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[edit] References

^ Buyers, Christopher. "India, The Timurid Dynasty genealogy". The Royal Ark, Royal and Ruling Houses of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. http://www.royalark.net/India4/delhi11.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
^ Rai, Raghunath (2006). History For Class 12: Cbse. Economics/vk India Enterprises. pp. 3. ISBN 8187139692.
^ Keene, H. G. (2004). The Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan, CHAPTER III, A.D. 1719-48. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1419161849. Available here on Project Gutenberg.
^ "This eighteen-year-old prince went down into the history as Muhammad Shah, nicknamed Rangeela (or merrymaker). Traditionally historians describe him as licentious and lazy but there can be little doubt that he is one of the most underrated personalities in history." (Khurram Ali Shafique, "Muhammad Shah 'Rangeela' in Dawn - The Review, October 2000). Retrieved 2009-08-17.

Preceded by Mohammed Ibrahim	Mughal Emperor 1720–1748	Succeeded by Ahmad Shah Bahadur

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[RoyalArk-0] Buyers, Christopher. "India, The Timurid Dynasty genealogy". The Royal Ark, Royal and Ruling Houses of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. http://www.royalark.net/India4/delhi11.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-12.

[HistoryRaghunathRai-1] Rai, Raghunath (2006). History For Class 12: Cbse. Economics/vk India Enterprises. pp. 3. ISBN 8187139692.

[Keene-2] Keene, H. G. (2004). The Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan, CHAPTER III, A.D. 1719-48. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1419161849. Available here on Project Gutenberg.

[3] "This eighteen-year-old prince went down into the history as Muhammad Shah, nicknamed Rangeela (or merrymaker). Traditionally historians describe him as licentious and lazy but there can be little doubt that he is one of the most underrated personalities in history." (Khurram Ali Shafique, "Muhammad Shah 'Rangeela' in Dawn - The Review, October 2000). Retrieved 2009-08-17.

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Contents

[edit] Reign

[edit] Invasion of Nadir Shah

[edit] Aftermath

[edit] References