Delhi under the later Mughals (1707-1857)
*DELHI MAPS*	REGIONAL MAPS: Delhi was surrounded by the Sikhs, the Jats, the Marathas, and the Navab of Avadh, with the Afghans looming to the northwest-- and the British on the move
	Aurangzeb's first successor was Shah Alam I (r.1707-12); after a bloody succession struggle, Jahandar Shah reigned only during a brief period in 1712-13; *a full dynastic list*; *a detailed Mughal family tree*
	Muhammad Farrukh-siyar reigned from 1713 to 1719; his brief and turbulent rule was commemorated in the city of *Farrukhabad* (1713)
	The year 1719-20 saw an astonishing turnover: Rafi ud-Darjat, Rafi ud-Daulat, Nikusiyar, and Muhammad Ibrahim all died almost as soon as they took the throne
	Next came Muhammad Shah (r.1719-48), who had a relatively long reign-- but it wasn't at all peaceful
	He couldn't prevent the terrible massacre and sack of Delhi (1738-39) by Nadir Shah, who carried off, along with much else, the fabled Peacock Throne
	Ahmad Shah ruled from 1748-54, and was succeeded by Alamgir II (r.1754-59) and Shah Jahan III (r.1760)
	As the empire declined, the last Mughal tomb built in Delhi (1753-4) was built by a regional ruler, Navab Shuja ud-Daulah of *Avadh*, for his father, Safdar Jang
	Imperial status didn't save Shah Alam II (r.1760-1806) from being captured and blinded by the Afghan chieftain Ghulam Qadir
*SHAH- JAHAN- ABAD*	As other ambitious adventurers and looters then took their turns, the later Mughals' control even over Shajahanabad itself became steadily less secure
	Some European depictions of the later Mughals; *Racinet* too did a whole set
	Delhi cultural styles remained highly Islamicized
	Delhi's traditional craftsmen continued to be famous for their skills
	Akbar Shah II (r.1806-37) holds court, receiving not just the usual courtiers, but British officers as well
	By the early 1800's, the Mughal emperor had no real armies at all--only a palace guard prepared more for pageantry than for military action
	Portraits of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah (r.1837-57)
	(Meantime, just next door: a look at Muhammad Shah Qajar of Iran, r.1834-48)
*1857*	The Mughal throne came down with a tremendous crash, when the British retook Delhi after the rebellion of 1857
	"Mirzas of the Imperial Family," 1878

 

== INDIAN ROUTES index == sitemap == Glossary == FWP's main page ==