Roshan Akhtar Bahadur

The thirteenth Mughal emperor, Roshan Akhtar Bahadur or Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad (7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748), reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was the son of Khujista Akhtar, Bahadur Shah I's fourth son. At the age of 17, he ascended the throne with the support of the Sayyid brothers. Syed Hussain Ali Khan was assassinated at Fatehpur Sikri in 1720, and Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha was poisoned to death in 1722, with the help of Asaf Jah I. Muhammad Shah was a big patron of the arts, especially musical, artistic, and administrative progress. Sad Rangila (Ever Joyful) was his pen name, and he was also known as "Muhammad Shah Rangila," or "Bahadur Shah Rangila," after his grandfather Bahadur Shah I.

Muhammad Shah's reign was distinguished by the Mughal Empire's swift and irreversible fall, notwithstanding his patronage of the arts. The Mughal Empire was already in decline, but Nader Shah of Persia's invasion and subsequent devastation of Delhi, the Mughal capital, hastened the process. The Mughals themselves, as well as other outsiders, notably the British, were astonished and mortified by the happenings.

Muhammad Shah was born in 1702 to Prince Khujista Akhtar in Ghazna (modern-day Afghanistan) during the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. At the Battle of Jajau on 19 June 1707, his grandfather Bahadur Shah I defeated and eliminated his own brother Muhammad Azam Shah. After Bahadur Shah's death, his father was slain, and the 12-year-old prince and his mother were imprisoned by his uncle Jahandar Shah but were spared from execution during another succession battle.  The prince was attractive and eager to learn, and his mother ensured that he received a solid education. Two Mughal Emperors temporarily claimed the throne when the Sayyid Brothers toppled Farrukhsiyar in 1719; however, the Sayyid Brothers eventually chose Muhammad Shah, a 17-year-old, to be Emperor.

Muhammad Shah was crowned at the Red Fort on 29 September 1719, with the title Abu Al-Fatah Nasir-ud-Din Roshan Akhtar Muhammad Shah. His mother was given a monthly budget of 15,000 rupees for her necessities, but the Sayyid Brothers maintained a close eye on the young ruler. Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha, the Mughal Grand Vizier, and his brother, Syed Hussain Ali Khan Barha, the Mughal commander and leader, were well aware that Asaf Jah I and his colleagues Zain ud-din Ahmad Khan wanted to dissolve their rule. On 13 November 1720, the Sayyid Brothers nominated an amateur, Prince Muhammad Ibrahim, who declared himself Mughal Emperor, but he was immediately destroyed by the young Muhammad Shah's new adherents. In 1721, Muhammad Shah married the daughter of Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar, who had already been overthrown. After eliminating his three inept counsellors, Koki Jee (his foster sister), Roshan-ud-Daula (his commercial acquaintance), and Sufi Abdul Ghafur of Thatta, Muhammad Shah eventually mastered statesmanship (his spiritual teacher).

Cultural Developments

While Urdu (derived from Zuban-i Urd-Yi Muallá or Lashkari Zaban, reduced to Lashkari) had been in use before Muhammad Shah's reign, it was during his reign it gained favour among the people, and he declared it the court language, displacing Persian. Qawwali was reintroduced, and it swiftly spread throughout South Asia. Muhammad Shah is also credited with establishing Islamic educational institutes such as Maktabs. During his rule, the Quran was translated into basic Persian and Urdu for the first time. During his reign, the Sherwani supplanted the traditional Turkic attire worn by the high Mughal nobles as Mughals originated from Samarqand. Mohammad Shah was a patron of the arts, nearly to the exclusion of organizational goals, allowing for government collapse.

Scientific Developments

Between the years 1727 and 1735, Jai Singh II of Amber completed a notable scientific work known as the Zij-i Muhammad Shahi, which comprised 400 pages during the reign of Muhammad Shah.

Tensions with Persia

Nader Shah aimed to defeat Afghan separatists led by the Ghilzai tribe, especially in the Kandahar province. Nader Shah was enraged at Muhammad Shah's behaviour. He invaded the Mughal Empire for two reasons: first, the Mughals had neglected to deliver Afghan rebels to him, and second, he knew the Mughals were weak but still extremely wealthy.

Invasion of the Mughal Empire

For the reasons stated above, Nader Shah chose to invade the Mughal Empire, beginning his campaign in Afghanistan. He launched an attack on Northern Afghanistan in May 1738. In the same month, he took Ghazni; in June, he took Kabul; and in September, he took Jalalabad. After the Battle of Khyber Pass in November, he besieged Peshawar's fortress and razed it. Nader Shah finally took Lahore in January 1739. The Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah turned over the keys to the Delhi Gate and marched to Delhi as a prisoner with Nader Shah, who devastated the city. Nader Shah had brought about a disaster from which the Mughal Empire never fully recovered, and the Emperor's subjects were enraged by the Afsharids' ascendancy.

At first, relations between the two emperors were friendly. However, rumours that Nader Shah had been killed began to circulate across Delhi. The people attacked the Persian force, and some soldiers were killed. Furious, Nader Shah ordered the murder of the townspeople, which resulted in the deaths of at least 30,000 individuals. The Emperor and Asaf Jah I were forced to beg Nader Shah for mercy, and the massacre was halted, and the Mughal treasury was looted as a result.  The famed Peacock Throne, the Daria-i-Noor diamond, and vast sums of money were stolen. Elephants, horses, and anything else that was popular was also removed. Muhammad Shah was also forced to give his daughter Jahan Afruz Banu Begum to Nader Shah's youngest son as a bride. After appointing his eldest son Intizam-ud-Daula as a major commander in the Mughal Army, Asaf Jah I retreated to Deccan. On May 12, Muhammad Shah was anointed Emperor by Nader Shah himself. He gave the land west of the Indus River to Nader Shah, despite the fact that the Kalhora Nawabs of Sindh continued to battle the invading Afsharids. The Koh-i-Noor diamond and the other aforementioned great riches were then taken by Nader Shah and his Persian warriors, who began their journey back to Persia.

Aftermath

The invasion of Nader Shah devastated what remained of the Mughal Empire, bringing it to a close. The Mughals quickly crumbled after the invasion. Following this invasion, the Mughal Army's weaknesses were exposed. The Nawabs were evidently unable to relieve their conquered capital of Delhi, which served as their seat of power. Rebellions and treachery were prevalent once the Mughals were utterly robbed of their wealth.

Following Nader Shah's invasion, Persia's arch-foe, the Ottoman Empire, swiftly seized the hole left at their Eastern frontiers since practically all Persian forces were engaged in the Mughal Empire. During this time, Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah kept a close eye on the Ottomans' movements and worked closely with Ottoman ambassador Haji Yusuf Agha until he died in 1748, following the Mughal Army's victory in the Battle of Manipur (1748) against yet another adversary (Ahmad Shah Durrani).

There were four wives for Emperor Muhammad Shah. Princess Badshah Begum, Emperor Farrukhsiyar and his first wife, Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum, was his first wife and principal consort. On December 8, 1721, he married her at Delhi after his ascension and bestowed upon her the title Malika-uz-Zamani (Queen of the Age). This time, there was a huge ceremony that lasted for weeks. Shahriyar Shah Bahadur, his first son, died at a young age in 1726. She was his most powerful wife, and she had a lot of influence over him. Muhammad Shah later married Sahiba Mahal, his second wife. His third wife, Udham Bai, was a dancer who gave birth to his future heir, Ahmad Shah Bahadur, on December 23, 1725. When he was born, he was taken from her and raised by Badshah Begum, who treated him as her son. Following Muhammad Shah's death in 1748, Ahmad Shah was able to seize the throne thanks to Badshah Begum's efforts. Later, Muhammad Shah married Safiya Sultan Begum, his fourth (and final) wife. When Badshah Begum died on December 14, 1789, Muhammad Shah had three sons and three daughters. When Ahmad Shah Abdali assaulted and deposed Muhammad Shah in 1748, his son Anwer Ali fled to his grand-aunt Princess Jahanara Begum and hid in a bear-infested area in Arrah, Bihar afterwards named Bhaluhipur.

The Mughal Army's victory at the Battle of Manupur (1748) came at a high cost, with many soldiers dying in battle. This was first kept a secret. However, when the news reached Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah, he could not speak, fell ill, and remained in his rooms for three days. He fasted during this time. On April 26, 1748, he died of grief, and his funeral was attended by visiting Imams from Mecca.