The Punjab The Punjab The Punjab (pronounced or ; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], [[Shahmukhi script|, ), also spelled Panjab ' onMouseout='HidePop("77246")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Guru_Gobind_Singh">Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth Guru of Sikhism. He was born in Patna, Bihar in India and became a Guru on 11 November 1675, at the age of nine years, succeeding his father Guru Tegh Bahadur...
. When Muazzam was challenging his brothers for the Mughal throne, Guru Gobind provided military assistance and spiritual guidance to the liberal prince.
Reign
After Aurangzeb's death, Muazzam Bahadur Shah took the throne. A war of succession began immediately after Aurangzeb died. One younger brother, Prince
Azam ShahMuhammad Azam Shah was a a Mughal Prince and son of Emperor Alamgir I and Dilrus Bano Bagum, and thus a full brother of Muhammad Akbar. Like his brother, Azam Shah married a daughter of Dara Shikoh....
, proclaimed himself emperor and marched towards
DelhiDelhi, known locally as Dilli , and also by the official name National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India...
, where he unsuccessfully fought Bahadur Shah and died after a nominal reign of three months. Another brother, Muhammad Kam Baksh, was killed in 1709.
Aurangzeb had imposed Sharia law within his kingdom with harsh enforcement of strict edicts. This led to increased militancy by many constituencies including the
Maratha Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste or to the Maratha and Kunbi castes together; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people; historically, it describes the Maratha empire...
s, the
SikhSikh is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit term , meaning "disciple, learner" or , meaning "instruction"....
s and the
RajputA Rajput is a member of one of the major Hindu Kshatriya groups of India. They enjoy a reputation as formidable soldiers and it is common to find many of them serving in the Indian Armed Forces. The British Government also accepted them and recruited them heavily into their armies...
s. Thus, rebellion was rife at the time of Aurangzeb's death and Bahadur Shah inherited a very unstable polity. A more moderate man than his father, Bahadur Shah sought to improve relations with the militant constituencies of the rapidly crumbling kingdom. Bahadur Shah was successful in retreating Sikh General Banda Singh Bahadur to hills and was also able to gain control over Assam purely because of the assistance he got from his son, Azim-ush-Shan. Bahadur Shah never abolished jizyah, but the effort to collect the tax became ineffectual. Support to music was apparently renewed during his brief rule of five years. There was no destruction of temples in his reign. During Bahadur Shah's brief reign of five years, although the empire remained united, factionalism in the nobility reached a new height. However, he could do little to mitigate the damage already done by his father.
Indeed, Bahadur Shah's shortcomings — his lack of military skills and old age — added to the problems of the empire. After his short reign of less than five years, the Mughal Empire entered a long decline, attributable both to his ineptness and to his father's geographical overextension. Reports are that he was courageous and intelligent, but that his father’s repression had harmed his abilities. All accounts agree in representing Bahadur Shah as a man of mild and equable temper, learned, dignified, disciplined and generous to fault. Although not a great sovereign like his predecessors, Bahadur Shah may be called, at least in comparison with his successors, a fairly successful one. According to many historians Bahadur Shah was the last major Mughal emperor as the rulers who succeeded him were either proxies or puppets of some influential regional chieftains and their influence was hardly felt outside the imperial capital city of Delhi.Bahadur Shah hardly shared Aurangzeb's orthodox views. Unlike his father, Aurangzeb, he was a liberal sufi in outlook. In fact, it is true that after his sudden death the disintegration of the Mughal Empire became very much evident. He has helped greatly in expanding the empire and making the mughal empire into one that is unforgettable.
Bahadur Shah died on February 27, 1712 in
LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. Historically the main city of the undivided Punjab, it is often called the Garden of Mughals because of its rich Mughal heritage...
while making alterations to the
Shalimar GardensShalimar Gardens may refer to:*Shalimar Gardens , India,*Shalimar Gardens , Pakistan, built 1641 AD.*Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, a locality in in Delhi, India, around the Shalimar Bagh , built 1653 AD....
. He was succeeded by his son
Jahandar ShahJahandar Shah was a Mughal Emperor who ruled Hindustan for a brief period in 1712-1713 CE.Jahandar Shah was born on May 10, 1661, a son of the emperor Bahadur Shah I. Upon the death of their father on 27 February 1712, he and his brother Azim-ush-Shan both declared themselves emperor and conducted...
. His grave lies, next to the
dargahA dargah is a Sufi shrine built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint. Local Muslims visit the shrine known as . Dargahs are often associated with Sufi meeting rooms and hostels, known as khanqah...
of 13th century, Sufi saint,
Qutbuddin Bakhtiar KakiKhwaja Syed Muhammad Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki was a renowned Muslim Sufi mystic, saint and scholar of the Chishti Order from Delhi, India. He was the disciple and the spiritual successor of Moinuddin Chishti as head of the Chishti order. Before him the Chishti order in India was confined to Ajmer...
at
MehrauliMehrauli is a neighbourhood in the South West district of Delhi in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi...
, in a marble enclosure, along with that of
Shah Alam IIShah Alam II also known as Ali Gauhar was a Mughal emperor of India. He inherited the throne from his father, Alamgir II as Shah Alam II .-Escape from Delhi:...
, and Akbar II.
See also
- Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II also known as Ali Gauhar was a Mughal emperor of India. He inherited the throne from his father, Alamgir II as Shah Alam II .-Escape from Delhi:...