Shah Alam II
Mughal Emperor
Zil-e-Subhani
Shah Alam II, 1790s.jpg
Shah Alam II and the Mughal imperial throne.
16th Mughal Emperor
1st reign 10 October 1760 – 31 July 1788
Predecessor Shah Jahan III
Successor Muhammad Shah Bahadur
2nd reign 16 October 1788 – 19 November 1806
Predecessor Muhammad Shah Bahadur
Successor Akbar Shah II
Born 25 June 1728
Shahjahanabad, Subah of Delhi, Mughal Empire
Died 19 November 1806 (aged 78)
Shahjahanabad, Subah of Delhi, Mughal Empire
Burial Red Fort, Delhi
Spouse Piari Begum
Taj Mahal Begum
Jamil un-nisa Begum
Mubaraq Mahal
Murad Bakht Begum
Issue Over 16 sons (including Akbar II and Mirza Jawan Bakht) and 2 daughters
Full name
'Abdu'llah Jalal ud-din Abu'l Muzaffar Ham ud-din Muhammad 'Ali Gauhar Shah-i-'Alam II
House Timurid
Father Alamgir II
Mother Zinat Mahal
Religion Islam
Ali Gohar (25 June 1728 – 19 November 1806), historically known as Shah Alam II, was the sixteenth Mughal Emperor and the son of Alamgir II. Shah Alam II became the emperor of a crumbling Mughal empire. His power was so depleted during his reign that it led to a saying in the Persian language, Sultanat-e-Shah Alam, Az Dilli ta Palam, meaning, 'The kingdom of Shah Alam is from Delhi to Palam', Palam being a suburb of Delhi.[1][2]
Shah Alam faced many invasions, mainly by the Emir of Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah Abdali, which led to the Third Battle of Panipat between the Maratha Empire, who maintained suzerainty over Mughal affairs in Delhi and the Afghans led by Abdali. In 1760, the invading forces of Abdali were driven away by the Marathas, led by Sadashivrao Bhau, who deposed Shah Jahan III, the puppet Mughal emperor of Feroze Jung III, and installed Shah Alam II as the rightful emperor under the Maratha suzerainty.[3][4]
Shah Alam II was considered the only and rightful emperor, but he wasn't able to return to Delhi until 1772, under the protection of the Maratha general Mahadaji Shinde. He also fought against the British East India Company at the Battle of Buxar.
Shah Alam II authored his own Diwan of poems and was known by the pen-name Aftab. His poems were guided, compiled and collected by Mirza Fakhir Makin
Early life
Ali Gohar was born to "Shahzada" (Prince) Aziz-ud-Din, son of the deposed Mughal Emperor Jahandar Shah, on 25 June 1728. Alongside his father, he grew up in semi-captivity in the Salatin quarters of the Red Fort. However, unlike the majority of Mughal princes growing up in similar circumstances, he is not recorded to have become a decadent prince by the time his father became emperor, and therefore was naturally given high appointments in the course of his father's reign.
Upon his father's accession, he became the "Wali Ahd" (Crown Prince) of the empire, and became his father's principal agent, though almost all power lay in the Wazir Imad-ul-Mulk's hand. His quarrels with that amir, and fear for his own life, caused him to flee from Delhi in 1758.
Escape from Delhi
Prince Ali Gauhar, afterwards Emperor Shah Alam II, had been the heir apparent of his father Alamgir II. Prince Ali Gauhar's father had been appointed Mughal Emperor by Vizier Feroze Jung III and Maratha Peshwa's brother Sadashivrao Bhau[6] who had completely dominated and later killed Alamgir II and kept Prince Ali Gauhar under surveillance. After a daring escape from Delhi, Prince Ali Gauhar appeared in the eastern provinces in 1759, hoping to strengthen his position by gaining control over Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
Very soon however, Najib-ud-Daula, forced the usurper Feroze Jung III to flee from the capitol after he gathered a large Mughal Army outside Delhi, which deposed the recreant Shah Jahan III. Najib-ud-Daula and Muslim nobles then planned to defeat the Marathas by maintaining correspondence with the powerful Ahmad Shah Durrani. After Durrani decisively defeated the Marathas, he nominated Ali Gauhar as the emperor under the name Shah Alam