Farrukhsiyar
| Farrukhsiyar | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| 9th Mughal Emperor | |||||
| Reign | 11 January 1713 – 28 February 1719 | ||||
| Predecessor | Jahandar Shah | ||||
| Successor | Rafi Ul-Darjat | ||||
| Born |
20 August 1685 Aurangabad, Mughal Empire | ||||
| Died |
29 April 1719 (aged 33) Delhi, Mughal Empire | ||||
| Burial | Humayun's Tomb, Delhi | ||||
| Spouse |
Fakhr-un-Nissa Begum Rajkumari Indira Kanwar | ||||
| Issue | Badshah Begum, Mughal Empress | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Timurid | ||||
| Father | Azim-ush-Shan | ||||
| Mother | Sahiba Nizwan | ||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||
Abu'l Muzaffar Muin ud-din Muhammad Shah Farrukh-siyar Alim Akbar Sani Wala Shan Padshah-i-bahr-u-bar [Shahid-i-Mazlum] (or Farrukhsiyar, 20 August 1685 – 19 April 1719) was the Mughal emperor between 1713 and 1719, after murdering Jahandar Shah.[1] Noted as a handsome ruler he was easily swayed by his advisers, he lacked the ability, knowledge and character to rule independently. He was the son of Azim-ush-Shan—the second son of emperor Bahadur Shah I—and Sahiba Nizwan.
His reign witnessed the primacy of the Sayyid Brothers who became the effective powers of the land, behind the façade of Mughal rule. His constant plotting eventually led the Sayyid Brothers to officially depose him.
Early life
He was born 1685 at Aurangabad during the reign of his great grandfather Aurangzeb he was the son of Azim ush shan and grandson of Emperor Bahadur Shah I after Aurangzeb died he lived with his grandfather and uncles and received his father and others uncles. Farrukhsiyar first married Nawab Fakhr-un-Nisa Begum Sahiba, daughter of Mir Muhammad Taqi Husaini, a Kashmiri nobleman, sometime prior to December 1715. In September 1715, Farrukhsiyar married Indira Kanwar, daughter of Maharaja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur.
Reign
Jahandar Shah was defeated at the Second Battle of Samugarh near Agra on 10 January 1713. Following this, the Sayyid Brothers, helped Farrukhsiyar to secure his throne. He took the throne On 11 January 1713, at the age of 27. Farrukhsiyar had the incumbent Mughal Grand Vizier Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung, Jahandar Shah and his wife Lal Kunwar, and several nobles executed. In the year 1713, Farrukhsiyar wrongfully ordered the execution of the Mughal poet laureate Jafar Zattalli, for composing poems that may have indirectly objected his regime.
Farrukhsiyar's reign marked the ascendancy of the Syed Brothers particularly Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha, who was chosen as the Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire, he is accused of monopolising state power and reduced the Emperor to an effective figurehead. Farrukhsiyar was also a very manipulative he would spend most of his reign trying to bribe notable Mughal servicemen to overthrow the Syed Brothers, among those to fall victims to such schemes was the courageous Daud Khan Panni, Asaf Jah I refused to involve in any internal conflict and was disfavored by Farrukhsiyar. In 1713 he was appointed his Younger brother Prince Humayun Bakht(as vizier of Assam.
In the year 1713, Mubariz Khan, had been appointed Subedar ofi the Deccan by Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar, he had successfully restored law and order in the Deccan.
In the year 1714, Ibrahim Khan the Mughal Faujdar of Ghoraghat and Dhaka once again defeated Yanja Narayan an ally of Druk Rabgye the ruler of Bhutan and consolidated territories for the Mughal Empire in Koch Bihar particularly at Karjihat, Kakina and Fatehpur Chakla.
End of Sikh rebellion
Sikh leader Banda Bahadur defeated almost all Mughal rulers of Punjab and captured large territories of the Mughals. Wazir Khan (Sirhind) was killed by Banda Bahadur. The final confrontation of the Mughals with the Sikh leader Banda occurred under the Mughal commander Abdus Samad Khan Bahadur and his son Zakariya Khan Bahadur including Zain ud-din Ahmad Khan the new Faujdar of Sirhind with 7000 troops, Qamar-ud-Din Khan with 20,000 troops, had him surrounded during the Siege of Gurdaspur. Although Banda Bahadur's followers resisted, their escape attempts were constantly foiled and after an 8-month siege by the Mughal Army, the Sikhs surrendered on 17 December 1715. Banda Bahadur and his followers were then taken to Delhi and were executed along with their families by the orders of Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar in the year 1716.[2]
Bengal and Sindh
After his emperor he was appointed the subehdar of His Younger brother Prince Humayun Bakht and sent to Bengal. After his died humayun was dismissed. Prince Firuz Bakht(Son of Bidar Bakht) was new viceroy. In the year 1716, Murshid Quli Khan, a very influential Mughal serviceman since the days of Aurangzeb emerged to become the first Nawab of Bengal, he had established a sophisticated taxation and administrative system, which was probably the best in the empire and contributed a hefty tribute of 10 million dams per year to the Mughal imperial court.
In the year 1718, the highly capable Noor Mohammad Kalhoro emerged as the Subedar of Sindh and was given the imperial title Khuda-Yar Khan, by Farrukhsiyar.
Foreign relations
Farrukhsiyar, is also known to have sent a letter to the Ottomans which was received by the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmad III, providing a graphic description of the informing him of the efforts of the Mughal commander Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha against the Rajput and Maratha rebellion.[3]
Trade concessions
It was during Farrukhsiyar's reign, in 1717, that the British East India Company purchased duty-free trading rights in all of Bengal for a mere three thousand rupees a year. It is said that the Company's surgeon, William Hamilton, cured Farrukhsiyar and the Emperor was moved to grant trading rights to the Company.[4] Another story tells of a bribe to a eunuch of the seraglio and a rumoured British Naval attack on the Moghul navy at Surat.[5] This order, which the Company hailed as the golden firman, was not of much practical use. Even though the Company claimed duty exemptions based on this firman, the Mughal governors of Bengal, from Murshid Quli Khan onwards, ignored this order of their suzerain and continued to collect customs duty from the East India Company.
Coup against Farrukhsiyar
In the year 1718, Farrukhsiyar began to amass a Mughal Army of 70,000 in Delhi he had invited Asaf Jah I from Moradabad and Sarbuland Khan from Bihar; they, however, declined to fight against the Sayyid Brothers.
Fearing a coup Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha desperately recalled his brother Syed Hussain Ali Khan Barha from campaigns in the Deccan against the Marathas. Syed Hussain Ali Khan Barha, then arrived with 25,000 battle-ready Mughal troops and outraged the entire Mughal Empire when he brought 10,000 Maratha combatants as his reinforcements.
During tense negotiations Farrukhsiyar and the Sayyid Brothers agreed to release each other's political prisoners and redeploy their forces for the defence of the Mughal Empire in February 1719, but Farrukhsiyar's demands were rejected and was then overthrown by forces led by Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha during a night battle.
Death
Farrukhsiyar met a humiliating and bloody end, his constant plotting eventually led the Sayyid Brothers to officially depose him as the Emperor. Farrukhsiyar was imprisoned and starved; later, on 28 February 1719, he was blinded with needles at the orders of the Sayyid Brothers. Farrukhsiyar was strangled to death on the night of 27/28 April 1719. After accomplishing his assassination, the Sayyid Brothers placed his first-cousin, Rafi Ul-Darjat on the throne. Rafi-ud-durjat's father and Farukhsiyar's father had been brothers. He is believed to be assassinated at Naubat Khana in Red Fort.
Legacy
The town of Farrukhnagar in Gurgaon district, 32 km south of Delhi, was rechristened after his name, during his reign, here he built a Sheesh Mahal and also a Jama Masjid mosque.
Notes
- ↑ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. p. 193. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
- ↑ Frances Pritchett. "XIX. A Century of Political Decline: 1707–1803". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ↑ Mughal-Ottoman relations: a study of political & diplomatic relations ... – Naimur Rahman Farooqi. Books.google.com. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ↑ A Guide Book.Calcutta, Agra, Delhi, Karachi and Bomabay. The American Redcross of the China-Burma-India Command.
- ↑ The History of British India By James Mill and Horace Hayman Wilson
External links
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| Farrukhsiyar | ||
| Preceded by Jahandar Shah |
Mughal Emperor 1713–1719 |
Succeeded by Rafi Ul-Darjat |