Bahadur Shah I
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| Birth name: | Bahadur Shah |
| Title: | Emperor of Mughal Empire |
| Birth: | October 14, 1643 |
| Birthplace: | Burhanpur, India |
| Death: | February, 1712 |
| Succeeded by: | Jahandar Shah |
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| Children: |
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Muazzam Bahadur Shah (Persian: بهادر شاه Bahādur Shāh; his name Bahādur means "brave")(October 14, 1643 – February 1712), also known as Shah Alam I was the Mughal emperor of India from 1707 to 1712.
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[edit] Early life
Muazzam was born in Burhanpur, the fourth son of the emperor Aurangzeb in the year 1643. In his father's lifetime, Muazzam was deputed governor of the northwest territories by Aurangzeb. His province included those parts of the Punjab where the Sikhs were gaining in power. As governor, Muazzam relaxed the enforcement of Aurangzeb's severe edicts, and an uneasy calm prevailed in the province for a brief time. Infact, he maintained a cordial relationship with the Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh
[edit] 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 Shah, proclaimed to be emperor and marched towards Delhi, where he fought Bahadur Shah unsuccessfully and lost. Another brother, Muhammad Kam Baksh, was killed in 1709.
Aurangzeb had imposed Sharia law within his kingdom through harsh enforcement of strict edicts. This led to increased militancy by many constituencies including the Marathas, the Sikhs and the Rajputs. 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. However, he could do little to mitigate the damage already done by his father. Indeed, Bahadur Shah's shortcomings, his lack of military and leadership qualities, 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 and religious bigotry.Historians of his time had recorded about him as a learned man and also add that he pocessed mild temper and was dignified.
Bahadur Shah died on February 27, 1712 at Lahore while making alterations to the Shalimar Gardens. He was succeeded by his son Jahandar Shah.
[edit] Trivia
The harem-queen to Bahadur Shah was the Portuguese born Catholic Dona Juliana Dias da Costa, who used to ride on a war elephant beside him during battles to defend his authority.
[edit] See also
| Preceded by Aurangzeb |
Mughal Emperor 1707–1712 |
Succeeded by Jahandar Shah |
