Akbar Shah II

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

His Majesty 'Abu Nasir Mu'in ud-din Muhammad Akbar Shah II Sahib-i-Qiran-i-Sani Padshah Ghazi, Titular Mughal Emperor, King of Delhi
Emperor of Mughal Empire
A portrait of Akbar II at the Smithsonian Institution
A portrait of Akbar II at the Smithsonian Institution
Reign 19 November 1806-28 September 1837
Coronation 19 November 1806
Full name 'Abu Nasir Mu'in ud-din Muhammad Akbar Shah II
Born 22 April 1760
Birthplace Makanpur, Rewa
Died 28 September 1837 (age 77)
Place of death Red Fort, Delhi
Buried Mahrauli, Red Fort, Delhi
Predecessor Shah Alam II
Successor Bahadur Shah II
Wife Mughal Princess
Issue 14 sons, several daughters
Dynasty House of Timurid
Father Shah Alam II
Mother Qudsia Begum (3rd wife of Shah Alam II)

Akbar Shah II (1760 - 1837), also known as Mirza Akbar, was the second-to-last of the Mughal emperors of India. He held the title from 1806 to 1837. He was the second son of Shah Alam II and the father of Bahadur Shah Zafar II.

Akbar had little real power due to the increasing British control of India through the East India Company. Shortly before his death he sent Ram Mohan Roy as an ambassador to England. During his regime, in 1835, the East India Company discontinued calling itself the lieutenant of the Mughal Emperor and issuing coins in his name. The Persian lines in the Company's coins to this effect were deleted.

Contents

[edit] Princes: Descendants in his line

Emperor Akbar Shah II had four sons, one of which Bahadur Shah Zafar eventually succeeded him at age 60. Before Bahadur Shah, one of his other sons, Mirza Nali was given the title of Crown Prince of the Mughal, but the title went on to his brother.

After the mutiny, he fled Delhi and took refuge in other parts of India. In the mid 1800s he came to Bengal. His sons and two daughters lived the same life he did, in constant fear of the British.

His eldest son, Mirza Jalaluddin became an official to a Bengal King's court. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Mirza Zafar.He was an official to the King too. His son Mirza Jamsher renounced his titles in 1895. Their children settled down permanently in North Bengal and to this day they still remain in the capital city of Dhaka and Rajshahi.

Most of the members are still considered royalty in the country and often held in high esteem, the elderly members of the princely family have vast amounts of land around North Bengal and have educational Institutions named after them. Members of the dynasty have been candidates at Parliamentary elections and fought on the Army of East Bengal during the Bloody Birth of Bangladesh in 1971.

Preceded by
Shah Alam II
Mughal Emperor
1806–1837
Succeeded by
Bahadur Shah II
Preceded by
Shah Alam II
Mughal Prince
1760–1837
Succeeded by
Mirza Nali

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • The New Cambridge History of India.
  • Akbar Shah's Rule: Coins Of India.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Shah Alam II
Mughal Emperor
1806–1837
Succeeded by
Bahadur Shah II