Farrukhsiyar
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| Emperor of the Mughal Empire | |
| Reign | 1712 - 1713 |
|---|---|
| Full name | Farrukhsiyar |
| Born | 11 September 1683 |
| Birthplace | Aurangabad |
| Died | April 19, 1719 (aged 33) |
| Place of death | Delhi |
| Predecessor | Jahandar Shah |
| Successor | Rafi Ul-Darjat |
| Wives | Nawab Fakhr-un-Nisa Begum Sahiba Indira Kanwar |
| Dynasty | Timurid |
| Father | Azim-ush-Shan |
| Mother | Sahiba Niswan |
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, August 20, 1685 - April 19, 1719) was the Mughal emperor between 1713 and 1719. Noted as a handsome but weak ruler, easily swayed by his advisers, Farukhsiyar lacked the ability and character to rule independently. His reign witnessed the primacy of the Saiyid Brothers who became the effective powers of the land, behind the façade of Mughal rule.
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[edit] Biography
Farukhsiyar was born at Aurangabad in the Deccan on September 11, 1683. He was the second son of Azim ush Shan, a son of former emperor Bahadur Shah I. His mother was Sahiba Niswan, a sister of Nawab Shaista Khan, the erstwhile Mughal Subadar of Kashmir. He married his first wife, Nawab Fakhr-un-Nisa Begum Sahiba, daughter of Nawab Sa'adat Khan Bahadur [Mir Muhammad Taqi Husaini], a Kashmiri nobleman from the Marashi clan, sometime prior to December, 1715. In September 1715, Farrukhsiyar married Indira Kanwar, daughter of Maharaja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur. He was also married to at least one other lady.
[edit] Reign
Jahandar Shah was defeated at Samugarh near Agra on 10 January 1713. Following this, the Saiyad brothers, who were the king-makers of that era, placed Farukhsiyar on the throne as nominal emperor. He took the throne On June 11, 1713, at the age of 30. His reign marked the ascendancy of the Saiyid brothers who monopolized state power and reduced the Emperor to an effective figurehead. Saiyid Huseyn Ali became Wazir or chief minister while his brother, Abdullah, became commander-in-chief of the army.
Farrukhsiyar was irked by their supremacy, but could do little to change the situation. Various plots to overthrow the influence of the Saiyad brothers failed. The ensuing internecine strife affected the administration of the empire. Taking advantage of the situation, the Maratha and Sikh factions created anarchy in the provinces. Farrukhsiyar enjoyed some success in his campaigns against the Sikhs; recovered Lohagarh from them and executed Banda Bahadur in 1716.
The constant plotting eventually led the Saiyid brothers to depose the Emperor. Farrukhsiyar was imprisoned and starved; later, on February 28, 1719, he was blinded with needles at the orders of the Saiyad brothers. Farukhsiyar was strangled to death on the night of April 27/28, 1719. After accomplishing his assassination, the Saiyid brothers placed his first-cousin, Rafi Ul-Darjat on the throne. Rafi-ud-durjat's father and Farukhsiyar's father had been brothers.
[edit] 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 from some ailment and the emperor was moved to grant trading rights to the Company.[1] Another story tells of a bribe to a eunuch of the seraglio and a rumoured British Naval attack on the Moghul navy at Surat.[2] 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.
[edit] Notes
- ^ 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
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Jahandar Shah |
Mughal Emperor 1713–1719 |
Succeeded by Rafi Ul-Darjat |
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