Muhammad Shah - Reign and Administration

Reign and Administration

After Muhammad Shah got rid of the Sayyid Brothers, he appointed the Nizam-ul-Mulk as Grand Vizier on 21 February 1722. He advised the new Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah to be "as cautious as Akbar and as brave as Aurangzeb". He also advised him to help Shah Tahmasp II of Persia; since Shah Tahmasp I had helped Humayun in his time of need. When all these advices turned to no avail, the Nizam-ul-Mulk left Delhi and went to Deccan in 1723.

At the same time, the governorship of Deccan was given to Mubaraz Khan, who constantly fought with the Marathas. Taking advantage of it, the Nizam-ul-Mulk allied with the Marathas and defeated Mubaraz Khan. Thus, though he lost the posts of Grand Vizier, governor of Malwa and Gujrat, he became an independent ruler of the newly created state of Hyderabad in 1725.

During this time the Mughal-Maratha Wars (1728–1763) began and it became a solely destructive war for the Mughals. Despite efforts to counter the rise of rebellions in 1724, by the Nawab of Awadh Saadat Ali Khan and the Mughal Subedar in Bangalore, Dilawar Khan (r.1726–1756), who established a well-protected bastion in the Malabar Coast. Muhammad Ali Khan the Mughal Faujdar of Rangpur and his stern ally Deena Narayan were ambushed out of Koch Bihar by Upendra Narayan a Hindu Bihari and Mipham Wangpo (r.1729–1736) the ruler of Bhutan.

In Punjab region the Sikhs were at war with Mughal Subedars. In Ajmer, Ajit Singh carved out a vast territory and allied himself with the renegade Marathas. While in Deccan the Marathas had ruined Mughal fortifications and were already on the warpath. All this greatly contributed to the decline of the Mughal Empire.

The Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah, eventually learned the skills of statesmanship after removing of his three incompetent Viziers, namely Koki Jee (his foster sister), Roshan-ud-Daula (his mercantile friend) and Sufi Abdul Ghafur of Thatta (his spiritual teacher).