Ahmad Shah Bahadur - Succession and Reforms

Succession and Reforms

The Mughal Grand Vizier Asaf Jah I died due to natural causes during the ensuing conflict in Sirhind. When this news was brought to the concerned Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah he became gravely sick and died soon afterwards. Upon hearing this Prince Ahmad, rushed to Delhi where he spent a week in sorrow. Afterwards, on 18 April 1748 he ascended the throne. On 29 April 1748 his coronation was held at Red Fort and he assumed the title Abu Nasir Mujahid-ud-Din Ahmad Shah Ghazi. He posted Safdarjung, Nawab of Oudh as Mughal Grand Vizier, Imad-ul-Mulk as Mir Bakshi and Moeen-ul-Mulk, the son of late Grand Vizier Asaf Jah I, as the governor of Punjab An illiterate eunuch named Javed Khan was given the official title of Nawab Bahadur, together they became the most powerful men in the Mughal Empire. The Emperor now began to enjoy his life with women in his harem. It is said that for several months he never saw faces of men. Thus the empire was controlled by his mother and Nawab Bahadur, who were both lazy. Under these circumstances the Mughal Empire began to break up. Hyderabad and Oudh were independent. The Rohilla and Bangish clans soon declared independence in Rohil Khand and the Doab respectively. In 1750, the malevolent Marathas annexed Gujerat from the Mughals, and fierce battles continued between the two sides it was during that havoc that the Raj Bovri Mosque complex was destroyed during a massive fray in 1753. In response to the annexation of Gujerat, the Mughal Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur appointed and strengthened the Nawab of Junagadh Mohammad Bahadur Khanji I and bestowed various titles and authority to those loyal to the Mughal Empire in the region. In 1748 a rebel flared up in Punjab by the Zamindars, sponsored by the vice-governor of Multan. Mueen-ul-Mulk was busy quelling it when news reached him that Ahmad Shah Abdali was planning an invasion.