Shah Alam II

Shah Alam II, born Ali Gohar on June twenty-fifth, seventeen twenty-eight, was the seventeenth Mughal emperor, known for his poetic contributions and tumultuous reign. He was the son of Alamgir II and ascended to the throne during a period marked by significant invasions, notably by Ahmed Shah Abdali in seventeen sixty-one, which culminated in the third battle of Panipat.

Despite being installed as the rightful emperor in seventeen sixty, Shah Alam II faced numerous challenges, including his inability to reclaim Delhi until seventeen seventy-two, aided by the Maratha general Mahadaji Shinde. His reign was characterized by conflicts with the East India Company, particularly at the Battle of Buxar in seventeen sixty-four, which forced him to concede tax collection rights in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa to the British.

Under his rule, there was a brief revival of Mughal authority in northern India, largely due to the capable general Mirza Najaf Khan. However, following Najaf Khan's death in seventeen eighty-two, the Mughal power began to wane significantly. In seventeen eighty-eight, Shah Alam was captured and blinded by Ghulam Qadir, leading to a decline in his influence and the emergence of the saying, 'The empire of Shah Alam is from Delhi to Palam.'

By eighteen hundred and three, following the British victory in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, Shah Alam became a pensioner of the British after they captured Delhi. In addition to his political struggles, Shah Alam II was a talented poet, known by the pen-name Aftab. He authored a Diwan of poems, which were compiled by Mirza Fakhir Makin, and composed the Ajaib-ul-Qasas, one of the earliest and most significant works of prose in Urdu.