18 Facts About Jahandar Shah

Jahandar Shah was the son of Emperor Bahadur Shah I, and the grandson of Emperor Aurangzeb.

Jahandar Shah was the first puppet ruler of the Mughal dynasty, having been placed on the throne by powerful noble Zulfiqar Khan.

Jahandar Shah's reign was short and turbulent, lasting less than a year.

Jahandar Shah was deposed by the Sayyid brothers and succeeded by his nephew Farrukhsiyar.

Jahandar Shah's mother Nizam Bai, the daughter of Fatehyawar Jang, was a noble from Hyderabad.

Jahandar Shah was Muazzam's eldest son, and eldest grandson of reigning emperor Aurangzeb.

Jahandar Shah was the weakest, with little-to-no military power or funds.

Jahandar Shah built an alliance between Jahandar Shah, and his younger brothers Rafi-us-Shan and Jahan Shah, proposing to them that they could divide the empire between them upon victory.

Azim-us-Shan was defeated and killed, following which Jahandar Shah broke the alliance and turned on his brothers, defeating them and killing them with the help of Zulfiqar Khan, emerging as the victor of the succession struggle.

Jahandar Shah's accession was not well-supported in the empire, and he was viewed as an illegitimate ruler.

Hence, upon his coronation, Jahandar Shah moved to consolidate his authority by rewarding and promoting his supporters.

Jahandar Shah departed from previous Mughal succession practices by severely punishing the nobles who had supported his brothers in the succession, with several of them being executed.

Jahandar Shah let the bodies of the defeated princes rot in the open for several days before their entombment, unlike previous emperors who had insisted on a proper burial.

The excessive power enjoyed by Zulfiqar Khan caused Jahandar Shah to conspire against him, creating political chaos.

Jahandar Shah's accession invited the challenge of his nephew Farrukhsiyar, the son of Azim-us-Shan, who was based in Bengal.

Jahandar Shah eventually found powerful support in the Sayyid brothers, Husain Ali Khan and Abdullah Khan, administrators of Azim-us-Shan who had been removed from their postings by Jahandar Shah.

Jahandar Shah's body was paraded around Delhi in parts, hanging upside down from two elephants.

Jahandar Shah reintroduced couplets and issued coins in gold, silver, and copper.