Shah Alam II

“ Francklin, following his usual authority, the MS. narrative of Saiyid Raza Khan, says that, under these accumulated misfortunes, the aged Emperor evinced a firmness and resignation highly honourable to his character. It is pitiable to think how much fortitude may be thrown away by an Asiatic for want of a little active enterprise. There were probably not less than half-a-dozen points in Shah Alam's life when a due vigour would have raised him to safety, if not to splendour ”

“ An inadequate idea may be formed of the want of supervision which characterized Shah Alam's reign, by observing that this man, who had not been more than two years in charge of the collections of a small and impoverished district, disgorged, in all, no less than fifteen lakhs of rupees. He was succeeded in his appointment by Abdul Ahid Khan (who bears henceforth the title of Majad-ud-daulah) , while Manzur Ali Khan, another nominee of the minister's, became Vazir, or Controller of the Household. ”

“ The Moslem sultans, sons of the Great Mogul, had long reigned over Hindustan, but in 1784 Shah Alam, last of these emperors, was driven from Delhi. In his ruin he appealed for help to Madhoji Scindhia, a Hindu prince from the South, who kindly restored the emperor to his palace, then gave him into the keeping of a jailer, who gouged out the old man’s eyes. Still Shah Alam, the blind, helpless, and at times very hungry prisoner, was emperor of Northern India, and in his august name Scindhia led the armies to collect the taxes of Hindustan. No tax was collected without a battle. ”

“ Accordingly the troops of Abul Hasan, under the command of Sharza Khan and Abdur Razzaq Khan Lari, attacked the prince's army, inflicting upon it considerable loss. Shah Alam, still unwilling to make the attempt to reduce Golconda, and, deeming the forces under his command insufficient for the purpose, as indeed they were, withdrew, on the pretext that he could not obtain supplies, to Khir, where he encamped. Here he received a reinforcement under the command of Qilij Khan, who was the bearer of a message recalling him to the imperial camp. ”

“ Shujaa marched back to Mahdi Ghat, whence he had come six months before, with the titular appointment of Vazir of the Empire. The Shah, having written to the fugitive Shah Alam, to salute him as emperor, got what money he could out of the exhausted treasury and departed to his own country. Najib Khan remained at Dehli under the title of Najib-ud-daulah, with a son of the absent emperor as ostensible regent. Having made these dispositions, Ahmad the Abdali returned to his own country, and only once again interposed actively in the affairs of the Indian peninsula. ”

“ But the dream of a Musalman restoration, even with Hindu aid, will always have a fascination for the sons of Islam; and the weak Shah Alam adopted the proposal with an alacrity such as he had not shown for many years. On the 5th of January, 1788, he marched from Dehli, accompanied by several of the princes and princesses of his family. From the fact of Mirza Akbar continuing to be regarded as heir apparent, and from some other considerations, it may be gathered that the last attempt of Jawan Bakht in the Emperor's favour, and its eventual defeat, must have already taken place ”

“ Shah Alam, followed a middle course, and sent a most undignified message to Muhammad Ibrahim, the commander of the Golconda forces, to whom he condescended to explain the dilemma in which he found himself, representing that his unwillingness to pursue hostilities had drawn upon him the wrath of his father, and that the time had come when it was no longer possible for him to remain inactive. He then proceeded in a more dignified strain to explain that he personally had no wish to proceed to extremities, and advised Muhammad Ibrahim to evacuate the districts occupied by the imperial forces. ”

“ The proposal was submitted to Shah Alam, who in reply proposed that the Deccanis who, having been put to flight in the open field now sought an opportunity of displaying the admittedly superior dexterity of their champions in sword-play, should engage the champions of the imperial army on elephants. This did not suit the Southerners, and they declined the challenge. Shah Alam received news the next morning that the officers of the Golconda army were in full flight towards Haidarabad, and, having caused the great drums to be beaten to celebrate his victory, he started in pursuit. ”

“ Shah Alam, when shahzada, or heir-apparent, quarrelled with his father Alam Gir II., the emperor, and united with the viceroys of Oudh and Allahabad for the conquest of Bengal. He advanced as far as Patna, which he besieged with 40,000 men. Jafar Ali, in terror, sent his son to its relief, and implored the aid of Clive. Major Caillaud defeated the prince’s army and dispersed it. Finally, at this period, Clive repelled the aggression of the Dutch, and avenged the massacre of Amboyna, on that occasion when he wrote his famous letter, “Dear Forde, fight them immediately ”

“ Meanwhile the councilors did not neglect to seize the cattle of the countryside and to fill up the granaries of the city.
By the third evening the slaves had been joined by throngs of merchants and idlers, for it was known at last that the Moslem host under Muhammad had suffered at the hands of the barbarians, and that the Shah was actually in flight before the Mongols. He had with him a formidable army, and with Bokhara prepared for siege and the Shah to lead the defense the Moslems of the city had no fear of the outcome. ”

“ His birth was still revered in India. Some powerful princes, the Nabob of Oude in particular, were inclined to favour him. Shah Alum found it easy to draw to his standard great numbers of the military adventurers with whom every part of the country swarmed. An army of forty thousand men, of various races and religions, Mahrattas, Rohillas, Jauts, and Afghans, were speedily assembled round him; and he formed the design of overthrowing the upstart whom the English had elevated to a throne, and of establishing his own authority throughout Bengal, Orissa, and Bahar. ”

“ The Shah sacrificed his life and property on account of the English, and now it is for them to uphold the reputation of his family. If in a few days your army does not arrive at Caubul, they will carry off the Shah’s family. Write speedily, and tell me what I am to do, and what the family of the Shah is to do. It is necessary that the British should arrive soon. The death of the Shah has caused disunion among the chiefs. It is necessary that your army, with a large army of the Sikhs (God willing) , should advance. ”

“ This great crime, perpetrated on April 6, 1481, was the primary cause of the dissolution of the Bahmani kingdom. The foreign nobles refused to trust a king who could thus reward his most faithful servant, and returned to their provinces without leave. Muhammad Shah soon learnt that he had shed innocent blood, and, after vainly trying to drown remorse with wine, died within a year of his minister, crying with his last breath that Mahmud Gawan was tearing at his entrails. ”

“ The King, not knowing that the reinforcements had arrived, agreed to leave the city, but determined not to reach Jellalabad for twenty days—500,000 registered troops—and if he saw that it was to their advantage, he would join the British. On the 22nd Suffur (5th of April) , the Shah’s murder took place; on the 23rd Suffur, the Populzye nobles, and Ameen-oollah Khan, Loghuree, placed me on the throne. Even as the Shah was the friend and well-wisher of the English, so am I the friend and well-wisher of the English. On account of this friendship the King sacrificed his life and property. ”

“ The Shah, in his wisdom, trusting to the misery which is now known to assail the English nation, enjoins the Hajji, as he would gain the royal favour, and gain a great name in Iran, ever to keep a watchful eye upon penknives, broad-cloth, chandeliers, and looking-glasses. He will make as large a collection as possible for the use of the Shah,—for nothing if he can: for little if he cannot for nothing. He will also accumulate every other desirable thing fitted for the use of the king, which may come within his grasp. ”

“ The Shah gratefully acknowledged the friendly hospitality of the British, but the burden of a life of inactivity was not to be borne. The Douranee Empire was still rent by intestine convulsions. The Barukzye sirdars were dominant at Caubul; but their sovereignty was threatened by Shah Mahmoud and the Princes of Herat, and not, at that time, professing to conquer for themselves, for the spirit of legitimacy was not extinct in Afghanistan, they looked abroad for a royal puppet, and found one at Loodhianah. Azim Khan invited Shah Soojah to re-assert his claims to the throne ”

“ Be convinced that your serving the Shah will turn out every way to your advantage.” The Candahar chief was easily convinced. He had fixed his eye upon Herat, and he fell readily into an alliance which he hoped would place that principality securely in his hands.
With very different feelings Dost Mahomed Khan viewed the advance of the Persian army. He wished Mahomed Shah to assist him in a religious war against the Sikhs; but even an alliance based upon these grounds he was willing to forego, if he could secure the friendly offices of the British. ”

“ Many more passages might be cited from the correspondence of our political officers, to show the opinions entertained at this time by those most competent to determine the question of the Shah’s fidelity. But, after all, the question remains an open one. The future historian may still lose himself in a sea of conjecture. From the facts before us, and from all that is known of the character of Shah Soojah, the inference is, as I have said, that the king was faithful neither to his own countrymen nor to his British allies. ”

“ By these means he made himself master of the provincial treasury, and extracted much money from the citizens. He then shut up his treasure in the fortress of Ispahan, and proceeded to the Bakhtiari mountains, to endeavour there to raise an army.
When the report of these proceedings reached Tehran, the Shah took immediate steps for crushing this new rebellion. Leaving his son at the capital, the king proceeded to Ispahan, travelling almost incessantly, and performing the march of 250 miles in the exceedingly short space of four days. ”

“ Futteh Ali Shah became for the next thirty-eight years the close friend of the British Crown and the East India Company. Shah-in-Shah, or king of the four kings of Afghanistan, Georgia, Koordistan, and Arabistan, the ruler of Persia had now incorporated Arabistan in his own dominion, and had lost Afghanistan. ”

“ This selfishness, destructive of public, as of private, virtue, became universal in Hindustan after the invasion of Nadir Shah; nor have the people become more virtuous since, and consequently are neither happy nor more independent."
Ahmad Khan (known as "the Abdali") , whom we are now to recognise as Ahmad Shah, the Daurani emperor, returned to Hindustan (as stated in the last chapter) late in the summer, and marched to Dehli, when he heard of the murder of Alamgir II. The execrable Shahabuddin (or Ghazi-ud-din the younger) fled at his approach, taking refuge with the Jats. ”

“ Men's houses were ruined, and the ordinances of the Prophet disregarded. The Shah, who is a pious prince, and respects the Ullemah, and who holds the ceremony of marriage sacred, complained to the head of the law, the mollah bashi, of this subversion of all morality in his capital, and, with a reprimand for his remissness, ordered him to provide a remedy for the evil. The mollah bashi (between you and me, be it said) is in every degree an ass,—one who knows as much of religion and its duties, as of Frangistân and its kings. ”

“ The young Shah must have been utterly at a loss whom to trust. On his way to Tehran he received intelligence of the defection of two of the generals in whom he had till then reposed the utmost confidence. One of these was Mahomed Veli Khan, who had put down the rebellion of Mahomed Khan, Zend, and who now espoused the cause of the Shah's rebel brother. The other was the chief, Suleiman Khan, whom the king had left in charge of the government of Azerbaeejan. ”

“ The Englishman in Matthews permitted him a second smile.
“The Father of Swords,” he said, “speaks a word which I do not understand. I am a Firengi, but I have never heard of a Shah of the Shahs of the Firengis. In the house of Islam are there not many who rule? In Tehran, for instance, there is the young Ahmed Shah. Then among the Bakhtiaris there is an Ilkhani, at Mohamera there is the Sheikh of the Cha’b, and in the valleys of Pusht-i-Kuh none is above the Father of Swords. I do not forget, either, the Emirs of Mecca and Afghanistan, or the Sultan in Stambul. ”

“ I have sent to demand assurances for Nasr-ul-Mulk’s safety from the Palace, and am requesting co-operation of Russian Minister." December 16. "Nasr-ul-Mulk is exiled, and leaves for Resht to-day. As he fears Shah will attempt his life on the way, he begged me to send a member of the Legation with him, as was done when the late Atabeg was sent to Kum in 1897. This, I said, I was for the moment unable to do. I am, however, sending two gholams. On his arrest the Assembly dispersed, and the Anjumans, on which its real power rested, remained inactive. The other Ministers have all resigned. ”

“ At the present time Aoraman lies part in Turkish and part—the greater—in Persian territory, and while the rulers on both sides are nominally subjects of those powers, they are to all intents and purposes independent, particularly Ali Shah, the Persian Aorami, who owns allegiance to none. An expedition is at the time of writing being sent against him from Sina to collect taxes and attempt to bring him to order. ”