Ahmad Shah (1748-1754) – GK

Ahmad Shah Bahadur

Ahmad Shah Bahadur: General knowledge and important points for UPSC prelims and other competitive government job examinations.

1. Ahmad Shah was the fourteenth Mughal Emperor.
2. His other name was Mirza Ahmad Shah.
3. He took the new title Abu Nasir Mujahid-ud-Din Ahmad Shah Ghazi.
4. He was born on 23 December 1725 in Delhi.
5. He was illiterate and did not get trained for the military.
6. Ahmad Shah’s father was Muhammad Shah and his mother was Udham Bai (Qudsia Begum).
7. He was a weak Leader. He was controlled by his mother, and his vizier, Safdarjung.
8. 1748: Ahmad Shah ascended the throne at the age of 22 after the death of his father Muhammad Shah.
9. During this time, the ruler of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali, attacked India for the first time.
10. Panjab and Multan came under Abdali’s control.
11. 1748: Battle of Manupur: At the battle of Manupur against Ahmad Shah Durrani, Ahmad Shah participated as a prince with his father. This was his first victory as a prince.
12. 1748 – 1754: Ahmad Shah established the Purbiya camel brigade to suppress the Sikh rebellions and defend the further inversion of Durrani.
13. 1754: Battle of Sikandarabad: Ahmad Shah with his commander Safdarjung started a campaign to conquer the Deccan. But Imad-ul-Mulk and his allies defeated Safdarjung at the Battle of Sikandarabad. Ahmad Shah and Safdarjung fled to Delhi.
14. His vizier Imad-ul-Mulk deprived him of his eyesight and placed Alamgir II on the throne.
15. 1754: Ahmad Shah Bahadur was sent to the Salimgarh Fort for imprisonment in 1754 for the rest of his life.
16. The Marathas occupied Malaw and Bundelkhand during his reign.
17. 1775: Later Ahmad Shah was killed under the reign of Emperor Shah Alam II at the age of 49.

Extra Info:
i. Ahmad Shah appointed Safdarjung (Safdar Jang) as Grand Vizier.
ii. He named Sayyid Salabat Khan as Mir Bakshi.
iii. He appointed Moin-ul-Mulk as the governor of Punjab.
iv. He gave the official title of Nawab Bahadur to his court’s main servant Javed Khan.

It is considered that the “Sikandarabad Incident” was the final expedition of Mughals against the Maratha empire.

Extra Info: Ahmad Shah’s one son Mahmud Shah Bahadur Bidar-Bakht reigned for a short period in the Mughal as Shah Jahan IV in 1788.