The death of Bahadur Shah was followed by a civil war among his four sons, viz., Jahandar Shah, Azim-us-Shan, Jahan Shah and Rafi-us-Shan the contestants were in such indecent haste about deciding the question of succession that the dead body of Bahdur Shah was not buried for about a month. Jahandar Shah came out successful with the help of Zulfikar Khan, a prominent leader of the Irani party, whom he appointed as his Wazir. Zulfikar Khan ruled the country for all practical purposes.

Disintegration of the Mughal Empire:

According to Sidney Own, “Jahandar Shah was an utterly degenerate representative of the house of Timur, Babur and Akbar. Frivolous, profligate, cruel and cowardly, servility devoted to a favourite lady Lai Kanwar whose relatives he promoted wholesale to high honours to the disgust of the old nobles and the able and experienced servants of the state, he soon became generally odious and despicable.” He set the evil example of a licentious and effeminate court life and vitiated the morals of the railing class. His influence made the recovery of the old imperial glory impossible. He was reduced to a puppet.

All authority was wielded by the Wazir and the ministers who passed on their duties to their deputies. Responsibilities were divided and offices were transferred from person to person according to the whim and fancy of the minister in power. The temporary incumbents used those opportunities to make rapid gains. The result was that administration was neglected and disorder spread. All sense of loyalty vanished.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

During his eleven months’ reign. Jahandar Shah squandered away most of the treasures accumulated by his predecessors. The gold and silver and other precious articles collected since the time of Babur were thrown away.

Taking advantage of the situation, Farrukh Siyar, the second son of Azim-us-Shan, won over the Sayyid Brothers to his side and marched to Delhi. His progress was easy. Jahandar Shah deserted the army and fled from the battle-field in the company of Lai Kanwar. He was arrested and handed over to Farrukh Siyar who had him put to death on 11 February,