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{{Short description|Fifteenth Mughal Emperor}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = '''Alamgir II''' <br> {{lang|fa|عالمگیر دوم}}
| title        = [[Padishah]] <br> [[Imperial and royal titles of the Mughal emperors|Al-Sultan Al-Azam]]
| image        = Brooklyn Museum - Emperor Alamgir II - Sukha Luhar.jpg
| caption      = Portrait of Alamgir II, {{c.|1756}}
| succession   = 15th [[Mughal Emperor]]
| reign        = 3 June 1754 – 29 November 1759
| coronation   = 
| predecessor  = [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur|Ahmad Shah]]
| successor    = [[Shah Jahan III]]
| regent       = [[Imad-ul-Mulk]]<br />(1754–1756)
| spouses      = {{plainlist|
*Zinat Mahal
*Faiz Bakht Begum
*Azizabadi Mahal
*Latifa Begum
*Zinat Afruz Begum
*Aurangabadi Mahal}}
| issue        = {{plainlist|
*[[Shah Alam II]]
*Mirza Muhammad Ali Asghar Bahadur
*Mirza Muhammad Harun Hidayat Bakhsh Bahadur
*Mirza Tali Murad Shah Bahadur
*Mirza Jamiyat Shah Bahadur
*Mirza Muhammad Himmat Shah Bahadur
*Mirza Ahsan-ud-Din Muhammad Bahadur
*Mirza Mubarak Shah Bahadur
*Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum<ref>{{cite book|first=Sir Jadunath|last=Sarkar|title=Fall of the Mughal Empire: 1754-1771. (Panipat) 2 ed., rev. 1950|publisher=M. C. Sarkar|year=1950|pages=92}}</ref>
*Khair-un-Nissa Begum<ref name="Mehta2005">{{cite book | author = Jaswant Lal Mehta | date = 1 January 2005 | title = Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813 | publisher = Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd | pages = 464 | isbn = 978-1-932705-54-6}}</ref>
*Daulat-un-Nissa Begum<ref name="Hasan1998">{{cite book | author = Masudul Hasan | date = 1998 | title = History of Islam: Classical period, 1206-1900 C.E | publisher = Adam Publishers & Distributers | pages = 669}}</ref>}}
| full name    = Mirza Aziz-ud-Din Alamgir II ({{lang|fa|میرزا عزیزالدین محمد}})
| regnal name  = Alamgir II
| house        = [[Mughal dynasty|House of Babur]]
| father       = [[Jahandar Shah]]
| mother       = Anup Bai
| birth_date   = {{birth date|df=yes|1699|06|06}}
| birth_place  = [[Burhanpur]], [[Mughal Empire]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1759|11|29|1699|06|06}}
| death_place  = Kotla Fateh Shah, [[Mughal Empire]]
| burial_place = [[Humayun's Tomb]]
| religion     = [[Sunni Islam]] {{small|([[Hanafi]])}}
| reg-type1    = Mir Bakshi
| regent1      = [[Najib Khan|Najib-ud-Daulah]]<br />(1756–1759)
| dynasty      = [[File:Timurid.svg|25px]] [[Timurid dynasty]]|
}}
{{Mughal}}

'''Mirza Aziz-ud-Din Muhammad''' ({{lang-fa|میرزا عزیزالدین محمد}}; June 6, 1699 – November 29, 1759), better known as '''Alamgir II''' (Persian: {{lang|fa|عالمگیر دوم}}), was the fifteenth [[Mughal Empire|Mughal Emperor]], who reigned from 3 June 1754 to 29 November 1759. He was the son of [[Jahandar Shah]].

Born Mirza Aziz-ud-Din, the second son of [[Jahandar Shah]], was raised to the throne by [[Imad-ul-Mulk]] after he deposed [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]] in 1754. On ascending the throne, he took the title of Alamgir and tried to follow the approach of [[Aurangzeb]] (Alamgir I). At the time of his accession to the throne he was 55 years old. He had no experience of administration and warfare as he had spent most of his life in jail. He was a weak ruler, with all powers vested in the hand of his vizier, Imad-ul-Mulk.

In 1756, [[Ahmad Shah Abdali|Ahmad Shah Durrani]] invaded India once again and captured [[Delhi]] and plundered [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]]. While the Marathas became more powerful because of their collaboration with Imad-ul-Mulk, and dominated the whole of northern India. This was the peak of the Maratha expansion, which caused great trouble for the Mughal Empire, already weak with no strong ruler. Relations between Alamgir II and his usurping vizier, Imad-ul-Mulk had now deteriorated, their troubled relation would culminate in the murder of Alamgir by Imad-ul-Mulk. Alamgir II's son Ali Gauhar escaped persecution from Delhi, while [[Shah Jahan III]] was placed on the throne.

==Early life==
Alamgir II was born Aziz-ud-Din on 6 June 1699 at [[Burhanpur]] and was the second son of [[Jahandar Shah|Muizz-ud-Din]], the son of future Emperor [[Bahadur Shah I|Bahadur Shah (Shah Alam)]]. His mother was a jat, Anup Bai, with little clarity about her existence.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lal|first=Muni|title=Mini Mughals|pages=67}}</ref>

Aziz-ud-Din was 7 when his great-grandfather Aurangzeb died in the Deccan. After the death of his grandfather, [[Bahadur Shah I]], and the war of succession that followed, his father, [[Jahandar Shah]], was defeated, by the next [[Mughal Emperor]], [[Farrukhsiyar]].

Aziz-ud-Din was then imprisoned in 1714 and released in 1754, by the usurping Vizier Imad-ul-Mulk, he perceived Aziz-ud-Din as a frail personality who would not object his regime. Therefore, on 2 June 1754, Aziz-ud-Din was given the title ''Alamgir II'' by the vizier out of his own recommendation, as he wanted to follow the centralised approach of Aurangzeb.

==Succession to throne==
[[File:Imadulmulk.jpg|thumb|left|[[Imad-ul-Mulk]], a persecutor of the Mughal imperial family, holds a banquet.]]
[[Imad-ul-Mulk]] hired Maratha mercenaries to do his bidding<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keene |first=H.G. |url=http://www.emotional-literacy-education.com/classic-books-online-a/tfmeh10.htm |title=The Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan |year=1887 |isbn=9781449959265 |location=Oxford |language=en |access-date=2014-12-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226132313/http://www.emotional-literacy-education.com/classic-books-online-a/tfmeh10.htm |archive-date=2014-12-26}}</ref> and put all the imperial revenues into his own pocket and starved Alamgir II's family. He also persecuted [[Shah Alam II|Ali Gauhar]], the elder son of Alamgir II.

Since then, relations between Alamgir II and Imad-ul-Mulk's regime were so bad that the latter got him assassinated in November 1759.

==Reign==
After the emergence of Alamgir II the [[Mughal Empire]] had impulsively began to re-centralize, particularly when many [[Nawab]]s sought the gratification of the [[Mughal Emperor]] and his co-ordination regarding their resistance to the Maratha. This development was clearly unwelcome by [[Imad-ul-Mulk]] who sought to strengthen his authoritarianism with the undaunted support of the [[Maratha]]s. His Amir-ul-Umara and Mir Bakhshi continued to be Mirza Ashraf, the son of [[Khan Dowran VII]](a noble in the reign of Farrukhsiyar and Muhammad Shah).<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7QhuAAAAMAAJ&q=673 |title= Muslim Society in Northern India During the Eighteenth Century |page= 296 |author= Muhammad Umar |publisher= the University of Michigan|date= 1998 |isbn= 9788121508308 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= A Mughal Statesman Of The Eighteenth Century |date=1973 |author= Zahiruddin Malik |page=102}}</ref>

===Alliance with the Durrani Emirate===
In the year 1755, the acclaimed [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[viceroy]] of [[Punjab region|Punjab]], [[Moin-ul-Mulk]] died, his widow [[Mughlani Begum]] desperately sought the assistance of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] to halt any succession struggle and to quell the [[Sikh]] rebels in the eastern regions.

Ahmad Shah Durrani and his forces then marched into [[Lahore]] in the year 1756 and appointed his son [[Timur Shah Durrani]] as the new viceroy at [[Lahore]], under the protection of the commander Jahan Khan and also placed [[Adina Beg]] as the [[Faujdar]] of [[Doab]]. Ahmad Shah Durrani then plundered Sikh and Hindu inhabitants in the unstable and outlawed eastern regions of the [[Punjab region|Punjab]].

[[Image:Patthargarh fort outside Najibabad, 1814-15.jpg|250px|right|thumb|''Patthargarh fort'' (literally meaning: "stone stronghold") outside [[Najibabad]], built by [[Najib ad-Dawlah]] in 1755, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II.]]

He then marched towards Delhi, in October 1757, the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II with courtiers such as Shah Waliullah, nobles such as [[Najib-ul-Daula]], and the imperial family went to meet [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], whose forces then engaged the [[Maratha]]s in combat and threatened to overthrow and execute the regime of Imad-ul-Mulk.

Ahmad Shah Durrani's relations with the [[Mughal Emperor]], strengthened further when his son [[Timur Shah Durrani]] was chosen as the suitor of Alamgir II's daughter [[Zuhra Begum]]. Ahmad Shah Durrani himself also married Hadrat Begum the daughter of the former Mughal Emperor [[Muhammad Shah]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.99051/2015.99051.Mughal-Rule-In-India_djvu.txt|title = Mughal Rule in India|year = 1953}}</ref>

Ahmad Shah Durrani returned to [[Kabul]] leaving his forces led by his son Timur Shah Durrani consolidating themselves inside the garrisons of [[Lahore]] where they founded the [[Zamzama]] [[cannon]] with the assistance of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Metalsmith]]s.

He was supported by [[Bahawalpur (princely state)|Mohammad Bahawal Khan II]] ([[Bahawalpur (princely state)|Nawab Amir of Bhawalpur]]) and [[Muhammad Nasir Khan I]] ([[Khanate of Kalat]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thebaluch.com/documents/Nasir%20Khan%20Noori.pdf|title=Nasir Khan Noori|access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Portrait of Ahmad-Shah Durrani. Mughal miniature. ca. 1757, Bibliothèque nationale de France.jpg|[[Ahmad Shah Durrani]].
File:Temur-Shah.jpg|[[Timur Shah Durrani]].
</gallery>

===Siege of Delhi (1757)===
{{main|Battle of Delhi (1757)}}
In July 1757, the Marathas led by [[Raghunathrao]] rejected the alliance established between the [[Durrani Empire]] and the [[Mughal Empire]], they were assisted by [[Imad-ul-Mulk]] and encamped 30&nbsp;km opposite to the [[Red Fort]] and occupied all the villages by the [[Yamuna River|Jamuna]] they began to besiege Delhi.

The Marathas fought against Alamgir II's incumbent ''Mir Bakshi'' ("Paymaster") [[Najib-ul-Daula]] along with his lieutenants Qutub Shah and Aman Khan and a [[Mughal Army]] of 2,500 garrisoned inside the metropolis of Delhi. The angry Maratha set ferries ablaze and stopped food supplies from entering Delhi, while Najib-ul-Daula positioned his heavy artillery outside the vicinity of the [[Red Fort]].

Unable to gain any assistance from [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], who was engaged in quelling various rebellions near [[Herat]]; Najib-ul-Daula surrendered after resisting the combined brigands of Maratha Confederacy for more than five months, he conceded defeat and withdrew to [[Najibabad]]. When the Marathas entered Delhi the emperor Alamgir II and his royal family had somehow fled to [[Bharatpur State]]. The Marathas looted and plundered the city and the people of Delhi. Mosques and Shrines built by the Mughals were desecrated; and the [[Peshwa]] conspired to place Vishwasrao upon the Mughal throne.

Imad-ul-Mulk was reappointed ''Mir Bakshi'' and with the support of the Marathas.<ref name="googlebooks">{{cite book |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=d1wUgKKzawoC |page=230 }} |title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813 |author=Jaswant Lal Mehta |access-date=2014-01-31}}</ref> Not long after entering Delhi the Marathas encountered a [[Jat]] regiment sent by [[Suraj Mal]] who now began to claim sovereignty over Delhi. The Jat also plundered Delhi but soon afterwards made it possible for Alamgir II and the Mughal royal family to return to Delhi from Bharatpur.

However, despite losing control of Delhi, Najib-ul-Daula and his associates, such as Qutub Khan and Abdus Samad Khan the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Faujdar]] of [[Sirhind]], continued to challenge the Maratha Confederacy and its allies during confrontations at [[Saharanpur]] and Shahabad Markanda. In response the Marathas sacked the inhabitants of [[Taraori]], [[Karnal]] and [[Kunjpura]].<ref name="googlebooks" />

The Maratha attack upon Kunjpura triggered a military response by Ahmad Shah Durrani. Whose forces crossed the sacred rivers of India in search of their Maratha opponents.

=== Subjects opposing the Maratha Confederacy ===
In the year 1756, Alamgir II sympathised with the cause of his loyal [[Nawab]]s of [[Nawab of Kurnool|Kurnool]], [[Cuddapah]] and [[Nawab of Savanur|Savanur]], when their assigned territories were ravaged and plundered until 1757 by the [[Maratha]] chieftain [[Balaji Baji Rao]].

===Third Carnatic War (1757–1763)===
{{main|Carnatic Wars}}

[[File:The Nawab's artillery at Plassey.jpg|thumb|[[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] artillerymen at Plassey during the [[Carnatic Wars]].]]

====Loss of Bengal====
Alamgir II grieved the death of [[Alivardi Khan]] the famous [[Nawab of Bengal]], who annually pledged 5 million ''dams'' to the imperial court. His successor [[Siraj-ud-Daula]] was recognised as the next [[Nawab of Bengal]], but he faced internal rivals who refused to consider the [[Firman]] granted by Alamgir II to Siraj-ud-Daula. These internal conflicts would lead Siraj-ud-Daula to hastily annex [[Calcutta]] from the [[English East India Company]], without the permission of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II and [[Salabat Jung]]. Siraj-ud-Daula was quickly defeated by Clive who recaptured [[Calcutta]] and defeated Siraj-ud-Daula during the [[Battle of Plassey]] in the year 1757. After the annihilation of his entire army Siraj-ud-Daula fled and was killed by the forces of the treacherous [[Mir Jafar]]. The deceased Siraj-ud-Daula's pretensions were criticised in the Mughal imperial court by [[Ghulam Husain Tabatabai]], and Alamgir II refused to recognise [[Mir Jafar]] as the next [[Nawab of Bengal]]. In response to the imperial court's decision Mir Jafar thus consolidated and alliance with the manipulative [[Imad-ul-Mulk]] against the imperial family.

====Authority in the Deccan====
Throughout Alamgir II's reign French commandant [[Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau|de Bussy]] and [[Thomas Arthur, comte de Lally|Lally]] and their allies such as [[Salabat Jung]] and [[Hyder Ali]] greatly contributed to the advancement of forces in the Deccan opposed to the utter dominance of the [[Maratha]] renegades, their achievements had earned them fame throughout the influential circles within the Mughal Empire. In the year 1756, Salabat Jung's forces utilised heavy muskets known as ''Catyocks'', which were attached to the ground, it was known to have fired more rapidly than a cannon.<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=zp0FbTniNaYC |page=41 }} |title=War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740-1849 |author=Kaushik Roy |date=2011-03-30 |access-date=2014-01-31}}</ref> These new weapons would completely reverse fortunes of the Maratha rebels. Soon after the [[Battle of Plassey]], the [[French people|French]] commander De Bussy, also entitled ''Saif-ud-Daula Umdat-ul-Mulk'' and ''Mansabdar of 7000'', by the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II. He captured the [[Northern Circars]] from the British along with his assistant Hyder Jung the "Vakil" (attorney) representing the French within the Mughal Empire and [[Salabat Jung]]. However the [[Northern Circars]] were retaken by Forde in the year 1758 and De Bussy was recalled to [[France]]. Fearing the worst Salabat Jung reconciled with the [[English East India Company]] and recognised their protectorate and was soon overthrown by his own brother [[Nizam Ali Khan]].

===Nawab of Bhopal===
In the year 1758, the [[Mughal Army]] of [[Faiz Mohammad Khan]] the [[Nawab of Bhopal]] was treacherously attacked by his step-mother [[Mamola Bai]] who suddenly besieged the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] garrison at Fortress of Raisen in 1758, according to the layout of the [[Maratha]]s. The outraged Mughal Emperor Alamgir II, then issued a [[Firman]] supporting Faiz Mohammad Khan was the [[Nawab of Bhopal]] the only chosen administrator of Raisen, the emperor also granted the title ''Bahadur'' to Faiz Mohammad Khan the Nawab of Bhopal. However the fort remained under the control of Mamola Bai and the renegade Nanasaheb Peshwa. The fortress of Raisen was quickly retaken by [[Faiz Mohammad Khan]] in the year 1760, after the tragic assassination of Alamgir II and after [[Sadashivrao Bhau]] threatened to ravage [[Bhopal]] prior to the [[Third Battle of Panipat]]. It is believed that Faiz Mohammad Khan's Sepoy's were among those who had cut off the various supply routes of the Marathas just before the Third Battle of Panipat.

===Nawab of Cambay===

Najm-ad-Dawla supported British presence in [[Cambay]]. Turning much of his estate into an international "safe zone". Although it is likely that he too had to face threats from the Maratha climax.

==="Nawab of Mysore"===
In [[1758]], [[Hyder Ali]] and his [[Sepoy]] captured [[Bangalore]] from "Khande Rao of the [[Maratha Confederacy]]".

In honour of his achievements during the [[Carnatic Wars]], the king gave him the title "Nawab Haider Ali Khan Bahadur".

===Zenith of the Maratha Confederacy===
[[File:Marathas.GIF|250px|right|thumb|[[Maratha Confederacy]] at its zenith in 1760, the Peshwa discussed abolishing the [[Mughal Empire]] and placing [[Vishwasrao]] on the imperial throne in [[Delhi]].]]

In 1758 the [[Maratha]]s led by [[Raghunathrao]] occupied [[Lahore]] after extracted an extortion of imperial wealth from [[Imad-ul-Mulk]], together they conspired the overthrow of young [[Timur Shah Durrani]]. [[Raghunathrao]] drove out Jahan Khan and [[Timur Shah Durrani]], the son and viceroy of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]]. Timur Shah Durrani and his forces were forced to retreat from [[Lahore]] to [[Peshawar]] under the force of attacks from [[Sikh]]s and [[Maratha]]s. This victory made the belligerent Peshwa, grandiosely sack [[Delhi]] and hype their intentions of placing [[Vishwasrao]] on the Mughal throne.<ref name="Elphinstone">{{cite book| first=Mountstuart |last=Elphinstone |title=History of India | url=https://archive.org/details/historyindia02elphgoog |publisher=John Murray, Albemarle Street |year=1841 |page=276}}</ref>

===Assassination===

Many of his actions had angered the people of India. Fearing a backlash in the summer of the year 1759 [[Shah Alam II|Prince Ali Gauhar]] escaped from [[Delhi]].

Agitated by the daring escape [[Imad-ul-Mulk]] and [[Sadashivrao Bhau]] reckoned that Alamgir II was about to advance his son Prince Ali Gauhar, to dispossess and overthrow their regime.

After detailed consideration Imad-ul-Mulk and an angry mob of various ethnic groups plotted to murder the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II and the assassinations of prominent members of his family in the winter of 1759.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/12130/Alamgir-II |title=Alamgir II (Mughal emperor)|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=2012-11-21 |access-date=2014-01-31}}</ref>

====Aftermath====
[[Sadashivrao Bhau]] then personally chose the usurping, [[Shah Jahan III]] as the new [[Mughal Emperor]] and began a campaign of plundering the [[Jewels]] and [[ornament (art)|ornament]]s of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] imperial court, he also defaced mosques, tombs and shrines that the Mughals had built in [[Agra]] and [[Delhi]], he then desecrated the imperial [[Moti Masjid (Agra)|Moti Masjid]] and looted its exquisite jewelled decorations into booty for the ravaging [[Maratha]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=jq-g5YF1QzEC |page=37 }} |title=The Begums of Bhopal: A History of the Princely State of Bhopal |author=Shaharyar M. Khan |date=2000-10-20 |access-date=2014-01-31}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2019}}

The defeat of Alamgir II's son-in-law, [[Timur Shah Durrani]] by the [[Maratha]]s in the year 1760, provoked the wrath of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], who launched a massive campaign gathering more troops than ever before. In response to [[Imad-ul-Mulk]] and [[Sadashivrao Bhau]]; [[Najib-ud-Daula]] and his firm alliance of principal Muslim nobles in the [[Mughal Empire]] and [[Ahmad Shah Abdali]] recaptured Delhi and placed it under the nominal authority of [[Shah Alam II]]. In the south [[Hyder Ali]] and his [[Sultanate of Mysore|Mysore Army]] ferociously attacked the [[Maratha]]. Meanwhile, [[Shah Alam II]] anticipated the collapse of the [[Maratha]] and declared [[Shuja-ud-Daula]] his [[Grand Vizier]] and [[Najib-ud-Daula]] as his honorary ''Mukhtar Khas'' (Chief Representative).<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=Z4-8Z0gqBkoC |page=17 }} |title=History |author=Raghunath Rai |access-date=2014-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=TPVq3ykHyH4C |page=234 }} |title=A History of India |author=Hermann Kulke, Dietmar Rothermund |access-date=2014-01-31}}</ref> These developments eventually culminated into rise of religious and political loyalties that eventually clashed at the "Third Battle of Panipat" in the year 1761.

==Foreign relations==
=== Seven Years' War ===
{{See also|Seven Years' War}}
[[File:Habit of an ambassador from the great Mogul. Ambassadeur du Mogol (NYPL b14140320-1638039).jpg|thumb|the Mughal Ambassador]]

In 1756, the Seven Years' War had broken out and Alamgir II was supported by various international belligerents of that war. It was the first global war in which the Mughal emperor had his involvement apart from the boundaries of India. Alamgir II was initially involved in that war because the British were hasty in their attempts to conquer [[Bengal Subah]].

[[File:Charles de Bussy de Castelnau.jpg|thumb|left|150px|A portrait of [[Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau]].]]

In 1755, De Bussy received letter from new [[Mughal Emperor]] Alamgir II requesting [[France|French]] assistance to put down the [[Maratha Confederacy]]. Alamgir II asked if it was possible for De Bussy to dispatch a French contingent of 1000 strong to protect the [[Mughal Empire]]'s capitol at [[Delhi]]. Alamgir II also promised to pay a hefty sum for the maintenance of the French and even promised to settle disputes in the [[Carnatic Wars]] in favour of the [[French East India Company]].<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=9Fb26pWqhScC |page=87 }} |title=Nizam-British Relations, 1724–1857 |author=Sarojini Regani |access-date=2014-01-31}}</ref>

In 1757, Alamgir II had successfully achieved peace between the [[Durrani Empire|Durrani Emirate]] and the [[Mughal Empire]]. Alamgir II even secured a matrimonial alliance<ref>{{cite book|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=4j_VLlGqVSoC |page=762 }} |title=Mughal Empire in India: A Systematic Study Including Source Material |author=S.R. Sharma |access-date=2014-01-31}}</ref> when Timur Shah Durrani married [[Gauhar Afroz Begam]] the daughter of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II in February 1757{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} and [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] married [[Hazrat Begum]] the daughter of the former [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Muhammad Shah]] in 1757.<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=Kpd9lLY_0-IC |page=29}} |title=Students' Britannica India |access-date=2014-01-31}}</ref>

in the year 1751, the [[Swedish East India Company]] was operating in Surat as a co-belligerent of Alamgir II. They were probably instrumental in assisting the first [[Nawab of Junagadh]].
 
It is believed that Alamgir II even tried to reconcile the [[English East India Company]] and the [[French East India Company]] before his death in 1759.

==Death==
[[File:Silver Rupee Madras Presidency.JPG|thumb|[[Silver]] rupee issued in the name of Alamgir II, date of AH 1172 (c. 1758).]]

The newly appointed Mughal [[Grand Vizier]] after Ahmad Shah Durrani's invasion was [[Najib-ud-Daula]] who tried to consolidate the remains of the [[Mughal Empire]] by uniting distant [[Faujdar]]s (commanders), [[Nawab]]'s and [[Nizam]]s into a common cause against the [[Maratha]]s. Fearing their wrath the deposed [[Imad-ul-Mulk]] aligned himself with the [[Maratha]] leader [[Sadashivrao Bhau]] and launched an counterattack against Najib-ud-Daula which lasted 15 days and resulted in the defeat of Najib-ud-Daula who was driven north.

[[Imad-ul-Mulk]] then feared that the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II would recall [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], or use his son Prince [[Shah Alam II|Ali Gauhar]], to dispossess him of his newfound power with the [[Maratha]]s. Therefore, Imad-ul-Mulk plotted to murder the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II and his family. A few Mughal Princes, including Ali Gauhar desperately managed to escape before assassination. In November 1759, the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II was told that a pious man had come to meet him, Alamgir II, ever so eager to meet holy men, set out immediately to meet him at Kotla Fateh Shah, he was stabbed repeatedly by [[Imad-ul-Mulk]]'s assassins. The Mughal Emperor Alamgir II's death was mourned throughout the [[Mughal Empire]], particularly by the [[Muslim]] populace.

After the assassination of Alamgir II in 1759, the [[Peshwa]] under the sway of [[Sadashivrao Bhau]] had reached the peak of its short-lived power particularly when their involvement in the assassination had become eminent when he discussed abolishing the [[Mughal Empire]] and placing [[Vishwasrao]] on the throne in [[Delhi]] by bribing or deposing [[Imad-ul-Mulk]].<ref name="Elphinstone" />

== In popular culture ==

* In the 2019 [[Bollywood]] war epic [[Panipat (film)|''Panipat'']], the character of Alamgir II was portrayed by [[S. M. Zaheer]].
* In the 1994 TV series ''[[The Great Maratha]]'' the character was portrayed by [[Arun Bali]]

==See also==
* [[Shah Alam II]]
*[[Shivaji]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==


{{S-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Timurid dynasty]]||}}
{{Succession box
| title = [[Mughal Emperor]]
| years = 2 June 1754– 29 November 1759
| before = [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]]
| after = [[Shah Jahan III]]
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Mughal Empire}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alamgir Ii}}
[[Category:1699 births]]
[[Category:1759 deaths]]
[[Category:Mughal emperors]]
[[Category:People from Burhanpur]]