Alamgir II (1754-59)

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Alamgir II, the second son of former Mughal emperor Jahandar Shah (reigned 1712–13), was raised to the throne in 1754 by his wazir Ghazi-ud-Din Imad-ul-Mulk after dethroning his predecessor Ahmad Shah.

Known as Aziz-ud-Din before he ascended the throne at the age of 55 years, Alamgir II had had practically no experience of administration and warfare as he had spent almost all his life in jail. Such a ruler cannot be expected to exert his independence and he became a virtual prisoner in the hands of his wazir Ghazi-ud-Din who was now donning the mantle of Sayyid brothers who raised and dethroned some Mughal emperors at their will.

An unprincipled Ghazi-ud-Din unsuccessfully tried to form an anti-Maratha coalition. During Alamgir’s reign the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India for the fourth time in 1756. Delhi was "slandered and its unhappy people again subjected to pillage".

Alamgir II’s tried to free himself from the control of Imad-ul-Mulk. This worsened the relationship between them. Consequently the Mughal emperor was put to death in 1759 by the latter’s orders. Alamgir II was trapped to visit a saint by the associates of Imad-ul-Mulk and was stabbed to death by Balabash Khan, one of the Wazir's assassins. The pathetic condition of a Mughal emperor can be gauged from the fact that his naked corpse was thrown down the banks of the river Jamuna.

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