Shah Alam II was the son of Alamgir II, a puppet Mughal emperor. Alamgir II was killed in 1759 by his prime minister Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung III, popularly known as Imad-ul-Mulk.
The actual name of Shah Alam II was Ali Gauhar. At the time of his father’s murder he was wandering as a fugitive prince in Bihar where he proclaimed himself emperor on December 22 while another prince, Muhiul-millat, the grandson of Aurangzeb’s youngest son Muhammad Kam Bakhsh, was raised to the throne in Delhi under the title of Shah Jahan III.
These conditions forced Shah Alam II to remain in exile from Delhi for twelve years until 1772 when he was reinstated at Delhi by the Marathas, a powerful power at that time. Meanwhile the English were fast strengthening their position after their victory in the battle of Plassey in 1757. After his defeat in the Battle of Buxar in 1764, Shah Alam II was forced to grant the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the English East India Company in 1765.
In 1988 Shah Alam II was blinded by Rohilla chief, Ghulam Qadir.
Shah Alam II died in 1806. He lies buried in a tomb situated at Mehrauli in Delhi
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