| Azam Shah | |||||||||||
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| Padishah Al-Sultan Al-Azam | |||||||||||
 Azam Shah holding a turban jewelc. 1685 | |||||||||||
| Mughal emperor | |||||||||||
| Reign | 14 March – 20 June 1707 | ||||||||||
| Predecessor | Alamgir I | ||||||||||
| Successor | Bahadur Shah I | ||||||||||
| Grand Vizier | Asad Khan | ||||||||||
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| Born | (1653-06-28)28 June 1653 Shahi Qila, Burhanpur,Mughal Empire | ||||||||||
| Died | 20 June 1707(1707-06-20) (aged 53) Agra Subah,Mughal Empire | ||||||||||
| Burial | Khuldabad, Maharashtra, India | ||||||||||
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| House | Mughal dynasty | ||||||||||
| Dynasty | Timurid dynasty | ||||||||||
| Father | Alamgir I | ||||||||||
| Mother | Dilras Banu | ||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam(Hanafi) | ||||||||||
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Mirza Abu al-Fayaz Qutb al-Din Muhammad AazamPersian:ابوالفیاض قطب الدین محمد اعظم,; 28 June 1653 – 20 June 1707), commonly known asAzam Shah (Persian:اعظم شاه, was briefly the seventhMughal emperor from 14 March to 20 June 1707. He was the third son of the sixth Mughal emperorAurangzeb and his chief consortDilras Banu Begum.
Azam was appointed as theheir-apparent (Shahi Ali Jah) to his father on 12 August 1681 and retained that position until Aurangzeb's death.[2] During his long military career, he served as the viceroy ofBerar Subah,Malwa,Bengal,Gujarat and theDeccan. Azam ascended theMughal throne inAhmednagar upon the death of his father on 14 March 1707. However, he and his three sons,Bidar Bakht, Jawan Bakht and Sikandar Shan, were later defeated and killed by Azam Shah's older half-brother, Shah Alam (later crowned asBahadur Shah I), during theBattle of Jajau on 20 June 1707.
Qutb-ud-Din Muhammad Azam was born on 28 June 1653 inBurhanpur[3] to Prince Muhi-ud-Din (later known as 'Aurangzeb' upon his accession) and his first wife,Dilras Banu Begum.[4][5][6][7] His mother, who died four years after giving birth to him, was the daughter ofMirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safavi (titled Shah Nawaz Khan) and a princess of the prominentSafavid dynasty ofPersia.[8] Therefore, Azam was not only a Timurid from his father's side, but also had in him the royal blood of the Safavid dynasty, a fact which Azam was extremely proud of and after the death of his younger brother, PrinceMuhammad Akbar, the only son of Aurangzeb who could boast of being of the purest blood.[9]
Azam's other half-brothers, Shah Alam (laterBahadur Shah I) andMuhammad Kam Bakhsh were the sons of Aurangzeb's Hindu wives.[10] According toNiccolao Manucci, the courtiers were very impressed by Azam's royal Persian ancestry and the fact that he was the grandson of Shah Nawaz Khan Safavi.[11]
As Azam grew up, he was distinguished for his wisdom, excellence, and chivalry.[12][13] Aurangzeb used to be extremely delighted with his son's noble character and excellent manners, and thought of him as his comrade rather than his son. He often used to say, "between this pair of matchless friends, a separation is imminent."[14] Azam's siblings included his older sisters, the princesses:Zeb-un-Nissa,Zinat-un-Nissa,Zubdat-un-Nissa and his younger brother, Prince Muhammad Akbar.
On 13 May 1668, Azam married anAhom princess,Ramani Gabharu, who was renamed Rahmat Banu Begum. She was the daughter of the Ahom king, SwargadeoJayadhwaj Singha, and the marriage was a political one.[15][16] On 3 January 1669, Azam married hisfirst cousin, PrincessJahanzeb Banu Begum, the daughter of his eldest uncle Crown princeDara Shikoh and his beloved wife,Nadira Banu Begum.[17]
Jahanzeb was his chief consort[18] and his favourite wife, being greatly loved by him. She gave birth to their eldest son on 4 August 1670. He was named 'Bidar Bakht' by his grandfather.[19] Aurangzeb, throughout his life, showed marks of exceptional love to Azam and Jahanzeb (who his favourite daughter-in-law) and to Prince Bidar Bakht, who was a gallant and successful general, on all three of whom he used to constantly lavish gifts.[20] Bidar Bakht was also Aurangzeb's favourite grandson.[21]
In a marriage of political alliance, Azam later married his third wife,Shahar Banu Begum (titled Padshah Bibi) in 1681. She was a princess of theAdil Shahi dynasty and was the daughter ofAli Adil Shah II, the ruler ofBijapur.[22] Despite his other marriages, Azam's love for Jahanzeb remained unchanged. For when she died in 1705, he was filled with great sorrow and despair which darkened the remainder of his life.[20]
Another of his concubines was the mother of Prince Wala Jah Mirza, born on 5 August 1683 and died on 8 June 1707, and Prince Wala Shan born on 1 August 1684.[23] Another concubine was Kirpapuri Mahal, the mother of Ali Tabar Mirza, who was born in 1697 and died on 28 May 1734, and was buried along with his mother in the mausoleum she had built for herself.[24][25]
In 1685, Aurangzeb dispatched his son Muhammad Azam Shah with a force of nearly 50,000 men to captureBijapur Fort and defeatSikandar Adil Shah, the ruler of Bijapur, who refused to be a vassal. The Mughals led by Muhammad Azam Shah could not make any advancements upon Bijapur Fort mainly due to the superior usage of cannon batteries on both sides. Outraged by the stalemate, Aurangzeb himself arrived on 4 September 1686 and commanded theSiege of Bijapur after eight days of fighting and the Mughals were victorious.[citation needed]
Prince Azam was appointed the governor (Subahdar) ofBerar Subah,Malwa andBengal from 1678 to 1701 upon the death of his predecessor, Azam Khan Koka.[26] He successfully captured theKamrup region in February 1679. He founded the incompleteLalbagh Fort in Dacca. During his administration, Mir Maula was appointedDiwan and Muluk Chand asHuzur-Navis for revenue collection.[26] Prince Azam was recalled by Aurangzeb and left Dacca on 6 October 1679.[26] UnderMarathas Bengal went under administration of theNawabs of Murshidabad.
He later became the governor ofGujarat from 1701 to 1706.
In the third week of February 1707, in a bid to prevent a war of succession, Aurangzeb separated Azam and his younger half-brother, Kam Baksh, whom Azam particularly loathed. He sent Azam to Malwa and Kam Baksh to Bijapur. A few days before his death, he wrote farewell letters to Azam. The next morning, Azam who had tarried outsideAhmednagar instead of proceeding to Malwa, arrived at the imperial camp and conveyed his father's body for burial at his tomb atDaulatabad.[27] Azam Shah proclaimed himself Emperor and seized the throne. In the political struggles following the disputed succession, he and his son Prince Bidar Bakht were defeated and killed in theBattle of Jajau on 20 June 1707 against elder half-brother,Prince Muhammad Mu'azzam, who succeeded their father to theMughal throne.[28] Azam Shah was killed by a musket shot, which is believed to have been fired byIsa Khan Manj, a Punjabi warlord of theLakhi Jangal in theLahore Subah. His grave along with that of his wife, lies in thedargah complex of Sufi saint,Sheikh Zainuddin, atKhuldabad nearAurangabad, which also houses thetomb of Aurangzeb to the west.[29]
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| Ancestors of Muhammad Azam Shah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Padshah-i-Mumalik Abu'l Faaiz Qutb-ud-Din Muhammad Azam Shah-i-Ali Jah Ghazi
Muhammad Azam Shah Born: 28 June 1653 Died: 8 June 1707 | ||
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| Preceded by | Mughal Emperor 1707 | Succeeded by |
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