The Battle of Jajau : The epic struggle that sealed the fate for the Later Mughals.
The battle of JAJAU: The epic struggle that sealed the fate for the later Mughals.
Introduction
After Aurangzeb’s death, the Battle of Jajau was fought between his sons Mohammad Azam and Muazzam on 18th June, 1707. The battle, fought to decide who would be the next Mughal Emperor, ended with the death of Azam and his sons.
Muazzam, also known as Shah Alam, came to
the throne and took the title of Bahadur Shah I.
The background to the battle
Aurangzeb died in the year 1707 without naming a
formal successor. His last will and testament spoke about dividing the empire
into equal parts among his three sons – Muhammad Azam, Muazzam and Kam Baksh.
Prince Azam Shah: Aurangzeb’s son from his wife Dilraas
Banu Begum, he had been nominated as the heir apparent from 1681.
Prince Muazzam: Muazzam was the oldest brother of the
three. Born to Nawab Bai, he was bestowed the title of Shah Alam. He was in and
out of confinement multiple times for revolting against his father.
Prince Kam Baksh: Kam Baksh was the son of Aurangzeb’s
Georgian concubine Udaipuri Mahal. He was the youngest son of the three.
After Aurangzeb’s death in Ahmednagar,
Muazzam who was in the north, reached Lahore and declared himself as the
emperor there. Azam arrived from Malwa
to Ahmednagar and crowned himself the emperor there.
The Battle of Jajau (18th June,
1707)
Now, a race began between Azam and Muazzam to reach
Agra and capture the throne. (Kam Baksh had marched towards Bijapur and tried
to rule there before he was ultimately defeated by Muazzam and killed, much later).
Muazzam was able to reach Agra and secure the treasury.
He sent a letter to Azam, asking him to take Malwa and Deccan areas and let him
(Muazzam) be the Mughal ruler. Azam refused.
Both sides knew that war was now imminent. Muazzam’s
army arrived and camped at Jajau, a village near Agra. Meanwhile Azam was on
the same road , marching towards Agra.
The story goes that Azam’s son Bider Bakht had arrived
in Jajau to get water not knowing that Muazzam’s army was camped there. They
took Muazzam’s son Azimusshan (who was camped there) by surprise and thus the
battle began.
Muazzam and Azam, sitting far away from the actual
site of the battle, kept on sending re-enforcements. Azam’s army had to face very
many desertions , one of the major reason being non payment of dues. These
desertions combined with the superiority of Muazzam’s artillery and his wealth
from the Imperial treasury at Agra led to Muazzam’s victory.
Azam’s sons including Bider Bakht died. Azam, now
entered the battlefield and we are told, though very wounded, continued to
fight till he was killed by a musket ball on the forehead.
Muazzam won this battle, later he defeated Kam Baksh
and with no other contender left, remained the Mughal emperor with his regnal
name “Bahadur Shah I” till his death in 1712.
Azam and his sons were buried at Humayun’s tomb.
After Bahadur Shah, a series of Mughal emperors came
to the throne. None, including Bahadur Shah had the qualities which the early
Mughal emperors, especially Aurangzeb did. Ultimately, it brought about the end
of the Mughal empire.
What would have happened as Azam become the ruler? Maybe Mughal history would have been very different than what it is today.
References:
1. Sharma, R. (1978). A CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF
JAJAU. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 39, 368-374. Retrieved June 12, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44139371
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahadur_Shah_I#Kam_Bakhsh's_uprising.
Accessed on 12th June , 2021.
3. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Jajau.
Accessed on 12th June , 2021,
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jajau.
Accessed on 12th June, 2021.
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