A Different Successor to Shah Jahan

MarshalBraginsky · Dec 14, 2012

This is for a timeline that I'm doing right now but am trying to include the Mughal Empire in the portion as well. The main question that I wanted to ask was: who could have succeeded Shah Jahan as Mughal Emperor if both Dara Shikon and Aurangzeb were killed off earlier? I'm thinking of either Murad Baksh or Shah Shuja as potential candidates. What would their policies be like and would the Mughal Empire still exist or decline into several successor states with potential neighbors establishing protectorates?

Kishan · Dec 15, 2012

Dara Shikoh was the most deserving prince who had all the qualities to be a model emperor and if he had been successful in the battle for succession after ShahJahan, he would have been a second Akbar. But unfortunately for the Mughal Empire, it was his fanatic and devilish brother Aurangzeb who won the peacock throne.In 1657, when ShahJahan fell ill, Dara was 43, Shah Shuja 41, Aurangzeb 39 and Murad 33. If both Dara and Aurangzeb had died earlier the remaining sons were Shuja and Murad. Shuja was the governor of Bengal and Murad was the governor of Gujarat. Both of them had administrative and military experience. But both were addicted to the liquor and fond of luxurious lifestyle as most Mughal princes were. But I think Shuja had an edge over Murad as Bengal was a richer province and he could collect a larger army than that of Murad. Hence if Dara and Aurangzeb were not in the picture, Shah Shuja would have occupied the Peacock Throne after ShahJahan.

MarshalBraginsky · Dec 15, 2012

So I'd end up with two alcoholic candidates for the Peacock throne? Granted that Shah Shuja might have a chance after all. This if for a current TL I'm working on and I definitely didn't want to take the Gurkani Alam route.

Kishan · Dec 16, 2012

Never mind if the Mughal Emperor is alcoholic. It was only occasionally that one could find Emperor Jahangir sober! But he had an efficient wife Nurjahan who could manage the imperial duties in his absence. Emperor Shahjahan was not a drunkard like his father, but he was a womanizer who did not spare any beautiful woman on whom his eyes happened to fall. Of course he had loved his wife, the incomparable Mumtaz Mahal who gave him his six children, but she left him two years after his coronation.He built the beautiful Taj Mahal in her memory and spent the balance years of his reign sharing his bed with as many beautiful ladies as available in his Empire.He kept seven thousand of them in his harem.

MarshalBraginsky · Dec 16, 2012

Shah Shuja could become a great candidate after all if both Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb kicked the bucket. Would Shah Shuja actually implement a policy similar to the Ottoman scenario where the princes have to kill each other if he ever took power, just to prevent a devastating war of succession?

Kishan · Dec 16, 2012

Primogeniture was never a rule in the case of succession to the throne among the Mughals or many other dynasties. Though Humayun, the eldest son succeeded Babur without a dispute, there was not much of an empire at that time. Still Kamran, his just younger brother gave enough headache to Humayun that he had Kamran imprisoned and blinded. Hindall and Askari, the other two brothers also never helped Humayun much.

Akbar did not face any sibling for succession as he had none! But he had to face Hemu in the second battle of Panipat to secure his throne. Murad and Daniel, the younger sons of Akbar died before their father due to heavy use of alcohol. Still Salim fought against his father, but Akbar pardoned him as he had no other sons left! When Salim ascended the throne as Jahangir, he had to face the rebellion of his eldest son, Khusro.But Khusro was defeated, imprisoned and blinded, and later killed by Khurram, his younger brother.

When Jahangir died, not only Khusro, but his second son Parvez was also no more and again alcohol was the villain. His third son Khurram and the youngest Shahriyar fought for the throne. Shahriyar was defeated, blinded and killed. Khurram ascended the throne as ShahJahan.

When ShahJahan fell ill his four sons Dara, Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad fought as usual and the result you know. ShahJahan was the only one among the "great" Mughals who had the misfortune to spend the last eight years of his life as the prisoner of his son. Later "lesser" emperors like Farukhsiyar, Shah Alam and Bahadur Shah II had suffered greater insults, but then the empire was only a shadow.

After the death of Aurangzeb also the story repeated. His sons Muazzam, Azzim and Khambaksh fought each other and the victorious Muazzam ascended the throne as Bahadur Shah, in his old age. After him, his son Jahandar Shah also came to the throne similarly. But after Aurangzeb, the Mughals had entered their period of decline.

MarshalBraginsky · Dec 16, 2012

So we've pretty much got the bloody sibling rivalries happening in Mughal history. Now I'm really wondering if Shah Shuja or Murad Baksh would have been a good Mughal emperor since we never learned what their policies were like if they lived longer.

Falecius · Dec 16, 2012

MarshalBraginsky said:
So we've pretty much got the bloody sibling rivalries happening in Mughal history. Now I'm really wondering if Shah Shuja or Murad Baksh would have been a good Mughal emperor since we never learned what their policies were like if they lived longer.

You can guess what Shuja would do out his more than decent rulership of Bengal. I think he could be a reasonably good emperor.

MarshalBraginsky · Dec 16, 2012

He could have been more like Suleiman the Magnificent or even a second Akbar after Dara Shikoh. At least the Rajputs would still be loyal, granted that they may apply the 'wait and see' method on how he performs.

Kishan · Dec 20, 2012

Though it is doubtful that Shah Shuja would have made a great emperor, we could bet on the fact that he would have been more tolerant and accommodating than his fanatic brother, Aurangzeb. That fact alone would have prevented the Marathas, the Rajputs, the Sikhs, the Jats and other Hindu groups from revolting against the Mughal Empire. This would have also postponed the downward slide and collapse of the Empire for some more time.

MarshalBraginsky · Dec 20, 2012

Thus preventing the Mughal Empire from fracturing into different states.

Badshah · Dec 26, 2012

Shuja and Murad Baksh are both wild cards. We can speculate what they might have done, but ultimately we won't know. I'd like to think that Shuja could work out, as Jahangir managed to continue many of the successful policies implemented by Akbar who himself continued from Sher Shah. However, the control Nur Jahan had is often overexaggerated. Though she did prove to be a very big influence...Jahangir was still the primary ruler...if Shuja can manage similarly, he would be fine. Even more important however, is that any Mughal Emperor needs to balance all the court factions....that's the key, even more so than whether they're a fanatic or not. The Rajputs, for instance, are going to be against any other Hindu factions trying to take any power, and proved to be antagonistic to the Marathas in Aurangzeb's rule for that reason.

It's really important to remember, that no matter who Shah Jahan's successor is, financially they'll be limited compared to Jahangir or even Shah Jahan, himself. They'll need to be more focused on the economic matters of the empire, moreso than conquest, and that's where Aurangzeb done fucked up.

MarshalBraginsky · Jan 4, 2013

True, although the question of continued religious tolerance remains to be answered in a Mughal Empire led by either Murad Baksh or Shah Shuja.