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Mohammed Shah, the new emperor's title became: Abul Muzaffar Nasiruddin Muhammad Badsha-i-Ghazi, Emperor of Hindusthan. In the Muslim chronicles, he was falsely shown to have ascended the throne immediately after Farrukh Siyar's deposition. The new emperor was a virtual prisoner of the scheming nobles, the Sayyads. He used to be surrounded, escorted, watched and conducted back by a body of picked troopers, deputed by the Sayyad brothers, in all his movements.
Mohammed Shah's so called reign is wellknown for one thing only. It was during his reign that Nadir Shah invaded India and looted Delhi. He massacred thousands, carried away 300 million rupees worth of loot including the precious Kohinoor diamond, the Peacock Throne and many other valuables besides. Nadir's rape of Delhi lasted two months. Some 2,50,000 corpses were strewn all over the city streets and lanes. In these massacres, Nadir Shah used to climb on top of the temples to guide his killers. Among the many women that Nadir Shah's invaders raped and carried away, was a Moghul princess, who was forced to marry the son of Nadir Shah.
The Peacock Throne was hammered to pieces and stolen bit by bit by members of the warring royalty. Its name-sake, the Takht-i- Taus, now the seat of the Persian monarch (before Khomeini took over), derives its name from an Armenian courtesan called Taus on whom a Persian monarch doted and to carouse and flirt with whom the monarch had ordered that royal couch. Nadir Shah restored Mohammed Shah to an impoverished, badly mangled and bleeding Moghul kingdom, which was a mere shadow of its erstwhile terror- stature.
The spiriting away of the Peacock Throne of Hindusthan is the ironical climax to the drama of the rapid erosion of the once vast Moghul kingdom. It was during Mohammed Shah's regime also that the resurgent Marathas freed the provinces of Gujarat, Malwa and Berar. The Maratha army poured into Delhi itself. However, instead of publicly impeaching Mohammed Shah and sending him to the gallows, the Marathas let him be. The same mistake the Marathas committed with the Nizam by letting him be even after military defeats in the hands of the Marathas. The British were more prudent. They not only deposed the last Moghul king Bahadur Shah Zafar but removed him to a prison in Burma (now Myanmar) to die there without anyone knowing of the sultan's silent disppearance!
Mohammed Shah ruled for about 30 years and died in 1748 A.D. Before he died, Mohammed Shah was successful in getting rid of the Sayyad brothers, which was a relief. Mohammed Shah had only one known son named Ahmed Shah. He came to the throne at the age of 22 with the title Mujahuddin Ahmed Shah Ghazi. He remained a titular emperor for about six years. It was during his reign took place the horrid raids of Ahmed Shah Abdali.
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