Shah Alam II (Persian: شاه عالم دوم, Persian pronunciation: [ʃɑːh ʔɑː.ˈlam]; 25 June 1728 – 19 November 1806), also known by his birth name Ali Gohar, or Ali Gauhar, was the seventeenth Mughal emperor and the son of Alamgir II.
The reign of Shah Alam saw a number of invasions, the first and foremost by Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1761, which led to the third battle of Panipat between the Maratha Empire and the Afghans under Abdali. The invading forces of Abdali then drove out the Marathas led by Sadashivrao Bhau, deposed Shah Jahan III, the puppet Mughal emperor of Imad-ul-Mulk, and installed Shah Alam II as the rightful emperor (1760 – 1772).
Despite his rightful claims to the throne, Shah Alam II was unable to return to Delhi until 1772, under the protection of Mahadaji Scindia of Gwalior. He fought against the East India Company at the Battle of Buxar (1764), and was forced to grant the British the rights to collect taxes in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. During his reign the Mughal authority saw a brief revival in northern India under the capable general Mirza Najaf Khan, but after his death in 1782, the Mughal power collapsed for one last time.
HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to
2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map
carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each
one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what
you find.