Alamgir II: The Mughal Emperor who spent forty years in prison before his reign.

Nature · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Ascending the throne at 55, Alamgir II was a puppet ruler whose life was defined by captivity and political impotence. While his vizier siphoned imperial wealth and conspired with Maratha mercenaries, the emperor struggled to maintain authority amidst a crumbling empire and the encroaching forces of global powers.

Born in 1699, Mirza Aziz-ud-Din spent the vast majority of his life in confinement, having been imprisoned in 1714 under the reign of Farrukhsiyar. He remained in captivity until 1754, when he was released and installed as the fifteenth Mughal emperor by the vizier Imad-ul-Mulk. The vizier specifically chose him for his perceived frailty and lack of administrative experience, believing he would be a compliant figurehead. Upon his accession, the new emperor took the regnal name Alamgir II, hoping to emulate the centralized governance of his ancestor Aurangzeb.

The reality of his reign was far from his aspirations. Power remained firmly in the hands of Imad-ul-Mulk, who systematically drained imperial revenues and starved the royal family. The empire was besieged by external threats, most notably the Maratha Confederacy, which reached its peak expansion during this period. Alamgir II attempted to navigate these pressures by seeking alliances, including a notable diplomatic and matrimonial pact with Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1757. He also engaged in international diplomacy, reaching out to French commanders like De Bussy for military support against the Maratha dominance.

His attempts to re-centralize authority and support loyalist Nawabs ultimately alienated his vizier. Tensions reached a breaking point when the emperor’s son, Ali Gauhar, escaped Delhi in 1759, sparking fears that the emperor was planning to overthrow the existing regime. In November 1759, these mounting conflicts culminated in the assassination of Alamgir II, orchestrated by Imad-ul-Mulk. His death marked a tragic end to a reign defined by the struggle between a nominal sovereign and the powerful, usurping forces that effectively dismantled the Mughal state from within.

The geopolitical landscape of his era was complex, with the Mughal Empire becoming entangled in the Seven Years' War due to British maneuvers in Bengal. Despite his lack of direct control, Alamgir II remained a central figure in the shifting loyalties of the time, from the appointment of regional governors to the desperate defense of Delhi against Maratha incursions. His legacy remains that of a ruler who, despite his best efforts to assert imperial dignity, was ultimately consumed by the very political instability he sought to resolve.

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