Shah Shuja (Mughal prince) - Revision history

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	\|caption = Portrait of Shah Shuja		\|caption = Portrait of Shah Shuja
	\|title = [[Shahzada (title)\|Shahzada]] of [[Mughal Empire]]		\|title = [[Shahzada (title)\|Shahzada]] of [[Mughal Empire]]
	\|spouse= Bilqis Banu Begum~~<br/>~~Piari Banu Begum~~<br/>One another wife~~		\|spouse= {{unbulletedlist\|
			{{marriage\|Bilqis Banu Begum\|1633\|1634\|end={{Abbr\|d.\|death}}}}
			\|Piari Banu Begum
			\|Daughter of Raja Tamsen of Kishtwar}}
	\|house = [[Timurid dynasty\|Timurid]]		\|house = [[Timurid dynasty\|Timurid]]
	\|father =[[Shah Jahan]]		\|father =[[Shah Jahan]]
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	\|death_place =		\|death_place =
	\|religion = [[Sunni Islam]]		\|religion = [[Sunni Islam]]
	\|issue = Zain-ud-Din Mirza~~<br/>~~Zain-ul-Abidin Mirza~~<br/>~~Buland Akhtar Mirza~~<br/>Dilpazir Banu Begum<br/>~~Gulrukh Banu Begum~~<br/>~~Roshan Ara Begum~~<br/>[[~~Amina Banu Begum]]		\|issue = {{unbulletedlist\|Dilpazir Banu Begum\|Zain-ud-Din Mirza\|Zain-ul-Abidin Mirza\|Buland Akhtar Mirza\|Gulrukh Banu Begum\|Roshan Ara Begum\|Amina Banu Begum\|}}
	\|}}		\|}}
	'''Shah Shuja''' (23 June 1616 – 7 February 1661)<ref name=bpedia>{{cite Banglapedia\|article=Shah Shuja\|author=Abdul Karim}}</ref> was the second son of the [[Mughal Empire\|Mughal]] Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] and Empress [[Mumtaz Mahal]]. He was the governor of Bengal and Odisha and had his capital at [[Dhaka]], in present day [[Bangladesh]].		'''Shah Shuja''' (23 June 1616 – 7 February 1661)<ref name=bpedia>{{cite Banglapedia\|article=Shah Shuja\|author=Abdul Karim}}</ref> was the second son of the [[Mughal Empire\|Mughal]] Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] and Empress [[Mumtaz Mahal]]. He was the governor of Bengal and Odisha and had his capital at [[Dhaka]], in present day [[Bangladesh]].
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	==Early life and family==		==Early life and family==
	[[File:Prince Shah Shuja from the Late Shah Jahan Album, India, Mughal Dynasty, 1650. Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper.jpg\|thumb\|left\|170px\|Shah Shuja in his childhood, 1650]]		[[File:Prince Shah Shuja from the Late Shah Jahan Album, India, Mughal Dynasty, 1650. Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper.jpg\|thumb\|left\|170px\|Shah Shuja in his childhood, 1650]]
	Shah Shuja was born on 23 June 1616, in Ajmer. He was the second son and fourth child of the Mughal emperor [[Shah Jahan]] and his queen [[Mumtaz Mahal]].		Shah Shuja was born on 23 June 1616, in Ajmer. He was the second son and fourth child of the Mughal emperor [[Shah Jahan]] and his queen [[Mumtaz Mahal]]. Shah Jahan's step-mother, empress [[Nur Jahan]] adopted Prince Shah Shuja upon his birth. This new responsibility was given to her due to her high rank, political clout and Jahangir's affection for her. It was also an honour for the empress as Shuja was a special favourite of his grandfather, emperor [[Jahangir]].<ref>{{harvnb\|Banks Findly\|1993\|p=98}}</ref>

	Shuja's siblings were [[Jahanara Begum]], [[Dara Shikoh]], [[Roshanara Begum]], [[Aurangzeb]], [[Murad Baksh]], [[Gauhara Begum]] and others. He had three sons - Sultan Zain-ul-Din (Bon Sultan or Sultan Bang), Buland Akhtar and Zainul Abidin; and four daughters - Gulrukh Banu, Roshanara Begum and Amina Begum.<ref>Stanley Lane-Pool, 1971, Aurangzeb, vol.1.</ref>{{check source\|reason=only three are listed here\|date=August 2013}}
			Shuja's siblings were the eldest sister [[Jahanara Begum]], [[Dara Shikoh]], [[Roshanara Begum]], [[Aurangzeb]], [[Murad Baksh]], [[Gauhara Begum]] and others. He had three sons - Sultan Zain-ul-Din (Bon Sultan or Sultan Bang), Buland Akhtar and Zainul Abidin; and four daughters - Gulrukh Banu, Roshanara Begum and Amina Begum.<ref>Stanley Lane-Pool, 1971, Aurangzeb, vol.1.</ref>{{check source\|reason=only three are listed here\|date=August 2013}}

	==Personal life==		==Personal life==
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	[[File:Shuja, Mughal Prince.jpg\|thumb\|left\|170px\|		[[File:Shuja, Mughal Prince.jpg\|thumb\|left\|170px\|
	Shuja, Mughal prince]]		Shuja, Mughal prince]]
	On the death of his first wife, he married Piari Banu Begum,<ref>{{cite book\|first=Nagendra\|last=Kr Singh\|title=Encyclopaedia of women biography: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Volume 3\|publisher=A.P.H. Pub. Corp.\|year=2001\|pages=51\|isbn=978-8-176-48264-6}}</ref> daughter of Azam Khan, the second governor of [[Bengal]] during Shah Jahan's reign.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society - Volumes 1-2\|publisher=Pakistan Historical Society\|year=1953\|pages=338}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|author=Abdul Karim\|title=History of Bengal: The Reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzib\|publisher=Institute of Bangladesh Studies, University of Rajshahi, 1995 - Bengal (India)\|year=1993\|pages=363}}</ref> She was the mother of two sons and three daughters,<ref>{{cite book\|first=Nagendra Kr\|last=Singh\|title=Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography: Muh-R\|publisher=A.P.H. Pub. Corp.\|year=2001\|pages=402\|isbn=978-8-176-48234-9}}</ref> namely, Prince Zain-ud-din Mirza, born on 28 October 1639; Prince Zain-ul-Abidin Mirza, born on 20 December 1645; Gulrukh Banu Begum (wife of Prince [[Muhammad Sultan (Mughal prince)\|Muhammad Sultan]]), Raushan Ara Begum and Amina Banu Begum.<ref>{{cite book\|first=Sunīti Bhūshaṇa\|last=Kānunago\|title=A History of Chittagong: From ancient times down to 1761\|publisher=Dipankar Qanungo\|year=1988\|pages=304}}</ref> In 1660, she fled to Arakan with her husband, sons and daughters. Shuja was murdered in 1661. His sons were put to death. Piari Banu Begum and two of her daughters committed suicide. The remaining daughter, Amina Banu Begum, was brought to the palace, where, from grief, she died an early death.<ref>{{cite book\|first=Arthur P.\|last=Phayre\|title=History of Burma: From the Earliest Time to the End of the First War with British India\|publisher=Routledge\|date=June 17, 2013\|pages=178–9\|isbn=978-1-136-39841-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Pakistan\|publisher=Asiatic Society of Pakistan\|year=1967\|pages=251}}</ref> According to another source, one of Shuja's daughters was married to King [[Sanda Thudhamma]]. A year later, he scented a plot and starved all of them to death, while his wife was in an advanced stage of pregnancy by himself.<ref>{{cite book\|first1=Edward James\|last1=Rap\|first2=Sir Wolseley\|last2=Heg\|first3=Sir Richard\|last3=Burn\|title=The Cambridge History of India, Volume 3\|publisher=CUP Archive\|year=1928\|pages=481}}</ref>		On the death of his first wife, he married Piari Banu Begum,<ref>{{cite book\|first=Nagendra\|last=Kr Singh\|title=Encyclopaedia of women biography: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Volume 3\|publisher=A.P.H. Pub. Corp.\|year=2001\|pages=51\|isbn=978-8-176-48264-6}}</ref> daughter of [[Azam Khan (Subahdar)\|Azam Khan]], the second governor of [[Bengal]] during Shah Jahan's reign.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society - Volumes 1-2\|publisher=Pakistan Historical Society\|year=1953\|pages=338}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|author=Abdul Karim\|title=History of Bengal: The Reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzib\|publisher=Institute of Bangladesh Studies, University of Rajshahi, 1995 - Bengal (India)\|year=1993\|pages=363}}</ref> She was the mother of two sons and three daughters,<ref>{{cite book\|first=Nagendra Kr\|last=Singh\|title=Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography: Muh-R\|publisher=A.P.H. Pub. Corp.\|year=2001\|pages=402\|isbn=978-8-176-48234-9}}</ref> namely, Prince Zain-ud-din Mirza, born on 28 October 1639; Prince Zain-ul-Abidin Mirza, born on 20 December 1645; Gulrukh Banu Begum (wife of Prince [[Muhammad Sultan (Mughal prince)\|Muhammad Sultan]]), Raushan Ara Begum and Amina Banu Begum.<ref>{{cite book\|first=Sunīti Bhūshaṇa\|last=Kānunago\|title=A History of Chittagong: From ancient times down to 1761\|publisher=Dipankar Qanungo\|year=1988\|pages=304}}</ref> In 1660, she fled to Arakan with her husband, sons and daughters. Shuja was murdered in 1661. His sons were put to death. Piari Banu Begum and two of her daughters committed suicide. The remaining daughter, Amina Banu Begum, was brought to the palace, where, from grief, she died an early death.<ref>{{cite book\|first=Arthur P.\|last=Phayre\|title=History of Burma: From the Earliest Time to the End of the First War with British India\|publisher=Routledge\|date=June 17, 2013\|pages=178–9\|isbn=978-1-136-39841-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Pakistan\|publisher=Asiatic Society of Pakistan\|year=1967\|pages=251}}</ref> According to another source, one of Shuja's daughters was married to King [[Sanda Thudhamma]]. A year later, he scented a plot and starved all of them to death, while his wife was in an advanced stage of pregnancy by himself.<ref>{{cite book\|first1=Edward James\|last1=Rap\|first2=Sir Wolseley\|last2=Heg\|first3=Sir Richard\|last3=Burn\|title=The Cambridge History of India, Volume 3\|publisher=CUP Archive\|year=1928\|pages=481}}</ref>

	His third wife was the daughter of Raja Tamsen of Kishtwar.<ref>{{cite book\|first=Rattan Lal\|last=Hangloo\|title=The State in Medieval Kashmir\|publisher=Manohar\|date=January 1, 2000\|pages=130}}</ref> She was the mother of Shahzada Buland Akhtar, who was born in August 1645.<ref>{{cite book\|first1=Inayat\|last1=Khan\|first2=Wayne Edison\|last2=Begley\|title=The Shah Jahan name of 'Inayat Khan: an abridged history of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, compiled by his royal librarian: the nineteenth-century manuscript translation of A.R. Fuller (British Library, add. 30,777)		His third wife was the daughter of Raja Tamsen of Kishtwar.<ref>{{cite book\|first=Rattan Lal\|last=Hangloo\|title=The State in Medieval Kashmir\|publisher=Manohar\|date=January 1, 2000\|pages=130}}</ref> She was the mother of Shahzada Buland Akhtar, who was born in August 1645.<ref>{{cite book\|first1=Inayat\|last1=Khan\|first2=Wayne Edison\|last2=Begley\|title=The Shah Jahan name of 'Inayat Khan: an abridged history of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, compiled by his royal librarian: the nineteenth-century manuscript translation of A.R. Fuller (British Library, add. 30,777)
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	===Construction projects in Dhaka===		===Construction projects in Dhaka===
	<gallery mode=packed>		<gallery mode="packed">
	1870 Photograph of Bara Katra.jpg\|Bara Katra		1870 Photograph of Bara Katra.jpg\|Bara Katra
	Mughol Eidgah.jpg\|[[Dhanmondi]] [[Eidgah]]		Mughol Eidgah.jpg\|[[Dhanmondi]] [[Eidgah]]
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	==Mughal war of succession==		==Mughal war of succession==
	~~[[File:Elephant in Battle.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|Armored elite [[War elephant]] from the battalion of Shah Shuja.]]~~
	[[File:The princes of the Mogul Emperor against their father and Combat.jpg\|thumb\|The Mughal armies of [[Aurangzeb]] and Shah Shuja confront each other.]]		[[File:The princes of the Mogul Emperor against their father and Combat.jpg\|thumb\|The Mughal armies of [[Aurangzeb]] and Shah Shuja confront each other.]]

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2021-08-23T13:05:24Z

Replaced infobox picture with cropped version for focus.

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{{Short description|Mughal prince and Governor of Bengal (1616–1661)}}
{{Other uses|Shuja{{!}}Shuja}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name = Shah Shuja
|image = Sháh Shujáʿ (cropped).jpg
|caption = Portrait of Shah Shuja
|title = [[Shahzada (title)|Shahzada]] of [[Mughal Empire]]
|spouse= Bilqis Banu Begum Piari Banu Begum One another wife
|house = [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]]
|father =[[Shah Jahan]]
|mother =[[Mumtaz Mahal]]
|birth_date = {{birth date|1616|06|23|df=yes}}
|birth_place = [[Ajmer]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|1661|2|7|1616|06|23|df=yes}}
|death_place =
|religion = [[Sunni Islam]]
|issue = Zain-ud-Din Mirza Zain-ul-Abidin Mirza Buland Akhtar Mirza Dilpazir Banu Begum Gulrukh Banu Begum Roshan Ara Begum [[Amina Banu Begum]]
|}}
'''Shah Shuja''' (23 June 1616 – 7 February 1661)<ref name=bpedia>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Shah Shuja|author=Abdul Karim}}</ref> was the second son of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] and Empress [[Mumtaz Mahal]]. He was the governor of Bengal and Odisha and had his capital at [[Dhaka]], in present day [[Bangladesh]].

==Early life and family==
[[File:Prince Shah Shuja from the Late Shah Jahan Album, India, Mughal Dynasty, 1650. Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper.jpg|thumb|left|170px|Shah Shuja in his childhood, 1650]]
Shah Shuja was born on 23 June 1616, in Ajmer. He was the second son and fourth child of the Mughal emperor [[Shah Jahan]] and his queen [[Mumtaz Mahal]].

Shuja's siblings were [[Jahanara Begum]], [[Dara Shikoh]], [[Roshanara Begum]], [[Aurangzeb]], [[Murad Baksh]], [[Gauhara Begum]] and others. He had three sons - Sultan Zain-ul-Din (Bon Sultan or Sultan Bang), Buland Akhtar and Zainul Abidin; and four daughters - Gulrukh Banu, Roshanara Begum and Amina Begum.<ref>Stanley Lane-Pool, 1971, Aurangzeb, vol.1.</ref>{{check source|reason=only three are listed here|date=August 2013}}

==Personal life==
Shah Shuja first married Bilqis Banu Begum, the daughter of Rustam Mirza, on the night of Saturday, 5 March 1633. The marriage was arranged by Princess [[Jahanara Begum]]. Rupees 1,60,000 in cash and goods worth one lakh were sent as sachak to the mansion of Mirza Rustam. On 23 February 1633, the wedding presents worth Rupees 10 lakhs were displayed by Jahanara Begum and Sati-un-nissa Khanum.<ref>{{cite book|first=Soma|last=Mukherjee|title=Royal Mughal Ladies and Their Contributions|publisher=Gyan Books|year=2001|pages=106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v-2TyjzZhZEC&pg=PA106|isbn=978-8-121-20760-7}}</ref> The following year, she gave birth to a daughter and died in childbirth. She was buried in a separate mausoleum named Kharbuza Mahal, at Burhanpur.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Navina Najat|last1=Haidar|first2=Marika|last2=Sardar|title=Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy|url=https://archive.org/details/sultansofdeccani1500haid|url-access=registration|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|date=April 13, 2015|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sultansofdeccani1500haid/page/285 285]|isbn=978-0-300-21110-8}}</ref> Her daughter was named Dilpazir Banu Begum by Shah Jahan,<ref>{{cite book|first=Simi|last=Jain|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Women Through the Ages: The middle ages|publisher=Gyan Publishing House|year=2003|pages=73|isbn=978-8-178-35173-5}}</ref>  who died as an infant.
[[File:Shuja, Mughal Prince.jpg|thumb|left|170px|
Shuja, Mughal prince]]
On the death of his first wife, he married Piari Banu Begum,<ref>{{cite book|first=Nagendra|last=Kr Singh|title=Encyclopaedia of women biography: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Volume 3|publisher=A.P.H. Pub. Corp.|year=2001|pages=51|isbn=978-8-176-48264-6}}</ref> daughter of Azam Khan, the second governor of [[Bengal]] during Shah Jahan's reign.<ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society - Volumes 1-2|publisher=Pakistan Historical Society|year=1953|pages=338}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Abdul Karim|title=History of Bengal: The Reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzib|publisher=Institute of Bangladesh Studies, University of Rajshahi, 1995 - Bengal (India)|year=1993|pages=363}}</ref> She was the mother of two sons and three daughters,<ref>{{cite book|first=Nagendra Kr|last=Singh|title=Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography: Muh-R|publisher=A.P.H. Pub. Corp.|year=2001|pages=402|isbn=978-8-176-48234-9}}</ref> namely, Prince Zain-ud-din Mirza, born on 28 October 1639; Prince Zain-ul-Abidin Mirza, born on 20 December 1645; Gulrukh Banu Begum (wife of Prince [[Muhammad Sultan (Mughal prince)|Muhammad Sultan]]), Raushan Ara Begum and Amina Banu Begum.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sunīti Bhūshaṇa|last=Kānunago|title=A History of Chittagong: From ancient times down to 1761|publisher=Dipankar Qanungo|year=1988|pages=304}}</ref> In 1660, she fled to Arakan with her husband, sons and daughters. Shuja was murdered in 1661. His sons were put to death. Piari Banu Begum and two of her daughters committed suicide. The remaining daughter, Amina Banu Begum, was brought to the palace, where, from grief, she died an early death.<ref>{{cite book|first=Arthur P.|last=Phayre|title=History of Burma: From the Earliest Time to the End of the First War with British India|publisher=Routledge|date=June 17, 2013|pages=178–9|isbn=978-1-136-39841-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Pakistan|publisher=Asiatic Society of Pakistan|year=1967|pages=251}}</ref> According to another source, one of Shuja's daughters was married to King [[Sanda Thudhamma]]. A year later, he scented a plot and starved all of them to death, while his wife was in an advanced stage of pregnancy by himself.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Edward James|last1=Rap|first2=Sir Wolseley|last2=Heg|first3=Sir Richard|last3=Burn|title=The Cambridge History of India, Volume 3|publisher=CUP Archive|year=1928|pages=481}}</ref>

His third wife was the daughter of Raja Tamsen of Kishtwar.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rattan Lal|last=Hangloo|title=The State in Medieval Kashmir|publisher=Manohar|date=January 1, 2000|pages=130}}</ref> She was the mother of Shahzada Buland Akhtar, who was born in August 1645.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Inayat|last1=Khan|first2=Wayne Edison|last2=Begley|title=The Shah Jahan name of 'Inayat Khan: an abridged history of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, compiled by his royal librarian: the nineteenth-century manuscript translation of A.R. Fuller (British Library, add. 30,777)
|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|pages=327}}</ref>

==Governor of Bengal==
Shazada Muhammad Shah Shuja was appointed by Shah Jahan as the [[Subahdar]] of [[Bengal]] and [[Bihar]] from 1641 and of Orissa from 25 July 1648 until 1661. His father, Shah Jahan, appointed as his deputy, the Rajput prince of Nagpur, Kunwar Raghav Singh (1616-1671).<ref name=bpedia/> During his governorship, he built the official residence, [[Bara Katra]], in the capital [[Dhaka]].<ref name=barakatra>{{cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bara_Katra|title=Bara Katra|author=Ayesha Begum|access-date=2013-01-24|publisher=[[Banglapedia]]}}</ref>

After the illness of Shah Jahan in September 1657, a power crisis occurred among the brothers. Shah Shuja proclaimed himself as Emperor, but [[Aurangzeb]] ascended the throne of Dehli and sent [[Mir Jumla II|Mir Jumla]] to subjugate Shuja.<ref name=mirjumla>{{cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Mir_Jumla|title=Mir Jumla|author=Abdul Karim|access-date=2013-01-30|publisher=[[Banglapedia]]}}</ref> Shuja was defeated in the [[Battle of Khajwa]] on 5 January 1659.<ref name=bpedia/> He retreated, first to [[Tanda, Bengal|Tanda]] and then to Dhaka, on 12 April 1660.<ref name=bpedia/> He left Dhaka on 6 May and boarded ships near present-day [[Bhulua]] on 12 May heading to [[Rakhine State|Arakan]].<ref name=bpedia/> Mir Jumla reached Dhaka on 9 May 1660 and was then appointed by Aurangzeb as the next Subahdar of Bengal.<ref name=mirjumla/>

===Construction projects in Dhaka===
<gallery mode=packed>
1870 Photograph of Bara Katra.jpg|Bara Katra
Mughol Eidgah.jpg|[[Dhanmondi]] [[Eidgah]]
Old hussaini dalan.jpg|[[Hussaini Dalan]]
The Great Kuttra, Dhaka (1823).jpg|An etching of Bara Katra by [[Sir Charles D'Oyly, 7th Baronet|Sir Charles D'Oyly]] in 1823
</gallery>
{{Clear}}

==Mughal war of succession==
[[File:Elephant in Battle.jpg|thumb|250px|Armored elite [[War elephant]] from the battalion of Shah Shuja.]]
[[File:The princes of the Mogul Emperor against their father and Combat.jpg|thumb|The Mughal armies of [[Aurangzeb]] and Shah Shuja confront each other.]]

When Shah Jahan fell ill, a struggle for the throne started among his four sons - [[Dara Shikoh]], Shah Shuja, [[Aurangzeb]] and [[Murad Baksh]]. Shuja immediately crowned himself the emperor and took the imperial titles in November 1657.

He marched with a large army, backed by a good number of war-boats in the river [[Ganges]]. However, he was beaten by Dara's army in the hotly contested [[Battle of Bahadurpur]], near [[Varanasi|Banares]] (in modern [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]]). Shuja turned back to [[Rajmahal]] to make further preparations. He signed a treaty with his elder brother, Dara, which left him in control of Bengal, Orissa and a large part of Bihar, on 17 May 1658.

In the meantime, [[Aurangzeb]] defeated Dara twice (at Dharmat and Samugarh), caught him, executed him on a charge of heresy and ascended the throne. Shuja marched to the capital again, this time against Aurangzeb. A battle took place on 5 January 1659 at the [[Battle of Khajwa]] (Fatehpur district, [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]]), where Shuja was defeated.<ref>[http://horsesandswords.blogspot.com/2006/05/battle-of-khajwa.html Battle of Khajwa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229185222/http://horsesandswords.blogspot.com/2006/05/battle-of-khajwa.html |date=29 December 2014 }}</ref>

After his defeat, Shuja retreated towards [[Bengal]]. He was pursued by the imperial army under [[Mir Jumla II|Mir Jumla]]. Shuja put up a good fight against them. However, he was finally defeated in the last battle in April 1660. After each defeat, he had to face desertions in his own army, but he did not lose heart. Rather, he reorganised the army with renewed vigor. But when he was surrounded at [[Tanda, Bengal|Tanda]] and found that reorganisation of the army was no longer possible, he decided to leave Bengal for good and take shelter in [[Rakhine State|Arakan]].

==Military promotions==
* 1636 - 5000(20)
* 1641 - 30,000(25)
* 1646 - 36,000(30)
* 1653 - 40,000(37)
* 1655 - 43,000(39)

==Asylum in Arakan==

===En route to Arakan===
[[File:ShujaAurganzebMurad.jpg|thumb|A painting from circa 1637 shows the brothers (left to right) Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad Baksh in their younger years]]
Shuja left [[Tanda, Bengal|Tanda]] with his family and retinue in the afternoon of 6 April 1660 and reached [[Dhaka]] on 12 April. After staying for a month, they departed from the city and boarded Arakanese ships on 12 May at Bhulua (near present-day [[Noakhali]], [[Bangladesh]]). The party first arrived at [[Chittagong]] and remained for some time. From here, they took the land route to [[Kingdom of Mrauk U|Arakan]], which is still called Shuja Road. Thousands of [[palanquins]] were used to carry Shuja's harem and he performed [[Eid al-Fitr|Eid]] prayers at an [[Eidgah]] in Dulahzara.<ref>Sunīti Bhūshaṇa Kānunago, ''A History of Chittagong: From ancient times down to 1761'' (1988), p. 305</ref>

===Death and aftermath===
Shuja and his entourage arrived in Arakan on 26 August 1660,<ref name=m1>[[Niccolao Manucci]], ''Storia do Mogor or History of Mughal India'', translator [[William Irvine (historian)|William Irvine]]</ref> and were greeted at the capital, [[Mrauk U]], with courtesy. The Arakanese king, the powerful [[Sanda Thudhamma]], had previously agreed to provide ships for Shuja and his family to travel to [[Mecca]], where the prince had planned to spend the remainder of his life. The half dozen camel-loads of gold and jewels that the Mughal royals had brought with them was beyond anything that had previously been seen in Arakan.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Edward James |last1=Rapson |first2= Wolseley |last2=Haig |first3=Richard |last3=Burn |title=The Cambridge History of India Vol. IV: The Mughal Period |year=1937 | page=480}}</ref>

After eight months and numerous excuses, Sanda Thudhamma's promise of ships did not materialise. Finally, the latter demanded the hand of Shuja's daughter in marriage, which the prince refused. Sanda Thudhamma responded by ordering the Mughals to leave within three days. Unable to move and being refused provisions at the bazaars, Shuja resolved to attempt to overthrow the king.
The prince had two hundred soldiers with him, as well as the support of the local Muslims, giving him a good chance at success. However, Sanda Thudhamma was forewarned of the coup attempt. Shuja was, therefore, forced to set fire to the city, hoping to cut his way out in the confusion. Much of his entourage was captured and though he himself initially escaped into the jungle, he was later captured and executed.<ref>{{harvnb|Rapson|Haig|Burn|1937|p=481}}</ref>

Shuja's wealth was taken and melted down by Sanda Thudhamma, who took the Mughal princesses into his harem. He married the eldest, an event that was subsequently celebrated in song and poetry. The following year however, suspicious of another coup, Sanda Thudhamma had Shuja's sons decapitated and his daughters (including the pregnant eldest) starved to death. Aurangzeb, angered by the deaths, ordered a campaign against the kingdom. After an intensive siege, the Mughals captured Chittagong and thousands of Arakanese were taken into slavery. Arakan was unable to return to its previous dominance and Sanda Thudhamma's eventual death was followed by a century of chaos.<ref>{{harvnb|Rapson|Haig|Burn|1937|pp=481–2}}</ref>

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Shah Shuja'''
|2= 2. [[Shah Jahan|Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I, Mughal Emperor]]<ref>{{cite book |first=Kobita |last=Sarker |title=Shah Jahan and his paradise on earth: the story of Shah Jahan's creations in Agra and Shahjahanabad in the golden days of the Mughals |year=2007 | page= 187}}</ref>
|3= 3. [[Mumtaz Mahal]]{{sfn|Sarker|2007|p=187}}
|4= 4. [[Jahangir|Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir, Mughal Emperor]]<ref name=mehta418>{{cite book |first=Jl |last=Mehta |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India |year=1986 | page=418}}</ref>
|5= 5. [[Jagat Gosain]]<ref name=mehta418/>
|6= 6. [[Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan]]<ref name=Thackeray>Frank W. Thackeray, John E. Findling, ''Events That Formed the Modern World'' (2012), p. 254</ref>
|7= 7. Diwanji Begum<ref name=Thackeray/>
|8= 8. [[Akbar|Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, Mughal Emperor]]{{sfn|Mehta|1986|p=374}}
|9= 9. [[Mariam-uz-Zamani]]{{sfn|Mehta|1986|p=374}}
|10= 10. [[Udai Singh of Marwar|Udai Singh]], Raja of [[Jodhpur State|Marwar]]<ref>Soma Mukherjee, ''Royal Mughal Ladies and Their Contributions'' (2001), p. 128</ref>
|11=11. Manrang Devi of [[Gwalior]]<ref>{{harvnb|Mukherjee|2001|p=128}}</ref>
|12= 12. [[Mirza Ghiyas Beg|I'timad-ud-Daulah]]<ref>Subhash Parihar, ''Some Aspects of Indo-Islamic Architecture'' (1999), p. 149</ref>
|13= 13. [[Asmat Begam]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shujauddin|first1=Mohammad|last2=Shujauddin|first2=Razia|title=The Life and Times of Noor Jahan|date=1967|publisher=Caravan Book House|page=1|language=en}}</ref>
|14=14. Ghias ud-din ‘Ali Asaf Khan<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ahmad|first1=Moin-ud-din|title=The Taj and Its Environments: With 8 Illus. from Photos., 1 Map, and 4 Plans|date=1924|publisher=R. G. Bansal|page=101|language=en}}</ref>
|15= }}

==See also==
{{Commons category|Shah Shuja}}
*[[Battle of Khajwa]]
*[[History of Bengal]]
*[[Mughal Empire]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Clear}}

==Further reading==
*JN Sarkar (ed), History of Bengal, vol II, Dhaka, 1948
*JN Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, vol II, New Delhi, 1972–74
*A Karim, History of Bengal, Mughal Period, vol II, Rajshahi, 1995

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuja, Shah}}
[[Category:1616 births]]
[[Category:1661 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Mughal princes]]
[[Category:Subahdars of Bengal]]
[[Category:Indian people of Iranian descent]]