Later Mughals v1.c6.s1.t4: Alamgir's Will
Later Mughals v1.c6.s1.t4
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Alamgir's Will
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The story goes that Alamgir left a will with directions for his own burial and for the partition of the Empire between his three sons. It is said that it was found by Hamid-ud-din Khan, head of the household, under the Emperor's pillow.* As the terms of the will accord with the measures taken by the Emperor giving his three sons the provinces that he had assigned to them in his lifetime, it may be assumed to be authentic. Its terms were also appealed to afterwards by Muhammad Muazzam (Bahadur Shah) when he wrote to his brother, Azam Shah, offering him a compromise. This will is a little vague but its substance may be thus stated. It entreats his successors to leave Kam Bakhsh unmolested, should he content himself with the two new provinces, that is, Bijapur and Haidarabad. Amir-ul-umara, that is Asad Khan, his Wazir, is recommended as Wazir. Of the two capitals, Agra and Dihli, one should be taken by each son. With the city of Agra should go the province belonging to it, the Dakhin subahs, Malwa and Ahmadabad Gujarat; and with the city of Dihli, the country of Kabul and all the remaining provinces. There is an injunction to be true and faithful to Azam Shah, and this seems to conflict somewhat with the supposed impartiality of the testament; but as Azam Shah, in spite of this declaration in his favour, declined to be bound by the other provisions of the will, the suspicion that he might have drawn up the document for his own benefit must fall to the ground.
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∗ Mas.-Alamgiri, 442, 496, 512, 520; K. K. ii. 516, 518, 541, 546-'7.
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Taking the provinces and the revenue in dam, (forty to the Rupee) as stated by James Fraser† the proposed distribution would have given the following results:—
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† Nadir Shah, p. 34. A translation of the will is given on pp. 36-37
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| Bahadur Shah, | 12 Subahs | ... | 5,175,956,440 dam |
| Azam Shah, | 6 Subahs | ... | 4,704,255,400 dam |
| Kam Bakhsh, | 2 Subahs | ... | 2,191,665,000 dam |
| | 20 Subahs | ... | 12,071,876,840 dam |
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∗ Khafi Khan, ii. 549, Kamwar Kh. A copy of the will had reached Surat as early as 18 Oct. 1707, (Valentyn, iv. 274.) [The will making a partition of the Empire and alleged to have been found under his pillow after his death, is given in Br. Mus. Addl. 18,881, f. 76 b, and I.O.L. MS. 1344, f. 49 b. A different one, containing directions about his burial and instructions for his successor, is given in Hamid-ud-din's Ahkam-i-Alamgiri, text edited by me, pp. 12-14, with an Eng. trans. J. S.]