Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v1.c20.s7.83

v1.c20.s7.83

Murder of Farrukhsīyar, May 16, 1719.—Farrukhsiyar hoped for security in the inviolability of the harem—but he found no sanctuary even there: to use the words of the Mogul memoir, “night advanced, and day, like the fallen star of the emperor, sunk in darkness. The gates of the citadel were closed upon his friends: the Wazir and Ajit Singh remained within. This night was dreadful to the inhabitants of the city; no one knew what was passing in the palace, and the troops under the Amiru-l-umara, with ten thousand Mahrattas, remained under arms: morning came, and all hope was extinguished by the royal band (*Naubat*) announcing the deposal of Farrukhsiyar, in the proclamation of Rafiu-d-darajat, his successor.” The interval between the deposal and the death of an Asiatic prince is short, and even while the heralds vociferated “long live the king!” to the new puppet, the bowstring was on the neck of the contemptible Farrukhsiyar.