Promotion of Learning in India during Muhammadan Rule (by Muhammadans) c19.s2: 2. Muḥammad Shāh (1719-1748)

Promotion of Learning in India during Muhammadan Rule (by Muhammadans) c19.s2

Language: English

2. Muḥammad Shāh (1719-1748)

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Notwithstanding the confusion that followed in the administration of the country since the accession of Muḥammad Shāh to the throne of Delhi created by the conduct of the two Sayyid brothers and the subsequent invasion of Nādir Shāh, there was yet a brilliant feature upon which the mind delights to dwell, namely the impetus that was given to scientific education, especially to its astronomical branch by the genius of Sewai Jai Singh, Rājā of Amber and founder of the principality of Jaipur. He constructed observatories not only in Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathurā and Benares, but also in Delhi. His observatory in the capital of the Mughal empire was built in 1724, in the fifth year of the reign of Muḥammad Shāh, at the instance of the Emperor. This monument of his genius still exists outside the walls of Delhi. Though it was never completed, and was badly damaged by the Jāṭ marauders within fifty years of its erection, yet it had sufficiently advanced to fulfil the purpose for which it was constructed.² From the Athenians, who were already in the city, were not aware of the plot, but when they saw the Plataeans fighting, they did not wish to attack them, as they were friends, but when they saw that they were being attacked and killed in the city, they were at a loss what to do. They decided to run to the citadel, and some of them escaped there, while others were killed in the streets as they were caught by the Thebans. The women and slaves were screaming and wailing in the houses, and the Thebans, who were in the city, were throwing stones at them, as the confusion was great. In the meantime, the rest of the Thebans, who were outside, hearing the shouting, rushed into the city to help their comrades.

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² Stephen's *Arch. of Delhi*, p. 269; Fanshawe's *Delhi Past and Present*, p. 247.

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Jantar Mantar—the Observatory at Delhi, built by Jai Singh at the instance of Muḥammad Shāh. [From Fanshawe’s Delhi Past and Present (John Murray).]

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The Plataeans, seeing that they were being attacked by the Thebans, and that the Thebans were already in the city, were in great fear. They opened the gates of the city, and let the Athenians, who were in the citadel, come out, and they also let the rest of the Plataeans, who were in the houses, come out. They then attacked the Thebans, and as they were fighting in the dark, and in the narrow streets, the Thebans were at a disadvantage. The Plataeans, who knew the city well, were able to attack them from the houses, and from the roofs, and they were able to kill many of them. The Thebans, seeing that they were being defeated, tried to escape, but the gates were closed, and they were trapped. Some of them climbed over the walls, and others were killed as they tried to escape.

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The Plataeans, having defeated the Thebans, sent a messenger to Athens to tell them what had happened, and to ask for help. The Athenians, hearing the news, sent a force to Plataea, and they also sent a message to the Thebans, telling them that if they did not release the prisoners, they would kill the Thebans who were in their hands. The Thebans, fearing for their men, agreed to release the prisoners, and the Plataeans, having received their men, released the Thebans. This was the beginning of the war between the Athenians and the Peloponnesians.

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the Athenians, and the Lacedaemonians, and the allies of both, were all of them in a state of great excitement, and many prophecies were being recited by the diviners, and were current even among those who were not at war. Besides this, there was an earthquake in Delos, which is said to have occurred only once before in the history of the Hellenes. It was said to be a portent of what was to come, and everything of this kind was interpreted as a sign of the approaching events.

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The majority of the Hellenes were on the side of the Lacedaemonians; for they were the liberators of Hellas. The Athenians, on the other hand, had ceased to be the liberators of the Hellenes from the Persians, and were now themselves the masters of the greater part of them. The Lacedaemonians were the leaders of the Peloponnesians, and the Athenians were the leaders of the rest of Hellas, or at least of those who were their allies.

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The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful of the Hellenes, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous. The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful on land, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous. The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful on land, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous.

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The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful on land, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous. The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful on land, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous. The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful on land, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous.

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Masjid of Nawab Sharafuddaulah with attached Madrasah at Shāhjahānābād (Delhi). (From Āsārul-Ṣanādīd.)

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the observations made in this observatory, the celebrated Astronomical Tables, known by the name of Muḥammad Shāhī, were drawn up by Mīrzā Khair-ullāh and Shaikh Muḥammad Muḥaddiṣ, under the supervision of Jai Singh, and the accuracy of the Tables was proved by the conjunction of two planets in 1154 A.H. (1741 A.D.) as recorded therein.¹ In the observatory at Delhi there is a big equatorial dial which for its accuracy and magnitude was called Samrāṭ Jantra by Jai Singh himself. The gnomons and the periphery of the circle are marked with degrees for determining altitudes and azimuths of the heavenly bodies. Besides this, there are two circular buildings open at the top and a small altitude-meter.²

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¹ *Tārīkhi-Farrukhābādī*, MS. in ASB, leaf 56; *Siyarul-Mutaakhkhirīn*, vol. iii, p. 220.

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² Hearn's *Seven Cities of Delhi*, p. 45; Stephen's *Arch. of Delhi*, pp. 269 ff.; Garcin de Tassey's *Sayyid Aḥmad*, pp. 167–174; and Fanshawe's *Delhi Past and Present*, p. 247.

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In 1722, during the reign of Emperor Muḥammad Shāh, Nawāb Sharafuddaulah constructed a madrasah and a mosque close to each other.³

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³ *Āṣārul-Ṣanādīd*, by Sayyid Aḥmad, ch. iii, p. 81.

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When Nādir Shāh invaded India during the reign of the Emperor, he gave up Delhi to pillage, plunder and massacre. In the *Tabṣīrātul-Nāẓirīn*,⁴ it is mentioned that he passed this order while

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⁴ *Tabṣīrātul-Nāẓirīn*, MS. in ASB, by Sayyid Muḥammad Bilgrāmī, p. 443.

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he was seated within the "*Madrasah of Raushan-uddaulah*."¹ However, other writers state that Nādir ordered the massacre of Delhi while he was seated in the *Mosque of Raushanuddaulah*, without referring to the madrasah. Be that as it may, Nādir carried away with him the celebrated Imperial Library of Delhi along with an enormous treasure on his return to Persia. This Library had been preserved by the Mughal Emperors as their most precious possession.² By an irony of fate, some of these valuable books were afterwards sold in Persia at ridiculously low prices.

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¹ در مدرسه روشن الدوله نشست.

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² Martin's *Miniature Painting and Painters of India, Persia and Turkey*, vol. i, pp. 58, 77.