:''For the ruler of Persia, see
Mohammad Shah Qajar.''
'Muhammad Shah' ('محمد شاه') (
1748 –
1702) was a
Mughal emperor of
India between
1719 and
1748. He was the grandson of
Bahadur Shah I. Ascending the throne at the age of seventeen with the help of the
Saiyid Brothers, he later got rid of them through revolutions.
During his reign, the
Mughal empire eventually broke up into a loosely-knit collection of several regional states, each with its own ruler, thus declining the authority of the emperor into a greater extent.
In February 1739, the Persian emperor,
Nader Shah decided to conquer
India. Due to poor tactics, Muhammad Shah's army was easily defeated, and
Nader Shah triumphantly entered
Delhi within the span of one month, where he had the
Khutba read in his name. In the violence that followed, more than 30,000 civilians were killed by the Persian troops, forcing Muhammad Shah to beg for mercy.
In response,
Nader Shah agreed to withdraw, but Muhammad Shah paid the consequence - handing over the keys of his royal treasury and losing even the
Peacock Throne to the Persian emperor.