Battle of Jajau
The Battle of Jajau was a pivotal conflict fought on June 20, 1707 between two Mughal prince brothers, Bahadur Shah I and Muhammad Azam Shah, over succession to the Mughal throne after the death of their father Aurangzeb.
Background to the Battle
After a 49-year reign, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb died in 1707 without naming a successor, instead leaving a will advising his sons to divide the empire amongst themselves. His eldest son Bahadur Shah was stationed 12 miles from Peshawar when he received news of his father’s death, while his brother Azam Shah was 700 miles away near Ahmednagar. Realizing that “whoever reached the capital city of Agra first would capture the Mughal throne,” the brothers gathered their forces and raced towards Agra, determined to defeat the other.
As Bahadur Shah marched towards Agra, he attempted to avoid conflict by sending a letter to Azam Shah proposing they divide the empire peacefully between them. Azam Shah refused, boldly replying: “My share is from the floor to the roof of the house. Yours is from the roof to the firmament.”
The Battle at Jajau
On June 17, Azam Shah’s forces reached Mania near the town of Dholpur, 34 miles from Agra. Bahadur Shah camped at Jajau, 4 miles away, and planned to attack on June 20 based on astrologers’ advice.
On the morning of June 20, Azam Shah’s son Bidar Bakht headed towards Jajau to collect water, unaware of Bahadur’s troops there. When Bidar Bakht realized Bahadur’s forces were present, Bahadur’s men launched a surprise cavalry attack on Azam Shah’s unprepared soldiers.
Despite being caught off guard, Azam Shah refused to retreat, declaring: “An artillery fight was a stripling’s pastime and the only real weapon was the sword.” Azam charged into battle on an elephant after most of his commanders were killed, but was struck in the head by a fatal musket ball.
Aftermath
After his brother’s death, Bahadur Shah sent men to retrieve Azam Shah’s body and beheaded it to prevent any doubt that he was dead. An estimated 12,000 of Azam Shah’s cavalry and 10,000 infantry soldiers from both sides perished in the battle. Bahadur Shah buried his brother and nephews with honor at Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi and succeeded to the Mughal throne.