Muhammad Shah ruled the Mughal Empire from 1719 to 1748, a reign marked by the catastrophic Persian invasion of Nadir Shah in 1739 — an event that effectively ended any real Mughal authority over the subcontinent's regional mints. The Nawabs of Arcot, nominally striking in the emperor's name, were operating with increasing autonomy well before that rupture. Coins bearing Muhammad Shah's name continued to be issued at Arcot for decades after his death, making regnal dating on these fractions a poor guide to actual production year.
Muhammad Shah ruled the Mughal Empire from 1719 to 1748, a reign marked by the catastrophic Persian invasion of Nadir Shah in 1739 — an event that effectively ended any real Mughal authority over the subcontinent's regional mints. The Nawabs of Arcot, nominally striking in the emperor's name, were operating with increasing autonomy well before that rupture. Coins bearing Muhammad Shah's name continued to be issued at Arcot for decades after his death, making regnal dating on these fractions a poor guide to actual production year.