Bahadur Shah I — also known as Shah Alam I — minted these rupees during a reign consumed almost entirely by military campaigning. His accession in 1707 followed a brutal succession war against his own brothers after Aurangzeb's death, and he spent nearly every subsequent year in the field, first subduing the Rajputs, then negotiating with the Marathas, then pursuing the Sikh leader Banda Singh Bahadur across the Punjab. The Lakhnau mint operated under these conditions of perpetual imperial distraction.
Bahadur Shah died in February 1712 at Lahore, triggering another succession war among his four sons within weeks of his death.
Bahadur Shah I — also known as Shah Alam I — minted these rupees during a reign consumed almost entirely by military campaigning. His accession in 1707 followed a brutal succession war against his own brothers after Aurangzeb's death, and he spent nearly every subsequent year in the field, first subduing the Rajputs, then negotiating with the Marathas, then pursuing the Sikh leader Banda Singh Bahadur across the Punjab. The Lakhnau mint operated under these conditions of perpetual imperial distraction.
Bahadur Shah died in February 1712 at Lahore, triggering another succession war among his four sons within weeks of his death.