BAHADUR SHAH I

born Oct. 14, 1643, Burhanpur, India died Feb. 27, 1712, Lahore Mughal emperor of India in 170712. As Prince Mu'azzam, the second son of the emperor Aurangzeb, he was prospective heir apparent after his elder brother defected to join their father's brother and rival, Shah Shuja'. Prince Mu'azzam was sent to represent his father in the Deccan Plateau region of south and central India in 1663. He led an army in 168384 against the Marathas in the Portuguese enclave of Goa, south of Bombay, but, lacking Portuguese support, made a disastrous retreat. After being persecuted for eight years, he was appointed governor of Kabul (now in Afghanistan) in 1699 by his father; when his father died, Prince Mu'azzam destroyed his two brothers to become master of the empire. During his short reign as Bahadur Shah I, he encountered opposition from the Marathas and Rajputs, and in 171012 he drove the followers of the Sikh religion into the hills of the Punjab, subduing but not capturing their leader, Banda Singh Bahadur.