Muhammad Shah, Mughal emperor of India (d. 1748)

Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Shah (Persian: میرزا ناصر الدین محمد شاه), (7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748), born Roshan Akhtar was the thirteenth Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was better known by his Regnal name, Muhammad Shah (Persian pronunciation: [mʊha'mad ʃɑːh]). He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. With the help of the Sayyid brothers, he ascended the throne at the young age of 16. He later got rid of them with the help of Asaf Jah I – Syed Hussain Ali Khan was murdered at Fatehpur Sikri in 1720 and Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha was fatally poisoned in 1722. Muhammad Shah was a great patron of the arts, including musical, cultural and administrative developments. His pen-name was Sadā Rangīla (Ever Joyous) and he is often referred to as "Muhammad Shah Rangila", also sometimes as "Bahadur Shah Rangila" after his grand father Bahadur Shah I.Although he was a patron of the arts, Muhammad Shah's reign was marked by rapid and irreversible decline of the Mughal Empire. The Mughal Empire was already decaying, but the invasion by Nader Shah of Persia and the subsequent sacking of Delhi, the Mughal capital, greatly accelerated the pace. The course of events not only shocked and mortified the Mughals themselves, but also other foreigners, including the British.