![Mughal Empire, Shah Alam II, Mohur, AH[117]4/2, Shahjahanabad. MS62 [IC4-41] - Image 2](https://colonialcoins.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IC4-41-1.jpg)
Description
Mughal Empire, Ali Gauhar of the House of Babur, as Shah Alam II, the seventeenth Mughal Emperor, first reign 1760 – July 1788 AD, Gold Mohur, Hijri year [117]4, regnal year 2 (10th October 1761 – 9th October 1762 AD), Shahjahanabad mint. Obverse: Legend in Persian citing the royal titulature of Emperor Shah Alam II. Reverse: Legend as obverse, citing the mint formula and regnal year. KM-719. Certified and graded by NGC as Mint State 62. A bold and handsome mohur of Shahjahanabad mint, high relief devices which appear very handsome when held in hand.
A son of Alamgir II, the fifteenth Mughal Emperor, and a member of the Royal Dynasty of the Mughal Empire, the House of Babur, Ali Gauhar’s early life as prince and his later reign as Emperor Shah Alam II saw much turbulence and an ever-weakening empire. Before his birth, his family was confined as political prisoners by the Nizim of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah I, and thus Ali Gauhar was born into confinement until his father was freed by Imad-ul-Mulk, a Grand Vizier, in 1754 and was raised to the Mughal throne. Relations with the Grand Vizier deteriorated over time and in 1758, out of fear for his life, Ali Gauhar fled Delhi – a wise decision, as the following year Imad-ul-Mulk had his father assassinated. Following this and whilst building political and military power in the Bihar, Bengal, and Odisha provinces, Ali Gauhar proclaimed himself Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II – this was later officially proclaimed in 1761 after intervention by the Duranni Empire who drove out the Grand Vizier from Delhi and defeated of the Maratha Confederacy at the Third Battle of Panipat.
