Mirza Rafi ud-Darajat was the youngest son of Rafi-ush-Shan and the grandson of Bahadur Shah I, yet he ascended to the Mughal throne at the age of nineteen on the 18th of May 1719. His reign was so brief that he ruled for only three months and six days before his death on the 6th of June 1719. Born on the 1st of December 1699, he entered a court already fractured by decades of succession wars and the rising power of regional warlords. Unlike his predecessors who had built empires through conquest, Rafi ud-Darajat inherited a throne that was little more than a ceremonial seat, with real power held by the Sayyid brothers, Sayyid Hassan Ali Khan Barha and Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha. These two men had orchestrated the deposition, blinding, imprisonment, and execution of the previous emperor, Farrukhsiyar, with the assistance of Maharaja Ajit Singh and the Maratha leader Balaji Vishwanath. The brothers, now styled as badishahgar or kingmakers, installed Rafi ud-Darajat as a puppet ruler to maintain their grip on the empire. The young emperor's life was cut short not by old age or natural causes alone, but by the violent political machinations that defined the twilight of the Mughal dynasty. His death remains shrouded in mystery, with historical accounts suggesting he either succumbed to tuberculosis or was murdered to secure the succession for his older brother, Rafi ud-Daulah, who would become Shah Jahan II two days later.
Kingmakers Rule
The Sayyid brothers, Hassan Ali Khan and Hussain Ali Khan, were the true architects of the empire during this period, wielding power that eclipsed the emperor himself. They had deposed Farrukhsiyar in 1719 and installed Rafi ud-Darajat to ensure their continued dominance over the Mughal administration. The brothers were not merely advisors; they were the de facto rulers who dictated policy, commanded armies, and controlled the flow of revenue. Their authority was so absolute that the young emperor could not act without their consent, rendering his position entirely symbolic. The Sayyid brothers had previously secured their position by allying with powerful regional powers, including the Marathas and the Rajput state of Marwar. This alliance was crucial in toppling Farrukhsiyar, but it also meant that the new emperor was beholden to external forces that had little loyalty to the Mughal throne. The brothers' control was so complete that they could install and remove emperors at will, turning the imperial succession into a game of political chess. Rafi ud-Darajat's brief reign was essentially a period of waiting, during which the Sayyid brothers consolidated their power and prepared for the next phase of their dominance. The emperor's lack of agency was a stark contrast to the earlier Mughal rulers who had commanded vast armies and controlled the entire subcontinent. Instead, Rafi ud-Darajat was a figurehead, his name used to legitimize the decisions made by the Sayyid brothers. The brothers' influence extended to every aspect of governance, from military appointments to the collection of taxes, leaving the emperor with no real power to shape the empire's future.