Siraj-ud-Dawla, age 21, seizes Fort William and Calcutta after the British ignore his fort-building order.
1. Islamic History Podcast Season 10, Episode 10-6, “The Prince,” follows Mughal politics, Afghan invasions, and British expansion across Delhi, Bengal, Awadh, and Punjab.
2. Muttaki Ismail hosts the episode and ties together Ahmad Shah Durrani, Imad-ul-Mulk, Prince Gauhar, and Robert Clive as the main figures in the Mughal crisis.
3. The episode asks how Prince Gauhar survives court intrigue while larger powers fight over the Mughal Empire.
4. Ahmad Shah Durrani uses the seizure of Mughlani Begum by Imad-ul-Mulk as an excuse to invade India again in 1756.
5. Delhi panics as Imad-ul-Mulk cannot raise enough money from the Rohilas, the Jats, or negotiation with Durrani’s demand for 20 million rupees.
6. Durrani occupies Delhi, reads the khutbah in his name, and keeps Emperor Alamgir II under house arrest.
7. The Afghans loot the palace, take millions of rupees, and move on to Mathura before reinstating Imad-ul-Mulk and appointing Najib Rohila Khan as Mir Bakshi.
8. In Bengal, Siraj-ud-Dawla becomes Nawab at age 21 in April 1756 and clashes with the British over fort construction.
9. Siraj-ud-Dawla captures Qasim Bazar, Fort William, and Calcutta, leading to the Black Hole of Calcutta account and the British response under Robert Clive.
10. Robert Clive wins one battle in January 1757, reaches a stalemate in February, and then conspires with the Jagat Seths and Mir Jafar against Siraj-ud-Dawla.
11. At Plassey in June 1757, Mir Jafar defects in the middle of the battle, Siraj-ud-Dawla flees, and Bengal falls under British control through Mir Jafar.
12. Prince Gauhar is sent by Alamgir II to restore order in the Rawari region and makes friends with a local Maratha officer.
13. William Dalrymple’s quoted passage says Gauhar “slowly returned to Delhi,” stopping at Mughal gardens and praying at his favorite shrine in Mirali while courtiers warn him of a trap.
14. Gauhar seeks protection from Shuja-u-Daula, settles in Lucknow in January 1759, and becomes a political problem for Imad-ul-Mulk.
15. The Marathas exploit the Afghan absence, defeat the Jats, capture Agra, march on Delhi in 1757, and later take Punjab with Sikh support in 1758.
16. Imad-ul-Mulk has Alamgir II killed in November 1759, places Shah Jahan III on the throne, and then raids the palace for 5 million rupees.
17. Ahmad Shah Durrani defeats the Marathas near Sirhind and reaches Delhi in January 1760 after convincing the Rohilas and Awadh to join his cause.
18. The quoted Panipat passage emphasizes 45,000 to 60,000 Maratha troops, roughly 200,000 camp followers, and starvation under siege before the battle on 14 January 1761.
19. The tone is explanatory and chronological, with frequent quoted sources from William Dalrymple and Dirk Collier.
20. Listeners who follow Mughal succession, Afghan invasions, or 18th-century Indian politics will get the most from it.
