page_title: Shah Shuja (Mughal prince)
section_title: Mughal war of succession
hierarchical_section_title: Shah Shuja (Mughal prince) / Mughal war of succession
caption_attribution_description: English: ndian and Himalayan Art Elephant in Battle Made in Kota, Rajasthan, India c. 1750-70 Artist/maker unknown, India Opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper 15 3/4 x 18 7/8 inches (40 x 47.9 cm) Currently not on view 1994-148-394 Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994 Label The Indian elephant was used as a primary battle engine for over two thousand years across the subcontinent and was valued by rulers far above horses. In this painting, a heavily armored battle elephant rampages across a bright yellow Weld amid troops mounted on horses. On his back are two soldiers armed with spears, arrows, and swords; the foremost is the mahout who wields the elephant goad that could give a trained elephant over a hundred commands by gentle touches to different parts of the animal's body. The elephant has chains on its legs and carries more in its trunk. They would have served as flails to attack the enemy infantry. At some point after its making, this vivid painting appears to have been cut down from a larger work and an apparently spurious inscription was added on the back.
context_page_description: Shah Shuja,
  was the second son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal. He was the governor of Bengal and Odisha and had his capital at Dhaka, presently Bangladesh.
context_section_description: When Shah Jahan fell ill, a struggle for the throne started between his four sons - Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad Baksh. Shuja immediately crowned himself the emperor and took imperial titles, November 1657.
  He marched with a large army, backed by a good number of war-boats in the river Ganges. However, he was beaten by Dara's army in a hotly contested Battle of Bahadurpur near Banares (in modern Uttar Pradesh, India). Shuja turned back to Rajmahal to make further preparations. He signed a treaty with his elder brother Dara, which left him in control of Bengal, Orissa and a large part of Bihar, 17 May 1658.
  In the meantime, Aurangzeb defeated Dara twice (at Dharmat and Samugarh), caught him, executed him on a charge of heresy and ascended the throne. Shuja marched again to the capital, this time against Aurangzeb. A battle took place on 5 January 1659 at the Battle of Khajwa (Fatehpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India) where Shuja was defeated.
  After his defeat, Shuja retreated towards Bengal. He was pursued by the imperial army under Mir Jumla. Shuja put up a good fight against them. However, he was finally defeated in the last battle in April 1660. After each defeat, he had to face desertions in his own army, but he did not lose heart. He, rather, reorganised the army with renewed vigor. But when he was going to be surrounded at Tandah, and when he found that reorganisation of the army was no longer possible, he decided to leave Bengal for good and take shelter in Arakan.
caption: Armored elite War elephant from the battalion of Shah Shuja.
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