Agra played a very small part in the history of the weak-minded anddissolute successors of Aurangzib. Firokhshiyar, who reigned from 1713to 1719, resided occasionally there. After his death disputes betweenvarious claimants to the throne led to Agra Fort being besieged andcaptured by Husein Ali Khan, a partisan of one of them, who lootedthe treasury of all the valuables deposited there during threecenturies. "There were the effects of Nur Jahan Begum and MumtazMahal, amounting in value, according to various reports, to two orthree crores of rupees. There was in particular the sheet of pearlswhich Shah Jahan had caused to be made for the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal,of the value of several lakhs of rupees, which was spread over iton the anniversary and on Friday nights. There was the ewer of NurJahan and her cushion of woven gold and rich pearls, with a borderof valuable garnets and emeralds." (Elliott.)
In 1739 Nadir, Shah of Persia, sacked Delhi, carried off Shah Jahan'sfamous peacock throne, and laid Agra also under contribution. TheMahrattas next appeared on the scene. In 1764 the Jats of Bharatpur,under Suraj Mal, captured Agra, looted the Taj, and played havocwith the palaces in the Fort. They were joined by Walter Reinhardt,an adventurer, half French and half German, who sold his servicesfor any work of infamy, and had only recently assisted in the murderof the British Resident and other Europeans at Patna. He afterwardsentered the Mogul service, and was rewarded by a grant of a tract ofcountry near Meerut, which remained in the possession of his familyuntil recent times. He died at Agra in 1778, and was buried in theCatholic cemetery.
For the next thirty-nine years Agra was occupied by Mahrattas andby Mogul imperialists in turn. John Hessing, a Dutch officer in theemploy of the Mahrattas, was Governor of Agra in 1794, and died therein 1802. The next year it was captured by the British under General,afterwards Lord, Lake, and from that time until 1857 its historywas uneventful.
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