Editing Akbar II (section)

==Reign==
[[File:Silver Rupee from the Bombay Presidency, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Akbar II, photographed from a personal collection in West Bengal, India, September 17, 2024.jpg|thumb|Silver Rupee from the Bombay Presidency, struck in Ahmedabad, in the name of Mughal emperor Akbar II.]]
[[File:Silver Rupee of Bhopal State struck in the name of Mughal emperor Muhammad Akbar II, minted in Daulatgarh, having the trident symbol in horizontal position.jpg|thumb|Silver Rupee of the [[Bhopal State]], struck in the name of Mughal emperor Akbar II, minted in Daulatgarh, having the trident symbol in horizontal position.]]
[[File:Silver Rupee of Bharatpur state, struck in the name of Mughal emperor Akbar II, Mahe Indrapur Mint.jpg|thumb|Silver Rupee of [[Bharatpur State]], struck in the name of Mughal emperor Akbar II, Mahe Indrapur Mint.]]
[[File:Jade bowl of akbar shah national museum india.JPG|thumb|Jade bowl inscribed with the name of the emperor]]
[[File:Tombs of Shah Alam and Akbar II, c1890s.jpg|thumb|The tombs of Akbar II and his father Shah Alam II in [[Mehrauli|Zafar Mehal, Mehrauli]], Delhi|alt=]]

Emperor Akbar II presided over an empire titularly large but in effect limited to the [[Red Fort]] in Delhi alone. The cultural life of Delhi as a whole flourished during his reign. However, his attitude towards East India Company officials, especially [[Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings|Lord Hastings]], to whom he refused to grant an audience on terms other than those of subject and sovereign, although honourable to him, increasingly frustrated the British, who regarded him as merely their pensioner. The British therefore reduced his titular authority to 'King of Delhi' in 1835 and the East India Company ceased to act as the mere lieutenants of the Mughal Empire as they did from 1803 to 1835. Simultaneously they replaced Persian text with English text on the company's coins, which no longer carried the emperor's name.

The British encouraged the Nawab of [[Oudh]] and the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]] to take royal titles to further diminish the Emperor's status and influence. Out of deference, the Nizam did not, but the [[Nawab of Awadh]] did so.

He is also known to have bestowed the title ''Nawab'' upon the [[Nawab of Tonk]] and [[Nawab of Jaora]].

Akbar II appointed the Bengali reformer Ram Mohan Roy, to appeal against his treatment by the East India Company, conferring on him the title of Raja. Ram Mohan Roy then visited England, as the Mughal envoy to the Court of St. James. Ram Mohan Roy submitted a well-argued memorial on behalf of the Mughal ruler, but to no avail.

The grave of Akbar II lies within a marble enclosure adjoined to the [[Moti Masjid (Mehrauli)|Moti Masjid]] near the [[dargah]] of the 13th century Sufi saint, [[Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki]] at [[Mehrauli]], Delhi. The Mughal emperors [[Bahadur Shah I]], ([[Shah Alam I]]) and [[Shah Alam II]] are also buried here.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Dadlani |first=Chanchal B. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1024165136 |title=From stone to paper : architecture as history in the late Mughal Empire |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-300-23317-9 |location=New Haven [CT] |pages=63 |oclc=1024165136}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Ghulam Murtaza Khan The Delhi Darbar of Akbar II.jpg|Akbar II holding audience on the Peacock Throne.
File:Silver rupee coin of Akbar Shah II.jpg|Silver Rupee coin of Akbar II.
File:Akbar Shah II rides an elephant in a huge procession 1835 San Diego Museum of Art.jpg|Akbar Shah II rides an elephant in a huge procession 1835
File:Akbar Shah II and his four sons.jpg| Akbar Shah II and his four sons
File:Durbar Procession of Mughal Emperor Akbar II (reigned 1806-1837), with British Resident Charles Metcalfe 181644.JPG|Durbar Procession of Mughal Emperor Akbar II, with British Resident Charles Metcalfe, by Udey Ram
File:Painting of Cavalry in Durbar Procession of Mughal Emperor Akbar II.png|Cavalry in Durbar Procession of Mughal Emperor Akbar II
File:Mounted standard-bearers of Akbar Shah II.png|Mounted standard-bearers in the procession of Akbar II
</gallery>