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Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Mubariz Khan (Khwaja Muhammad, Imad-ul-Mulk)

Last Mughal governor of Haidarabad (Hyderabad), which he ruled for nearly twelve years from about 1713. He came from Balkh and had governed Gujarat and Malwa. He fought the Marathas instead of paying them the chauth (a quarter of the revenue). He began the city wall of Hyderabad and held lands on the coast as far as Srikakulam (Chicacole). In 1724 the court at Delhi made him viceroy of the Deccan against Nizam-ul-Mulk. He was defeated and killed with two of his sons at Shakar Kheda in Berar on 11 October 1724 (Irvine's date).

Mubariz Khan was the last governor of the Mughal province of Haidarabad.12 He ruled Hyderabad for nearly twelve years.12 He died in 1724 at Shakar Kheda, fighting Nizam-ul-Mulk, the founder of the Asaf Jahi state.12 See the Mughals in the Telugu country.

Career

Irvine gives his life from the Maasir-ul-umara.13 His name was Khwaja Muhammad.13 He came from Balkh and was “a little over sixty years of age” in 1724.13 His mother had brought him to India as a boy.13

He married a daughter of Inayat-ullah Khan Kashmiri, a favourite of Aurangzeb.13 He served as paymaster to Prince Kam Bakhsh.13 He was faujdar (military governor) of Sangamner and then of Baizapur near Aurangabad, with the title Amanat Khan.13

His posts and titles changed with each emperor:13

  • under Bahadur Shah he held Surat and then Gujarat
  • Jahandar Shah gave him Malwa and the title Shahamat Khan
  • early in Farrukhsiyar’s reign (1713), after two weeks in Gujarat, he was replaced there by Daud Khan Panni and moved to Haidarabad13

He finally received the titles Imad-ul-Mulk, Mubariz Khan Bahadur, Hizbar Jang.13

Governor of Haidarabad

Husain Ali Khan had agreed to give the Marathas the chauth (a quarter of the revenue).14 According to Irvine, Mubariz Khan did not pay it: “Instead of this, Mubariz Khan fought them wherever he could”.14 All the same, the Marathas took more than the chauth whenever they could, and many roads could not be used.14 Khafi Khan gives the same picture.5

In 1720 the Sayyids’ governors were defeated, and Mubariz Khan joined Nizam-ul-Mulk.46 Khafi Khan says that Nizam-ul-Mulk then got him a higher rank and the title of Imad-ul-Mulk.46

Irvine adds that the Nizam then set about bringing the Afghan chiefs of the south under control.4 Mubariz Khan gave him only half-hearted support.4 He was himself “in unauthorized possession of imperial lands in Sikakol and elsewhere”.4

The Imperial Gazetteer of Hyderabad and Bilgrami credit him with the city wall of Hyderabad.78 The gazetteer says the wall “was commenced by Mubariz Khan, the last Mughal Subahdar, and completed by the first of the Nizams”.78 Bilgrami says it was built “in the last days of the Subadarship of Mubariz Khan … during the reign of the Moghal King Farrukh-Siyar”.78 It ran from the Chadarghat gate to the Dabirpura gate, and it was of uneven stone and mortar without parapets.78 See Hyderabad.

The Kurnool manual says that a relative of his, Muhammad Beg Khan, was made commander of Banganapalle towards the end of the seventeenth century.9

The Kistna district manual credits him with putting down the disorders on the coast.10 It says that he marched against the renters who had made themselves masters of the Kondapalli country.10 He also marched against the rebel Sarva Papadu, who was “defeated and slain by a Sirdar named Abid Khan”.10 The manual says that “the route taken by Mobariz Khan’s army was said to be marked by blood”.10 The Persian sources place the end of the rebel Papa Rai earlier, under the subahdar (provincial governor) Yusuf Khan.11

Shakar Kheda

The court at Delhi was hostile to Nizam-ul-Mulk.12 In February 1724 it sent Mubariz Khan’s son a farman (royal order) making his father deputy for the whole Deccan.12 Later it confirmed the appointment in Mubariz Khan’s own name.12

He was then besieging Phulchari near Machilipatnam (then Masulipatam), which Appa Rao held.13 After six to eight months the place was settled on terms, and he went back to Hyderabad.13 There the Afghan faujdars of Kurnool and Raichur joined him, with the son of the faujdar of Kadapa (then Cuddapah) and an officer of the faujdar of the Karnatak.13

He marched north in the rains.13 Irvine estimates that he had about 15,000 horse and 30,000 to 40,000 matchlockmen (musket soldiers).13 Gribble and Khafi Khan say that Nizam-ul-Mulk wrote to him several times, reminding him of past favours, before marching against him.1415

The battle was fought near Shakar Kheda in Berar.16172 Irvine dates the deciding day to the afternoon of 23 Muharram AH 1137 (AH is the Islamic way of counting years), 11 October 1724.16172 Mubariz Khan led his men across a muddy water-course against the Nizam’s left.16172

His sons Asad Khan and Masaud Khan were killed.16172 Then he said, in Irvine’s translation, “of what longer use is my valour (mubariz)?”16172 He fought on until an hour before sunset, when he and all his chief men were killed.16172

Khafi Khan says that he drove his elephant himself after the driver fell, “until he fell dead under the many wounds he received”.155 The Nizam had his two wounded sons cared for and gave them goods and jewels.155 Irvine says he was buried on the plain outside the town.18

The Kurnool manual says that Ibrahim Khan of Kurnool died with him.1920 It dates the battle to 22 Muharram (24 September 1724).1920 Gribble puts it in 1723.1920

His son Khwaja Ahmad Khan was left in charge at Hyderabad.5 At first he held “the fortress of Muhammad-nagar, near the city”.5 But he gave up its keys in return for jagirs (land grants).5 The Kistna manual says that the battle of “Shakarkard” left Asaf Jah, Nizam-ul-Mulk, “without rival as Subahdar of the Deccan”.21

Footnotes

  1. Irvine, Later Mughals, Vol. II (1922), p. 138 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16

  2. Irvine, Later Mughals, Vol. II (1922), p. 148 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  3. William Irvine, ed. Jadunath Sarkar, Later Mughals, Vol. I (1922), p. 262 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  4. Irvine, Later Mughals, Vol. II (1922), p. 139 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  5. Khafi Khan, in Elliot and Dowson, History of India, Vol. VII (1877), p. 527 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  6. Khafi Khan, in Elliot and Dowson, History of India, Vol. VII (1877), p. 525 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  7. Imperial Gazetteer of India: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 115 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  8. Syed Ali Asgar Bilgrami, Landmarks of the Deccan (1927), pp. 94–95 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  9. Chetty, Kurnool District (1886), p. 246 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  10. Gordon Mackenzie, A Manual of the Kistna District (1883), p. 40 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  11. Khafi Khan, Muntakhabu-l Lubab, in H. M. Elliot and John Dowson (eds.), The History of India as Told by Its Own Historians, Vol. VII (1877), p. 412 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  12. Irvine, Later Mughals, Vol. II (1922), p. 137 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  13. Irvine, Later Mughals, Vol. II (1922), p. 140 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  14. J. D. B. Gribble, A History of the Deccan, Vol. I (1896), p. 375 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  15. Khafi Khan, in Elliot and Dowson, History of India, Vol. VII (1877), p. 526 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  16. Irvine, Later Mughals, Vol. II (1922), p. 145 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  17. Irvine, Later Mughals, Vol. II (1922), p. 147 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  18. Irvine, Later Mughals, Vol. II (1922), p. 149 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  19. Narahari Gopalakristnamah Chetty, A Manual of the Kurnool District (1886), p. 30 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  20. Gribble, History of the Deccan (1896), p. 376 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  21. Mackenzie, Kistna District (1883), p. 41 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

References

Sources (8)
  1. William Irvine (ed. Jadunath Sarkar), Later Mughals, Vol. II: 1719-1739 (opens in a new tab), M. C. Sarkar and Sons, Calcutta; Luzac and Co., London, 1922, pp. 137–149. [Public domain]
  2. William Irvine (ed. Jadunath Sarkar), Later Mughals, Vol. I: 1707-1720 (opens in a new tab), M. C. Sarkar and Sons, Calcutta; Luzac and Co., London, 1922, pp. 262. [Public domain]
  3. H. M. Elliot and John Dowson (eds.), The History of India as Told by Its Own Historians: The Muhammadan Period, Vol. VII (opens in a new tab), Trübner and Co., London, 1877, pp. 525–527. Khafi Khan. [Public domain]
  4. J. D. B. Gribble, A History of the Deccan, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Luzac & Co., London, 1896, pp. 375–376. [Public domain]
  5. Government of India, Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (opens in a new tab), Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta, 1909, pp. 15, 115. [Public domain]
  6. Syed Ali Asgar Bilgrami, Landmarks of the Deccan: A Comprehensive Guide to the Archaeological Remains of the City and Suburbs of Hyderabad (opens in a new tab), Government Central Press, Hyderabad-Deccan, 1927, pp. 94–95. [Public domain]
  7. Gordon Mackenzie, A Manual of the Kistna District in the Presidency of Madras (opens in a new tab), Government of Madras (Lawrence Asylum Press), 1883, pp. 40–41. [Public domain]
  8. Narahari Gopalakristnamah Chetty, A Manual of the Kurnool District in the Presidency of Madras (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1886, pp. 30, 246. [Public domain]

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