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Siddi Jauhar (Salabat Khan)

Abyssinian officer of Bijapur who held Kurnool as his government and jagir (land grant) under Ali Adil Shah II. Given the title Salabat Khan, he besieged Shivaji in Panhala in 1660. Suspected of letting him escape, he withdrew to Kurnool, rose against the king in 1662 and was killed by his own followers. His son-in-law was Siddi Masud of Adoni.

Siddi Jauhar was an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) soldier who rose in the Karnatak wars of Bijapur. After Shivaji killed Afzal Khan in 1659, Grant Duff says, the Bijapur court chose a new commander against him.1 This was “an Abyssinian officer, Seedee Johur, then commanding at Kurnoul”.1 He “had particularly distinguished himself on various services in the Carnatic”.1

Grant Duff, the historian of the Marathas, adds that “he did not then rank among the nobility”.1 But “his appointment excited less jealousy than if he had been one of either party”.1 See Kurnool and the Adil Shahis of Bijapur.

Panhala

Before the campaign Siddi Jauhar “was dignified with the title of Sulabut Khan” (Salabat Khan).2 Grant Duff notes that “in all Beejapoor writings, his name is henceforth changed to Sulabut Khan”.2

In 1660 he shut Shivaji up in the fort of Panhala and pressed the siege for four months.23 Then Shivaji, pretending to negotiate a surrender, slipped out at night.23 Siddi Jauhar’s son, Siddi Aziz, rode in pursuit with the cavalry.23

Ali Adil Shah II “was easily induced to believe that Seedee Johur had been bribed by Sivajee”.4 Siddi Jauhar feared the courtiers and “withdrew towards Kurnoul, the place of his government and Jagheer”.4

Rebellion and death

The king tried to win him back.5 But Siddi Jauhar distrusted the minister Ibrahim Khan, his personal enemy, and returned to his jagir.5 He was ordered to put down rebellions in the northern Karnatak.5 But he was suspected of aiding the rebels, and even of being connected with Shivaji.5

In 1662, while the king’s army was taking Raichur and Torgal, he attacked the royal troops across the Tungabhadra and was beaten off.67 Grant Duff writes that “Seedee Johur maintained the war a very short time, owing to the treachery of his followers”.67 They put him to death “in order to secure their own pardon”.67 The king pardoned his son.67 Jadunath Sarkar describes the same years as the time when the king “forced the refractory Abyssinian officers of the N. E. province (Karnul) back into submission”.89

Family

Grant Duff names Siddi Aziz as the son of Siddi Jauhar.310 He says that the regent Siddi Masud was his son-in-law.310 See Siddi Masud.

Footnotes

  1. James Grant Duff, A History of the Mahrattas, Vol. I (1826), p. 178 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. I (1826), p. 179 and note (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. I (1826), p. 181 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. I (1826), p. 182 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  5. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. I (1826), p. 185 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. I (1826), p. 186 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. I (1826), p. 187 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  8. Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, Vol. IV (2nd ed., 1930), p. 156 and note (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  9. Sarkar, Aurangzib IV (1930), p. 157 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  10. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. I (1826), p. 282 and notes (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

References

Sources (2)
  1. James Grant Duff, A History of the Mahrattas, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Longmans, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, London, 1826, pp. 178–187, 282. [Public domain]
  2. Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, Vol. IV: Southern India, 1645-1689 (2nd ed.) (opens in a new tab), M. C. Sarkar and Sons, Calcutta, 1930, pp. 151, 156–157. [Public domain]

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