Asad Khan (Mughal noble)

For other people with similar names, see Asad Khan (disambiguation) and Mohammad Ibrahim (disambiguation).

Asad Khan (c. 1626/1631 – 15 June 1716), born Muhammad Ibrahim, was a high-ranking noble of the Mughal Empire during the reigns of Aurangzeb and Bahadur Shah. He is known for his tenure as the wazir (prime minister) of emperor Aurangzeb in the period 1676–1707, and was an important player in Mughal court politics.

Asaf-ud-Daula Asad Khan
Portrait of Asad Khan in the Royal Collection, c. 1700
Wazir of the Mughal Empire
In office 1676–1707
Monarch	Aurangzeb Alamgir
Vakil-i-Mutlaq of the Mughal Empire
In office 1707–?
Monarchs	Bahadur Shah I, Jahandar Shah
Subahdar of Gujarat
In office 1712–?
Monarch	Jahandar Shah
Personal details
Born	Muhammad Ibrahim c. 1626/31
Died	15 June 1716 (aged 84–90)
Children	Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung
Parent	Zulfiqar Khan Qaramanlu

Early life

Asad Khan was born around 1626^[1] or 1631^[2] as Muhammad Ibrahim, into a prestigious family of Safavid Iran. His grandfather, named Zulfiqar Khan, was beglar begi of Shirvan during the reign of the Safavid king Shah Abbas I. However, he was executed around 1600 by Shah Abbas, and the family fell out of favor.^[1]

Subsequently, Asad Khan's father Khanlar, known by the title Zulfiqar Khan Qaramanlu, migrated to India around the end of Mughal emperor Jahangir's reign. He was accepted in the court of emperor Shah Jahan and married the daughter of Sadiq Khan, brother-in-law to Mughal noble Asaf Khan. Asad Khan was born to them as Zulfiqar Khan Qaramanlu's eldest son.^[1]

Career

Asad Khan entered Mughal imperial service in 1654, during the 27th year of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's reign. Under Shah Jahan's successor Aurangzeb, Asad Khan occupied the post of second bakhshi (paymaster) until 1670, when he was made deputy to the wazir. He held this position until 1676, when he became wazir himself.^[3]

From the 1680s onwards, nobles of Aurangzeb split into two main factions; Asad Khan and his influential son Zulfiqar Khan emerged as the leaders of one side, while Ghaziuddin Khan and Chin Qilich Khan headed the other. These factions determined noble politics towards the end of Aurangzeb's reign.^[4]

 

Painting of Mughal nobles Asad Khan, and son Zu'l Faqar Khan, in debate on what to do with captive emperor Jahandar Shah.

From 1684, Asad Khan served in the Deccan.^[3] On one occasion him and Zulfiqar Khan accompanied a military expedition to capture Jinji headed by prince Kam Bakhsh, a son of Aurangzeb. Upon difficulties securing the fort, Kam Bakhsh discreetly opened negotiations with the enemy against Aurangzeb's direct orders. Asad Khan and his son learned of this and readily arrested him; he was then mistreated, and Asad Khan is known to have abused Kam Bakhsh directly. Aurangzeb thereupon threatened to relieve Asad Khan of the wazir position, but never acted on this. Munis Faruqui underlines this event as illustrative of how Aurangzeb protected his nobles, sometimes at the expense of the royal princes.^[4]

Aurangzeb in his last will is thought to have appointed Asad Khan as wazir indefinitely after his demise.^[5] In the succession struggle following Aurangzeb's death, Asad Khan and his son allied with prince Azam Shah.^[3] However, prince Muhammad Muazzam defeated him in the Battle of Jajau and ascended the throne as Bahadur Shah. As emperor, Bahadur Shah sought to weaken the influence of Asad Khan and Zulfiqar Khan by giving the position of wazir to Munim Khan, ending Asad Khan's tenure as wazir in 1707. Asad Khan was instead given the high position of Vakil-i-Mutlaq, which had not been in use since the reign of Shah Jahan. This was to the discontent of Asad Khan, and he was still able to negotiate partial control over the post of wazir. Asad Khan's rank was also increased to 8000 horses, and he was granted the title Asaf-ud-Daula.^[6][7][8]

in 1712, Bahadur Shah was succeeded by his son Jahandar Shah, under whom Asad Khan remained wakil-i-mutlaq.^[9] He was also made governor of Gujarat, although he held this position in absentee.^[10][11] The following year, Jahandar Shah was defeated in battle by Farrukhsiyar, and sought refuge at Asad Khan's household. Asad Khan and his son Zulfiqar Khan, despite having supported Jahandar Shah uptil then, decided to turn over Jahandar Shah to the new emperor.^[12] However, Farrukhsiyar was mistrustful of Asad Khan and had his son killed. Asad Khan then spent the rest of his life in obscurity, and died on 15 June 1716.^[13]

Family

Asad Khan was married to Mehrunissa, daughter of Asaf Khan. Zulfiqar Khan was born to them in the year 1657. Asad Khan also had a daughter who was married to Khuda Bandah Khan, son of noble Shaista Khan.^[3][14]

References

1. Chandra, Satish (2002). Parties and politics at the Mughal Court, 1707-1740 (4th ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 0-19-565444-7. OCLC 50004530.
2. Irvine, William (1971). Later Mughals. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. pp. 9–10.
3. Irvine, William (1971). Later Mughals. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. pp. 9–10.
4. Faruqui, Munis Daniyal (2012). Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504-1719. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 297–299. ISBN 978-1-139-52619-7. OCLC 808366461.
5. Truschke, Audrey (2017). Aurangzeb : the life and legacy of India's most controversial king. Stanford, California. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-5036-0259-5. OCLC 962025936.
6. Faruqui, Munis Daniyal (2012). Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504-1719. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 261 & 314. ISBN 978-1-139-52619-7. OCLC 808366461.
7. Irvine, William (1971). Later Mughals. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. pp. 37–39.
8. Chandra, Satish (2002). Parties and politics at the Mughal Court, 1707-1740 (4th ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 64. ISBN 0-19-565444-7. OCLC 50004530.
9. Irvine, William (1971). Later Mughals. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 186.
10. Chandra, Satish (2002). Parties and politics at the Mughal Court, 1707-1740 (4th ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 108. ISBN 0-19-565444-7. OCLC 50004530.
11. "Abdullah al-Husayni (active c.1650) - Portrait of Nawab Asad Khan". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
12. Irvine, William (1971). Later Mughals. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. pp. 237–239.
13. Irvine, William (1971). Later Mughals. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. pp. 250–253, 256–257.
14. Khan, Muhammad Afzal (1978). "Position of I'timad-Ud Daula's Family During the Reign of Shah Jahan". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 39: 437–438. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44139382.