Abul Mansur Mirza Muhammad Muqim Ali Khan (c. 1708 – 5 October 1754), better known as Safdar Jang, was a major figure at the Mughal court during the declining years of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the ...

. He became the second

Nawab of Awadh The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in north India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nish ...

when he succeeded

Saadat Ali Khan I Saadat Ali Khan Nishapuri (c. 1680 – 19 March 1739) was the Subahdar Nawab of Awadh (Oudh) from 26 January 1722 to 1739 and the son of Muhammad Nasir. At age 25 he accompanied his father on the final campaign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb ...

(his maternal uncle and father-in-law) in 1739. All future Nawabs of Oudh were patriarchal descendants of Safdar Jang.

Biography

He was a descendant of

Qara Yusuf ''Abu Nasr'' Qara Yusuf ibn Mohammad Barani ( az, Qara Yusif ; c. 1356 – 1420) was the ruler of the Qara Qoyunlu dynasty (or "Black Sheep Turkomans") from c.1388 to 1420, although his reign was interrupted by Tamerlane's invasion (1400–140 ...

of the

Kara Koyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, E ...

. In 1739, he succeeded his father-in-law and maternal uncle, Burhan-ul-Mulk

to the throne of Oudh and ruled from 19 March 1739 to 5 October 1754.. The

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...

Muhammad Shah Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the 13th Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the ...

gave him the title of "Safdar Jang".HISTORY OF AWADH (Oudh) a princely State of India by Hameed Akhtar Siddiqui
/ref> Safdar Jang was an able administrator. He was not only effective in keeping control of

Awadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

, but also managed to render valuable assistance to the weakened Emperor

. He was soon given governorship of Kashmir as well, and became a central figure at the

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

court. During the later years of Muhammad Shah, he gained complete control of administration over the whole

. When

Ahmad Shah Bahadur Ahmad Shah Bahadur , also known as Mirza Ahmad Shah or Mujahid-ud-Din Ahmad Shah Ghazi (23 December 1725 – 1775 AD), was the fourteenth Mughal Emperor, born to Emperor Muhammad Shah. He succeeded his father to the throne in 1748, at the ag ...

ascended the throne at

in 1748, Safdar Jang became his ''Wazir-ul-Malik-i-Hindustan'' or ''Prime Minister of

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used by ...

''. He was also made the governor of

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

and became the "

Faujdar Faujdar is a term of pre-Mughal origins. Under the Mughals it was an office that combined the functions of a military commander along with judicial and land revenue functions. In pre-Mughal times, the term referred to a military officer but d ...

" of

Narnaul Narnaul is a city, a Municipal Council, and location of headquarters of the Mahendragarh district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is located in the National Capital Region of India. History Narnaul is built on a prominent tell, but th ...

. However, court politics eventually overtook him and he was dismissed in 1753. He returned to Oudh in December 1753 and selected

Faizabad Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city situated near the southern banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The area of this Faizabad region is administered by Ayodhya Municipal Co ...

as his military headquarters and administrative capital. He died in October 1754 at the age of 46 years in Sultanpur near

Tomb

Safdar Jang's Tomb was built in 1754 and is situated on a road now known as Safdar Jang Road, in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

. Several other modern structures near the tomb also carry his name today like Safdar Jang Airport and Safdar Jang Hospital.

Notes

References

External links

* Indiacoins has an article on Safdarjun
here
* Tomb of Safdarjun

{{Authority control Mughal nobility Nawabs of Awadh 1708 births 1754 deaths Indian Shia Muslims Indian people of Iranian descent Kara Koyunlu Politicians from Nishapur 18th-century Indian people Grand viziers of the Mughal Empire

Biography

Tomb

See also

Notes

References

External links