Munʿim Khān ( fa, ) was a Mughal general under both emperors

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...

and Akbar. He was titled ''Khān-i-Khānān'' ('Khan of Khans') when Emperor Akbar appointed him as Prime Minister of the Mughal Empire in 1560. In 1564, he became the Subahdar of Jaunpur. Munim Khan was the first Mughal governor of

Bengal Subah The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Be ...

from 1574 to 1575.

Early life and family

Khan was a Persianised Turk whose ancestors originally hailed from the city of

Andijan Andijan (sometimes spelled Andijon or Andizhan in English) ( uz, Andijon / Андижон / ئەندىجان; fa, اندیجان, ''Andijân/Andīǰān''; russian: Андижан, ''Andižan'') is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, ...

in present-day

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

. His father's name was Miran Beg Andijani, and his foster brother was Mirza Askari.

Career

In 1560, Bairam Khan retired from his role as the Empire's

Vakil ''Vakil'' was one of the highest positions in the hierarchy of Safavid Iran, denoting the viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term der ...

(prime minister) and

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 t ...

Akbar then appointed Munim for this role. Under Akbar's orders, Munim went into war with Mah Chuchak Begum who had transgressed but was defeated by her in

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلال‌آباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...

and Munim's son, Ghani Khan, was executed. After the

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...

of Jaunpur rebelled, Munim Khan was tasked as the Governor of Jaunpur and the eastern districts. Khan was promoted to a

Mansabdar The Mansabdar was a military unit within the administrative system of the Mughal Empire introduced by Akbar. The word ''mansab'' is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position. The system determined the rank and status of a government official an ...

(military commander) of 5000 soldiers, which was the highest rank at the time.

Expeditions against Daud Khan Karrani

Akbar sent Khan to suppress the independent

Sultan of Bengal The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the domina ...

Daud Khan Karrani Daud Khan Karrani (died on 12 July 1576) was the last ruler of Bengal's Karrani dynasty as well as the final Sultan of Bengal, reigning from 1572 to 1576. During the reign of his father Sulaiman Khan Karrani, Daud commanded a massive army of 40 ...

, who had refused to recognise the Mughal Empire. After initially failing, Munim Khan successfully took control of Hajipur and

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

. Khan was then appointed as the Subahdar (governor) of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

(which included

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

at the time). He later captured the erstwhile capital of Bengal, Khwaspur Tandah, on 25 September 1574. During the

Battle of Tukaroi The Battle of Tukaroi, also known as the Battle of Bajhaura or the Battle of Mughulmari, was fought between the Mughal Empire and the Bengal Sultanate on 3 March 1575 near the village of Tukaroi in present-day Balasore District of Odisha. It r ...

, held on 3 March 1575, Munim Khan forced Daud Karrani to sign a treaty which left only

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

under Daud's control. Munim Khan then transferred Bengal's capital from Tanda to

Gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

Personal life

Munim Khan had 8

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

s, and was the father of two children: * Ghani Khan - executed in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

at the orders of Empress Mah Chuchak Begum. * Sahila Banu Begum - married to Emperor Jahangir in 1607

Death

Munim died on 23 October 1575 in Tanda after fleeing an epidemic plague at Gaur. After his death, Daud Khan Karrani re-captured Gaur.

References

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Munim 1575 deaths Subahdars of Bengal Subahdars of Bihar 1525 births 16th-century Indian people Mughal generals 16th-century Turkic people People from Andijan Region