Asad Khan ( 1626/1631 – 15 June 1716), born Muhammad Ibrahim, was a high-ranking noble of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

during the reigns of

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

and

Bahadur Shah Bahadur Shah may refer to: *Bahadur Shah of Gujarat (died 1537) *Bahadur Shah I (1643–1712), Mughal Emperor *Bahadur Shah II (1775–1862), the last Mughal Emperor and final ruler of the Timurid house * Bahadur Nizam Shah, ruler of the Ahmadnagar ...

. He is known for his tenure as the '' wazir'' (prime minister) of emperor

in the period 1676–1707, and was an important player in Mughal court politics.

Early life

Asad Khan was born around 1626 or 1631 as Muhammad Ibrahim, into a prestigious family of

Safavid Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

. His grandfather, named Zulfiqar Khan, was '' beglar begi'' of

Shirvan Shirvan (from ; ; Tat: ''Şirvan'') is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, as known in both pre-Islamic Sasanian and Islamic times. Today, the region is an industrially and agriculturally developed part of the Republic of Azerbaijan ...

during the reign of the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

king

Shah Abbas I Abbas I (; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered one of the most important rulers ...

. However, he was executed around 1600 by Shah Abbas, and the family fell out of favor. Subsequently, Asad Khan's father Khanlar, known by the title Zulfiqar Khan Qaramanlu, migrated to India around the end of

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Jahangir's reign. He was accepted in the court of emperor

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

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.

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. 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 Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi (11 August 16711 June 1748) also known as Chin Qilich Qamaruddin Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah and Nizam I, was the first Nizam of Hyderabad. He began his career during the reign of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, w ...

headed the other. These factions determined noble politics towards the end of Aurangzeb's reign. From 1684, Asad Khan served in the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

. He seized the towns of

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema". Kurnool is also famous for Diamond hunting as diamonds ca ...

and

Cuddapah Kadapa is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. It is located south of the Penna River. The city is surrounded on three sides b ...

in order to secure supply lines to facilitate the

Siege of Jinji The siege of Jinji, (September 1690–8 January 1698) began when the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb appointed Zulfiqar Ali Khan as the Nawab of the Carnatic and dispatched him to besiege and capture Jinji Fort, which had been sacked and captured ...

, which was led by his son Zulfiqar Khan. In 1691, Aurangzeb sent Asad Khan and the prince

Kam Bakhsh Mirza Muhammad Kam Bakhsh (; 7 March 1667 – 14 January 1709) was the youngest son of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, born to his wife Udaipuri Mahal. Early life Kam Bakhsh was born on 7 March 1667 at Delhi. He was the fifth son of sixth Mughal e ...

to Jinji to aid Zulfiqar Khan in the siege. 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. Aurangzeb in his last will is thought to have appointed Asad Khan as ''wazir'' indefinitely after his demise. In the succession struggle following Aurangzeb's death, Asad Khan and his son allied with prince

Azam Shah Mirza Abu'l Fayaz Qutb-ud-Din Mohammad Azam (28 June 1653 – 20 June 1707), commonly known as Azam Shah, was briefly the seventh Mughal emperor from 14 March to 20 June 1707. He was the third son of the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his ...

. However, prince Muhammad Muazzam defeated him in the

Battle of Jajau The Battle of Jajau was fought between the two Mughal princes and half-brothers Bahadur Shah I and Muhammad Azam Shah on 20 June 1707. In 1707, their father Aurangzeb died without having declared a successor; instead leaving a will in w ...

and ascended the throne as

. 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 The Vakil-i-Mutlaq (), variously translated as the Lieutenant Plenipotentiary, the Regent Plenipotentiary, the Vicegerent or the Imperial Regent, was an important office in the Government of the Mughal Empire, first in ministerial hierarchy and o ...

,'' 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. in 1712, Bahadur Shah was succeeded by his son

Jahandar Shah Jahandar Shah (Mirza Mu'izz-ud-Din Beg Muhammad Khan; 10 May 1661 – 11 February 1713) was briefly the ninth Mughal emperor from 1712 to 1713. He was the son of Emperor Bahadur Shah I, and the grandson of Emperor Aurangzeb. Jahandar Shah w ...

, under whom Asad Khan remained ''wakil-i-mutlaq''. He was also made governor of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, although he held this position in absentee. The following year, Jahandar Shah was defeated in battle by

Farrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar (; 20 August 16839 April 1719), also spelled as Farrukh Siyar, was the tenth Mughal emperors, Mughal Emperor from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after deposing his uncle Jahandar Shah. He was an emperor only in name, with all ...

, 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. 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.

Family

Asad Khan was married to Mehrunissa, daughter of Asaf Khan. Zulfiqar Khan was born to them in the year 1657; he was married to a daughter of noble Shaista Khan in 1677. Asad Khan had another son named Inayat Khan, who was married to the youngest daughter of

Abul Hasan Qutb Shah Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, also known as Abul Hasan Tana Shah was the eighth and last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, sovereign of the Kingdom of Golconda in South India. He ruled from 1672 to 1686. The last Sultan of this Shia Islamic dynasty, Tan ...

, the last ruler of the

Golconda Sultanate The Sultanate of Golconda (; ) was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate, Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Sultanate of Golconda was established i ...

. Asad Khan also had a daughter who was married to Khuda Bandah Khan, son of noble

Shaista Khan Mirza Abu Talib (b. 22 November 1600 – d. 1694), better known as Shaista Khan, was a general and the Subahdar of Mughal Bengal. He was maternal uncle to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, and acted as a key figure during his reign. Shaista Khan ini ...

.{{Cite journal , last=Khan , first=Muhammad Afzal , title=Position of I'timad-Ud Daula's Family During the Reign of Shah Jahan , date=1978 , url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44139382 , journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress , volume=39 , pages=437–438 , jstor=44139382 , issn=2249-1937

References

Grand viziers of the Mughal Empire 1716 deaths Subahdars of Gujarat 17th-century Mughal Empire people 17th-century nobility 18th-century Mughal Empire people 18th-century Indian nobility