Bhau Singh (1577 – 13 December 1621) was a

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

nobleman as well as the

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

Life

Bhau Singh was a younger son of

Man Singh I Mirza Raja Man Singh I (21 December 1550 – 6 July 1614) was the 24th Raja, Kachawaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber from 1589 to 1614. He also served as the foremost imperial Subahdar of Bihar Subah from 1587 to 1594, then for Ben ...

, born of Rani Sahodra Gaud, daughter of Raimal. He had one full brother named Durjan Singh. Prior to his accession to the throne, Bhau Singh had been posted in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, working alongside the Deputy

Subedar Subedar ( ) is a military rank in the militaries of South Asia roughly equivalent to that of a warrant officer. Historically classed in the British Indian Army as a Viceroy's commissioned officer, the rank was retained in the Indian Army an ...

of the region. Following the death of his father in 1614,

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

custom dictated that Maha Singh, the son of Bhau Singh's late elder brother Jagat Singh, inherit the throne. However, the

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 Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

overruled this and instead bestowed the crown of Amber on Bhau Singh. The former, who had a close relationship with the new Raja, justified this decision by declaring that he was "the most capable of Man Singh's sons". Maha Singh was given the rule of the lands of Garha (present-day

Jabalpur Jabalpur, formerly Jubbulpore, is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the 3rd-largest urban agglomeration of the state and the 38th-largest of the country. Jabalpur is the administrative h ...

) as consolation for his loss. Upon his accession, Jahangir initially raised Bhau Singh's mansab to 3000, then to 4000 the following year, before finally promoting him to a commander of 5000 in March 1617. However, when the Emperor dispatched him to the Deccan to serve in the campaign against

Malik Amber Malik Ambar (1548–1626) was a military leader and statesman who served as the Peshwa (Prime Minister) of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate and its ''de facto'' ruler from 1600 until his death in 1626. Originally a slave from modern day Ethiopia, ''Ch ...

, Bhau Singh only served as a subordinate captain, in contrast to the supreme commands previously enjoyed by his father and

grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a m ...

. The languid manner and poor management of the campaign, combined with the bafflement of Mughal officers when faced with Malik Amber's guerrilla tactics, prevented Bhau Singh from having any substantial achievements in this role. This inactive and inglorious life appears to have caused a deep melancholy in the Raja, who turned to drinking in response. Following a sojourn to the Mughal royal court, he returned to the Deccan where, in December 1621, he suddenly fainted. His health now debilitated due to alcoholism, Bhau Singh did not regain consciousness and died a day later at the age of 44. Having not had sons, Jahangir appointed as Bhau Singh's successor his great-nephew

Jai Singh I Mirza Raja Jai Singh I (15 July 1611 – 28 August 1667) was the senior most general ("Mirza (noble), Mirza Raja") and a high-ranking mansabdar at the imperial court of Mughal Empire as well as the Kachhwaha Rajput ruler of the Jaipur State, Ki ...

, the son of Maha Singh, the latter having died some years earlier under similar circumstances.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhau Singh Hindu monarchs Maharajas of Jaipur 1621 deaths People from Jaipur district Mughal Empire people