Diler Khan Daudzai 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 ...

general who served under

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 was the governor of

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

. He is known for engaging in battle and killing Murarbaji, the military general of

Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...

and the in-charge of

Purandar Fort Purandar Fort is a mountain fort in Pune district in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra, India. The fort stands at above sea level in the Western Ghats, to the southeast of Pune.Survey of India - Scale 1:50K Map sheet number 47F/15 The ...

s. His brother's name was Nawab Bahadur Khan. Diler Khan and Bahadur Khan together established the famous district

Shahjahanpur Shahjahanpur () is a municipal corporation, town and district headquarters of Shahjahanpur District in Western Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located between Bareilly and Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. History Shahjahanpur was establi ...

located in Uttar Pradesh. He was also responsible for the Mughal victory over Shivaji in the Battle of Bhupalgarh.

Early life

He was born near

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

, and was son of Nawab Darya Khan Rohilla, an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

who traced his descent to the

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

Daudzai tribe, and a

mansabdar The Mansabdar was a military unit within the administrative system of the Mughal Empire introduced by Akbar later used in all over in early modern India. The word ''mansab'' is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position. The system determined th ...

who served under the Indian Muslim

Mir Bakhshi The ''Bakhshi'' () in the Mughal Empire denoted a number of hierarchical government officials, typically involved with military administration and intelligence. The offices were introduced during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar. ''Bakhshis'' we ...

, Shaikh Farid Bukhari in 1603.

Campaign against Marathas

After previous attempts to overthrow

failed,

sent Jai Singh, his most senior general (" Mirza

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 ...

"), along with Diler Khan to overthrow the Marathas and establish

rule in the Deccan. Diler Khan insisted on capturing

. Jai Singh, who understood the challenge the campaign involved. He advised Diler Khan to move his army on Vajragarh. Purandar Fort was a short distance from Vajragarh. If Vajragarh was captured, the Mughal cannons could easily capture the Purandar Fort. On 13 April 1665, Diler Khan was successful in capturing Vajragarh. The Mughal army under Diler Khan and Jai Singh celebrated the victory over Vajragarh with booming of guns. Diler Khan then turned his attention to Purandar. On 16 May 1665, Diler Khan faced Murarbaji, the in-charge of Purandar Fort. Murarbaji fought valiantly but was killed by Diler Khan's arrow.

Later life

He died in 1683 in Hardoi.

References

Mughal generals Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Place of birth unknown Indian people of Pashtun descent 17th-century Mughal Empire people {{asia-mil-bio-stub