Isa Khan Manj, was a

Punjabi Muslim Punjabi Muslims are Punjabis who are adherents of Islam. With a population of more than 112 million, they are the third-largest predominantly Islam-adhering Muslim ethnicity in the world, after Arabs and Bengalis. The majority of Punjabi Musl ...

warlord from the Manj tribe of the cis-

Sutlej The Sutlej River or the Satluj River is a major river in Asia, flowing through China, India and Pakistan, and is the longest of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It is also known as ''Satadru''; and is the easternmost tributary of t ...

territory in 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 ...

. He is credited with the killing of the Mughal 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 ...

during 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 for establishing an independent territory that defied Mughal authority.

Early life

Isa Khan Manj belonged to the Manj

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

tribe of the

Jalandhar Doab Doaba, also known as Bist Doab or the Jalandhar Doab, is the region of Punjab, India that lies between the Beas River and the Sutlej River. People of this region are given the demonym "Doabia". The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Doaba ...

. Although the Manj mostly identify as Rajput, some in Gurdaspur have been known to classify as Jats. As the son of Daulat Khan Manj, originally from

Sirhind Sirhind is a Twin cities, twin city of Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, India, Punjab, India. It is hosts the municipal council of Fatehgarh Sahib district. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of ...

, Isa Khan started life as an ordinary

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

Biography

Isa Khan Manj collected an armed retinue, grabbing land and plundering trade caravans. He constructed the Isa Khan Kot. During the Battle of Jajau in 1707, he served

Shah Alam I Bahadur Shah I (Muhammad Mu'azzam; 14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712) or Shah Alam I, was the eighth Mughal Emperor from 1707 to 1712. He was the second son of the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who he conspired to overthrow in his youth ...

. Despite adverse weather and lack of water, Isa Khan struck Azam Shah with a bullet to the head, effectively ending Azam Shah's three-month reign. As a reward, he was appointed Deputy

Faujdar Faujdar under the Mughals was an office that combined the functions of a military commander along with judicial and land revenue functions. The term faujdar contained pre-Mughal origins. During those times, the term referred to a military offic ...

of Jalandhar with a rank of 1500 zat and 1000 horses. In 1711, Isa Khan Manj in the Battle of Hoshiarpur inflicted a severe defeat on the Sikhs who had risen up against the Mughals under Banda Singh and sacked the provincial capital of Sirhind a year prior. For his military services in helping enthrone

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 ...

, he was made a ''mansabdar'' of 5000, and the deputy ''Faujdar'' of the Doab. However, he forcibly collected rent for himself and the imperial officers were not able to collect from the ''jagirs'' in the region. He gained control of the land extending from Badresa at the Beas river to his headquarters at Tihara along the Sutlej. He killed Kapura Brar, the chief of

Kotkapura Kotkapura is a historic city in Faridkot district, Punjab, India. some 15 km from Faridkot City, 50 km from Bathinda, 40 km from Moga and 30 km from Muktsar in the state of Punjab, India. It is the largest city in the Faridkot ...

and an ancestor of the dynasty of the

Faridkot state Faridkot State was a self-governing princely state of Punjab ruled by Brar Jats outside British India during the British Raj period in the Indian sub-continent until Indian independence. The state was located in the south of the erstwhile Firoz ...

. He plundered the caravans of Delhi and Lahore. In 1718, he rose in rebellion against the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an 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 the highlands of pre ...

, instigated by Khan-i Dauran. During this time period even the Lahore governor

Abd al-Samad Khan Abd al-Samad Khan Al-Ansari or Abd-us-Samad Khan Al-Ansari (died 1737), also known simply as Abdus Samad Khan, was the Mughal Empire, Mughal subahdar of Subah of Lahore, Lahore Subah from 1713 to 1726, and of Multan Subah from 1726 until his d ...

famed for suppressing Banda Singh's rebellion could not proceed from

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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

without precautions.

Rebellion and Death

Isa Khan's increasing influence and royal favors emboldened him to intercept trade caravans and pillage neighboring parganahs, forcing out Mughal officials. He expanded his zamindari and influence in Punjab, defeating numerous armies of the faujdars. In 1718, Isa Khan openly defied Mughal authority. Abdus Samad Khan, the Lahore Subah governor, initially preferred negotiation, but Isa Khan rejected peace overtures. Abdus Samad Khan then dispatched Shadab Khan Heshgi, an Afghan, to root out Isa Khan. In a battle near the village of Thara, Isa Khan fought with 3000 horsemen, repelling Shadab Khan. However, after witnessing his father's death in the battle, Isa Khan charged at the fleeing Shadab Khan in a fit of rage, leading to his own demise.

References

18th-century Mughal Empire people {{India-mil-bio-stub