The Mewat State was a sovereign kingdom ruled by the Khanzadas of Mewat. They were a ruling dynasty of

Muslim Rajput Muslim Rajputs or Musalman Rajpoots are the descendants of Rajputs in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who generally are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period onwards, creating various ...

s from

Rajputana Rājputana (), meaning Land of the Rajputs, was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the entire present-day States of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, parts of the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and adjo ...

who had their capital at

Alwar Alwar ( Rajasthani Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region (NCR) and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km ...

. The Khanzadas were

Muslim Rajputs Muslim Rajputs or Musalman Rajpoots are the descendants of Rajputs in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who generally are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period onwards, creating various ...

who descended from Raja Sonpar Pal who was a Rajput who converted to Islam during the period of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

History

In 1372,

Firuz Shah Tughlaq Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388), also known as Firuz III, was Sultan of Delhi from 1351 until his death in 1388. He succeeded his cousin Muhammad bin Tughlaq following the latter's death at Thatta, Sindh. His father was ...

granted the Lordship of

Mewat Mewat (; ) is a historical and cultural region which encompasses parts of the modern-day states of Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh in northwestern India. Geography The loose boundaries of the Mewat region generally include parts of th ...

Raja Nahar Khan Raja Bahadur Nahar Khan was the ruler of Mewat and the progenitor of Khanzada clan who were themselves a sub-clan of Yadav. His original name was Sambhar Pal. He and his brother Sopar Pal (who later became Chhaju Khan) embraced Islam during th ...

, (who was formerly known as Raja Sonpar Pal, of Kotla). Raja Nahar Khan established a hereditary polity in Mewat and proclaimed the title of

Wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

-e-Mewat. Later his descendants affirmed their own sovereignty in Mewat. They ruled Mewat till 1527. Alwarfort

Downfall

The last Khanzada Rajput ruler of Mewat was

Hasan Khan Mewati Raja Hasan Khan Mewati (died 17 March 1527) was a Muslim Khanzada Rajput ruler of Mewat. The son of previous ruler Raja Alawal Khan, his dynasty had ruled Mewat State for nearly 200 years. He was a descendant of Raja Nahar Khan Mewati, who wa ...

, who died in the

Battle of Khanwa The Battle of Khanwa was fought at Khanwa in modern-day Rajasthan on 16 March 1527, between the Mughal Empire, led by Babur, and the Kingdom of Mewar, led by Rana Sanga for supremacy of Northern India. The battle, which ended in a Mughal vic ...

. Following this battle, Mewat was integrated into 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 ...

and the Khanzadas became a part of the Mughal nobility.

Rulers of Mewat

The

Khanzada Rajputs The Khanzada or Khan Zadeh are a cluster community of Muslim Rajputs found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. A notable community is the Khanzadas of Mewat, the descendants of Raja Nahar Khan, who are a sub-clan of Jadaun ...

rulers of Mewat State adopted the title "''Wali-e-Mewat''". The title was later changed to "''Shah-e-Mewat''" by

in 1505.

Descendants

In the following centuries, the Khanzadas were reduced to the status of

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 ...

s. Many continued to serve in the

Alwar State Alwar (Rajasthani Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region (NCR) and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km ...

Forces and

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

. The Gorwal

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...

of the Meos seem to be a tributary to the Khanzada Rajputs, however this is unclear. However, the

Chowdhury Chowdhury (also: Choudhuri, Chaudhuri, Choudhury, Chaudhri, Chaudhary) is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminen ...

s' of

Tijara Tijara is a city and a municipality in Khairthal-Tijara district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Tijara comes under the NCR area and is situated 55 km to the northeast of Alwar. The nearest railway station to Tijara is Khairthal. Bhiwad ...

and

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

s of Shahabad, Alwar remained important Khanzadas strongholds. Among them

Nawab Feroz Khan Firuz Khan Mewati was the first Nawab of Shahabad, Alwar and a Commandant in Mughal Army. He was a close confidant and trusted aide of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I. He belonged to a Khanzada Muslim Rajput family which ruled the region of Mewat ...

of Shahabad, Alwar and Khan Bahadur

Fateh Naseeb Khan Khan Bahadur Maj.Gen. Fateh Naseeb Khan, OBE KB (1888–1933), was the Commander-in-chief of Alwar State Forces. He was a close confidant and trusted aide of Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar Bahadur, who was the Maharaja of Alwar State. He ...

of Tijara, Alwar achieved Imperial chivalry ranks. After the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, majority Khanzadas of Mewat migrated to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

following the

religious violence in India Religious violence in India includes acts of violence by followers of one religious group against followers and institutions of another religious group, often in the form of rioting. Religious violence in India has generally involved Hindus and ...

in 1947, and settled in these Districts:

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Hederabad,

Nawabshah Nawabshah is a headquarter of Nawabshah Tehsil in Shaheed Benazirabad District of Sindh province, Pakistan. This city is situated in the middle of Sindh province. It is the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 27th most populous city in P ...

, Larakana,

Kasur Kasur (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ; also Romanization, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to the south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city s ...

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

and Narowal.

References

{{Reflist History of Rajasthan Muslim dynasties of India Mewat Rajput history