Mir Habib Isfahani () was a warlord who used to be in the employment of the Mughal Subedars (officers) of Bengal, but after being discontent with promotions, went on to aid the

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

invaders of

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 ...

and aided in the various Maratha campaigns carried out in Bengal,

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

and adjoining places.

Early life

His family came from Isfahan, Iran and were Persianised Turks. He started his career under Murshid Kuli Khan. Mir Habib Isfahani was a

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Muslim, soldier-turned-commander, in the employment of

Alivardi Khan Alivardi Khan (1671 – 9 April 1756) was the fourth Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself. During much of his reign Alivardi encountered frequen ...

Aiding Maratha Ransacking

In 1742 when the

invaders under Roghuji Bhosla and his prime minister Bhaskar Pandit invaded the

Bengal Subah The Bengal Subah (Bengali language, Bengali: সুবাহ বাংলা, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal and Bengal State (after 1717), was one of the puppet states and the largest subah, subdivision of The Mughal India, Mughal Emp ...

, Mir Habib Isfahani was lured to join their forces in search of loots as he was not content with his salary as a commander of Nawab

's army. This invasion was later suppressed by Nawab Alivardi Khan. In 1748, Mir Habib joined forces with Maratha general

Raghoji I Bhonsle Raghuji I (Raghuji Bhonsle, ; 1695 – 14 February 1755) was a Maratha general who is credited with the Maratha expansion into Gondwana, Odisha, and Bengal, thereby establishing Maratha supremacy in these areas. He was granted the title of ...

to invade Bengal, also with the support of Mustafa Khan, an Afghan defect from the Nawab's army. With the aid of the renegade commanders, the Marathas were able to ransack Hooghly and Mir Habib entered Murshidabad, the capital of Bengal.Dr M Abdur Rahim, Bangladesh er Itihas, Page 282-302 They were driven out again by Alivardi Khan. In 1751, the Marathas signed a peace treaty with Nawab Alivardi Khan, according to which Mir Habib was made provincial governor of

under nominal control of the Nawab.ড. মুহম্মদ আব্দুর রহিম. "মারাঠা আক্রমণ". বাংলাদেশের ইতিহাস. ২৯৩–২৯৯. Habib was later killed by the Marathas leading to Orissa coming under Maratha rule.

References

{{Reflist Indian Shia Muslims 18th-century Indian people People from Isfahan province