Mukarram Khān Chishtī was the

Subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who was alternately designated as Sahib- ...

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 ...

during the reign of

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 ...

from 1626 to 1627. He had previously served as the Thanadar of Bhawal, governor of

Koch Hajo Koch Hajo (1581–1616) was the kingdom under Raghudev and his son Parikshit Narayan of the Koch dynasty that stretched from Sankosh River in the west to the Bhareli River in the east on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River. It was created by ...

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

and Subahdar of

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 ...

Background

Mukarram was the son of Shaykh Badi Bayazid, who was later known as Mu'azzam Khan. The Shaykh was a grandson of

Salim Chishti Sheikh Salim Chishti (, 1478–1572) also known as Sheikh al- Hind was a Sufi saint of the Chishti Order and one of the most revered Sufi saints during the Mughal Empire in India. Biography Sheikh Salim Chishti was a descendant of Sheik ...

Fatehpur Sikri Fatehpur Sikri () is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated from the district headquarters of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of the Mughal Empire in 1571 by Mughal emperors, Emperor Akbar, servin ...

. Mukarram's paternal grandmother milk-nursed

on his birth. In 1596, Shaykh Bayazid became 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 ...

of 400 and later of 2,000 soldiers. At the ascension of

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

, the Shaykh became a

of 3,000 and given the title of Mu'azzam Khan on the 1st of

Jumada al-Thani Jumada al-Thani (), also known as Jumada al-Akhirah (), Jumada al-Akhir (), or Jumada II, is the sixth month of the Islamic calendar. The word ''Jumda'' (), from which the name of the month is derived, is used to denote dry, parched land, a lan ...

. He then became the

Delhi Subah 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 right bank, Del ...

and in 1608, a mansabdar of 4,000 soldiers and 200 horses. He is buried in

. Mukarram's brothers were Abd as-Salam and Muhi ad-Din Shaykh. Due to this noble background, Emperor Jahangir referred to Mukarram as a ''Khana-zad'' (a houseborn individual).

Life

Thanadar of Bhawal

In 1612, during the Mughal battle against

Khwaja Usman Khawāja Uthmān Khān Lōhānī (), popularly known as Khwaja Usman, was a Pashtun chieftain and warrior based in northeastern Bengal. As one of the Baro-Bhuyans, he was a zamindar ruling over the northern parts of Bengal, including Greater M ...

at Daulambapur, Mukarram Khan was made the

thana Thana means " station" or "place" in South Asian countries. The word ''thana'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''sthana'' or "sthanak", meaning "place" or "stand", which was anglicized as ''thana'' by the British. * Thanas of Bangladesh, forme ...

dar of Bhawal. Later that year, Mukarram Khan was appointed by his father-in-law, Subahdar

Islam Khan I Shaikh Alauddin Chisti (1570–1613; popularly known as Islam Khan Chisti) was a Mughal general and the Subahdar of Bihar and later Bengal. He transferred the capital of Bengal from Rajmahal to Sonargaon and founded the city of Jahangirnagar. ...

, as the chief commander for the expedition of

against Raja Parikshit Narayan. Mukarram marched from Bhawal to Toke where he waited for Abd as-Salam, Mirza Nathan and the other soldiers. The forces reached Mukarram in three marches and he hosted them in his camp with great veneration. Mukarram was given a horse and a number of imperial gifts. Mukarram kissed his brother's hand and the hands of the other soldiers. Three days later, Mukarram and his forces marched on from Toke and were joined by the forces of Shaykh Kamal and Raja Raghunath. During the fourth march from Toke on the last day of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

, a row took place between Mukarram and Mirza Nathan. Mukarram had announced that the march shall take place after

Iftar ''Iftar'' () is the Fasting in Islam, fast-breaking Supper, evening meal of Muslims in Ramadan at the time of ' (call to prayer) of the Maghrib prayer. Iftar is the second meal of the day; during Ramadan, the daily fast begins immediately a ...

, however Nathan's colleague, Shaykh Ashraf of

Hansi Hansi, is a city and municipal council in Hisar district in the Indian state of Haryana. It appears that at one time Hansi was larger, more prosperous and more important than Hisar. The town has several important buildings of archeological impor ...

, disagreed and suggested that they should start marching as there is no enemy behind them. Mirza's force started to march which angered Shaykh Kamal (who was with Mukarram's force). Kamal sent his messenger, Nizam, to Mirza reminding them that Mukarram is their commander and that it is only Mukarram's responsibility to sound the march-drums. The

Baharistan-i-Ghaibi The ''Baharistan-i-Ghaibi'' (), written by Mirza Nathan, is a 17th-century chronicle on the history of Bengal, Cooch Behar, Assam and Bihar under the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir (1605–1627). Unlike other history books of the Mughal Empire, ...

details the back-and-forth arguments which took place between the two forces during the Hajo expedition. Mukarram decided to leave Nathan alone and instead report the matter to the Subahdar, Islam Khan I. As the quarrels continued, Mukarram patiently awaited the Subahdar's response which finally came, ordering Mukarram to maintain peace with Nathan and continue the expedition. The expedition was successful and Mukarram was given the news of

's death when he reached back. Parikshit was defeated and Mukarram presented him and his sons to the new Subahdar, his uncle,

Qasim Khan Chishti Qasim Khan Chishti (''reigned:'' May 1613 – 1617) was the Subahdar of Bengal during the reign of emperor Jahangir. He was the younger brother and the successor of Islam Khan Chisti. He was entitled ''Muhtashim Khan''. Military career Qasim ...

. Mukarram was later ordered by Qasim to hand over Parikshit to him. However, Mukarram politely refused to do so. Qasim then plotted a plan for the next morning in which when Mukarram enters the court, not to allow many of his men to join him and then forcibly seize Parikshit. The plan was successful and Mukarram became helpless and returned to his home, in Yarasindur, leaving the Raja. The success of the expedition was also noticed by Emperor

who promoted Mukarram's rank by 125 soldiers. Emperor

gave Mukarram a flag on 11 February 1614. In 1616, Mukarram gifted the Emperor jewels and offerings from Bengal.

Sardar of Sylhet

Following the death of

Mubariz Khan Mubariz Khan was the Mughal governor of Gujarat and Hyderabad Subah. He was the governor of Golconda from 1713 to 1724 until he was killed during the Battle of Shakar Kheda where he fought against Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I. His is known to ha ...

, in 1617, the Subahdar of Bengal

intended to appoint

Mirak Bahadur Jalair Mirak Bahadur Jalair (, ) was a Mughal Empire, Mughal officer during the reign of Emperor Jahangir. He served as the chief sardar of Sylhet region, Sylhet Sarkar from 1617 to 1620. Background Mirak Bahadur Jalair was a Mongols, Western Mongol or ...

to govern the Sylhet Sarkar. However, after learning that Mirak had fled to Sylhet from his appointed territory, which had recently been conquered by Mubariz with a lot of difficulty, Qasim was not impressed at what he viewed as "cowardice". Qasim changed his mind and sent his officer, Abdul Nabi, to Yarasindur, where Mukarram and his brothers were staying. Mukarram was brought to

Jahangirnagar Old Dhaka () is a term used to refer to the historic old city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1608 as Jahangirabad or Jahangirnagar (), the capital of Mughal Province of Bengal and named after the Mughal emperor Jahangi ...

and Qasim Khan visited him in his own home to give him the honour of having

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

ship over the entire Sylhet Sarkar as well as giving Mukarram's brothers lesser roles in Sylhet. Mukarram was later invited to join the army against the Maghs who had raided the Bhulua Thana. Only a few months after Sardarship, the Subahdar removed Mukarram from this post out of dissatisfaction and replaced him with

, as Sylhet's chief sardar and Sulayman Banarsi to govern Uhar and

Taraf ''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circula ...

. Mukarram was very angered by Qasim's actions and marched with his brothers to

and then to Yarasindur. Here, Mukarram told his younger brother, Abd as-Salam, to take a boat to

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

and then travel by land to the capital, at

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

, to seek redress from Emperor

Subahdar of Orissa

Due to his experience in the military and in administration, Mukarram was able to attain the role as governor of Orissa Subah. His rule in Orissa was said to have been very harsh. Raja Purushottama of Khurda rebelled against Mukarram and so Mukarram invaded Khurda and annexed it to 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 ...

in 1617. Purushottama fled to

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...

but later managed to regain his seat in Khurda. Emperor Jahangir was informed of this and awarded him as a

of 3,000 soldiers and 2,000 horses. Mukarram was honoured with drums, his own horse as well as being gifted a robe of honour. When Bahadur Khan Hijliwal, the

Baro-Bhuiyan The ''Baro-Bhuyans'' (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and ''Baro-Bhuiyans'') were confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loosel ...

zamindar of

Hijli Hijli is a neighborhood of Kharagpur in the Kharagpur subdivision of the Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. History Hijli has a history much larger than its present presence. Today it is just another neighborhood of ...

, was summoned to

by the Subahdar of Bengal

Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang Mirza Ibrahim Beg (), later known as Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang (; d. 1624) was the Subahdar of Bengal during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir. He was the brother of Empress Nur Jahan who was the wife of Emperor Jahangir. Biography Born to a Shi ...

, Bahadur openly rebelled and was supported by Mukarram. Mirza Muhammad Beg Abakash, the thanadar of

Burdwan Bardhaman (, ), officially Bardhaman Sadar, is a city and municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an a ...

, was ordered to confront Bahadur, giving him a choice to peacefully go to the Subahdar's court or be beheaded. Abakash was given 200 of Musa Khan and his brothers' war boats. Bahadur then asked Mukarram for assistance, to which Mukarram sent 1000 cavalry. As the Subahdar's army advanced towards Hijli and launched a heavy attack, Bahadur expected further aid from Mukarram. However, Mukarram retreated, leaving Bahadur to give up and make peace with the Empire.

Subahdar of Delhi

Mukarram later went to the imperial court of

where he was made the Subahdar of

as well as the

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 ...

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 ...

in 1621.

Subahdar of Bengal

Subahdar of Bengal Muhabbat Khan, rebelled against emperor

in 1626. But after failing the attempt, Muhabbat fled to

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

. Then Mukarram Khan was appointed the new governor of

. In Bengal, he would travel around on a boat. One day, he ordered for his boat to go back to land so that he could offer the

Asr prayer Asr () is the 3rd of the 5 mandatory five daily Islamic prayers. The Asr prayer consists of four obligatory cycles, rak'a. As with Dhuhr, if it is performed in congregation, the imam is silent except when announcing the takbir, i'tidal, a ...

. Due to a heavy wind, Mukarram and his colleagues drowned died in 1627. He and his colleagues are considered

shahid ''Shahid'' ( , , ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); the latter sense acq ...

(martyrs) in

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Fidai Khan was appointed the next subahdar.

References

{{authority control 1627 deaths Rulers of Sylhet Subahdars of Bengal Subahdars of Odisha 17th-century Indian politicians Governors in Asia 17th-century Indian Muslims Year of birth unknown 17th-century Mughal Empire people