Sarfaraz Khan
| Sarfarāz Khān | |
|---|---|
Mīrzā Motamul ul-Mulk (Guardian of the country) Alā ud-Dawlah (Promoter of the state) Ḥaydar Jang (Lion in War) | |
 | |
| 3rd Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa | |
| Reign | 13 March 1739 – 29 April 1740 |
| Coronation | 13 March 1739 |
| Predecessor | Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan |
| Successor | Alivardi Khan |
| Naib Nazim of Dhaka | |
| Tenure | 1734 – 1739 |
| Predecessor | Mīrzā Lutfullāh Tabrīzī |
| Successor | Abdul Fattāh Khān |
| Born | Mirza Asadullah c. 1700 Deccan Plateau, Mughal Empire |
| Died | 29 April 1740 Murshidabad, Bengal |
| Burial | Murshidabad, West Bengal, India |
| Issue | Sons: Mīrza Hafizullah Khan (d. November 1771) Mīrza Mughal |
| Dynasty | Nāṣirī |
| Father | Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan |
| Mother | Zinat-un-nisa Begum |
| Religion | Shia Islam[1][2][3] |
Sarfarāz Khān (c. 1700 – 29 April 1740), born Mīrza Asadullāh, was a
Early life and succession
Born Mirza Asadullah, sometime after 1700,[
Shujauddin appointed Sarfaraz as the Naib Nazim of Bihar. In 1734, Sarfaraz Khan succeeded his cousin, Mirza Lutfullah Tabrizi, as the Naib Nazim of Jahangirnagar (Dhaka). Instead of moving to Dhaka, Khan appointed Ghalib Ali Khan and Jaswant Rai as the Diwan. During his tenure, the city of Jahangirnagar saw rapid economic growth through agriculture and trade - the greatest since the time of Governor Shaista Khan.[6]
But as fate had, circumstances lead Shuja-ud-Din to nominate his son, Sarfaraz again as his heir and successor and after Shuja-ud-Din died on 26 August 1739 Sarfaraz Khan again ascended to the Masnad as the Nawab of Bengal on 13 March 1739 with the title of Ala-ud-Din Haidar Jang.[citation needed]
Reign
Known to be an extremely pious, religious and moderate ruler he left the administration into the hands of his Nazims and Naib Nazims. Religious matters was his priority. This neglect in administrative matters resulted the gradual rise of
Sarfaraz Khan became the
Sarfaraz Khan was a pious man, full of the outward forms of devotion, and extremely regular in his stated prayers and ablutions. He moreover fasted three full months besides the blessed month of
Among these were Haji Lutfullah, Mardan Ali Khan, Mir Murtaza, and others, who, long incensed against Haji Ahmed, depreciated his character everywhere, and insulted him with taunting expressions. These incensed noblemen, intent on giving vent to their enmity and hatred against Haji Ahmed, caused caricatures to be drawn of him, and eventually effected in Sarfaraz Khan's mind a total alienation of regard towards him. Haji Ahmed was accordingly removed from the office of Dewan, which he had held ever since Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan's accession ; and the office was now bestowed on Mir Murtaza. The viceroy wanted also to deprive Ataullah Khan, son-in-law of the Haji, of the military command of Rajmahal, to give it to his own son-in-law Hassan Muhammad Khan.
Intrigues in his Durbar
Haji Ahmed dreading the influence of his numerous enemies, endeavoured to gain strength to oppose them; he therefore wrote every thing to his brother Alivardi Khan, magnifying trifles exceedingly in the representation. Haji Ahmed had the art, too, to persuade the new viceroy to disband great part of his forces, and otherwise to retrench his expenses. Advice so consonant to his feelings was adopted without hesitation ; but while he listened to the counsel of Haji Ahmed to effect reduction, he allowed the arrest of Haji Ahmed's two sons Zain-ud-Din Ahmed Khan, who was on the road from Patna (Azimabad), and Ahmed Khan, who had just arrived from his command of Rangpur.
Sarfaraz Khan now set on foot an inquiry into the management of the public revenue of Azimabad (Patna), and recalled the troops that had been placed by his father under Alivardi Khan, and for whom during many years they had conceived an attachment. On their seeming to hesitate about being removed, he resumed the grant of land which his father Shuja bestowed on them. All these acts were minutely reported by Haji Ahmed, and assiduously transmitted to his brother Alivardi Khan with the usual exaggeration ; and to give more weight to his own assertions, he used to superadd the testimony of his son Ahmed Khan, who on such occasions submitted to the influence of paternal authority.
Conspiracy of Alivardi Khan
Alivardi Khan daily informed of these events, resolved to avail himself of his acquaintance and connection with his friend Ishaq Khan, at the court of Dehli, a nobleman who was now in complete possession of the
At length, ten months after Nadir-shah's departure for Persia, and just thirteen months after
Alivardi Khan in a message to Sarfaraz Khan suggested that he was not marching on him but was arriving to pay homage to the Nawab. Initially satisfied, Sarfaraz Khan eventually decided to march on the head of his army and arrived at the town of Comrah on 9 April 1740. Alivardi in the interim, secured the Teliagarhi pass and camped at Rajmahal. The Nawab's army was being led by a seasoned general, Ghaus Khan and Ray-Rayan, Alam Chand also accompanied. The rebel army was being led by Alivardi Khan with Nandalal and Nawazish Muhammad Khan as his deputies.
They opposing armies marched on to Giria (
Defeat, death and succession
Sarfaraz was stark unlucky to have an opponent like Alivardi who besides being an excellent leader even at the age of 70, knew Sarfaraz's weaknesses. Sarfaraz Khan was defeated and killed in the
The primary cause for this debacle was that Sarfaraz never saw what was coming in the form of Alivardi Khan and did not take precautionary measures in time. Besides, Alivardi did not give him much time to settle down. Sarfaraz was more concerned of the "bigger threat"
Sarfaraz Khan's reign was for a little over 13 months. The Nasiri Dynasty of Murshid Quli Khan ended with the death of Sarfaraz Khan. Sarfaraz Khan had five sons and five daughters who never made it to the doors of power thus Alivardi Khan toppled the Nasiri Nawabs and became the new Nawab of Bengal. Alivardi Khan also founded the Afshar Dynasty. He lies buried at Naginabag in Murshidabad.
According to the Archaeological Survey of India, the Tomb of Nawab Sarfraz Khan at Naginabagh is a State Protected Monument (Item no S-WB-80).[7]
See also
- List of rulers of Bengal
- History of Bengal
- History of Bangladesh
- History of India
- Shia Islam in India
References
- ^ S. A. A. Rizvi, A Socio-Intellectual History of Isna Ashari Shi'is in India, Vol.2, pp. 45–47, Mar'ifat Publishing House, Canberra (1986).
- ^ K. K. Datta, Ali Vardi and His Times, ch. 4, University of Calcutta Press, (1939)
- ^ Andreas Rieck, The Shias of Pakistan, p. 3, Oxford University Press, (2015).
- OL 30677644M. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ Sayyid Dāʼūd Ashraf, Pidatala Sitapati, H. Rajendra Prasad (1980). Mughal Documents: 1658-1663 A.D. (2 v.). Andhra Pradesh Archives. p. 19.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - OL 30677644M. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ List of State Protected Monuments as reported by the Archaeological Survey of India Archived 2013-05-23 at the Wayback Machine.
