Khusrau Mirza

Khusrau Mirza (Urdu: خسرو مِرزا, Hindi: ख़ुसरो मिर्ज़ा; * August 16, 1587 in Lahore ; † January 26, 1622 in Agra ) was the eldest son of the Mughal ruler Jahangir and the elder brother of Shah Jahan .

biography

Nothing is known about Prince Khusrau's early years. In April 1607 he rebelled against his alcohol and opium addicted father, who had only taken power in October 1605. On the pretext of wanting to visit the grave or the tomb of his grandfather Akbar I in Sikandra , he put together a troop of 350 horsemen. More troops joined him in Mathura and Panipat ; in Taran Taran ( Punjab ) he got himself the blessing of Guru Arjan Dev , the 5th Guru of the Sikhs , who at that time - also and especially among the Muslims - were increasingly gaining in religious and political influence.

Khusrau's tomb in Prayagraj

He besieged the city of Lahore , the political center of the Mughal Empire in northern India, but soon his father advanced with an army detachment and defeated the troops of Khusrau and his allies in the battle of Bhairowal . Prince Khusrau tried to flee to Kabul , but he and his entourage were caught while crossing the Chenab River . Shortly afterwards his companions were impaled and he himself was brought to Agra, where - after a new conspiracy against his father - he was blinded the following year - but part of his eyesight was retained.

In the years that followed, Prince Khusrau was taken along on Jahangir's journeys and campaigns, but he had a depressing effect on the Mughals. Jahangir himself writes in his diary that Khusrau's appearance shows "no signs of openness and happiness" and that "his mind ... is always full of sadness and dejection". In 1616, Khusrau Asaf Khan , Nur Jahan's older brother and brother-in-law and close confidante of Jahangir, was handed over. Four years later he handed him over to Prince Khurram, who later became Mughal emperor Shah Jahan , who, however, had him murdered in 1622. Khusrau Mirza was given a worthy tomb in a garden that was later named after him ( Khusrau-Bagh ) in Prayagraj , far away from the Mughal court .

aftermath

Prince Khusrau had four sons from two marriages. One of his sons, Prince Dewar, was briefly proclaimed Mughal ruler after Jahangir's death (October 28, 1627). This happened on the advice of Asaf Khan, who ultimately secured the claim to the throne for Shah Jahan, who could only be proclaimed emperor on December 30, 1627. On January 23, 1628, less than a month later, Asaf Khan had Dewar and other possible pretenders or usurpers executed on the orders of Shah Jahan, who wanted to get him out of the world.

Remarks

1. ↑ quoted from: Bamber Gascoigne: The Mughals - Splendor and greatness of Mohammedan princes in India. Prisma-Verlag, Gütersloh 1987, p. 132, ISBN 3-570-09930-X .

literature

• Bamber Gascoigne: The Mughals - splendor and greatness of Mohammedan princes in India. Prisma-Verlag, Gütersloh 1987, ISBN 3-570-09930-X .