Man Singh I.
The Rajput prince Man Singh I (born December 21, 1550 in Amber , Rajasthan , † July 6, 1614 in Achalpur , Maharashtra ) was Raja of Amber , India from 1589 until his death . In addition, for a long time he was at the head of the army of the Mughal ruler Akbar I.
biography
Man Singh was the son of Raja Bhagwant Das and his wife Rani Sa Bhagawati Ji Sahiba . His aunt Mariam uz-Zamani (sometimes also called Jodhabai ) was the wife of the Grand Mughal Akbar . Despite the small age difference of only 8 years, he called him “son” (Persian: farzand ) and used him as a military confidante and commander on various occasions. After the death of Raja Bhagwant Das, Akbar made him commander ( mansabdar ) of 7,000.
Man Singh was a bitter personal opponent of Pratap Singh , the ruler of the princely state of Mewar who was ten years older than him and who was striving for independence from Mughal rule . In June 1576, the two met at the battle of the Haldighati Pass north of Udaipur, famous throughout India . Man Singh won the battle after a fierce fight, but Rana Pratap managed to escape and in the following years to bring almost all of Mewar under his control again.
In 1580 Akbar faced several rebellions by the governors ( subahdars ) he appointed and by parts of the army. He himself moved a year later with Man Singh at his side against Kabul , where he installed his sister Bakhtunissa Begum as governor; however, power lay in the hands of his and her stepbrother, Mirza Hakim , who died the following year. Thereupon Akbar Man Singh installed as governor of Kabul, who managed for several years to ensure peace and order in the troubled province. But in 1585 uprisings broke out again: Akbar then sent Todar Mal to Afghanistan and asked Man Singh to come to his aid.
In 1588, Man Singh was appointed governor of Bihar , another troubled province. The governor Qutlu Khan Lohani , who came from Afghanistan, had declared his area independent and acquired the title of shah . However, he was killed by a competitor in 1590. His son Nasir Khan submitted to Man Singh and recognized the suzerainty of the Mughal Empire; then he was appointed governor of Bengal , where he soon ran an independent policy. In 1592 he was defeated by the forces of Man Singh and also expelled from his exile in Orissa , which was subsequently assigned to the province of Bengal. Again two years later (1594) Akbar Man Singh appointed Governor of Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.
After Akbar's death (1605) Man Singh had to deal with his impulsive and drug addicted son and successor Jahangir . But in 1611 the Deccan provinces Ahmednagar , Berar and Khandesh tried the uprising, which Man Singh was able to put down. He died on his return home.
Religion and buildings
The devout Hindu Man Singh was a follower of Krishna and fought off all attempts by Akbar to join the Din-i-Ilahi religion he initiated and promoted . Rather, he had several temples built in honor of Krishna; the largest was built in Vrindavan ( Govinda Dev Temple ), but was later reduced from 7 to 4 floors by the Mughal Mughal Aurangzeb . The Shila Devi Temple was built in the Amber Fort Palace, which was largely designed according to Man Singh's ideas ; He also initiated the construction and restoration of several temples in the holy cities of Varanasi and Allahabad . The plant of the Man Sagar Lakes named after him between Amber and the city of Jaipur built by his great-great-grandson Jai Singh II (r. 1699–1743) also goes back to him. During his time as Governor of Bengal, he arranged for the new capital Rajmahal to be built there .
literature
- Rajiva Nain Prasad: Raja Man Singh of Amber. World Press Private Ltd., Calcutta 1966.
- Jadunath Sarkar: A History of Jaipur. Orient Longman, New Delhi 1984, ISBN 81-250-0333-9 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Man Singh |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Indian ruler |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 21, 1550 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Amber |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 6, 1614 |
| Place of death | Achalpur |