Murshid Quli Khan
Murshid Quli Khan ( Bengali মুর্শিদ কুলি খান ; * around 1670 on the Deccan ; † June 30, 1727 in Murshidabad , Bengal ) was governor ( subahdar ) of the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in Bengal. After Aurangzeb's death (1707), Murshid Quli Khan made himself largely independent and ruled from 1717 to 1727 as the first Nawab of Bengal.
biography
Murshid Quli Khan was a Hindu and a member of the Brahmin caste when he was captured as a 10-year-old on one of Aurangzeb's numerous Deccan campaigns and was bought as a slave by one of his courtiers. Aurangzeb later became aware of him and sent him to Bengal around 1700, where Murshid relocated the capital of Dhaka to Mukshusabad , located on the Ganges and thus accessible by ships , which years later was renamed Murshidabad . However, he quickly came into conflict with the local governor Azim-us-Shan († 1712). Aurangzeb's successor and father of Azim-us-Shan, Bahadur Shah I (r. 1707-1712), banished Murshid Quli Khan to the Deccan, but in 1713 the weak mogul Jahandar Shah (r. 1712-1713) made him as Assistant to the Governor of Bengal. Even under the subsequent Mughal ruler Farrukh Siyar (r. 1713–1719), his advice and energetic activity remained in demand at the court. In 1717 Farrukh Siyar appointed him governor of Bengal, but shortly afterwards Murshid Quli Khan took over the de facto governmental power over the entire province and took on the title of Nawab .
Succession
He was succeeded by his son-in-law Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan (r. 1727–1739), who had married two daughters of Murshid Quli Khan.
title
- 1698 Divan from Hyderabad
- 1701 Faujdar from Murshidabad, Bardhaman and Midnapore
- 1703 Subahdar of Orissa
- 1704 Divan from Bihar
- 1713 Assistant to the Governor of Bengal
- 1717 Subahdar of Bengal
buildings
Murshid Quli Khan equipped his capital with numerous buildings (palace, coin, caravanserais etc.). The most important building was the Katra Masjid , completed in 1723/4 , under whose portal steps he found his final resting place.
literature
- Jadunath Sarkar: The History of Bengal. Vol. II., University of Michigan 2003, ISBN 978-8176462396 .
Web links
- Murshid Quli Khan - Biography (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Murshid Quli Khan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | মুর্শিদ কুলি খান (BnS) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Governor (subahdar) of the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in Bengal |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1670 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dekkan |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 30, 1727 |
| Place of death | Murshidabad , Bengal |