Sarhad Khan

Shaykh ʿAbdul Wāḥid (, ) was a military general of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Jahangir, and played an important role in defeating Bahadur Ghazi, who was among the rebellious Baro-Bhuiyans of Bengal. He is celebrated as the Mughal conqueror of Bhulua (modern-day Noakhali, Bangladesh) as he was the chief commander of its expedition. His administration of the Bhulua frontier involved suppressing multiple Arakanese invasions, later earning him the title of Sarḥad Khān .

Career The Mughal subahdar (governor) of Bengal, Islam Khan Chishti, appointed Abdul Wahid as the main commander of the campaign against Raja Parikshit Narayan of Koch Hajo. Sudhindra Nath Bhattacharyya gathers from his sources that Abdul Wahid was successful in his campaign, and that it was Parikshit who set off for Jahangirnagar, the provincial capital, via Fatehpur, to seek redress. However, according to the Baharistan-i-Ghaibi by Mirza Nathan, Abdul Wahid was defeated due to his excessive drinking and inexperience, and fled to Fatehpur instead of returning to Chishti. Chishti was said to have sent a report to the Mughal emperor Jahangir at Delhi, and a firman permitted Abdul Wahid to be punished accordingly. Abdul Wahid was freed from the chains three days later.

During the confrontation with Musa Khan at Dakchara, Chishti entrusted 200 of his horsemen under Abdul Wahid. He later joined Chishti at the Mohana of the Kutharuiya (modern-day Kirtinasha, tributary of the Padma) from where the Governor captured Jatrapur shortly after. Following this, Khan immediately ordered Abdul Wahid, as well as Mirak Bahadur Jalair, Shir Khan Tarin and Bayazid Khan Pani, to also cross the Isamati and secure the Mohana of Dakchara. Abdul Wahid and his associates were also successful in defeating the rebels at Dakchara that had put many obstacles at an attempt to stop the Mughals. Abdul Wahid was noted for his maturity when intervening in a quarrel that emerged between Mirza Nathan and Iftikhar Khan over who is to be credited for the Dakchara victory in which Abdul Wahid brought about peace. The next campaign which Abdul Wahid took part in was to Kalakopa. Along with Ihtimam Khan, he took the land route, stationed left of the fleet. During the battle, Abdul Wahid was in charge of thirty boats. Following the victory, he was rewarded with a shawl for his hard work.

Campaign against Baro-Bhuiyans

Prior to Abdul Wahid's conquest of Bhulua, he was commanded by Islam Khan Chishti to go to Chowra and defeat Bahadur Ghazi. Ghazi had eventually surrendered to him after the repeated defeats of Musa Khan, and Abdul Wahid was granted a jagir as a reward. The Maghs, however, did not fully retreat, and Sarhad Khan had to besiege them for them to flee back to Arakan. After discussing with his son, Sarhad Khan sent one of his men to Khamaung, informing him that the conquest of Bhulua had nothing to do with Arakan yet they have faced four raids from the latter, all of which were unsuccessful. In response, Khamaung was humbled and began referring to Sarhad Khan as father. He then voluntarily gifted a large number of elephants to Sarhad Khan.

Later expeditions

Sarhad Khan joined Abdun Nabi in the expedition against the Maghs at Katghar near Sitakunda. Unhappy working under the latter, Sarhad Khan and Shaykh Kamal decided to take a shortcut, reaching Katghar in only a matter of days. They then hastily attacked the fort and a battle emerged between the two sides leading to many deaths on both. The Mughal victory was close, but Sarhad Khan and the Mansabdars decided to rest for the night, and thus retreated. The next morning, Magh commander Kuramgiri ordered 10,000 Maghs to block the food supply path, thus starving the Mughal army and leading to an unsuccessful conquest.

The governor of Bengal Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang visited Sarhad Khan at his house where he gifted him with a gold-embroidered white shawl and a horse on behalf of Emperor Jahangir. He then appointed Sarhad Khan to be the chief commander to suppress the uprising in Koch Hajo, alongside Shaykh Kamal as the general. Mirza Baqi and Raja Raghunath were later sent to the Ghalwapara fort near Khanpur river with a fleet of 100 war-boats to safely escort the leftover troops of Sarhad Khan and Shaykh Kamal. The army successfully defeated Bhabachan Singh.