Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung

Muhammad Ismail (1649/1657 – 11 February 1713), known by his title Zulfiqar Khan, was a leading noble and military general of the Mughal Empire. His father was Asad Khan, wazir (prime minister) to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. During Aurangzeb's reign, Zulfiqar Khan led several military campaigns in pursuit of the emperor's ambitions in the Deccan and South India, notable of which is the Siege of Jinji. He held the post of mir bakhshi (paymaster general), appointed towards the later part of Aurangzeb's reign, and was made governor of the Deccan by emperor Bahadur Shah I. These positions helped make Zulfiqar Khan the most powerful noble in the empire by the early 1700s.

For his role in engineering the accession of emperor Jahandar Shah, Zulfiqar Khan has been termed the first kingmaker in Mughal history. During this emperor's brief reign, Zulfiqar Khan served as wazir (prime minister) and acted as effective ruler of the empire, before being executed in 1713 by claimant to the throne Farrukhsiyar.

Early life Zulfiqar Khan was born as Muhammad Ismail. According to historian Satish Chandra, he was born in 1649, while William Irvine states he was born in 1657. His father was Asad Khan, who would later become Aurangzeb's long-serving wazir (prime minister) and a leading figure in Mughal politics. Patrilineally, Muhammad Ismail belonged to an Iranian family - his grandfather Khanlar had moved to India after his great-grandfather Zulfiqar Khan, the beglar begi of Safavid Shirvan, was executed around 1600 by Iran's emperor Shah Abbas I. Muhammad Ismail's mother was Mehrunissa Begum, daughter of Asaf Khan, wazir during the reign of Shah Jahan.

As a child, Muhammad Ismail was formally incorporated into the Mughal nobility through the grant of a mansab (rank). In 1677, he was married to a daughter of Mughal noble Shaista Khan, and awarded the title 'Itiqad Khan' .

Career

Reign of Aurangzeb In 1689, Muhammad Ismail (now entitled Itiqad Khan) succeeded in capturing the Maratha fort of Raigad, upon the orders of Aurangzeb. The main objective of the battle was to capture the Maratha king Rajaram Bhonsle, but Rajaram managed to escape to the fort of Jinji. On the other hand, Itiqad Khan did manage to capture the family of Sambhaji, Rajaram's predecessor; his young son Shahu would become a key asset in the Mughal struggle against the Marathas. A large amount of treasure was also procured from the fort. For this success, Muhammad Ismail's rank was increased, and he was awarded the title 'Zulfiqar Khan'.

From the late 1680s onwards, the nobility of Aurangzeb's court was split into two major factions; one was led by Zulfiqar Khan and his father Asad Khan. The other faction was led by Ghaziuddin Khan, Chin Qilich Khan, and Muhammad Amin Khan. The defining difference between the two sides was the question of how to deal with the Marathas; Zulfiqar Khan and his faction generally espoused a conciliatory approach, while the other side insisted on a more hardline attitude.

In 1690, Zulfiqar Khan was assigned to command the Siege of Jinji by Aurangzeb, in order to pursue the escaped Rajaram. Mughal prince Kam Bakhsh was also assigned to the command in 1691. The siege proved difficult due to the strength of the fort and frequent supply line disruptions by the Marathas, resulting in slow progress. In 1693 Kam Bakhsh opened negotiations with Rajaram against Aurangzeb's orders; Zulfiqar Khan and his father Asad Khan arrested him upon uncovering this. left View of the Jinji Fort, whose capture earned Zulfiqar Khan the title 'Nusrat Jung'The lengthy duration of the Siege of Jinji led contemporary observers to accuse Zulfiqar Khan of collusion with the enemy. In 1698, Jinji fort finally fell, but Rajaram once again evaded capture. Zulfiqar Khan had his rank raised, and was awarded the title 'Nusrat Jung'; the fort was styled 'Nusratgarh'.

Chronicles indicate that Zulfiqar Khan had ambitions to centre the administration of the empire around a single wazir (a post he sought for himself) while the reign of the empire was split between princes; this may have been the basis of the alliance between princes, though Abhishek Kaicker suggests that this may instead have been a fictional device used by future chroniclers to make sense of the events surrounding the war of succession.

Reign of Jahandar Shah Jahandar Shah ascended the throne a month after Bahadur Shah's death in 1712. Upon his accession, he raised Zulfiqar Khan to the position of wazir of the empire; the post of mir bakhshi passed to Kokaltash Khan, the emperor's foster-brother. Due to Jahandar Shah's dependence on Zulfiqar Khan, the latter wielded effective power over the empire, marking the first time in Mughal history that the emperor relinquished control. Zulfiqar Khan also continued to hold absentee governorship of the Deccan, administered by his deputy Daud Khan Panni.