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Saadullah Khan (Mughal Empire)

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Sa'adullah Khan Thaheem
Nawab
13th Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire
In office
1645–1656
PadshahShah Jahan
Preceded byWazir Khan
Succeeded byMir Jumla II
Personal details
Bornc. 1591[1]
Chiniot, Punjab, Mughal Empire
(present-day Punjab, Pakistan)[2]
DiedApril 1656 (aged 65–66)
NationalityMughal
Children2, including Lutfullah Khan
Hifzullah Khan
EthnicityPunjabi
Religious affiliationIslam
Military service
AllegianceMughal Empire
Branch/serviceMughal Army
Years of service1645–1656[2]
Battles/warsMughal–Safavid War (1649–1653)

Sa'adullah Khan also spelled Sadullah Khan (died April 1656) was a noble of the Mughal Empire who served as the last grand vizier (or Prime Minister) of Emperor Shah Jahan and Vakil-I-Mutlaq[3] in the period 1645–1656.[2][4] He was considered among the four most powerful nobles of the empire during Shah Jahan's time.

Sa'adullah possessed 7,000 Zat and 7,000 sowar under his command, the highest of any non-royal.[5]

Early life

Saadullah Khan, was born in the area of Chiniot of the Punjab region into an "obscure" family[2] of Jat agriculturalists,[1] specifically from the Thaheem (Thahim) tribe.[6][7]

Career

Saadullah Khan was initially made Mir-i Saman in the seventh year of Shah Jahan's reign.[8] He was later recognised as a Mughal noble in 1640–1641, and made a mansabdar. In subsequent years his rank steadily increased, and he received various promotions.[2]

Prime Minister of the Mughal Empire

Miniature painting of Sadullah Khan

In the year 1645, the incumbent Prime Minister Islam Khan II was made to vacate his position and take up governorship in the Deccan region by Shah Jahan. By this time, Saadullah Khan had become widely respected for his intelligence and talent, which had enabled his ascent in the Mughal administration despite a lack of political or family connections. He was appointed as the new Prime Minister.[9]

A year after his appointment, Saadullah Khan handled administrative issues regarding Shah Jahan's Balkh and Badakhshan campaigns. Saadullah Khan was sent to Balkh to manage the country and make the revenue settlements. Prince Murad Baksh was relieved of his command while Vizier Saadullah only took 22 days to settle the administrative affairs and returned to Kabul.[10] He was subsequently rewarded with a Khilat and an increase of 1000 in his mansab for managing the situation efficiently and saving the Mughals from a disaster in Balkh region.[11]

In 1654, he was ordered by Shah Jahan to lay siege to the Chittor Fort in Mewar, in response to provocations from Raj Singh I.[12]

Family

Saadullah Khan's eldest son Nawab Lutfullah Khan was a Mughal imperial minister, provincial governor and a leading general of Aurangzeb Alamgir.[13] Another son of his, Hifzullah Khan remained a prominent noble and governor of Sindh and Kashmir in Aurangzeb's reign.[14] Saadullah Khan was the maternal grandfather of Nizam ul Mulk, the first Nizam and founder of Hyderabad State. Nizam's mother, Wazir un-nissa (Safia Khanum) was the daughter of Sadullah Khan.[15][16] He was also the paternal ancestor of the 3rd Nizam of Hyderabad, Muzaffar Jung.[17]

Death

Saadullah Khan served as Prime Minister until his death in April 1656. He was mourned by many in the Mughal court and administration as well as emperor Shah Jahan himself, who issued a public eulogy announcing his demise.[18]

After Hidayatullah Khan Kashmiri's appointment as Wazir in the reign of Bahadur Shah I,[19] he asked for the title of Saadullah Khan which was the title of the most renowned Wazir of Shah Jahan. The Emperor replied, "It is not easy to be a Sadullah Khan, let him be known as Saidullah Khan." Nonetheless, he was popularly known by the name of Saadullah Khan.[20]

Architecture

The Jama Masjid of Delhi was built under the supervision of Sa'adullah Khan.[21] Saadullah Khan also built the Shahi Masjid in his hometown of Chiniot.[22]

  • Facade of Jama Masjid, Delhi
    Facade of Jama Masjid, Delhi
  • Courtyard of Jama Masjid, Delhi
    Courtyard of Jama Masjid, Delhi
  • Facade of Shahi Masjid, Chiniot
    Facade of Shahi Masjid, Chiniot
  • Interior of Chiniot's Shahi Masjid
    Interior of Chiniot's Shahi Masjid

References

  1. ^ a b "Journal of Central Asia". Centre for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, Quaid-i-Azam University. 15: 84. 1992. Retrieved 30 July 2022. Sadullah Khan was the son of Amir Bakhsh a cultivator of Chiniot. He belongs[sic] to Jat family. He was born on Thursday, the 10th Safar 1000 A.H./1591 A.C.
  2. ^ a b c d e Siddiqui, Shabbir A. (1986). "Relations Between Dara Shukoh and Sa'adullah Khan". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 47: 273–276. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44141552.
  3. ^ Siddiquie, Shabblr Ahmad. "SADULUH KNAN. DIWAN OF SHAH JAHAN." (1988). "Zakhirat-'Ul khwanin refers to his appointment as wakil"
  4. ^ Hasan, Ibn (1967). The Central Structure of the Mughal Empire and Its Practical Working Up to the Year 1657. Pakistan branch, Oxford University Press. p. 201.
  5. ^ Richards, J.F. (1995). The New Cambridge History of India: The Mughal Empire. University of Cambridge. p. 143,144. Retrieved 4 August 2022. The four highest ranking nobles in the empire, by comparison, were Ali Mardan Khan, Zafar Jang, Islam Khan, and Sa'adullah Khan who each held 7,000 zat, and 7,000 suwar. All save Sa'adullah Khan held 5,000 two-three horse rank. All were Muslim: two were Iranian in origin, one Turani (of Central Asian descent); and one Indian Muslim.
  6. ^ Quddus, S.A. (1992). Punjab, the Land of Beauty, Love, and Mysticism. Royal Book Company. p. 402. ISBN 978-969-407-130-5. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Extracts from the District & States Gazetteers of the Punjab, Pakistan". Research Society of Pakistan, University of the Punjab. 2: 29. 1976.
  8. ^ Tripta Verma (1994). Karkhanas Under the Mughals, from Akbar to Aurangzeb. Pragati Publications. ISBN 9788173070211.
  9. ^ Kinra, Rajeev (8 October 2015). Writing Self, Writing Empire: Chandar Bhan Brahman and the Cultural World of the Indo-Persian State Secretary. University of California Press. p. 78. doi:10.1525/luminos.3. ISBN 978-0-520-28646-7.
  10. ^ Kinra, Rajeev (8 October 2015). Writing Self, Writing Empire: Chandar Bhan Brahman and the Cultural World of the Indo-Persian State Secretary. University of California Press. pp. 88–89. doi:10.1525/luminos.3. ISBN 978-0-520-28646-7.
  11. ^ Sharma, Gauri (2006). Prime Ministers Under the Mughals, 1526-1707. Kanishka Publishers, Distributors. ISBN 978-81-7391-823-0.
  12. ^ Kinra, Rajeev (8 October 2015). Writing Self, Writing Empire: Chandar Bhan Brahman and the Cultural World of the Indo-Persian State Secretary. University of California Press. pp. 91–92. doi:10.1525/luminos.3. ISBN 978-0-520-28646-7.
  13. ^ Awrangābādī, Shāhnavāz Khān (1979). The Maāt̲h̲ir-ul-umarā: Being Biographies of the Muḥammadan and Hindu Officers of the Timurid Sovereigns of India from 1500 to about 1780 A.D. Janaki Prakashan.
  14. ^ Khān, Muḥammad Sāqī Mustaʻidd (2019). Maāsir-i-ʻĀlamgiri: A History of the Emperor Aurangzib-ʻĀlamgir (reign 1658-1707 A.D.) of Saqi Mustʻad Khan. B.R. Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-93-87587-94-6. Hifzullah Khan, son of S'adullah Khan, Subahdar of Thattha and Faujdar of Siwistan
  15. ^ Faruqui, Munis D. (2013), "At Empire's End: The Nizam, Hyderabad and Eighteenth-century India", in Richard M. Eaton; Munis D. Faruqui; David Gilmartin; Sunil Kumar (eds.), Expanding Frontiers in South Asian and World History: Essays in Honour of John F. Richards, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–38, ISBN 978-1-107-03428-0
  16. ^ Sharma, Gauri (2006). Prime Ministers Under the Mughals 1526-1707. Kanishka, New Delhi. ISBN 8173918236.
  17. ^ Nawwab Samsam Ud Daula Shah Nawaz Khan. The Maathir Ul Umara Vol. Ii Part Ii. p. 647.
  18. ^ Kinra, Rajeev (8 October 2015). Writing Self, Writing Empire: Chandar Bhan Brahman and the Cultural World of the Indo-Persian State Secretary. University of California Press. p. 80. doi:10.1525/luminos.3. ISBN 978-0-520-28646-7.
  19. ^ William Irvine (1971). Later Mughal.
  20. ^ William Irvine (1971). Later Mughal.
  21. ^ Rajiv Tiwari (2020). Delhi A Travel Guide. Diamond Pocket Books Pvt. ISBN 9798128819703.
  22. ^ Dr. Mazhar Abbas. "History neglected".
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