Murad Mirza (son of Akbar)
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| Murad | |
|---|---|
| Shahzada Mirza of the Mughal Empire | |
 Sultan Murad Mirza with his half-brother Prince Daniyal | |
| Born | 7 June 1570 Fatehpur Sikri, Agra |
| Died | 12 May 1599 (aged 28) Jalnapur, Deccan |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Habiba Banu Begum |
| Issue | Shahzada Rustam Mirza Shahzada Alam Mirza Shahzadi Iffat Jahan Banu Begum |
| House | House of Timur |
| Father | Akbar |
| Religion | Islam |
Shahzada Murad Mirza (7 June 1570 – 12 May 1599[1]) was a Mughal prince as the second surviving son of Mughal Emperor Akbar from his second wife, Salima Sultan Begum, who was also one the three chief queens of Akbar. He was appointed to an Imperial mansab of 8,000.
Birth and education
Murad was born on 7 June 1570 in the house of the saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, at Fathabad (Fatehpur Sikri), Agra. Shaikh Salim Chisti had predicted the birth of Akbar's three sons and Akbar hence sent both his chief queens, Mariam-uz-Zamani Begum (née Rajkumari Hira Kunwari Sahiba) and Salima Begum, to be kept under his care and blessing during their pregnancy. Murad was born just 10 months after the birth of his older step-brother and heir apparent, Prince Sultan Salim Bahadur. In the year 1581, Prince Murad was temporarily educated by the visiting Jesuit at the Mughal Court, Fr. Anthony Monserrate, also regarded as the first Jesuit geographer in India.
Family
His first marriage was to the granddaughter of Raja Ali Khan Faruqi, King of Khandesh, currently part of Maharashtra. He next married at Lahore on the 15th of May 1587, Habiba Banu Begum Sahiba, daughter of Khan-i-Azam Mirza Aziz Koka, sometime Subahdar of Gujarat, Bengal and Malwa, and granddaughter of Akbar's foster father Shams ud-Din Ataga Khan. From Habiba Begum he had two sons, Prince Rustam Mirza, who was born at Lahore on the 27th of August 1588, and Prince Alam Mirza, who was also born at Lahore two years later, around 4 November 1590. Prince Rustam, however, died in Lahore on 9 December 1597, at the age of 9. Prince Murad's daughter Iffat Jahan Banu Begum married Shahzada Parviz (son of his elder brother Jahangir). Besides the above, he had also married two Rajput princesses.
Personality and relations with Akbar
Although Murad never openly rebelled against his father, he did follow a policy of indirect, but persistent, defiance. Akbar even appointed two ataliqs or foster fathers for Murad - Ismail Quli Khan and Sadiq Khan - but they were unable to control him because of his bad conduct in all relations of life, as well as his excessive pride and arrogance. Murad even had his eye on the Mughal throne, and felt he was ready to ascend it. During Akbar's Deccan campaign, Murad was transferred to the Deccan as its governor in 1594, where his defiance deepened. He always picked fights over military strategy and tactics with Akbar's leading noble commanders in the region, especially his most trusted general Bairam Khan's son and part of Akbar's Navratnas, Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, who also happened to be brought up by Murad's mother Salima Sultan Begum. These fights adversely affected the campaign, and hence to pacify the prince, Akbar removed Abdul Rahim from Murad's command. Despite this, Murad remained unwilling to fight the war according to Akbar. In 1598-9, Akbar tried calling back his son to the court, but Murad continued to ignore his father's orders. However, he died soon after. Murad's sour relations with his father also find mention in the Akbarnama.
Death
Murad died from alcoholism at Jalnapur, Deccan, on 12 May 1599 while leading Akbar's Deccan campaign in the Ahmednagar Sultanate. He was buried in the Mausoleum of Emperor Humayun, in Delhi.