Khusrau Mirza
Khusrau Mirza | |
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Allahabad | |
Wives |
|
Issue |
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House | Timurid |
Father | Jahangir |
Mother | Shah Begum |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Khusrau Mirza (16 August 1587 – 26 January 1622) was the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and his first wife, Shah Begum.[2][3] The young prince displayed exceptional skills and wisdom and had the privilege to be groomed by the Mughal Emperor (Akbar) himself for the throne of the Mughal Empire. He turned out to be the most capable and qualified son of Jahangir but was befallen by an unfortunate destiny. Being Jahangir's eldest son, he was the heir-apparent to his father but Jahangir favoured his son Khurram Mirza as he held an animosity against Khusrau.[citation needed]
The charismatic prince was loved by the common people widely known for his valour, battlefield talent, and was free of all vices of the people of his age. It is noted that Akbar used to see himself in Khusrau as a brave, capable, and talented battlefield commander and a charismatic person.
Early life
Khusrau was born in
His mother was highly devoted to her husband and sided with her husband Prince Salim over her son Khusrau when the latter overlooked his father. She continuously advised Khusrau to be sincere with his father. She committed suicide on May 5, 1605, by consuming opium when the hostility between the father and the son seemingly would not subside and the chances of their reconciliation faded.[6] He was extremely loved by his grandfather Akbar, whom Khusrau would call "Shahi Baba" (royal father), and his father Salim as "Shahi Bhai" (royal elder brother).[7]
Education
Khusrau received an extensive and top-tier education which was overseen by Emperor Akbar. Akbar had appointed his most able and talented nobles who happened to be his
He received military training under the most trusted and highest-ranking noble in the Mughal Court, his maternal uncle, Raja Man Singh. A revered Hindu Brahmin named Shiv Dutt Bhattacharya was appointed Khusrau's teacher who taught him at length about various Hindu scriptures.[citation needed] Furthermore, Akbar himself invested time in his military training to teach him different warfare tactics.
Character
As noted by a European clergyman of the Mughal court, Khusrau is reported to have a pleasing presence and was admired by the common people. He was known for his valour, secularism, and battlefield talent. On 28 March 1594, Akbar made an unprecedented decision in honour of the young prince in the Mughal Court by granting Khusrau a high imperial rank of 5000 horses when he was six years old. Along with the high-ranking Mansabs, he assigned the financial resources of the province of
An incident noted by a Christian missionary, on his first encounter with Prince Khusrau, records, "On the evening following our arrival, the Emperor (Akbar) called us and showed us pictures of our Savior (
He was praised in the biography of his grandfather,
His father-in-law, the foster brother of Emperor Akbar, Mirza Aziz Koka was so devoted to the cause of Khusrau that he is recorded to have repeatedly declared:
I am willing that they (the fate) should convey the good news of his (Khusrau's) sovereignty to my right ear and should seize my soul from my left ear.[9]
Family
Khusrau's first wife and chief consort was the daughter of extremely powerful Mirza Aziz Koka, known as Khan Azam, son of Jiji Anga, Emperor Akbar's Wet nurse. When Khusrau's marriage was arranged with her, an order was given that S'aid Khan Abdullah Khan and Mir Sadr Jahan should convey 100,000 rupees[10] as sachaq to the Mirza house by the way of Sihr Baha.[11] She was his favourite wife, and was the mother of his eldest son, Dawar Bakhsh,[12] and his second son, Prince Buland Akhtar Mirza, born on 11 March 1609, who died in infancy.[13]
Another of Khusrau's wives was the daughter of Jani Beg Tarkhan of Thatta.[14] She was the sister of Mirza Ghazi Beg. The marriage was arranged by Khusrau's grandfather, Emperor Akbar.[15][16] Another of his wives was the daughter of Muqim, son of Mihtar Fazil Rikabdar (stirrup holder). She was the mother of Prince Gurshasp Mirza, born on 8 April 1616.[17][18] Khusrau had a daughter, Hoshmand Banu Begum, born in about 1605, and married to Prince Hoshang Mirza, son of Prince Daniyal Mirza.[19]
Jahangir's reign
Emperor Akbar, who had been deeply disappointed with Khusrau's father, Jahangir, due to his debauchery, negligence of duties, and rebellions against him, favoured his grandson, Khusrau for the succession to the Mughal throne over Salim. In 1605, after the death of Akbar, he was succeeded by Salim, resulting in a decline of Prince Khusrau's position and influence in the court. Jahangir was extremely angered by his son as he was favoured by Akbar for succession to the Mughal throne and had been insincere towards him. Khusrau was eventually pardoned by the Jahangir, by the intervention of the his mother, his sisters and Khusrau’s stepmothers and sisters. Mariam-uz-Zamani, Khusrau's grandmother became the prime shield of Khusrau during Jahangir's reign and as noted by a Christian missionary present in the Mughal court, she secured a pardon for the prince along with Salima Sultan Begum, Shakr-un-Nissa Begum, and Emperor Jahangir's other sisters upon Jahangir's succession.[20]
Rebellion and aftermath
In 1606, Khusrau rebelled against his father to secure the throne for himself. He left Agra with 350 horsemen on 6 April 1606 under the pretext of visiting
Khusrau was first brought to Delhi, where a novel punishment was meted out to him. He was seated in a grand style on an elephant and paraded down Chandni Chowk, while on both sides of the narrow street, the noblemen and barons who had supported him were held at knifepoint on raised platforms. As the elephant approached each such platform, the luckless supporters were impaled on stakes (through their bowels), while Khusrau was compelled to watch the grisly sight and listen to the screams and pleas of those who had supported him. This was repeated numerous times throughout the entire length of Chandni Chowk.
In 1607, he was partially blinded and imprisoned in Agra. He accompanied his father on his trip to Kabul while in shackles. Jahangir, however, filled with guilt later asked his health officials to find a remedy for the recovery of his son's eyesight though they remained unsuccessful.
Ellison B. Findly notes a strong-worded letter of Mariam-uz-Zamani to her son, Jahangir, written by her in the year 1616, expressing her concern for the safety of Khusrau, in which she had anticipated that if his charge was to be entrusted to Prince Khurram, whom she believed was eager to eliminate Khusrau to secure his succession to Mughal throne, she said that he would eventually kill Khusrau and it would be disastrous for the Mughal dynasty as the future male descendants would use it as a specimen to murder their brothers for the possession of the royal throne. Further, Findly adds that this foretelling of her substantiated soon afterwards in the Mughal Empire when Shah Jahan's children, Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh had a face-off for the royal throne eventually leading to the murder of Prince Dara Shikoh by his brother.
In 1620, in order to secure her power in the Mughal court amidst Jahangir's declining health, Nur Jehan proposed a marriage of her daughter Mihr-un-Nissa Begum to Khusrau. However, Khusrau, in an effort to uphold fidelity to his chief wife refused the marriage proposal, and the proposal was passed on to and accepted by Shahryar Mirza.
Death
In 1622, Khusrau was killed on the orders of Prince Khurram.[25] Khurram reported to Jahangir that the order was necessary due to an escape attempt made by Khusrau.[26]
To honour his son, Jahangir had him buried next to the tomb of his mother, Shah Begum, and ordered the construction of a mausoleum in Khusro Bagh in Allahabad.[27]
Legacy
After the death of Jahangir in 1627, Khusrau's son, Prince Dawar was briefly made ruler of the Mughal Empire by
On Jumada-l awwal 26, 1037 AH (January 23, 1628
Ancestry
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References
- ^ Mughal title Mirza, the title of Mirza and not Khan or Padshah, which were the titles of the Mongol rulers.
- Abul Fazl, , Mariam-uz-Zamani.
- ^ Fazl, Abul (1907). The Akbarnama. Vol. III. Translated by Beveridge, Henry. ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. p. 1239.
- ^ Pinheiro, Father (1595). "Provincial report of Bengal, part 1". 65. Asiatic society of Bengal(1896): 68.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ISBN 81-7236-094-0, p.799
- ISBN 81-7236-094-0, p.1239
- ^ Pinheiro, Father. "Part 2, Father's Provincial Report of November 1595". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1: 96.
- ^ Pinheiro, Father (1595). "Part 1, Father's Provincial Report of November 1595". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1: 68.
- ^ Khan, Mutamad (1969). Iqbalnama-I-Jahangiri.
- ^ Smart, Ellen S.; Walker, Daniel S. (1985). Pride of the princes: Indian art of the Mughal era in the Cincinnati Art Museum. Cincinnati Art Museum. p. 27.
- ISBN 978-0-470-75815-1.
- ^ Shujauddin, Mohammad; Shujauddin, Razia (1967). The Life and Times of Noor Jahan. Caravan Book House. p. 70.
- ^ Jahangir, Rogers & Beveridge 1909, p. 153.
- ^ Habib, Irfan (1997). Akbar and His India. Oxford University Press. p. 50.
- ISBN 978-0-19-512718-8.
- ^ Hasan Siddiqi, Mahmudul (1972). History of the Arghuns and Tarkhans of Sindh, 1507–1593: An Annotated Translation of the Relevant Parts of Mir Ma'sums Ta'rikh-i-Sindh, with an Introduction & Appendices. Institute of Sindhology, University of Sind. p. 205.
- ^ Jahangir, Rogers & Beveridge 1909, p. 321.
- ISBN 978-0-19-512718-8.
- ISBN 978-0-19-512718-8.
- ^ Xavier, Jesuit (1606). Missoes Jesuitas Na India. British Library London, MS 9854. p. 44.
- ^ Majumdar, R.C. (ed.)(2007). The Mughal Empire, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, p.179
- ISBN 9781610690263. Retrieved Nov 3, 2014.
- ^ "The Flight of Khusrau", The Tuzk-e-Jahangiri Or Memoirs Of Jahangir, Alexander Rogers, and Henry Beveridge. Royal Asiatic Society, 1909–1914. Vol. I, Chapter 3. p 51, 62–72., Volume 1, chapter 20
- ISBN 9780195074888.
- ISBN 81-219-0364-5, pp.126-7
- ISBN 978-0-19-536060-8.
- ^ Datta, Rangan (26 April 2023). "Khusro Bagh in Prayagraj: A silent witness of Mughal tradition and heritage". The Telegraph. My Kolkata. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ a b Taylor, G.P. (1907). Some Dates Relating to the Mughal Emperors of India in Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, New Series, Vol.3, Calcutta: The Asiatic Society of Bengal, p.59
- The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period, Sir H. M. Elliot, London, 1867–1877, vol 6.
- ^ Majumdar, R.C. (ed.)(2007). The Mughul Empire, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.197-8
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-26728-1.
- ^ a b Srivastava, M. P. (1975). Society and Culture in Medieval India, 1206-1707. Allahabad: Chugh Publications. p. 178.
- ISBN 978-81-89833-18-3.
- ^ a b Gulbadan Begum (1902). The History of Humayun (Humayun-nama). Translated by Annette Beveridge. London: Royal Asiatic Society. pp. 157–58.
- ISBN 978-81-206-1709-4.
- ^ Agrawal, C. M. (1986). Akbar and his Hindu officers: a critical study. ABS Publications. p. 27.
- ISBN 81-250-0333-9.
- ISBN 978-0-8426-1473-3.
- ^ Bhatnagar, V. S. (1974). Life and Times of Sawai Jai Singh, 1688-1743. Delhi: Impex India. p. 10.
Bibliography
- Jahangir, Emperor; Rogers, Alexander; Beveridge, Henry (1909). The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri; or, Memoirs of Jahangir. Translated by Alexander Rogers. Edited by Henry Beveridge. London Royal Asiatic Society. pp. 78, 81, 279.
External links
- History of India - Shah Jahan Archived 2006-06-18 at the Wayback Machine
- Jahangir