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Saadullah Khan (Mughal Empire)

Sa'adullah Khan, also spelled Sadullah Khan (c. 1591 – April 1656) was the Grand Vizier and Vakil-I-Mutlaq of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Shah Jahan I.[2][3]

Sa'adullah Khan
Bust Portrait of Saadullah Khan c.16-17th century
13th Mughal Grand Vizier
In office
1642 – April 1656
MonarchShah Jahan I
Preceded byWazir Khan
Succeeded byMir Jumla II
Personal details
Bornc. 1591[1]
Chiniot, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
(present-day Punjab, Pakistan)[2]
DiedApril 1656 (aged 65–66)
Lahore, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
Children2, including Lutfullah Khan
Hifzullah Khan
Military service
AllegianceMughal Empire
Branch/serviceMughal Army
Years of service1645–1656[2]
Battles/warsMughal–Safavid War (1649–1653)

Biography

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Saadullah Khan was born in Chiniot, Lahore Subah, into a Punjabi Jat family from the Thahim tribe in 1591.[1][4][5] Saadullah Khan was presented at the Mughal Court in December 1641 by Sadr Musavi, an allowance was fixed for him and he was given a robe and a horse. Soon he was appointed as the Arz-I-Mukarrar of the Empire and was awarded a rank of 1000 Zat and 200 Sawar, after serving for a short period in this pretigious post he was given the post of darogha-i-daulat khana-i-khas and rewarded with the title of "Khan". In 1643 his rank was increased to 1500 Zat and 300 Sawar on pretext of excellent service, an elephant from the royal stable was given as a gift. In the same year he was made the Mir-i Saman of the Empire, a minister of great importance, second only to the Wazir.[6] In 1645 Allami Sa'adullah was granted the post of Diwan-I-Khalisa, he was also given the charge of drafting royal orders, he worked for 46 days in this position before being appointed as the Grand Vizier of the Empire, with his mansab reaching 5000 Zat and 1500 Sawar. A robe of honor and a jewelled sword was gifted to him by the Emperor. Saadullah Khan would remain the Grand Vizier until his death in 1656.[7][2]

Prime Minister of the Mughal Empire

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Sadullah Khan meeting his officials c.1655

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.[8]

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.[9] 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.[10]

 
Miniature painting of Sadullah Khan

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.[11] He was considered among the four most powerful mughal nobles during Shah Jahan's rule. He possessed 7,000 Zat and 7,000 sowar under his command, the highest of any non-royal.[12]

European Accounts

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First-hand accounts of European Travelers visiting the Mughal Court are full of praise for the renowned Vizier. Sa'adullah Khan is described as a "man esteemed by the king and the whole court" by the Italian Traveler Nicolas Manucci, he also relates the events of the rebellion of the Bundela Rajputs which was successfully put down thanks to the cunningness of the Vizier.[13] Francois Berner, a French Physician and traveler noted that the Mughals considered Sa'adullah Khan to be the most accomplished statesman in all of Asia, his closeness to the Emperor Shah Jahan is mentioned in the work "Travels in the Mogul Empire".[14] A Dutch envoy Joan Tack accused the Grand Vizier of harboring an inherent hostility toward Europeans, notably citing his role in expelling the Portuguese from Bengal. He labeled Sa‘dullah Khan a "hereditary enemy of Christians" and portrayed him as a symbol of Mughal despotism. In this portrayal, Sa‘dullah Khan is cast as the de facto ruler of the empire, wielding near-autocratic control over its political machinery, symbolizing the centralized authority of the Mughal state.[15]

Family

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Saadullah Khan's eldest son Nawab Lutfullah Khan was a Mughal imperial minister, provincial governor and a leading general of Aurangzeb Alamgir.[16] Another son of his, Hifzullah Khan remained a prominent noble and governor of Sindh and Kashmir in Aurangzeb's reign.[17] Saadullah Khan was the maternal grandfather of Nizam ul Mulk, the first Nizam and founder of Hyderabad State. Nizam's mother, Safiya Khanum was the daughter of Saadullah Khan.[18][19] He was also the paternal ancestor of the Nawab of Bijapur, Mutawassil Khan and the 3rd Nizam of Hyderabad, Muzaffar Jung.[20]

Death

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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.[21]

After Hidayatullah Khan Kashmiri's appointment as Wazir in the reign of Bahadur Shah I,[22] 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.[23]

Architectural works

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The Jama Masjid, Delhi was built under the supervision of Sa'adullah Khan.[24] Saadullah Khan also built the Shahi Masjid in his hometown of Chiniot.[25]

  • 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

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  1. ^ a b Nasir, Habib Ullah (July 1992). "Tomb of Hazrat Shah Burhan: Its History, Architecture and Conservation Problems". Journal of Central Asia. XV (1). Quaid-i-Azam University: 84. ISSN 1016-0701. OCLC 477410900.
  2. ^ a b c d 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. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Quddus, S.A. (1992). Punjab, the Land of Beauty, Love, and Mysticism. Royal Book Company. p. 402. ISBN 978-969-407-130-5.
  5. ^ Grewal, J. S. (1974). "The Historian's Panjab". Miscellaneous Articles. Amritsar: Guru Nanak University. pp. 1–10. OCLC 34606247.
  6. ^ Tripta Verma (1994). Karkhanas Under the Mughals, from Akbar to Aurangzeb. Pragati Publications. ISBN 9788173070211.
  7. ^ Siddiquie, Shabblr Ahmad. "SADULUH KNAN. DIWAN OF SHAH JAHAN." (1988).
  8. ^ 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.
  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. pp. 88–89. doi:10.1525/luminos.3. ISBN 978-0-520-28646-7.
  10. ^ Sharma, Gauri (2006). Prime Ministers Under the Mughals, 1526–1707. New Delhi: Kanishka Publishers. p. 50. ISBN 978-81-7391-823-0.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Bernier, François (1826). Travels in the Mogul Empire. W. Pickering. p. 210.
  14. ^ Smith, Francois Bernier; Revised by V. A. (1 January 1990). Travels in the Mogul Empire A.D. 1656-1668. Atlantic. p. 23. ISBN 978-81-7156-127-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Koch, Ebba; Anooshahr, Ali (2019). The Mughal Empire from Jahangir to Shah Jahan: Art, Architecture, Politics, Law and Literature. Marg Foundation. ISBN 978-93-83243-26-6.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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
  18. ^ 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
  19. ^ Sharma, Gauri (2006). Prime Ministers Under the Mughals 1526-1707. Kanishka, New Delhi. ISBN 8173918236.
  20. ^ Nawwab Samsam Ud Daula Shah Nawaz Khan. The Maathir Ul Umara Vol. Ii Part Ii. p. 647.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ William Irvine (1971). Later Mughal.
  23. ^ William Irvine (1971). Later Mughal.
  24. ^ Rajiv Tiwari (2020). Delhi A Travel Guide. Diamond Pocket Books Pvt. ISBN 9798128819703.
  25. ^ Dr. Mazhar Abbas. "History neglected".
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