1.
Arthashastra
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The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in Sanskrit. Likely to be the work of authors over centuries, Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta. The latter was a scholar at Takshashila, the teacher and guardian of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, however, scholars have questioned this identification. Composed, expanded and redacted between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE, the Arthashastra was influential until the 12th century and it was rediscovered in 1905 by R. Shamasastry, who published it in 1909. The first English translation was published in 1915, the title Arthashastra is often translated to the science of politics, but the book Arthashastra has a broader scope. The text incorporates Hindu philosophy, includes ancient economic and cultural details on agriculture, mineralogy, mining and metals, animal husbandry, medicine, forests and wildlife. The text was influential on other Hindu texts that followed, such as the sections on king, governance, the text was considered lost by colonial era scholars, until a manuscript was discovered in 1905. A copy of the Arthashastra in Sanskrit, written on leaves, was presented by a Tamil Brahmin from Tanjore to the newly opened Mysore Oriental Library headed by Benjamin Lewis Rice. The text was identified by the librarian R. Shamasastry as the Arthashastra, during 1905-1909, Shamasastry published English translations of the text in installments, in journals Indian Antiquary and Mysore Review. During 1923-1924, Julius Jolly and Richard Schmidt published a new edition of the text, in the 1950s, fragmented sections of a north Indian version of Arthashastra were discovered in form of a Devanagari manuscript in Gujarat. A new edition based on this manuscript was published by Muni Jina Vijay in 1959, in 1960, R. P. Kangle published a critical edition of the text, based on all the available manuscripts. Numerous translations and interpretations of the text have been published since then. All 150 chapters of the text also end with a colophon stating the title of the book it belongs in, the contained in that book, the total number of titles in the book. Finally, the Arthashastra text numbers it 180 topics consecutively, the largest book is the second, with 1,285 sentences, while the smallest is eleventh, with 56 sentences. Chronology Olivelle states that the oldest layer of text, the sources of the Kauṭilya, the next phase of the works evolution, the Kauṭilya Recension, can be dated to the period 50–125 CE. Finally, the Śāstric Redaction is dated period 175–300 CE, detailed examination of astronomical data and place-names suggests that the work was composed in present-day Gujarat and northern Maharashtra. Author It identifies its author by the names Kauṭilya and Vishnugupta, stylistic differences within some sections of the surviving manuscripts suggest that it likely includes the work of several authors over the centuries. There is no doubt, states Olivelle, that revisions, errors, additions, the identification of Kauṭilya with the Mauryan minister Chanakya came later
2.
Edicts of Ashoka
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These inscriptions were dispersed throughout the areas of modern-day Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan and represent the first tangible evidence of Buddhism. The edicts describe in detail the Ashokas view about dhamma, an earnest attempt to solve some of problems that a complex society faced, according to the edicts, the extent of Buddhist proselytism during this period reached as far as the Mediterranean, and many Buddhist monuments were created. These inscriptions proclaim Ashokas adherence to the Buddhist philosophy which, as in Hinduism is called dharma, the inscriptions show his efforts to develop the Buddhist dharma throughout his kingdom. In these inscriptions, Ashoka refers to himself as Beloved servant of the Gods The identification of Devanampiyadasi with Ashoka was confirmed by an inscription discovered in 1915 by C, beadon, a British gold-mining engineer, at Maski, a village in Raichur district of Karnataka. Another minor rock edict is found at the village Gujarra in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh and this also shows the name Ashoka in addition to usual Devanampiyadasi. The inscriptions found in the part of India were written in Magadhi Prakrit using the Brahmi script. These edicts were deciphered by British archaeologist and historian James Prinsep. The edicts were based on Ashokas ideas on administration and behaviour of people towards one another, now it is conquest by Dhamma that Beloved-Servant-of-the-Gods considers to be the best conquest. Rock Edict Nb13 The distance of 600 yojanas corresponds to the distance between the center of India and Greece, roughly 4,000 miles. Amtiyoko refers to Antiochus II Theos of Syria, who controlled the Seleucid Empire from Syria to Bactria in the east from 305 to 250 BCE, and was therefore a direct neighbor of Ashoka. Turamaye refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt, king of the dynasty founded by Ptolemy I, amtikini refers to Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedon. Maka refers to Magas of Cyrene, alikasudaro refers to Alexander II of Epirus. Some scholars, however, point to the presence of Buddhist communities in the Hellenistic world from that time, the pre-Christian monastic order of the Therapeutae may have drawn inspiration for its ascetic lifestyle from contact with Buddhist monasticism, although the foundation and Scriptures were Jewish. A possible Buddhist gravestone from the Ptolemaic period has been found by Flinders Petrie, decorated with a depiction of what may be Wheel of the Law and Trishula. Commenting on the presence of Buddhists in Alexandria, Robert Linssen pointed out that It was later in this place that one of the most active centres of Christianity was established. These communities therefore seem to have been significant during the reign of Ashoka. A notable mention references aspects of Greek society, there is no country, except among the Greeks, where these two groups, Brahmans and ascetics, are not found, and there is no country where people are not devoted to one or another religion. Rock Edict Nb13 Two edicts in Afghanistan have been found with Greek inscriptions, one of these being a bilingual edict in Greek language, and the king abstains from living beings, and other men and those who huntsmen and fishermen of the king have desisted from hunting. Kambojas are a people of Central Asian origin who had settled first in Arachosia and Drangiana, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas are other people under Ashoka’s rule
3.
Mughal Empire
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The dynasty, though ethnically Turco-Mongol, was Persianate in terms of culture. The Mughal empire extended over parts of the Indian subcontinent. The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the victory by its founder Babur over Ibrahim Lodi, the Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turco-Mongols belonging to the Timurid dynasty, who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan and Timur. During the reign of Humayun, the successor of Babur, the empire was briefly interrupted by the Sur Empire, the classic period of the Mughal Empire started in 1556 with the ascension of Akbar the Great to the throne. Under the rule of Akbar and his son Jahangir, the region enjoyed economic progress as well as harmony. Akbar was a warrior who also forged alliances with several Hindu Rajput kingdoms. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to the Mughal dominance of northwestern India, the reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor, between 1628 and 1658 was the golden age of Mughal architecture. He erected several monuments, the best known of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, as well as the Moti Masjid, Agra, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, Delhi. By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Mughal armies, during the following century Mughal power had become severely limited, and the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, had authority over only the city of Shahjahanabad. He issued a firman supporting the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and following the defeat was therefore tried by the British East India Company for treason, imprisoned and exiled to Rangoon. Contemporaries referred to the empire founded by Babur as the Timurid empire, which reflected the heritage of his dynasty, another name was Hindustan, which was documented in the Ain-i-Akbari, and which has been described as the closest to an official name for the empire. In the west, the term Mughal was used for the emperor, and by extension, the use of Mughal derived from the Arabic and Persian corruption of Mongol, and it emphasised the Mongol origins of the Timurid dynasty. The term gained currency during the 19th century, but remains disputed by Indologists, similar terms had been used to refer to the empire, including Mogul and Moghul. Nevertheless, Baburs ancestors were sharply distinguished from the classical Mongols insofar as they were oriented towards Persian rather than Turco-Mongol culture, ousted from his ancestral domains in Central Asia, Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions. He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass, Baburs forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526. The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India, the instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun, who was driven out of India and into Persia by rebels. Humayuns exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing Persian cultural influence in the Mughal Empire, the restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayuns triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from a fatal accident shortly afterwards. Humayuns son, Akbar, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari River
4.
Sayyid
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Women sayyids are given the titles Sayyida, Alawiyah, or Sharifa. In some regions of the Islamic world, such as in India, children of a Sayyida mother but a non-Sayyid father are referred to as Mirza. In the Arab world, sayyid is the equivalent of the English word liege lord or master when referring to a descendant of Muhammad, the word sidi is often used in Arabic. Although not verified, many Arabic language experts state that it has its roots in the word Al Asad Arabic, الأسد meaning lion, probably because of the qualities of valour and leadership. In the early period, the Arabs used the term Sayyid, however, in the modern era, the term Sharif has been used to denote descendants from Hasan, and the term Sayyid has been used to denote descendants from Husayn. Although reliable statistics are unavailable, conservative estimates put the number of Sayyids in the tens of millions, Sayyids often include the following titles in their names to indicate the figure from whom they trace their descent. The descendants of Ali and his wives are called Alvi sayyid, they are titled Shah, Sain. Note, When transliterating Arabic words into English there are two approaches, the user may transliterate the word letter for letter, e. g. الزيدي becomes a-l-z-ai-d-i. The user may transcribe the pronunciation of the word, e. g. الزيدي becomes a-zz-ai-d-i and this is because in Arabic grammar, some consonants cancel the l from the word the al. When the user sees the prefixes an, ar, as, ash, at, az, an i, wi, or vi ending could perhaps be translated by the English suffixes -ite or -ian. The suffix transforms a personal name or place name into the name of a group of people connected by lineage or place of birth, hence Ahmad al-Hassani could be translated as Ahmad, the descendant of Hassan, and Ahmad al-Manami as Ahmad from the city of Manami. For further explanation, see Arabic names, 1Also, El-Husseini, Al-Husseini, Husseini, and Hussaini. 2Those who use the term Sayyid for all descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib regard Allawis or Alavis as Sayyids. However, Allawis are not descendants of Muhammad, as they are descended from the children of Ali and those who limit the term Sayyid to descendants of Muhammad through Fatima, do not consider Allawis/Alavis to be Sayyids. Some Sayyids also claim to be Najeeb Al Tarfayn, meaning Noble on both sides, which indicates both of their parents are Sayyid. But in actuality this term is applied only to those Sayyids who have both Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain in their ancestry, many feel proud to attach Al Hashmi bil Quraishi at the end as well. The importance of this concept of Najeeb AlTarfayn has its source in the Hadeeth of Muhammad wherein he stated that the Mahdi, or The Hidden One, hence, Shia and Sunni Sayyids have different interpretations of this concept. However, the descendants of many Sufi Saints such as Abdul-Qadir Gilani, Bande Nawaz, the existence of any descendant of Imam Hasan al Askari is disputed by many people
5.
Muhammad
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Muhammad is the prophet of Islam. From a secular historical perspective he was a religious, political, from an Islamic perspective, he was Gods Messenger sent to confirm the essential teachings of monotheism preached previously by Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is viewed as the prophet of God in all branches of Islam. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and ensured that his teachings, practices, born approximately 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, Muhammad was orphaned at an early age, he was raised under the care of his paternal uncle Abu Talib. Muhammad gained few early followers, and met hostility from some Meccan tribes, to escape persecution, Muhammad sent some followers to Abyssinia before he and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina in the year 622. This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, in Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina. In December 629, after eight years of intermittent conflict with Meccan tribes, Muhammad gathered an army of 10,000 Muslim converts, the attack went largely uncontested and Muhammad seized the city with little bloodshed. In 632, a few months after returning from the Farewell Pilgrimage, he fell ill, before his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam. The revelations, which Muhammad reported receiving until his death, form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the Word of God and around which the religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammads teachings and practices, found in the Hadith and sira literature, are upheld by Muslims. The name Muhammad means praiseworthy and appears four times in the Quran, Muhammad is sometimes addressed by designations deriving from his state at the time of the address, thus he is referred to as the enwrapped in Quran 73,1 and the shrouded in Quran 74,1. In Sura Al-Ahzab 33,40 God singles out Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets, the Quran also refers to Muhammad as Aḥmad more praiseworthy. The name Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim, begins with the kunya Abū, the Quran is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe it represents the words of God revealed by the archangel Gabriel to Muhammad, the Quran, however, provides minimal assistance for Muhammads chronological biography, most Quranic verses do not provide significant historical context. An important source may be found in the works by writers of the 2nd. These include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad, which additional information about Muhammads life. The earliest surviving written sira is Ibn Ishaqs Life of Gods Messenger written c.767 CE, although the work was lost, this sira was used verbatim at great length by Ibn Hisham and Al-Tabari. Another early history source is the history of Muhammads campaigns by al-Waqidi, many scholars accept the earliest biographies as accurate, though their accuracy is unascertainable
6.
Fatimah
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Fatimah bint Muhammad was the youngest daughter of the Islamic Nabi Muhammad and Khadijah, therefore, one of the members of Muhammads Bayt. She was a wife of ‘Ali and mother of Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn, the 11th century dynasty ruling Egypt at the time of the Crusades, the Fatimids, claimed descent from her. For Muslims, Fatimah is an example and Fatimah is one of the most popular girls names throughout the Muslim world. Fatimah is a character in the religion of Islam and is considered a role model for all Muslim women. Although there is controversy between different sects of Islam regarding her role, she is the daughter of Muhammad and is loved and venerated by all Muslims. Fatimah was born in Mecca to Khadija, the first of Muhammads wives. Twelver Shia sources, however, state that she was either two or five years after the first Quranic revelations, but that timeline would imply her mother was over fifty at the time of her birth. Fatimah had three sisters named Zainab, Umm Kulthum, and Ruqayyah and two brothers named Tayyab and Qasim respectively, Iranians celebrate Fatima Zahra’s birth anniversary which is also designated as Mothers Day in the country. Fatimah is given titles by Muslims to show their admiration of her moral and physical characteristics. The most used title is al-Zahra, meaning the shining one and she was also known as al-Batul as she spent much of her time in prayer, reciting the Quran and in other acts of worship. Besides, amongst 125 famous veneration titles, she has also honored with the title of Umm-ul-Aaima. Umm Abeeha Umm al-Hasanayn Umm al-Hasan Umm al-Husayn Umm-ul-Aaima, following the birth of Fatimah, she was personally nursed, especially she was brought up by her father, contrary to local customs where the newborn were sent to wet nurses in surrounding villages. She spent her early youth under the care of her parents in Mecca in the shadow of the tribulations suffered by her father at the hands of the Quraysh. One time, while Muhammad was performing the salat in the Kaaba, Amr ibn Hishām, Fatimah, upon hearing the news, rushed to her father and wiped away the filth while scolding the men. Following the death of her mother, Fatimah was overcome by sorrow and she was consoled by her father, who informed her that he had received word from angel Gabriel that God had built for her a palace in paradise. Many of Muhammads companions asked for Fatimahs hand in marriage, including Abu Bakr, Muhammad turned them all down, saying that he was awaiting a sign of her destiny. Ali, Muhammads cousin, also had a desire to marry Fatimah, when he went to see Muhammad, he could not vocalise his intention but remained silent. Muhammad understood the reason for his being there and prompted Ali to confirm that he had come to seek Fatimah in marriage and he suggested that Ali had a shield, which if sold, would provide sufficient money to pay the bridal gift
7.
Ali
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‘Ali ibn Abi Talib was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic Nabi Muhammad, ruling over the Caliphate from 656 to 661 ACE, and was Imam of Shi‘ite from 632 to 661 ACE. ‘Ali was the first young male who accepted Islam, after migrating to Medina, he married Muhammads daughter Fatimah. Ali took part in the early caravan raids from Mecca and later in almost all the battles fought by the nascent Muslim community and he was appointed caliph by Muhammads Companions in 656, after Caliph Uthman ibn Affan was assassinated. ‘Alis reign saw wars and in 661, he was attacked and assassinated by a Kharijite while praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa. ‘Ali is important to various Sunni and Shi‘ite denominations politically, legislatively and spiritually, while Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun caliphs, Shi‘ites regard ‘Ali as the first Imam after Muhammad due to their interpretation of the events at Ghadir Khumm. Shias also believe that ‘Ali and the other Shi‘ite Imams are the successors to Muhammad. This disagreement split the Ummah into the Sunni and Shia branches, ‘Alis father, Abu Talib, was the custodian of the Kabah and a sheikh of the Banu Hashim, an important branch of the powerful Quraysh tribe. He was also an uncle of Muhammad, Alis mother, Fatima bint Asad, also belonged to Banu Hashim, making Ali a descendant of Ismail, the son of Ibrahim. Many sources, especially Shii ones, attest that Ali was born inside the Kaaba in the city of Mecca, according to a tradition, Muhammad was the first person whom Ali saw as he took the newborn in his hands. Muhammad named him Ali, meaning the exalted one, Muhammad had a close relationship with Alis parents. When Muhammad was orphaned and later lost his grandfather Abdul Muttalib, Ali was born two or three years after Muhammad married Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. When Ali was five or six years old, a famine occurred in and around Mecca, affecting the economic conditions of Alis father, Muhammad took Ali into his home to raise him. The second period of life began in 610 when he declared Islam at the age of 10. When Muhammad reported that he had received a revelation, Ali, then only about ten years old, believed him. According to Ibn Ishaq and some authorities, Ali was the first male to embrace Islam. Tabari adds other traditions making the claim of being the first Muslim in relation to Zayd ibn Harithah or Abu Bakr. Some historians and scholars believe Alis conversion is not worthy enough to him the first male Muslim because he was a child at the time. Hence the Shia say of Ali that his face is honoured, the Sunnis also use the honorific Karam Allahu Wajhahu, which means Gods Favour upon his Face
8.
Banu Hashim
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Banū Hāshim is a clan in the Quraysh tribe with a unique maternal bloodline of Israelite ancestry through Salma bint Amr of Banu Najjar. This makes Banu Hashim both an Ishmaelite and Israelite tribe, the Islamic prophet, Muhammad was a member of this Arab tribe, his great-grandfather was Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, for whom the tribe is named. Members of this clan are referred to as Hashemites, descendants of Muhammed usually carry the titles Sayyid, Syed, Hashmi, Sayed and Sharif, or the Ashraf clan. Today, two sovereign monarchs - Abdullah II of Jordan and Muhammad VI of Morocco and erstwhile royal family of Libya are considered to be a part of Banu Hashim, amongst pre-Islamic Arabs, people classified themselves according to their tribe, their clan, and then their house/family. There were two major tribal kinds, the Adnanites and the Qahtanites, Banu Hashim is one of the clans of the Quraysh tribe, and is an Adnanite tribe. The House of Abdul-Muttalib of Banu Hashim comprised nobility in pre-Islamic Mecca, with time, the Kaaba had come to be occupied by some hundreds of idols. It was into the House Abd al-Muttalib of Banu Hashim of Quraysh that Muhammad was born, at the age of 40, his establishment of Islam set him at odds with the established powers in Mecca. After 13 years, the Muslim community of Mecca migrated to the city of Yathrib to avoid their often murderous persecution by the non-believers of Mecca, with the conquest of Mecca, the city was captured by the army of Islam. The Kaabah was cleansed of idols and became the centre of pilgrimage for Muslims, the two major lines of descent of Muhammad are those of his two grandsons, Al-Hasan and Al-Husain, born of the union of his daughter Fatimah and his cousin and son-in-law Ali. Muhammad besought the love of the Muslims on his grandsons, thus their descendants have become spiritual aristocracy among the Muslims, the descendants of Muhammads grandsons are known by the titles of sayed, sayyid, syed and sharif. Although not 100% complete in its scope the resulting Kitab al-Ashraf, kept at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul is one of the best sources of evidence of descent from Muhammad
9.
Aurangzeb
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Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad, commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his regnal title Alamgir, was the sixth, and widely considered the last effective Mughal Emperor. He ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent during some parts of his reign, Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and during his reign, the Mughal Empire temporarily reached its greatest extent. During his reign,4.6 million people were said have died due to war, Aurangzebs policies partly abandoned the legacy of pluralism, which remains a very controversial aspect of his reign and led to the downfall of the Mughal Empire. Rebellions and wars led to the exhaustion of the imperial Mughal treasury and he was a strong-handed authoritarian ruler, and following his death the expansionary period of the Mughal Empire came to an end. Nevertheless, the territory of the Mughal Empire still remained intact more or less until the reign of Muhammad Shah. Aurangzeb was born on 3 November 1618, in Dahod, Gujarat and he was the third son and sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. In June 1626, after a rebellion by his father, Aurangzeb. His daily allowance was fixed at Rs.500 which he spent on religious education, on 28 May 1633, Aurangzeb escaped death when a powerful war elephant stampeded through the Mughal Imperial encampment. He rode against the elephant and struck its trunk with a lance, Aurangzebs valour was appreciated by his father who conferred him the title of Bahadur and had him weighed in gold and presented gifts worth Rs.200,000. This event was celebrated in Persian and Urdu verses and Aurangzeb said, If the fight had ended fatally for me, death drops the curtain even on Emperors, it is no dishonor. The shame lay in what my brothers did, by arrangement, Aurangzeb stayed in the rear, away from the fighting, and took the advice of his generals as the Mughal Army gathered and commenced the Siege of Orchha in 1635. The campaign was successful and Singh was removed from power, Aurangzeb was appointed viceroy of the Deccan in 1636. In 1637, Aurangzeb married the Safavid princess, Dilras Banu Begum and she was his first wife and chief consort. He also had an infatuation with a girl, Hira Bai. In his old age, he was under the charms of his concubine, the latter had formerly been a companion to Dara Shikoh. In the same year,1637, Aurangzeb was placed in charge of annexing the small Rajput kingdom of Baglana, in 1644, Aurangzebs sister, Jahanara, was burned when the chemicals in her perfume were ignited by a nearby lamp while in Agra. This event precipitated a crisis with political consequences. Aurangzeb suffered his fathers displeasure by not returning to Agra immediately, Shah Jahan had been nursing Jahanara back to health in that time and thousands of vassals had arrived in Agra to pay their respects
10.
Bahadur Shah I
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Bahadur Shah, the seventh Mughal emperor of India, ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. Born Muazzam, Shah was the son of Aurangzeb with his Muslim Rajput wife Nawab Bai. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father and ascend to the throne a number of times, Shahs plans were intercepted by the emperor, who imprisoned him several times. From 1696 to 1707, he was governor of Akbarabad, Kabul, after Aurangzebs death Shahs brother, Muhammad Azam Shah, declared himself successor before his defeat in the Battle of Jajau. During his reign, Shah bloodlessly annexed the Rajput states of Jodhpur and Amber and his reign was also disturbed by the Sikh leader Banda Singh Bahadur, who led a rebellion against him. Bahadur Shah was buried in the Moti Masjid at Mehrauli in Delhi, Muazzam was born on 14 October 1643 in Burhanpur to the sixth Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, and his secondary wife Nawab Bai. He was Nephew of Dara Shikoh, and also grandchild of Mumtaz Mahal. Muzzam was married to Rajkumari Namirta Bai daughter of Mirza Raja Jai Singh, during his grandfathers reign Muzzam was appointed vizer of Lahore from 1653-1659. In 1663, when he was twenty years old, Muazzam was made the governor of the Deccan province. The most important issue in front of him was to curb the rise of Shivaji, who was on the ascendant in the area, in 1663 itself, Muazzam attacked Pune which was Shivajis base at that time. However, the Mughal army was defeated and Muazzam himself was captured and he spent seven years as a prisoner of the Marathas. After his grandfather Shah Jahan died at Agra fort, Prince Muzzam was sent to Agra to by orders his father Muzzam buried his grandfather to Taj Mahal, Muazzams imprisonment was not severe, and indeed he was kept in the lap of luxury by his captors. This was the custom with regard to high-born and potentially useful captives, Shivajis own son, Sambhaji, was at roughly the same time a prisoner of the Mughals. In 1670, Muazzam organised an insurgency to overthrow Aurangzeb and proclaim himself the Mughal emperor and this plan may have been hatched at the instigation of the Marathas, and Muazzams own inclinations and sincerity are difficult to gauge. Anyway, Aurangzeb learned about the plot and sent Muazzams mother Begum Nawab Bai to dissuade Muazzam from rebellion, Nawab Bai brought Muazzam back to the Mughal court, where he spent the next several years under Aurangzebs supervision. However, Muazzam revolted in 1680 on the pretext of protesting Aurangzebs treatment of Rajput chiefs, once again, Aurangzeb followed his previous policy to dissuade Muazzam with gentleness and then to place him under greater vigilance. For the next seven years, from 1681 to 1687, Muazzam was an obedient son. In 1681, he was sent by Aurangzeb to the Deccan to crush a revolt raised by his step-brother Sultan Muhammad Akbar, according to the historian Munis Faruqui, Muazzam deliberately failed in his mission
11.
Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asif Jah I
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Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi was a Turkic nobleman with some Arab ancestry and the founder of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. He established the Hyderabad state, and ruled it from 1724 to 1748 and he is also known by his titles Chin Qilich Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk and Asaf Jah. According to his contemporary Shah Waliullah and the British historian Henry George Briggs and he was born to Ghazi ud-Din Khan Siddiqi Feroze Jung I and his first wife Wazir un-nisa Begum at Agra on 20 August 1671 as Mir Qamar ud-din Khan Siddiqi. The name was given to him by the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb and his paternal and maternal grandparents were both important Mughal generals and courtiers namely, Qilich Khan II and Jumlat-ul-Mulk Allami Saadullah Khan, the Vizier of Emperor Shah Jahan. At the age of six, Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan accompanied his father to the Mughal court in 1677, Emperor Aurangzeb awarded him a Mansab. Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan displayed considerable skill as a warrior and before he reached his teens began accompanying his father into battle, at the age of nineteen, the Emperor bestowed on him the title Chin Fateh Khan. For fighting on and capturing the fort he was raised to rank of 5000 horse and awarded 15 million dams, a jeweled sabre, at 26, he was appointed Commander in Chief and Viceroy, first in Bijapur, then Malwa and later of the Deccan. He inherited his familys military prowess, after Aurangzebs death he was appointed Governor of Oudh. After Bahadur Shahs death he opted for a life in Delhi. His enemies accuse Nizam ul-Mulk of building his own power-base independently of the Mughals in Delhi, while continuing to give obeisance to the throne and he was then called upon by Farrukhsiyar to help fight off the Sayyid Brothers. Farrukhsiyar lost his strife against the Saadaat i Baarha Sayyid Brothers and was killed, later Nizam ul-Mulk was rewarded for defeating the Saiyyid Brothers with the post of Vizier in the court of Muhammad Shah, the 18-year-old successor. But all did not work as planned, Nizam ul-Mulks attempts to reform the corrupt Mughal administration with its cliques of concubines and eunuchs created many enemies. Nizam ul-Mulks desire to restore the etiquette of the Court and the discipline of the State to the standard of Shah Jahans time earned him few friends, the courtiers poisoned the mind of the Emperor against him. Unimpressed by the up-start occupying what he considered to be his rightful place, the encounter was short but decisive. Wrapped in his bloodsoaked shawl, Mubariz Khan drove his war elephant into battle until he died from his wounds and his severed head was then sent to Delhi as proof of Nizam ul-Mulks determination to annihilate anyone who stood in his way. Now came from the Emperor an elephant, jewels and the title of Asaf Jah, with directions to settle the country, repress the turbulent, punish the rebels and cherish the people. Asaf Jah, or the one equal to Asaf, the Grand Vizier in the court of King Solomon, was the highest title that could be awarded to a subject of the Mughal Empire. There were no lavish ceremonies to mark the establishment of the Asaf Jahi dynasty in 1724, the inauguration of the first Nizam took place behind closed doors in a private ceremony attended by the new rulers closest advisors
12.
Jahandar Shah
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His title was Shahanshah-i-Ghazi Abul Fath Muizz-ud-Din Muhammad Jahandar Shah Sahib-i-Quran Padshah-i-Jahan. Prince Jahandar Shah was born in Deccan Subah, to emperor Bahadur Shah I and Nizam Bai and he was appointed Vizier of Balkh in 1671 by his grandfather Aurangzeb. Upon the death of their father on 27 February 1712, he and his brother, Azim-ush-Shan, azim-us-Shan was killed on 17 March 1712, and Jahandar Shah was able to rule for eleven months. Before coming to the throne, Jahandar Shah had sailed around the Indian ocean, had been a prosperous trader. He fathered three sons, including Aziz-ud-Din, who reigned as Mughal emperor between 1754 and 1759, Jahandar Shah, was very frivolous in lifestyle, his court was enlivened by dancing and entertainment. He chose a wife, Lal Kunwar who was a mere dancing girl before her elevation to the position of Queen Consort. Together they shocked the Mughal Empire and were opposed by Aurangzebs surviving daughter Zinat-un-Nissa. To further strengthen his authority Jahandar Shah sent gifts to the Ottoman Sultan Ahmad III, the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah died in 1712 and was succeeded by Jahandar Shah, the puppet Mughal ruler. Banda Singh Bahadur knew his weaknesses, and between his region he captured Punjab region, east of Lahore along with the Mughal territories near trans-Yamuna region, the Raja of Dwangarh Umar Singh Rajawat Was Serving The Officer of Deccan Wars during Aurangzeb Reign. He was greatly respected by The Emperor who appointed him as the Commander of 3000 Cavalry, after Aurangzeb died Umar Singh sided with the heir apparent Muhammad Azam Shah, who was killed with all his sons in 1707. Umar Singh never returned to the Mughal Court after Jahandar Shah became Emperor, the Emperor send his son Alamgir 2 as Governor of Lahore. Umar Singh attacked the Fort in 1713 February, the Prince Alamgir was only 14 years old when he ordered his officers to Fight against Umar Singh. Alamgir was defeated by And he under arrested and sent to Farruksiyar The New Mughal Emperor, in 1755 Alamgir became emperor order to Lahore Fort attacking The Raja Jagat Singh Surrended Mughals. Lahore was under Mughal Province He was defeated in the battle at Agra on 10 January 1713 by Farrukhsiyar, his nephew and he fled to Delhi, where he was captured and handed over to the new Emperor, who confined him along with Lal Kunwar. He lived in confinement for a month, until 11 February 1713 and his eldest son, Prince Aazuddin, died on 12 December 1744. Jahandar Shah reintroduced couplets and issued coins in gold, silver, two couplets i. e Abu al-Fateh and Sahab Qiran were used. Copper coins were issued in both weight standard i. e 20 grams and 14 grams
13.
Farrukhsiyar
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Abul Muzaffar Muin ud-din Muhammad Shah Farrukh-siyar Alim Akbar Sani Wala Shan Padshah-i-bahr-u-bar was the Mughal emperor between 1713 and 1719, after murdering Jahandar Shah. Noted as a ruler he was easily swayed by his advisers, he lacked the ability, knowledge. He was the son of Azim-ush-Shan—the second son of emperor Bahadur Shah I—and Sahiba Nizwan and his reign witnessed the primacy of the Sayyid Brothers who became the effective powers of the land, behind the façade of Mughal rule. His constant plotting eventually led the Sayyid Brothers to officially depose him, Muhammad Farrukhsiyar was born on 11 September 1683 at the city of Aurangabad in the Deccan region. He was the son of Azim-ush-Shan. In 1696, he accompanied his father in his campaign to Bengal, in 1707, the then Mughal emperor Aurangzeb recalled his son Azim-ush-Shan from Bengal, instructing Farrukhsiyar to take charge of the province. Initially, he spent his years in the city of Dhaka and during the reign of Bahadur Shah I. In 1712, Azim-ush-Shan anticipated Bahadur Shah Is death and a struggle for accession, as he was marching past Azimabad when he heard of the Mughal emperors death. Consequently on 21rst March, Farrukhsiyar proclaimed his fathers accession to the throne, issued coinage in his fathers name, on 6 April, Farrukhsiyar heard of his fathers defeat. The prince becoming distressed contemplated suicide, but was dissuaded by his friends from Bengal, in 1712, Jahandar Shah ascended the throne of the Mughal empire by defeating his father Azim-ush-Shan. However, he wanted to avenge for his fathers death and he was joined by Hussain Ali Khan the subahdar of Bengal. They were also joined by Abdullah Khan, his brother who was the subahdar of Allahabad, as they reached Allahabad from Azimabad, Jahandar Shahs military general Syed Abdul Ghaffar Khan Gardezi with 12,000 troops clashed with Abdullah Khan. Abdullah Khan retreated to the Allahabad Fort, however, with the news of Gardezis death, his army fled. After he came to know of his defeat, Jahandar Shah sent another general Khwaja Ahsan Khan, on reaching Khajwah, they came to know that Farrukhsiyar was accompanied by Hussain Ali Khan and Abdullah Khan. With Abdullah Khan in command of the vanguard, Farrukhsiyar started the attack, after an artillery fight for a whole night, Aazuddin and Khwaja Ahsan Khan fled. The camp consequently fell to Farrukhsiyar, on 10 January 1713, the forces of Farrukhsiyar and Jahandar Shah met at Samugarh. Jahandar Shah was defeated and imprisoned and on the next day, on 12 February, Farrukhsiyar marched to the Mughal capital of Delhi and captured Red Fort and the citadel. The head of Jahandar Shah was put at the end of a bamboo and carried by an executioner on an elephant
14.
Deccan Plateau
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The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in southern India. It rises to 100 metres in the north, and to more than 1 kilometre in the south and it extends over eight Indian states and encompasses a wide range of habitats, covering most of central and southern India. It is separated from the Gangetic plain to the north by the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges, the name Deccan is an anglicised form of the Prakrit word dakkhin, itself derived from the Sanskrit word dákṣiṇa, as the Deccan Plateau is located in southern part of Indian subcontinent. The Deccan region has historically lacked an enduring geo-political centre, and has been defined in various ways, geographers have attempted to define it using indices such as rainfall, vegetation, soil type or physical features. When considering physical features, it is taken to be the bounded by the Narmada River, the Eastern Ghats. The 16th century historian Firishta defined Deccan as the inhabited by the native speakers of Kannada, Marathi. Richard M. Eaton also settled on this linguistic definition, the Western Ghats mountain range is very tall and blocks the moisture from the southwest monsoon from reaching the Deccan Plateau, so the region receives very little rainfall. The eastern Deccan Plateau is at an elevation spanning the southeastern coast of India. Its forests are relatively dry but serve to retain the rain to form streams that feed into rivers that flow into basins. Most Deccan plateau rivers flow south, most of the central plateau is drained by the Tungabhadra River, Krishna River and its tributaries, including the Bhima River, which also run east. The climate of the region varies from semi-arid in the north to tropical in most of the region with distinct wet, rain falls during the monsoon season from about June to October. March to June can be dry and hot, with temperatures regularly exceeding 40 °C. The name derives from the Sanskrit daksina, the plateau is bounded on the east and west by the Ghats, while its northern extremity is the Vindhya Range. The Deccans average elevation is about 2,000 feet, sloping generally eastward, its rivers, the Godavari, Krishna. The plateaus climate is drier than that on the coasts and is arid in places, having once constituted a segment of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland, this land is the oldest and most stable in India. The average height of the Western Ghats, which run along the Arabian Sea, anaimudi Peak in Kerala, with a height of 2,695 m above sea level, is the highest peak of peninsular India. In the Nilgiris lie Ootacamund, the hill station of southern India. The western coastal plain is uneven and swift rivers flow through it that forms beautiful lagoons and backwaters, the east coast is wide with deltas formed by the rivers Godavari, Mahanadi and Kaveri
15.
Rafi ud-Darajat
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Rafi-ul Darjat, the youngest son of Rafi-us-Shan and the nephew of Azim ush Shan, was the 10th Mughal Emperor. He succeeded Furrukhsiyar on 28 February 1719, being proclaimed Badshah by the Syed Brothers, as Rafi-ul Darajat owed his throne to the Syed Brothers they took full advantage of this. They wanted him to be a ruler and so took steps to curtail his power. The previous emperor Furrukhsiyar was deposed by the Syed Brothers as he had tried to maintain his independence, the reign of Rafi Ul-Darjat was one of turbulence. On 18 May 1719, less than three months after his own accession, Rafi Ul-Darjats uncle, Nekusiyar, assumed the throne at the Agra Fort as he thought he was eligible for the post. The Syed Brothers were extremely determined to defend the emperor they had raised to the throne, only three months after Nekusiyars enthronement, the fort surrendered and Nekusiyar was captured. He was respectfully received by the Amir Ul-Umara and confined at Salimgarh where he died in 1723, before dying, Rafi-ud-Darajat requested to enthrone his elder brother. Accordingly, on 6 June 1719, after a reign of 3 months and six days, two days later his brother, Rafi ud-Daulah, was enthroned. Rafi Ul-Darjat died of Lung Cancer or was murdered at Agra,13 June 1719 and his remains were interred near the shrine of Sufi saint, Khawaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, at Mehrauli in Delhi
16.
Muhammad Shah
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Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Shah, Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Shah Irkhwaz, Abu Al-Fatah Nasir-ud-Din Roshan Akhtar Muhammad Shah, was the Mughal emperor between 1719 and 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the son of Bahadur Shah I. With the help of the Sayyid brothers, he ascended the throne at the age of 17. He later got rid of them with the help of Asaf Jah I – Syed Hussain Ali Khan was murdered at Fatehpur Sikri in 1720, Muhammad Shah was a great patron of the arts, including musical, cultural and administrative developments. His pen-name was Sada Rangila and he is referred to as Muhammad Shah Rangila. Although he was a patron of the arts, Muhammad Shahs reign was marked by rapid, the Mughal Empire was already decaying, but the invasion by Nader Shah of Persia and the subsequent sacking of Delhi, the Mughal capital, greatly accelerated the pace. The course of events not only shocked and mortified the Mughals themselves, Muhammad Shah was born in 1702 in Ghazna to Prince Khujista Akhtar, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Handsome and quick to learn, his mother took care of his education. Since the overthrow of Farrukhsiyar in 1719 many Mughal Emperors briefly ascended to the throne, on 29 September 1719, he was given the title Abu Al-Fatah Nasir-ud-Din Roshan Akhtar Muhammad Shah and enthroned in the Red Fort. His mother was given an allowance of 15 thousand rupees monthly for her needs, in the year 1720, Syed Hussain Ali Khan Barha, the commander and chief of the most elite Mughal Army, was assassinated in his encampment in Toba Bhim on 9 October 1720. The Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah took direct command of his forces, Asaf Jah I was then dispatched to gain complete control of 6 Mughal provinces in the Deccan, and Muhammad Amin Khan Turani was assigned as the Mansabdar of 8000. Previously the emperor had to fight Muhammad Ibrahim, but young Muhammad Shah defeated him on 13 November 1720, the fall of the Sayyid Brothers marked the beginning of the end of the Mughal Empires direct control over its dominions in the Deccan. In the year 1721, young Muhammad Shah married the daughter of the previously deposed Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar, on 21 February 1722, the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah appointed the Asaf Jah I as Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire. He advised the new Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah to be as cautious as Akbar, Asaf Jah I resigned his post as the Grand Vizier when the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah expressed negligence towards his administration. The Mughal Grand Vizier, Asaf Jah I appointed the Mughal commander Ewaz Khan as the master of the garrison at Aurangabad and much of his logistical duties were carried out by Inayatullah Kashmiri. Asaf Jah I left the court in disgust and appointed his deputy Qamaruddin Khan as the next Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire. There Asaf Jah I fought Mubariz Khan the Mughal Subedar of the Deccan, taking advantage of Mubariz Khans conventional weaknesses Asaf Jah I defeated and eliminated his opponent during the Battle of Shakarkhelda. Asaf Jah I then established the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1725, during this time, the Mughal-Maratha Wars would cause irreparable devastation to the inhabitants of the ill-administered Mughal Empire
17.
Regent
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A regent is a person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated. The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency, a regent or regency council may be formed ad hoc or in accordance with a constitutional rule. Regent is sometimes a formal title, if the formally appointed regent is unavailable or cannot serve on a temporary basis, a Regent ad interim may be appointed to fill the gap. In a monarchy, a regent usually governs due to one of these reasons and this was the case in the Kingdom of Finland and the Kingdom of Hungary, where the royal line was considered extinct in the aftermath of World War I. In Iceland, the regent represented the King of Denmark as sovereign of Iceland until the country became a republic in 1944, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, kings were elective, which often led to a fairly long interregnum. In the interim, it was the Roman Catholic Primate who served as the regent, in the small republic of San Marino, the two Captains Regent, or Capitani Reggenti, are elected semi-annually as joint heads of state and of government. Famous regency periods include that of the Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, giving rise to terms such as Regency era. Strictly this period lasted from 1811 to 1820, when his father George III was insane, as of 1 December 2016, Liechtenstein is the only country with an active regency. The term regent may refer to lower than the ruler of a country. The term may be used in the governance of organisations, typically as an equivalent of director, some university managers in North America are called regents and a management board for a college or university may be titled the Board of Regents. The term regent is used for members of governing bodies of institutions such as the national banks of France. This type of group portrait was popular in Dutch Golden Age painting during the 17th century, in the Dutch East Indies, a regent was a native prince allowed to rule de facto colonized state as a regentschap. Consequently, in the state of Indonesia, the term regent is used in English to mean a bupati. Again in Belgium and France, Regent is the title of a teacher in a lower secondary school. In the Philippines, specifically, the University of Santo Tomas, the Father Regent and they also form the Council of Regents that serves as the highest administrative council of the university. In the Society of Jesus, a regent is a training to be a Jesuit. A regent in the Jesuits is often assigned to teach in a school or some other academic institution as part of the formation toward final vows, list of regents Viceroy, an individual who, in a colony or province, exercised the power of a monarch on his behalf
18.
Fatehpur Sikri
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Fatehpur Sikri (Hindi, फ़तेहपुर सीकरी, is a city in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city was founded in 1569 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585, when it was abandoned. After his military victories over Chittor and Ranthambore, Akbar decided to shift his capital from Agra to a new location 23 miles west south-west and he named the city Fatehabad, with Fateh, a word of Arabic origin in Persian, meaning victorious. It was later called Fatehpur Sikri and it is at Fatehpur Sikri that the legends of Akbar and his famed courtiers, the nine jewels or Navaratnas, were born. Fatehpur Sikri is one of the best preserved examples of Mughal architecture in India, according to contemporary historians, Akbar took a great interest in the building of Fatehpur Sikri and probably also dictated its architectural style. Seeking to revive the splendours of Persian court ceremony made famous by his ancestor Timur, but the influences of his adopted land came through in the typically Indian embellishments. The easy availability of sandstone in the areas of Fatehpur Sikri also meant that all the buildings here were made of the red stone. The Imperial Palace complex consists of a number of independent pavilions arranged in formal geometry on a piece of level ground, a pattern derived from Arab and central Asian tent encampments. In its entirety, the monuments at Fatehpur Sikri thus reflect the genius of Akbar in assimilating diverse regional architectural influences within a holistic style that was uniquely his own, in fact, he never returned to the city except for a brief period in 1601. In later Mughal history it was occupied for a short while by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah and his regent, Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha, one of the Syed Brothers, was murdered here in 1720. The palaces were occupied by the Marathas after their conquest of Delhi, then transferred to the British army, which used the fortified complex as a headquarters and barracks. Because the palace area has been in continuous use over the centuries. It is still surrounded by a five mile long wall built during its construction on three sides. However apart from the buildings complex and the magnificent mosque. The former site of the city is mostly barren, except of ruins of the bazaars of the old city near the Naubat Khana, the drum-house entrance at Agra Road. The modern town lies at the end of the complex, which was a municipality from 1865 to 1904. For a long time it was known for its masons and stone carvers, though in Akbar time it was known and fabrics of hair. The village of Sikri still exists nearby, the excavations yielded a rich crop of Jain statues, hundreds of them, including the foundation stone of a temple with the date
19.
Mughal emperors
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The Mughal emperors were a branch of the Timurid dynasty. From the early 16th century to the early 18th they built and ruled the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the countries of Bangladesh, India. Their power rapidly dwindled during the 18th century and the last of the emperors was deposed in 1857, with the establishment of the British Raj. The dynasty was of Asian Turco-Mongol origin from a now part of modern-day Uzbekistan. Timur is generally known in the West as Tamerlane the Great and its population at the time has been estimated as between 110 and 150 million, over a territory of more than 3.2 million square kilometres. Ousted from his domains in Central Asia by Uzbek Khan. He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass, baburs forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526. The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India, the instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun, who was driven out of India and into Persia by rebels. Humayuns exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing West Asian cultural influence in the Mughal court, the restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayun’s triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from a fatal accident shortly afterwards. Humayuns son, Akbar, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions, and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari river. He created a new class of nobility loyal to him from the aristocracy of Indias social groups, implemented a modern government. At the same time Akbar intensified trade with European trading companies and he left his successors an internally stable state, which was in the midst of its golden age, but before long signs of political weakness would emerge. Akbars son, Jahangir, ruled the empire at its peak, but he was addicted to opium, neglected the affairs of the state, and came under the influence of rival court cliques. During the reign of Jahangirs son, Shah Jahan, the culture, the maintenance of the court, at this time, began to cost more than the revenue. Shah Jahans eldest son, the liberal Dara Shikoh, became regent in 1658, however, a younger son, Aurangzeb, allied with the Islamic orthodoxy against his brother, who championed a syncretistic Hindu-Muslim religion and culture, and ascended to the throne. Aurangzeb defeated Dara in 1659 and had him executed, although Shah Jahan fully recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and had him imprisoned. During Aurangzebs reign, the empire gained political strength once more, Aurangzeb expanded the empire to include almost the whole of South Asia, but at his death in 1707, many parts of the empire were in open revolt. Aurangzebs son, Shah Alam, repealed the religious policies of his father, however, after his death in 1712, the Mughal dynasty sank into chaos and violent feuds
20.
Faujdar
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Faujdar was a title awarded by Mughal and other Muslim rulers in South Asia to garrison commanders. In pre-Mughal times, the referred to a military officer. With the administrative reforms performed by Mughal emperor Akbar, this rank was systemised, the empire as a whole was divided into provinces known as subah, which were further divided into sarkars, and then parganas. One of the used to describe the officer posted to act as the administrator of the sarkar was faujdar. Faujdar is mostly used as a title by Jat gotras such as Sogarwar, Chahar, Sinsinwar, Kuntal throughout Northern India, the Fouzder title is also found in Bangladesh specially in the Hindu Kshatriya community of Khulna division, though Varman/Barman/Varma was their main title. Some say that they are descendants of the General of the army of Nawab Alivardi Khan, there are still many examples of the Varman dynasty in Sylhet division. There is also a college called Fouzderhat Cadet College in Chittagong
21.
Subahdar
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Subahdar was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah during the Mughal era of India who was alternately designated as Sahib-i-Subah or Nazim. The word, Subahdar is of Persian origin The Subahdar was the head of the Mughal provincial administration and he was assisted by the provincial Diwan, Bakshi, Faujdar, Kotwal, Qazi, Sadr, Waqa-i-Navis, Qanungo and Patwari. The Subahdars were normally appointed from the Mughal princes or the holding the highest mansabs. A nazim is the coordinator of cities and towns in Pakistan, Nazim is the title in Urdu of the chief elected official of a local government in Pakistan, such as a district, tehsil, union council, or village council. Likewise, a deputy mayor is known as a Naib nazim, the word naib in Urdu literally means assistant or deputy hence Naib nazim is similar in function to a deputy mayor. He is also custodian of the house, the name which is used for the president of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, the Islamic Union of Students in Pakistan, is Nazim-e-ala. The nazim-e-ala is elected for one year, and after completing that tenure, the chief nazim, or district nazim, is elected by the nazims of Union Councils, Union Councillors, and Tehsil Nazims, who themselves are elected directly by the votes of the local public. Pakistan originally had a system inherited from the time of British rule, under the Local Government Act, however, the role of the nazim became distinct from that of a Mayor, with more power. The nazim system was introduced after the system, imposed during British rule, was lifted by the government of Pakistan. Now there is no commissioner for any of the divisions, deputy commissioner for the districts, or assistant commissioners, one exception, however, is Islamabad, the federal capital, where the commissionerate system remains in effect. In 2009, the new government restored the commissionerate system in the divisions, a Nazim is also empowered to decide criminal cases
22.
Khandesh
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Khandesh is a region of central India, which forms the northwestern portion of Maharashtra state. Khandesh was the region demarcated as a boundary after which Dakkhan a. k. a, originally the Khandesh state was founded and ruled by the Faruqi dynasty with the capital at Burhanpur which is now in Madhya Pradesh. Khandesh State had covered the area of the todays Dhule, Jalgaon, Nandurbar districts of Maharashtra state, the terms Khandesh and Deccan thus connote historical and political affiliations, as well as geographical zones. After Indias independence in 1947, Bombay province became Bombay state, the principal natural feature is the Tapi River. The Tapi receives thirteen principal tributaries in its course through Khandesh, none of the rivers is navigable, and the Tapi flows in a deep bed which historically made it difficult to use for irrigation. Most of Khandesh lies south of the Tapi, and is drained by its tributaries the Girna, Bori, the alluvial plain north of the Tapi contains some of the richest tracts in Khandesh, and the land rises towards the Satpuda hills. In the centre and east the country is level, save for some low ranges of barren hills, to the north and west, the plain rises into rugged hills, thickly wooded, and inhabited by the tribal Bhil people. Khandesh was ruled by the Faruqi dynasty with capital at Burhanpur, who maintained their independence from the Bahmani, when Mughal padshah Akbar conquered much of the Deccan, he added there three subahs (top-level imperial provinces to the initial dozen, Berar, Kandesh and Ahmadnagar. There was no major irrigation facility in Khandesh before the Girana, most of the Khandesh is arid or semi arid. Khandesh has rich cultural and literary heritage, प्रमुख खाद्य-शेव भाजी, पूरण पोली, खिचड़ी, वांग्याचे भरित, भाकरी, Marathi is official and mostly spoken language in Khandesh. Ahirani is spoken in West Khandesh from Girana basin this language is the mix of Marathi, Gujarati, Gujar, khandeshi/Ahirani is spoken in Eastern part of Khandesh. Mukta Bai, the sister of Dnyaneshwar, lived at Muktainagar, near which the great yogi Changdeva lived in the thirteenth century. There was also strong presence of Kabir Pantha in Khandesh due to the proximity of Burhanpur, bahinabai Chaudhari regarded as one the greatest poetess in Marathi literature belonged to a Khandeshi farmer family. Her son Kavi Sopandeo Choudhary was famous for his poetry with a touch of humor, balkavi, Trambak Bapuji Thombre, then another great name in Marathi poetry belonged to Jalgaon district. Kolte a noted scholar of Marathi hailed from Khandesh who was the top authority on Mahanubhav literature, the well known Marathi writers from Khandesh region include Dr. Bhalchandra Nemade, N. D. Mahanor and Dr. Sharad Rane. Dr. Nemade is known for his Novels Kosala, Bidhar, Jarila and Zool, Late Dodhuji Tukaram Kamble was one of notable social reformists who promoted education among backward class started Yashwant Chhatralay at Mohadi, Dhule. Late Sonusingh Patil, Late Bapuso Sudhakarrao Neve, Dadasaheb Raval, Brijlal Patil, Patil, Udesing Anna Pawar, Pundlik Jibhau, KakaBaba are the main faces who represented this area. Padmasri Shital Mahajan, Nilima, they belong to Khandesh. Girana Panjara Tapi Waghur Waghur Dam Latipada Akkalpada Nakane Girna Hatnur Aner Dam Sulwade Dam Khandesh Agency Imperial Gazetteer of India, v.15, p. 225-240
23.
Maratha
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The Maratha is a group of castes in India found predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, Marathas are people of India, famed in history as yeoman warriors and they reside primarily in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The general body of lists are often at variance with each other. The term Maratha originally referred to the speakers of the Marathi language, in the 17th century, it emerged as a designation for soldiers serving in the armies of Deccan sultanates. A number of Maratha warriors, including Shivajis father, Shahaji, by the mid-1660s, Shivaji had established an independent Maratha kingdom. After his death, Marathas fought under his sons and defeated Aurangzeb in the war of 27 years, the Confederacy remained the pre-eminent power in India until their defeat by the British East India Company in the Third Anglo-Maratha War. By 19th century, the term Maratha had several interpretations in the British administrative records, in the Thane District Gazetteer of 1882, the term was used to denote elite layers within various castes, for example, Maratha-Agri within Agri caste, Maratha-Koli within Koli caste and so on. In the Pune District, the words Kunbi and Maratha had become synonymous, the Pune District Gazetteer of 1882 divided the Kunbis into two classes, Marathas and other Kunbis. The 1901 census listed three groups within the Maratha-Kunbi caste complex, Marathas proper, Maratha Kunbis and Konkani Marathas, the Kunbi class comprised agricultural workers and soldiers. The upper-class Marathas proper claimed Rajput descent with Kshatriya status, and included princes, some of the Maratha clans claiming Rajput descent include Bhonsales, Chavans, and Pawar. Gradually, the term Maratha came to denote an endogamous caste, from 1900 onwards, the Satyashodhak Samaj movement defined the Marathas as a broader social category of non-Brahmin groups. These non-Brahmins gained prominence in Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement, in independent India, these Marathas became the dominant political force in the newly-formed state of Maharashtra. The empire also resulted in the relocation of substantial numbers of Maratha and other Marathi-speaking people outside Maharashtra. Today several small but significant communities descended from these live in the north, south. These descendant communities tend often to speak the languages, although many also speak Marathi in addition. Notable Maratha families outside Maharashtra include Scindia of Gwalior, Gaekwad of Baroda, Holkar of Indore, Puar of Dewas & Dhar, Ghorpade of Mudhol, and Bhonsle of Nagpur. These Brahmins supported the Maratha claim to Kshatriya status, but their success in political alliance was sporadic. Marathas have dominated the politics of Maharashtra since its inception in 1960
24.
Hoshangabad
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Hoshangabad is a city and a municipality in Hoshangabad district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is a city in the central India region, on the bank of the Narmada River. The city is named ruler of Narmadapuram, Hoshang Shah. The city was earlier called Narmadapuram after the Narmada River, later the name was changed to Hoshangabad after Hoshang Shah, the first ruler of Malwa. Hoshangabad district was part of the Nerbudda Division of the Central Provinces and Berar, the city is famous for its beautiful ghats along the banks of the Narmada river, Sethani ghat is a major attraction. There are colourful celebrations in the city on Narmada Jayanti, during celebrations this year the CM announced the efforts to rename the town. A Satsang Bhavan on the ghat has regular visits by Hindu saints who hold regular religious discourses on Ramcharitmanas, Hoshangabad is located at 22. 75°N77. 72°E /22.75,77.72. It has an elevation of 278 metres. Northern boundary of the district is river Narmada, across this the district of Raisen and Sehore lies. The climate of Hoshangabad district is normal, all the seasons come in the district. An average height from the sea level is 331 m and average rain fall is 134 cm, the average maximum and minimum temperatures are 40 deg. C and 19 deg. C respectively. Overall, the climate of the district is more hot nor more cool except the winter season of the Pachmarhi. Hoshangabad is well connected by road and rail from the capital, Bhopal. Hoshangabad railway station is connected by rail with all cities of the state. One of its tehsils, Itarsi is linked with all cities of the country due to junction of main railway routes of the country. It is 18 km from the district headquarters, from Itarsi, one can reach Pachmarhi via Pipariya, which is 64 km by train. Sethani ghat is an important landmark of the city, on the banks of River Narmada and it is about 7 km downstream from the confluence of Tawa and Narmada rivers. As of 2001 India census, Hoshangabad had a population of 97,357, males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%
25.
Aurangabad, Maharashtra
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Aurangabad is a city in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. Aurangabad is named after the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the city is a tourism hub, surrounded by many historical monuments, including the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as well as Bibi Ka Maqbara and Panchakki. Aurangabad is the Tourism Capital of Maharashtra, Khadki was the original name of the village which was made a capital city by Malik Ambar, the Prime Minister of Murtaza Nizam, Shah of Ahmadnagar. Within a decade, Khadki grew into a populous and imposing city and he was succeeded by his son Fateh Khan, who changed the name of Khadki to Fatehnagar. With the capture of Daulatabad by the troops in 1633. In 1653 when Mughal prince Aurangzeb was appointed the viceroy of the Deccan for the time, he made Fatehnagar his capital. Aurangabad is sometimes referred to as Khujista Bunyad by the Chroniclers of Aurangzebs reign and his son and successor, Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah II transferred his capital from Aurangabad to Hyderabad in 1763. During the period of the British Raj, the city was known as Aurungábád, in 1956 it became a part of newly formed bilingual Bombay state and in 1960 it became a part of Maharashtra state. The co-ordinates for Aurangabad are N 19°5347 – E 75°2354, the city is surrounded by hills on all directions. Climate Classification, Aurangabad features a semiarid climate under the Köppen climate classification, temperature, Annual mean temperatures in Aurangabad range from 17 to 33 °C, with the most comfortable time to visit in the winter – October to February. The highest maximum temperature recorded was 46 °C on 25 May 1905. The lowest recorded temperature was 2 °C on 2 February 1911, rainfall, Most of the rainfall occurs in the monsoon season from June to September. Thunderstorms occur between November to April. Average annual rainfall is 710 mm. The city is often cloudy during the monsoon season, the daily maximum temperature in the city often drops to around 22 °C due to the cloud cover and heavy rains. The entire area is covered by the Deccan Traps lava flows of Upper Cretaceous to Lower Eocene age, the lava flows are overlain by thin alluvial deposits along the Kham and Sukhana river. The basaltic lava flows belonging to the Deccan Trap is the major geological formation occurring in Aurangabad. The lava flows are horizontal and each flow has two distinct units, the difference in the productivity of groundwater in various flows arises as a result of their inherent physical properties such as porosity and permeability. The groundwater occurs under water table conditions and is controlled by the extent of its secondary porosity i. e. thickness of weathered rocks and spacing of joints. The highly weathered vesicular trap and underlying weathered jointed and fractured massive trap constitutes the main water yielding zones, the soil is mostly formed from igneous rocks and are black, medium black, shallow and calcareous types having different depths and profiles
26.
Ranthambore Fort
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It is a formidable fort having been a focal point of the historical developments of Rajasthan. The fort is known for the glory and valor of Hammir dev of the Chauhan dynasty, the Ranthambore fort was built by a Chauhan Rajput ruler, although the exact name of the ruler is disputed. A widely held belief states that the fort was built the reign of Sapaldaksha, another theory states that the fort was built during the reign of Jayant, in 1110 CE. Its earlier name was Ranastambha or Ranastambhapura and it was associated with Jainism during the reign of Prithviraja I of Chahamana dynasty in the 12th century. Siddhasenasuri, who lived in the 12th century has included this place in the list of holy Jaina tirthas, in Mughal period, a temple of Mallinatha was built in the fort. After the defeat of Prithviraja III in 1192 CE, the fort came under the control of the Muslim Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor, prithvirajas son Govindaraja IV accepted the Ghurid suzerainty, and ruled Ranthambore as his vassal. His descendants made various attempts to become independent, the Delhi Sultan Iltutmish captured Ranthambore in 1226, but the Chauhans recaptured it after his death in 1236. The armies of Sultan Nasir ud din Mahmud, led by the future Sultan Balban, unsuccessfully besieged the fortress in 1248 and 1253, shakti Dev succeeded Jaitrasingh in 1283, and recaptured Ranthambore and enlarged the kingdom. Sultan Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji briefly besieged the fort in 1290-91, in 1299, Maharao Hammir Dev Chauhan sheltered Muhammad Shah, a rebel general of Sultan Ala ud din Khilji, and refused to turn him over to the Sultan. The sultan unsuccessfully besieged the fortress in 1299, but returned in 1301 to personally oversee a long siege, the fortress was captured by the kingdom of Mewar under Rana Hamir Singh and Rana Kumbha. After the reign of Rana Kumbhas successor Rana Udai Singh I the fortress passed to the Hada Rajputs of Bundi, Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat captured the fortress from 1532 to 1535. The Mughal Emperor Akbar captured the fortress in 1569, the fortress passed to the Kachwaha Maharajas of Jaipur in the 17th century, and it remained part of Jaipur state until Indian Independence. The area surrounding the fortress became a ground for the Maharajas of Jaipur. Jaipur state acceded to India in 1949, becoming part of the state of Rajasthan in 1950, inside Ranthambore fort there are three Hindu temples dedicated to Ganesh, Shiva and Ramlalaji constructed in 12th and 13th centuries from red Karauli stone. There is also a Jain temple of Lord Sumatinath and Lord Sambhavanath, ranthambhore Tiger Reserve Or National Park Historical Places 8
27.
Ajmer
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Ajmer is one of the major cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and is the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. According to the 2011 census, Ajmer has a population of around 551,360 in its urban agglomeration and 542,580 in the city, the city is located at a distance of 135 km from the state capital Jaipur and 391 km from the national capital New Delhi. The city was established by a Shakambhari Chahamana ruler, either Ajayaraja I or Ajayaraja II, after the defeat of Prithviraja lll in 1192 CE, the city came under Muslim rule. Ajmer is surrounded by the Aravalli Mountains and it is a pilgrimage centre for the shrine of the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and is also the base for visiting Pushkar, an ancient Hindu pilgrimage city, famous for the temple of Brahma. Ajmer has been selected as one of the cities for the HRIDAY - Heritage City Development. Ajmer was originally known as Ajayameru, the 12th century text Prithviraja Vijaya states that the Shakambhari Chahamana king Ajayaraja II established the city of Ajayameru. Historian Dasharatha Sharma notes that the earliest mention of the name occurs in Palhas Pattavali. This suggests that Ajmer was founded sometime before 1113 CE, a prashasti, issued by Vigraharaja IV and found at Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra, states Ajayadeva moved his residence to Ajmer. The later text Prabandha-Kosha states that it was the 8th century king Ajayaraja I who commissioned the Ajayameru fort, Singh, this claim appears to be true, as inscriptions dated to the 8th century CE have been found at Ajmer. Singh theorizes that Ajayaraja II later enlarged the town, constructed palaces, Ajmer has a hot, semi-arid climate with over 55 centimetres of rain every year, but most of the rain occurs in the monsoon months, between June and September. Temperatures remain relatively high throughout the year, with the months of April to early July having an average daily temperature of about 30 °C. During the monsoon there is frequent heavy rain and thunderstorms, the winter months of November to February are mild and temperate with average temperatures ranging from 15–18 °C with little or no humidity. There are, however, occasional cold fronts that cause temperatures to fall to near freezing levels. Ajmer is well connected to the cities of India by land. Work on the Kishangarh Airport near Ajmer was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September 2013, at present the nearest airport is the Jaipur International Airport, about 132 km away, with daily flights to major cities in India. Akbar and his queen used to come here by foot every year on pilgrimage from Agra in observance of a vow when he prayed for a son. The large pillars called Kose Minars, erected at intervals of two miles along the way between Agra and Ajmer mark the places where the royal pilgrims halted every day. It has been estimated that around 125,000 pilgrims visit the site every day, official Website Of Dargah, http, //www. ajmergharibnawaz. com Dargah Website for Deg Booking, offering flower, ittar at Sufi Shrine Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, Ajmer Sharif Dargah, India
28.
Agra
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Agra is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is 378 kilometres west of the capital, Lucknow,206 kilometres south of the national capital New Delhi and 125 kilometres north of Gwalior. Agra is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh, Agra is a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Tāj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpūr Sikrī, all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Agra falls within the Braj cultural region, the city was first mentioned in the epic Mahābhārata, where it was called Agrevaṇa. Legend ascribes the founding of the city to Raja Badal Singh, however, the 11th century Persian poet Masūd Sad Salmān writes of a desperate assault on the fortress of Agra, then held by the Shāhī King Jayapala, by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 AD when a Ghaznavide force captured it, Sultan Sikandar Lodī was the first to move his capital from Delhi to Agra in 1506. He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the second capital. He died in 1517 and his son, Ibrāhīm Lodī, remained in there for nine more years and several palaces, wells. Finally being defeated at the Battle of Panipat in 1526, between 1540 and 1556, Afghans, beginning with Sher Shah Suri ruled the area. It achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658, Agra features a semiarid climate that borders on a humid subtropical climate. The city features mild winters, hot and dry summers and a monsoon season, however the monsoons, though substantial in Agra, are not quite as heavy as the monsoon in other parts of India. This is a factor in Agra featuring a semiarid climate as opposed to a humid subtropical climate. As of 2011 India census, Agra city has a population of 1,585,704, the urban agglomeration of Agra has a population of 1,760,285. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%, Agra city has an average literacy rate of 73. 11%, lower than the national average of 74%. Literacy rate of males is considerably higher than that of women, the sex ratio in the city was 875 females per thousand males while child sex ratio stood at 857. Agra district literacy rate is 62. 56%, Agra is dominated by Yadavs and Jats. According to the 2011 census, Agra district has a population of 4,380,793 and this gives it a ranking of 41st in India. The district has a density of 1,084 inhabitants per square kilometre
29.
Subedar
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Subedar is a historical rank in the Nepal Army, Indian Army and Pakistan Army, ranking below British commissioned officers and above non-commissioned officers. The rank was equivalent to a British captain. In Nepalese Army, Subedar = Warrant officer, in British India, subedar or subadar was the second highest rank of enlisted Indian soldiers. It was derived from subahdar, the governor of a province in the Mughal Empire, a subedar is senior to a naib subedar and junior to a subedar major. It was introduced in the East India Companys presidency armies to make it easier for British officers to communicate with native troops and it was thus essential for subedars to be fluent in English. Until 1866, the rank was the highest a non-European Indian could achieve in the army of British India, a subedars authority was confined to other Indian troops, and he could not command British troops. Before the 1947 Partition of India and the independence of India and Pakistan, after 1947 this term was changed to junior commissioned officers. After independence, which came in 1947 with the Partition of India, in the Pakistan Army, the rank has been retained, but the ribbon is now red-green-red. Until 1858, subedars wore two epaulettes with small bullion fringes on each shoulder. After 1858, they wore two crossed swords, or, in the Gurkha regiments, two crossed golden kukris, on each side of the collar of the tunic or on the right breast of the kurta. After 1900, subedars wore two pips on each shoulder, a red-yellow-red ribbon was introduced under each pip after World War I. After World War II, this ribbon was moved to lie between the title and the rank insignia. In the Princely State of Hyderabad under the Nizam, the top rank of administrators, www. Bharat-Rakshak. com/Army/Ranks. html - Illustration of various military insignias including three subedar insignia designs
30.
Adil Shahi dynasty
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Bijapur had been a province of the Bahmani Sultanate, before its political decline in the last quarter of the 15th century and eventual break-up in 1518. The Bijapur Sultanate was absorbed into the Mughal Empire on 12 September 1686, the founder of the dynasty, Yusuf Adil Shah, was appointed Bahmani governor of the province, before creating a de facto independent Bijapur state. Yusuf and his son, Ismail, generally used the title Adil Khan, Khan, meaning Chief in Mongolian and adopted in Persian, conferred a lower status than Shah, indicating royal rank. Only with the rule of Yusufs grandson, Ibrahim Adil Shah I, the Bijapur Sultanates borders changed considerably throughout its history. Its northern boundary remained relatively stable, straddling contemporary Southern Maharashtra, the Sultanate expanded southward, first with the conquest of the Raichur Doab following the defeat of the Vijayanagar Empire at the Battle of Talikota in 1565. Later campaigns, notably during the reign of Mohammed Adil Shah, extended Bijapurs formal borders, Bijapur was bounded on the West by the Portuguese state of Goa and on the East by the Sultanate of Golconda, ruled by the Qutb Shahi dynasty. The former Bahmani provincial capital of Bijapur remained the capital of the Sultanate throughout its existence, Bijapur was caught up in the instability and conflict resulting from the collapse of the Bahmani Empire. Bijapur eventually conquered the neighbouring Sultanate of Bidar in 1619, the Portuguese Empire exerted pressure on the major Adil Shahi port of Goa, until it was conquered during the reign of Ibrahim II. The Sultanate was thereafter relatively stable, although it was damaged by the revolt of Shivaji, Shivaji founded an independent Maratha Kingdom which went on to become the Maratha Empire, one of largest empires in India, just before the British conquered India. The greatest threat to Bijapurs security was, from the late 16th century, although it may be the case that the Mughals destroyed the Adilshahi it was Shivajis revolt which weakened the Adilshahi control. Various agreements and treaties imposed Mughal suzerainty on the Adil Shahs, by stages, the demands of their Mughal overlords sapped the Adil Shahs of their wealth until the Mughal conquest of Bijapur in 1686. The founder of the dynasty, Yusuf Adil Shah, may have been a Georgian slave who was purchased by Mahmud Gawan from Iran, yet, Salma Ahmed Farooqui, states, Yusuf was a son of the Ottoman Sultan Murad II. According to the historian Mir Rafi-uddin Ibrahim-i Shirazi, or Rafi, Yusufs full name was Sultan Yusuf Adil Shah Savah or Sawahi, the son of Mahmud Beg of Sawa in Iran. Rafis history of the Adil Shahi dynasty was written at the request of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, Rafi-uddin later became the governor of Bijapur for about 15 years. Yusufs bravery and personality raised him rapidly in Sultans favour, resulting in his appointment as the Governor of Bijapur and he built the Citadel or Arkilla and the Faroukh Mahal. Yusuf was a man of culture and he invited poets and artisans from Persia, Turkey and Rome to his court. Hes well known as a ruler who took advantage of the decline of the Bahmani power to himself as an independent sultan at Bijapur in 1498. He married Punji, the sister of a Maratha warrior, when Yusuf died in 1510, his son Ismail was still a boy
31.
Multan
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Multan, is a Pakistani city located in Punjab province. Multan is Pakistans 5th most populous city, and is the premier-centre for southern Punjab province, Multan is located on the banks of the Chenab River, and is at the heart of Pakistans Seraiki-speaking regions. Multans history stretches back into antiquity, the ancient city was site of the renowned Multan Sun Temple, and was besieged by Alexander the Great during the Mallian Campaign. Multan was one of the most important trading centres of medieval Islamic India, the city, along with the nearby city of Uch, is renowned for its large collection of Sufi shrines dating from that era. The origin of Multans name is unclear and it has been postulated that Multan derives its name from the Sanskrit word for the pre-Islamic Hindu Multan Sun Temple, called Mulasthana. Hukm Chand in the 19th century suggested that the city was named after an ancient Hindu tribe that was named Mul, the Multan region has been continuously inhabited for at least 5,000 years. The region is home to archaeological sites dating to the era of the Early Harappan period of the Indus Valley Civilisation. According to Hindu mythology, Multan was founded by the Hindu sage Kashyapa, according to the Persian historian Firishta, the city was founded by a great grandson of Noah. Hindu mythology also asserts Multan as the capital of the Trigarta Kingdom at the time of the Kurukshetra War that is central the Hindu epic poem, ancient Multan was the centre of a solar-worshipping cult that was based at the ancient Multan Sun Temple. While the cult was dedicated to the Hindu Sun God Surya, the Sun Temple was mentioned by Greek Admiral Skylax, who passed through the area in 515 BCE. The temple is mentioned in the 400s BCE by the Greek historian. Multan is believed to have been the Malli capital that was conquered by Alexander the Great in 326 BCE as part of the Mallian Campaign, during the siege of the citys citadel, Alexander leaped into the inner area of the citadel, where he killed the Mallians leader. Alexander was wounded by an arrow that had penetrated his lung, leaving him severely injured, during Alexanders era, Multan was located on an island in the Ravi river, which has since shifted course numerous times throughout the centuries. In the mid-5th century CE, the city was attacked by a group of Hephthalite nomads led by Toramana, by the mid 600s CE, Multan had been conquered by the Chach of Alor, of the Hindu Rai dynasty. After his conquest of Sindh, Muhammad bin Qasim in 712 CE captured Multan from the local ruler Chach of Alor following a two-month siege, following bin Qasims conquest, the citys subjects remained mostly non-Muslim for the next few centuries. By the mid-800s, the Banu Munabbih, who claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammads Quraysh tribe came to rule Multan, and established the Amirate of Banu Munabbih, which ruled for the next century. During this era, the Multan Sun Temple was noted by the 10th century Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi to have located in a most populous part of the city. The Hindu temple was noted to have accrued the Muslim rulers large tax revenues, during this time, the citys Arabic nickname was Faraj Bayt al-Dhahab, reflecting the importance of the temple to the citys economy
32.
Baloch people
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They mainly speak the Balochi language, a branch of Northwestern Iranian languages, and are an Iranic people. About 50% of the total Baloch population live in Balochistan, a province of Pakistan, 40% of Baloch are settled in Sindh. They make up nearly 3. 6% of the Pakistani population, about 2% of Irans population, prominent Baloch people in Pakistan include former Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali and former President Asif Ali Zardari who is an ethnic Baloch from Sindh. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry born in Quetta, is the longest-serving Chief Justice of Pakistan is another prominent Baloch personality, the son of Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the Chief of the Baloch Zardari tribe. Farooq Leghari was the first ever ethnic Baloch to be elected President, the exact origin of the word Baloch is unclear. Rawlinson believed that it is derived from the name of the Babylonian king, dames believed that it is derived from the Persian term for cockscomb, said to have been used as a crest on the helmets of Baloch troops in 6th century BCE. Herzfeld proposed that it is derived from the Median term brza-vaciya, the remnants of the original name such as Balochuk and Balochiki are said to be still used as ethnic names in Balochistan. Some writers suggest a derivation from Sanskrit words bal, meaning strength, the army in question is that of the Umayyad Caliphate after the conquest of Sindh. According to Baloch lore, their ancestors hail from Aleppo in what is now Syria and they are descendants of Hazrat Ameer Hamza, uncle of the prophet Muhammad, who settled in Halab. and they fled to the Sistan region. They allegedly remained there for nearly 500 years until they fled following a deception against the Sistan leader Badr-ud-Din to the Makran region, the Baloch began migrating towards the east in the late Sasanian period. The cause of the migration is unknown but may have been as a result of the unstable conditions in the Caspian area. The migrations occurred over several centuries and this brought them into conflict with the Buyids, and later the Ghaznavids and the Seljuqs. Adud al-Dawla of the Buyid dynasty launched a campaign against them. By the 13/14th centuries waves of Baloch were moving into Sindh, according to Dr. Akhtar Baloch, Professor at University of Karachi, the Balochis migrated from Balochistan during the Little Ice Age and settled in Sindh and Punjab. The Little Ice Age is conventionally defined as an extending from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, or alternatively. Although climatologists and historians working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the start or end dates of this period, which varied according to local conditions. According to Professor Baloch, the climate of Balochistan was very cold, the area where the Baloch tribes settled was disputed between the Persian Safavids and the Mughal emperors. Although the Mughals managed to some control over the eastern parts of the area, by the 17th century
33.
Lahore
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Lahore is the capital city of the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is the second most populous city in Pakistan and the 32nd most populous city in the world, the city is located in the north-eastern end of Pakistans Punjab province, near the border with the Indian state of Punjab. Lahore is ranked as a world city, and is one of Pakistans wealthiest cities with an estimated GDP of $58.14 billion as of 2014. Lahore is the cultural centre of the Punjab region, and is the largest Punjabi city in the world. The city has a history, and was once under the rule of the Hindu Shahis, Ghaznavids, Ghurids. Lahore reached the height of its splendour under the Mughal Empire, the city was contested between the Maratha Empire and Durrani Empire, then became capital of the Sikh Empire, before becoming the capital of the Punjab under British rule. Following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Lahore became the capital of Pakistans Punjab province, Lahore is one of Pakistans most liberal and cosmopolitan cities. It exerts a strong influence over Pakistan. Lahore is a centre for Pakistans publishing industry, and remains the foremost centre of Pakistans literary scene. The city is also a centre of education in Pakistan. Lahore is also home to Pakistans film industry, Lollywood, and is a centre of Qawwali music. The city is much of Pakistans tourist industry, with major attractions including the old Walled City. Lahore is also home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Lahore Fort, the etymology of Lahore is uncertain, but according to legend the city was once known as Lavapura, in honour of Prince Lava of the Hindu epic poem, the Ramayana. Lahore Fort also contains a vacant Lava temple, dedicated to the founder of the city. Lahore was called by different names throughout history, to date there is no conclusive evidence as to when it was founded. Lahore is described as a Hindu principality in the Rajput accounts, keneksen, the founder of Suryavansha, is believed to have migrated out from the city. The Solanki tribe, belonging to Amukhara Pattan, which included the Bhatti Rajputs of Jaisalmer, Lahore appears as the capital of the Punjab for the first time under Anandapala – the Hindu Shahi king who is referred to as the ruler of –after leaving the earlier capital of Waihind. Few references to Lahore remain from before its capture by Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznavi in the 11th century, the sultan took Lahore after a long siege and battle in which the city was torched and depopulated
34.
Rajput
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Rajput is a member of the patrilineal clans of the Indian subcontinent. They rose to prominence from the late 6th century AD and had a significant role in regions of central. The Rajput population and the former Rajput states are found spread across India where they are spread in north, west, in Pakistan they are found on the eastern parts of the country. These areas include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, the origin of the Rajputs is the subject of debate. Writers such as M. S. Naravane and V. P, one theory espouses that with the collapse of the Gupta empire from the late 6th century, the invading Hephthalites were probably integrated within Indian society. At the same time, some tribes were ranked as Rajput, examples of which are the Bhatis, Bundelas, Chandelas. Actually vary greatly in status, from princely lineages, such as the Guhilot and Kachwaha, aydogdy Kurbanov says that the assimilation was specifically between the Hephthalites, Gurjars, and people from northwestern India, forming the Rajput community. Pradeep Barua also believes that Rajputs have foreign origins, he says their practice of asserting Kshatriya status was followed by other Indian groups thereby establishing themselves as Rajputs. Thereafter, in the late 12th century Muhammad of Ghor attempted to invade Gujarat but was defeated by the Chaulukya dynasty of Rajputs. The Rajput kingdoms were disparate, loyalty to a clan was more important than allegiance to the wider Rajput social grouping, meaning that one clan would fight another. This and the jostling for position that took place when a clan leader died meant that Rajput politics were fluid. Even after the Muslim conquest of the regions in Punjab and the Ganges River valley, the Rajputs maintained their independence in Rajasthan and the forests of central India. Later, Sultan Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate took the two Rajput forts of Chittor and Ranthambhor in eastern Rajasthan in the 14th century but could not hold them for long. In the 15th century, the Muslim sultans of Malwa Sultanate, accordingly, Rana Sanga came to be the most distinguished indigenous contender for supremacy but was defeated by the Mughal invader Babur at Battle of Khanwa in 1527. From as early as the 16th century, Purbiya Rajput soldiers from the regions of Bihar and Awadh, were recruited as mercenaries for Rajputs in the west. After the mid-16th century, many Rajput rulers formed close relationships with the Mughal emperors and it was due to the support of the Rajputs that Akbar was able to lay the foundations of the Mughal empire in India. Some Rajput nobles gave away their daughters in marriage to Mughal emperors, for example, Akbar accomplished 40 marriages for him, his sons and grandsons, out of which 17 were Rajput-Mughal alliances. Akbars successors as Mogul emperors, his son Jahangir and grandson Shah Jahan had Rajput mothers, the ruling Sisodia Rajput family of Mewar made it a point of honour not to engage in matrimonial relationships with mughals and thus claimed to stand apart from those Rajput clans who did so
35.
Delhi
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Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi or NCT, is a city and a union territory of India. It is bordered by Haryana on three sides and by Uttar Pradesh to the east, the NCT covers an area of 1,484 square kilometres. According to 2011 census, Delhis city population was about 11 million, Delhis urban area is now considered to extend beyond the NCT boundary to include an estimated population of over 26 million people making it the worlds second largest urban area. As of 2016 recent estimates of the economy of its urban area have ranked Delhi either the top or second most productive metro area of India. Delhi is the second wealthiest city after Mumbai in India, with a wealth of $450 billion. Delhi has been inhabited since the 6th century BC. Through most of its history, Delhi has served as a capital of various kingdoms and it has been captured, ransacked and rebuilt several times, particularly during the medieval period, and modern Delhi is a cluster of a number of cities spread across the metropolitan region. New Delhi is jointly administered by the government of India and the local government of Delhi. Delhi is also the centre of the National Capital Region, which is a unique interstate regional planning area created by the National Capital Region Planning Board Act of 1985, Delhi ranks among the cities with the worst air pollution in the world. There are a number of myths and legends associated with the origin of the name Delhi, one of them is derived from Dhillu or Dilu, a king who built a city at this location in 50 BC and named it after himself. The coins in circulation in the region under the Tomaras were called dehliwal, according to the Bhavishya Purana, King Prithiviraja of Indraprastha built a new fort in the modern-day Purana Qila area for the convenience of all four castes in his kingdom. He ordered the construction of a gateway to the fort and later named the fort dehali, another theory suggests that the citys original name was Dhillika. The people of Delhi are referred to as Delhiites or Dilliwalas, the city is referenced in various idioms of the Northern Indo-Aryan languages. Dilli dilwalon ka shehr or Dilli Dilwalon ki meaning Delhi belongs to the large-hearted/daring, aas-paas barse, Dilli pani tarse, literally meaning it pours all around, while Delhi lies parched. An allusion to the sometimes semi-arid climate of Delhi, it refers to situations of deprivation when one is surrounded by plenty. The area around Delhi was probably inhabited before the second millennium BC, the city is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. According to Mahabharata, this land was initially a huge mass of forests called Khandavaprastha which was burnt down to build the city of Indraprastha, the earliest architectural relics date back to the Maurya period, in 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Remains of eight cities have been discovered in Delhi
36.
Azim-ush-Shan
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Prince Azim-ush-Shan was the second son of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah I, by his second wife, Maharajkumari Amrita Bai Sahiba. In 1697 he was appointed the viceroy of Bengal Subah, Bihar, shortly after, he took successful military initiative against Rahim Khan. Azim gave East India Company permission to build Fort William in Kolkata, using Mughal permission, Dutch also built Fort Gustavas in Chinsura and French built Fort Orleans in Chandernagore. Azim got into conflict with Murshid Quli Khan, the newly appointed Divan of Bengal, considering the complaint of Murshid Quli Khan, emperor Aurangzeb ordered Azim to move to Bihar. In 1703 he transferred the capital to Rajmahal and then again to Pataliputra and he renamed Pataliputra to Azimabad after his own name. In 1712, at the time of his fathers death, he proclaimed himself emperor. However, he was killed shortly afterwards in the struggles that ensued. Azim-ush-shans first wife was Bai Jas Kaur, the daughter of Kirat Singh and she married Azim-ud-din in 1678, and was the mother of Muhammad Karim Mirza born on 12 October 1679. She died at Delhi on 19 February 1721, and was buried at the Qutb and his second wife was Sahib Niswan Begum, a Kasmiri lady, and the sister of Khwajah Inayatullah entitled Shaista Khan. She was the mother of Emperor Farrukhsiyar, upon Farrukhsiyars accession on 11 January 1713, she occupied an eminent position in the imperial harem. She died at Delhi in February 1729, having outiving her son for ten years. His third wife was Aisha Banu Begum, the daughter of Ruhullah Khan Yazdi and she was the granddaughter Khalilullah Khan. The marriage took place on 26 June 1692 and she was the mother of Prince Humayun Bakht Mirza, and Prince Ruh-ud-daula Mirza. Azim-ush-shan is said to have very fond of her. On 24 May 1709, she gave birth to twins, a boy and she died at Daulatabad on 15 July 1709, and was buried there, near the tomb of Burhan ud-din. His fourth wife was Gitti Ara Begum, the daughter of Prince Muhammad Azam Shah, the marriage took place on 1 November 1709. She died at Delhi on 12 June 1724 at age forty years. List of rulers of Bengal History of Bangladesh History of India Irvine, William
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Allahabad
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Allahabad, also known as Prayag is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Allahabad District, the most populous district in the state. The city is the capital of Uttar Pradesh with Allahabad High Court being the highest judicial body in the state. In 2011 it was ranked the worlds 130th fastest-growing city, Allahabad, in 2013, was ranked the third most liveable city in the state and twenty-ninth in the country. The citys original name – Prayag, or place of offerings – comes from its position at the Sangam of the Ganga, Yamuna and it is the second-oldest city in India, and plays a central role in Hindu scriptures. Allahabad was originally called Kaushambi by the Kuru rulers of Hastinapur, since then, Allahabad has been a political, cultural and administrative centre of the Doab region. Mughal emperor Akbar renamed it Ilahabad, which the British changed to Allahabad, in 1833 it became the seat of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces region before its capital was moved to Agra in 1835. Allahabad became the capital of the North-Western Provinces in 1858, and was the capital of India for a day, the city was the capital of the United Provinces from 1902 to 1920 and remained at the forefront of national importance during the struggle for Indian independence. Located in southern Uttar Pradesh, the metropolitan area covers 70.5 km2. Although the city and its area are governed by several municipalities. The city is home to colleges, research institutions and central, Allahabad has hosted cultural and sporting events, including Kumbh Mela and the Indira Marathon. Although the citys economy was built on tourism, most of its income now derives from real estate, the city was earlier known as Prayāga, a name still commonly used. Prayāga existed during the Vedic period, and is mentioned in the Veda as the location where Brahma attended a ritual sacrifice, excavations have revealed Northern Black Polished Ware dating to 600–700 BCE. The Puranas record that Yayati left Prayaga and conquered the region of Saptha Sindhu and his five sons founded the main tribes of the Rigveda. Lord Rama, the protagonist of the Ramayana, spent time at the Ashram of Sage Bharadwaj before travelling to nearby Chitrakoot, when the Aryans first settled in what they called the Āryāvarta, Allahabad was an important part of their territory. The Kurus, rulers of Hastinapur, established the town of Kaushambi near Allahabad and they shifted their capital to Kaushambi when Hastinapur was destroyed by floods. The Doab region, which includes Allahabad, was controlled by a succession of empires and dynasties, the area became part of the Mauryan and Gupta Empires from the east and the Kushan Empire from the west before being governed by Kannauj during the 15th century. The city was the site of Maratha incursions before India was colonised, Allahabad became a part of the Delhi Sultanate when it was annexed by Mohammad Ghori in 1193. Later, the Mughals took over from the rulers of Delhi
