List of Mughal grand viziers

Last updated
Grand Vizier of Hindustan
Asifportrait2 - Asuf ud Daula.jpg
Last to hold office
Asaf-ud-Daula
Appointer Mughal emperor
Formation21 April 1526
First holder Amir Nizamu-d din Khalifa
Final holder Asaf-ud-Daula
Abolished21 September 1797

The Grand Vizier of Hindustan (Hindustani: Vazir-ul-Mamlikat-i-Hindustan) [1] [2] was the highest ranking minister in the Mughal Empire and the chief adviser to the emperor himself. The position acted as the de facto head of government of the Mughal Empire and had responsibility for leading the ministers of the Empire. This is the list of grand viziers (vazīr-e azam) of the Mughal Empire.

Contents

History

The seniormost official under the Mughals, or the Prime Minister, held different titles such as Vakil, Vakil-us-Sultanat, Wazir, Diwan, Diwan-i-Ala and Diwan Wazir under different Mughal emperors. [3] Under Babur and Humayun, the institution of the wazirat was not fully developed owing to a lack of an entrenched nobility and political upheaval. Nonetheless, individuals under both rulers did rise to positions equivalent to the position of prime minister and under Humayun reforms were first attempted to clarify the roles of Vakil and Wazir. [3]

In the early years of Akbar's reign, the position of prime minister was first officially held by Bairam Khan as Vakil-us-Sultanat, and he exercised considerable influence over the emperor. Over time the power of the Vakil gradually declined, and during the reign of his successor Jahangir the role of Wazir replaced the Vakil as the most important officer in government. [3] Mughal wazirs were specifically appointed from the ahl-i-qalam(men of the pen) as distinct from the ahl-i-saif(men of the sword). [4] With the abolishment of the post of Wakil, the post was divided into the two offices of Wazir and Mir Bakhshi, where the chief Wazir was the head of the finance department, while the Mir Bakhshi was the head of the military department. [5] These two offices were made jointly responsible for the administration by a system of signatures and counter-signatures. [6] Until the death of Aurangzeb, the post of Wazir was never a threat to the monarchy as the Wazir could not act too independently. However, after the death of Aurangzeb, the pre-mughal tradition in India of the Wazir being the premier noble at the court and leading counsellor of the king apart from being the head of the financial administration had been re-established. [7]

List of grand viziers

PortraitNameTerm of officeNotable eventsEmperor
Amir Nizamuddin Khalifa 21 April 152617 May 1540 1st Battle of Panipat

Battle of Khanwa

Babur (1526 1530)

& Humayun (1530 1540)

Qaracha Khan1540?He was a governor of Qandahar and Humayun appoint him as Grand-Vizier of the Mughal State. Humayun (1530 1556)
PORTRAIT OF NAWAB BAIRAM KHAN (dated ca. 1710 - 40).jpg Bairam Khan [3] 1556March/April 1560 Akbar-i-Azam
اکبر اعظم
(1556-1605)
Munim Khan.jpg Munim Khan 15601561
Ataga Khan [8] November 156116 May 1562He was assassinated by Adham Khan
Muzaffar Khan Turbati [9] 15751579No Vakil was appointed after his appointment to governorship in Bengal from 1579 until 1589
ABU'L FAZL IBN MUBARAK (D. 1602 AD) AKBARNAMA.jpg Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak [10] 157922 August 1602
Sharif Khan [3] 16051611 Jahangir
جہانگیر
(1605-1627)
A portrait of Mirza Ghiyas Beg aka 'I'timad-ud-Daulah', 18th century.jpg Mirza Ghias Beg [3] 16111622
Portrait of Asaf Khan.jpg Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan [3] 16221627/28


PORTRAIT OF SHAYKH 'ALIM AL-DIN (WAZIR KHAN).jpg Shaikh Ilam-ud-Din Ansari [11] 16271628 (less than a year) Shah Jahan
شاہ جہان
(1628-1658)
Azam Khan [12] 16281628
Portrait of Shah Jahan's minister, Afzal Khan (1570-1639) (cropped).jpg Afzal Khan Shirazi [3] 16281639
Portrait of Islam Khan Mashhadi.jpg Islam Khan Mashadi [3] 16391645
Sadullah Khan giving audience, c1655.jpg Sadullah Khan [13] 16451656
Mir Jumla.jpg Mir Jumla [14] 16561657 Alamgir I
عالمگیر
(1658-1707)
Jafar Khan [15] 16571658
Fazil Khan [15] 16581663
Jafar Khan [14] 16631670 [16]
Portrait of Nawab Asad Khan (Royal Collection Trust) (cropped).jpg Asad Khan [17] 16751707
Mun'im Khan Khan-i-Khanan [18] 17071711 Bahadur Shah I
بہادر شاہ
(1707-1712)
Hidayatullah Khan Kashmiri [19] 17111713 Jahandar Shah
جہاندار شاہ
(1712-1713)
Portrait of Zulfiqar Khan (1657-1713).jpg Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung [20] 17121713
Mir Rustam Ali Khan [3] 17101737 Farrukhsiyar
فرخ سیر
(1713–1719)
Hasan 'Ali Xari, later 'Abdullah Xar Qutb al-mulk..jpg Qutb-ul-Mulk Abdullah Khan Barha [21] 17131720
  • Mughal throne occupied by a series of puppet rulers under the Syed brothers. [22]
Muhammad Amin Xan.jpg Muhammad Amin Khan Turani [21] 17201721 Muhammad Shah
محمد شاہ
(1719-1748)
Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad.jpg Mir Qamar-ud-Din Khan Asaf Jah I [23] 17211723
Roshan ud Daula by Chitarman II.png Roshan-ud-Daulah Zafar Khan [24] [25] 17241733
The vizier Qamar ud-Din circa 1735 Bibliotheque nationale de France, Paris.jpg Mir Fazil Qamar-ud-Din Khan 17331748
Safdarjung (1).jpg Safdar Jang [23] 17481753 Ahmad Shah Bahadur
احمد شاہ بہادر
(1748-1754)
Intizam-ud-Daulah [26] 17531754
Ghazi al-Din Xan 'Imad al-Mulk.jpg Imad-ul-Mulk Feroze Jung [26] 17541760 Alamgir II
عالمگیر دوم
(1754-1759)
Shuja-ud-daula, Nawab of Oudh.tif (de-facto wazir-i-azam

Shuja ud-Daulah ) [27]

(Original shahjada-wazir-i-azam

Mirza Jawan Bakht )

1760

1760

1775

1784

Shah Alam II
شاہ عالم دوم
(1760-1806)
Najaf Quli Khan [28] 17721791

See also

References

  1. Batra, Ravi (January 2012). The Splendour of Lodi Road. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). ISBN   978-81-7993-446-3. Safdarjung was appointed the Chief Minister of the Mughal Empire. He was given the title of 'Wazir ul-Mamalik-i-Hindustan', though, by then the empire had considerably shrunk to just northern India. His fame and power were, unfortunately, short lived as court politics overtook him and he was dismissed by the new emperor.
  2. Experts, Disha (July 2020). Amazing Uttar Pradesh. Disha Publications. p. 49. ISBN   978-93-90486-72-4. Wazir ul-Mamalik-i-Hindustan, Asaf Jah, Jamat ul-Mulk, Shuja ud-Daula, Nawab Abu'l Mansur Khan Bahadur, Safdar Jang, popularly known as Safdarjung was the second Nawab of the Awadh dynasty.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sharma, Gauri (2006). Prime Ministers Under the Mughals 1526-1707. Kanishka, New Delhi. ISBN   8173918236.
  4. Satish Chandra (2005). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II. Har-Anand Publications. ISBN   978-81-241-1066-9.
  5. Abdul Qadir Husaini (Saiyid.) (1952). Administration Under the Mughuls. the University of Michigan.
  6. Jagadish Narayan Sarkar (1984). Mughal Polity. University of Michigan. p. 132.
  7. Gauri Pandit (2004). Status And Role Of Prime Ministers Under The Mughals 1526 To 1707. Panjab University, Chandigarh. p. 60.
  8. Collier, Dirk (March 1, 2016). The Great Mughals and their India. Hay House, Inc. ISBN   9789384544980 via Google Books.
  9. Satish Chandra (2005). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II. Har-Anand Publications. p. 136. ISBN   978-81-241-1066-9.
  10. Alfred J. Andrea, James H. Overfield (1998). The Human Record: To 1700. Houghton Mifflin. p. 476. ISBN   978-0-395-87087-7. Abul Fazl(1551-1602), the emperor's chief advisor and confidant from 1579 until Abul Fazl's assassination at the instigation of Prince Salim, the future Emperor Jahangir(r. 1605-1627)
  11. Abraham Richard Fuller (1990). The Shah Jahan Nama of 'Inayat Khan: An Abridged History of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan). University of Michigan. p. 602. ISBN   978-0-19-562489-2.
  12. Abraham Richard Fuller (1990). The Shah Jahan Nama of 'Inayat Khan: An Abridged History of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan). University of Michigan. p. 602. ISBN   978-0-19-562489-2.
  13. Adolf Simon Waley (1927). The Shah Jahan Nama of 'Inayat Khan: An Abridged History of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, Compiled by His Royal Librarian : the Nineteenth-century Manuscript Translation of A.R. Fuller (British Library, Add. 30,777). Constable.
  14. 1 2 Indian Institute of Public Administration (1976). The Indian Journal of Public Administration: Quarterly Journal of the Indian Institute of Public Administration, Volume 22. The Institute.
  15. 1 2 Indian History Congress - Proceedings: Volume 42. Indian History Congress. 1981.
  16. Indian History Congress Proceedings: Volume 42. Indian History Congress. 1981.
  17. Krieger-Krynicki, Annie (2005). Captive Princess: Zebunissa, Daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb. University of Michigan. ISBN   0195798376.
  18. Kaicker, Abhishek (3 Feb 2020). The King and the People: Sovereignty and Popular Politics in Mughal Delhi. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0190070687.
  19. William Irvine (1971). Later Mughals. p. 128.
  20. John F. Richards, The New Cambridge History of India: The Mughal Empire (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993), p. 262
  21. 1 2 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. (2009). Britannica Guide to India. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. ISBN   978-1593398477.
  22. C. K. Srinivasan (1962). Baji Rao I, the Great Peshwa. p. 22.
  23. 1 2 Disha Experts (17 Dec 2018). The History Compendium for IAS Prelims General Studies Paper 1 & State PSC Exams 3rd Edition. Disha Publications. ISBN   978-9388373036.
  24. Praveen Kumar (2017). Complete Indian History for IAS Exam. Educreation Publishing. p. 267.
  25. Satish Chandra (1999). Medieval India: Mughal Empire, 1526-1748. Har-Anand Publications. ISBN   978-81-241-0522-1.[ dead link ]
  26. 1 2 Khwaja, Sehar. "Fosterage and Motherhood in the Mughal Harem: Intimate Relations and the Political System in Eighteenth-Century India." Social Scientist 46, no. 5-6 (2018): 39-60. Accessed August 7, 2020. doi:10.2307/26530803.
  27. Bhatia, O. P. Singh (1968). History of India, from 1707 to 1856. Surjeet Book Depot.
  28. Rima Hooja (2006). A History of Rajasthan. the University of Michigan. p. 737. ISBN   978-81-291-0890-6.