Rustam Dil Khan

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In 1707, emperor Aurangzeb died, triggering a war of succession between the princes. The prince Muhammad Mu'azzam defeated Azam Shah in the Battle of Jajau and crowned himself as emperor Bahadur Shah. Bahadur Shah nominally confirmed Rustam Dil Khan as governor of Hyderabad, and awarded him his father's title of Jan Sipar Khan. Kam Bakhsh, the remaining Mughal prince, still remained active in the Deccan; Rustam Dil Khan intensified his efforts to amass wealth, plundering the region and harassing Mughal officials. [13]

Kam Bakhsh arrived in Hyderabad in early 1708, crowning himself the independent 'king of Golconda'. Rustam Dil Khan offered his tribute and formal submission, upon which Kam Bakhsh confirmed his post as governor of Hyderabad, raised his rank, and awarded him the title 'Azam Khan'. Kam Bakhsh set out to consolidate his rule over the next few months. Discovering that the treasury at Machilipatnam contained a great amount of wealth, Kam Bakhsh attempted to seize it to support his own precarious rule. He was met with resistance from Rustam Dil Khan, who prevented the diwan of Machilipatnam from releasing the funds. [13] Kam Bakhsh was also influenced by his advisors, who had convinced him that Rustam Dil Khan was secretly plotting against him. These factors enraged the prince, who after a few months of conflict, arrested Rustam Dil Khan. Kam Bakhsh invited the unassuming governor to his quarters to help him with a letter to Bahadur Shah; when the governor arrived and removed his weapons, Kam Bakhsh excused himself from the premises, and his associates arrested him. [13] [4]

After three days in confinement, Rustam Dil Khan was executed in September 1708 on Kam Bakhsh's order, by the trampling of an elephant. He was then buried by his residence in Hyderabad, named Imli Mahal. Kam Bakhsh took over his vast personal treasury (reported to be more than 3.3 million gold coins), and imprisoned his family. The prince would go on to be defeated and killed by Bahadur Shah in 1709, clearing the way for the latter's emperorship. [13] [4] [1]

Patronage

As the Mughal governor of Bidar, Rustam Dil Khan built a mosque in the city, within the tomb-shrine of Sufi saint Shah Ali Qadiri. Though local records attest that Rustam Dil Khan's governorship was until 1688, the mosque's inscriptions date the structure to the year 1695, indicating he may have governed for a longer term. [5] [14]

In 1702, Rustam Dil Khan built a mosque in Hyderabad named the Kali Masjid, located in Yakutpura. An inscription on the mosque indicates that he built it a year after his father Jan Sipar Khan's death. The mosque was built close to Rustam Dil Khan's former residence, known as Imli Mahal. The mosque's courtyard contains the tombs of both his father and himself; he constructed his father's tomb during his lifetime, and was interred here following his execution. [15] [16]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Richards, J. F. (1976). "The Imperial Crisis in the Deccan". The Journal of Asian Studies. 35 (2): 250–252. doi:10.2307/2053981. ISSN   0021-9118.
  2. 1 2 Richards 1975, p. 78-79.
  3. Richards, J. F. (1976). "The Imperial Crisis in the Deccan". The Journal of Asian Studies. 35 (2): 244. doi:10.2307/2053981. ISSN   0021-9118.
  4. 1 2 3 Irvine, William (1971). Later Mughals. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. pp. 52–54 & 58–59.
  5. 1 2 Yazdani, Ghulam (1995). Bidar: its history and monuments (1. Indian ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 16 & 202. ISBN   978-81-208-1071-6.
  6. Richards 1975, p. 79.
  7. Richards 1975, p. 111-113.
  8. Richards 1975, p. 78, 216.
  9. Eaton, Richard Maxwell (2005), A social history of the Deccan, 1300-1761: eight Indian lives, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 162–163, ISBN   0-521-25484-1, OCLC   58431679
  10. Richards 1975, p. 224.
  11. 1 2 Richards 1975, p. 229-231.
  12. Richards 1975, p. 237.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Richards 1975, p. 236-243.
  14. Green, Nile (January 2004). "Auspicious Foundations: The Patronage of Sufi Institutions in the Late Mughal and Early Asaf Jah Deccan". South Asian Studies. 20 (1): 78. doi:10.1080/02666030.2004.9628637. ISSN   0266-6030.
  15. Khalidi, Omar (2009). A Guide to Architecture in Hyderabad, Deccan, India. Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture & MIT Libraries. p. 54.
  16. Bilgrami, Syed Ali Asgar. Landmarks of the Deccan. Asian Educational Services. pp. 96–98. ISBN   8120605438.

    Bibliography

    Jan Sipar Khan
    Azam Khan
    Rustam Dil Khan
    Deputy governor of Hyderabad
    In office
    1700-1703, 1705-1708