Shamsuddin Muhammad Atgah Khan (died 16 May 1562), also known as Khan-e-Kalan Shamsu'd-Din Muhammad Khan Atgah Khan, was a prominent figure in the court of the Mughal emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

. He held important positions in Akbar's court, including that of ''

wakil In Islamic law, a wakīl (), in older literature vakeel, is a deputy, delegate or agent who acts on behalf of a principal. It can refer to an attorney, a diplomat or the custodian of a mosque or religious order. ''Wakīl'' is also one of the nam ...

'' (advisor or minister), to which he was appointed in November 1561, much to displeasure of

Maham Anga Maham Anga (died 1562) was the foster mother and chief wet nurse of the Mughal emperor Akbar. She was the political adviser of the teenage emperor and the de facto regent of the Mughal Empire from 1560 to 1562. Biography Maham Anga was Akbar' ...

, another prominent advisor, whose son,

Adham Khan Adham Khan (1531 – 16 May 1562) was a general of Akbar. He was the younger son of Maham Anga, and thus, was the foster brother of Akbar. In his fourth regnal year, Akbar married him to Javeda Begum, the daughter of Baqi Khan Baqlani. Conquest ...

, murdered him in 1562. Ataga Khan was the husband of Jiji Anga, one of Akbar's

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...

Service under Humayun

Shams-ud-din was the son of Mir Yar Muhammad of Ghazni, a simple farmer, and started life as a soldier in

Kamran Mirza Kamran Mirza ( fa, ) (1512 – 5 October 1557) was the second son of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal Emperor. Kamran Mirza was born in Kabul to Babur's wife Gulrukh Begum. He was half-brother to Babur's eldest s ...

’s army. He saved

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern ...

from drowning in the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

. As reward, Humayun took him into his personal service and his wife Jiji became one of Akbar's foster-mothers. She was called foster-mother (''Anagah'') and her husband Shamsuddin was designated foster-father (''Atgah''). He also received the title of Khan and his biological son,

Aziz Aziz ( ar, عزيز, , is an Arabic male name. The feminine form of both the adjective and the given name is Aziza. ''Aziz'' in Arabic is derived from the root ''ʕ-z-z'' with a meaning of "strong, powerful" and the adjective has acquired its m ...

became Akbar's foster or milk-brother (''Kokah''). In 1545, he accompanied Akbar to Kabul alongside Jiji and Aziz.

Service under Akbar

In 1560, when Akbar relieved his

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

Bairam Khan Muhammad Bairam Khan(Persianمحمد بیرام خان) (18 January 150131 January 1561), commonly known as Bairam Khan or Bayram Khan was an important military commander, and later commander-in-chief of the Mughal army, a powerful statesman a ...

of his duties and instructed him to go to

Makkah Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow va ...

for

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

(

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

), he was goaded by his political opponents to rebel. Bairam marched upon Jalandhar, intent on taking Lahore. Akbar sent Shams-ud-din with the vanguard of the Mughal army to halt or at least slow down Bairam 's advance. Shams-ud-din managed to block Bairam Khan's advance near the village of Gunecur, near

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

. He tried to negotiate with Bairam, to no avail. After a fierce, heavily contested battle, Shams-ud-din triumphed and Bairam was forced to retreat. For his victory, Shams-ud-din was hailed as a hero and received lavish gifts, including

robes of honour A robe of honour ( ar, خلعة, khilʿa, plural , or ar, تشريف, tashrīf, pl. or ) was a term designating rich garments given by medieval and early modern Islamic rulers to subjects as tokens of honour, often as part of a ceremony of appoi ...

standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

and

kettledrums Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditiona ...

that had once belonged to Bairam. Later, Bairam surrendered to Akbar and was pardoned and chose to continue his journey to Makkah; en route he was assassinated by a group of Afghans either on the secret order of Akbar himself who wanted to avoid another revolt or due to their leader's personal vendetta. In 1561, Akbar dismissed

Munim Khan Munʿim Khān ( fa, ) was a Mughal general under both emperors Humayun and Akbar. He was titled ''Khān-i-Khānān'' ('Khan of Khans') when Emperor Akbar appointed him as Prime Minister of the Mughal Empire in 1560. In 1564, he became the Su ...

Vakil ''Vakil'' was one of the highest positions in the hierarchy of Safavid Iran, denoting the viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term der ...

and appointed Shams-ud-din in his stead. Shams-ud-din would prove to be a competent and loyal administrator. Atgah Khan Tomb

Death

On May 16, 1562

accompanied by a few ruffians burst in upon him as he sat in the ''Diwan-e-Aam'', the hall of audience, in

Agra Fort The Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India also known as the Red Fort. Rebuilt by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1565 and completed in 1573, it served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when t ...

, and murdered him, in the courtyard of ''Diwan-e-Aam''. Hearing of this murder, an enraged Akbar ordered Adham Khan to be defenestrated from the ramparts of the fort. The fall only broke Adham Khan's legs, so the still angry emperor ordered that he be thrown down again. The second fall killed Adham Khan instantly. After the death of Ataga Khan, his tomb was built by the instructions of Mughal emperor Akbar and built by his foster brother,

Mirza Aziz Koka Mirzā `Azīz Kokah ( fa, میرزا عزیز کوکه; ), also known as Kokaltāsh ( fa, کوکلتاش) and by his sobriquet Khān-i-A`zam ( fa, خان اعظم ''The Greatest Khan''), was the foster brother of Akbar, who remained one of the lea ...

, in 1566–67. It is situated on the northern edge of Nizamuddin, most known for the

dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

of 13th century

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

saint

Nizamuddin Auliya Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (sometimes spelled Awliya; 1238 – 3 April 1325), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Mahbub-e-Ilahi () was an Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, and is one of the most famous Sufis from the India ...

. Its architect was Ustab Khuda Quli and calligrapher Baqi Muhammad from

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

, who added Quranic verses on the white marble slabs, inlaid on the red sandstone exterior walls, which were suitably chosen reflecting his mode of death, considered a martyrdom by Mughal historian, Abul Fazal. An inscription on the southern door of the tomb mentions that it was finished in 974 AH (1566–67).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Ataga Mughal nobility 1562 deaths Year of birth unknown 16th-century Indian politicians Akbar