Dawar Bakhsh ( fa, داور بخش; died 23 January 1628), which means "God Given", was the ruler of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

for a short time between 1627–1628, immediately after the death of his grandfather

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

(r. 1605–1627). Dawar was the child of Jahangir's eldest son, Prince Khusuru, who was killed at the behest of

Prince Khurram Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

(

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

) in 1622. Dawar, who was affectionately nicknamed "Bulaqi" (meaning "Nose-ring"),Waldemar Hansen, ''The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India'' (1986), p.85-6 was initially named the Diwan of the ''Dakhin'', and later Governor of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

in 1622 by his grandfather, Jahangir. However, being only fifteen years old at this point, the prince was placed under the guardianship of his maternal grandfather,

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 ...

.Dr S. B. Rajyagor, ''Gujarat State Gazetteers: Ahmadabad District Gazetteer'' (1984), p. 89 Upon the death of his grandfather, he became a pawn in the political game to seize the Mughal throne. He was declared the Mughal Emperor by Asaf Khan as a stopgap arrangement to counter the claims of the

Nur Jahan Nur Jahan, born Mehr-un-Nissa P ersian: نورجهان (; – 18 December 1645) was the wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir from 1620 until his death in 1627. Nur Jahan was born Mehr-un-Nissa, as the daughter of a Mirza Ghi ...

, who wanted Shahryar to succeed.

Dawar's ascension and death

Upon the death of

, in order to secure the accession of Shah Jahan, Asaf Khan, the brother of Nur Jehan, brought Dawar Baksh out of confinement, declared him king and sent him to Lahore. However,

favoured Jahangir's youngest son, Shahriyar, to ascend, and since he was in Lahore at the time, he ascended to the throne, captured state treasury and, in an attempt to secure his throne, distributed over 70 lakh rupees amongst old and new noblemen. Meanwhile, Mirza Baisinghar, son of the late Prince Daniyal, on the death of the Emperor, fled to Lahore, and joined Shahryar. The two forces met near Lahore. Shahryar lost the battle and fled into the fort, where the next morning he was presented in front of Dawar Baksh, who placed him in confinement. On Jumada-l awwal 2, 1037 AH (30 December 1627Taylor, G.P.(1907). ''Some Dates Relating to the Mughal Emperors of India'' in ''Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'', New Series, Vol.3, Calcutta: The Asiatic Society of Bengal, p.59)

was proclaimed Emperor at Lahore, and on Jumada-l awwal 26, 1037 AH (23 January 1628) on his orders, Dawar, his brother Garshásp, Shahryar, and Tahmuras and Hoshang, sons of the deceased

Prince Daniyal Shahzada Daniyal Mirza (11 September 1572 – 19 March 1605) was an Imperial Prince of the Mughal Empire who served as the Viceroy of the Deccan. He was the third son of Emperor Akbar and the brother of Emperor Jahangir. Daniyal was Akbar's ...

, were all put to death. However, there are some suggestions that Dawar had managed to avoid this fate and escaped to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. As late as 1633, ambassadors from the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his ...

claimed to have encountered him there, and the French glassmaker Tavernier went so far as to state that he had conversed and dined with the prince.

Ancestry

{{ahnentafel , collapsed=yes , align=center , boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; , boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; , boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; , boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; , 1= 1. Dawar Bakhsh , 2= 2.

Khusrau Mirza Khusrau Mirza (16 August 1587 – 26 January 1622) was the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and his first wife, Shah Begum. He was beloved of his grandfather, Mughal Emperor Akbar and his grandmother, Mariam-uz-Zamani. The young ...

, 3= 3. Daughter , 4= 4. Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir, Mughal EmperorCatherine Ella Blanshard Asher, ''Architecture of Mughal India'' (1992), p. 104 , 5= 5.

Shah Begum Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

, 6= 6.

, 7= , 8= 8. Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, Mughal Emperor{{cite book , url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D11001080%26ct%3D0 , title=The Tūzuk-i-Jahangīrī Or Memoirs Of Jahāngīr , last=Jahangir , translator1=Alexander Rogers , translator2=Henry Beveridge , access-date=19 November 2017 , page=1 , publisher=Royal Asiatic Society , date=1909, location=London , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305012916/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D11001080%26ct%3D0 , archive-date=5 March 2016 , url-status=dead , 9= 9.

Mariam-uz-Zamani Mariam-uz-Zamani (); ( – 19 May 1623), commonly known by the misnomer ' Jodha Bai', was the chief consort and principal Rajput empress consort as well as the favourite wife of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar. She was also the longest-servin ...

, 10= 10.

Bhagwant Das Raja Bhagwant Das (1527 – 4 December 1589) was the 23rd Kacchwaha ruler of Amber. His sister, Mariam-uz-Zamani, was the chief consort of Emperor Akbar and mother of his successor, Emperor Jahangir. His son, Man Singh I, one of the Navaratnas ...

, Raja of

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

Malika Mohammada, ''The Foundations of the Composite Culture in India'' (2007), p. 300 , 11= , 12= 12.

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

, 13= 13. Jiji Anga{{harvtxt, Jahangir, 1909, p=458 , 14= , 15=

References

Mughal princes 1628 deaths Executed royalty Year of birth unknown 1603 births Timurid dynasty Subahdars of Gujarat