Fakir Aziz ud-Din ( pa, ; ; 1780–1845) was a physician, linguist, diplomat, and foreign minister at the court of

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

. He belonged to a

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...

family. A Muslim and in one of many non-

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

in Ranjit Singh's

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

government of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...

. He was the eldest son of Hakīm Ghulām Mohy ud-Dīn and had two brothers, Nūr ud-Dīn and Imām ud-Dīn. Both had senior military posts in the empire. He was apprenticed as a physician, and was originally known by the title ''Hakīm'' (physician). Later in life he adopted the title ''Fakir'' (beggar), as a mark of humility, that title appearing in British correspondence after 1826. His first contact with Ranjit Singh was as a physician. The Maharaja was impressed by his medical skill and proficiency in languages – Arabic, Persian and English – and granted him a jagir and a position at court. His first major assignment was to assist the Maharaja in the negotiations with the British which led to the

Treaty of Amritsar, 1809 The Treaty of Amritsar of 1809 was an agreement between the British East India Company and Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh leader who founded the Sikh empire. The EIC's intention of this treaty was to gain Singh’s support if the French invade ...

. Between 1810 and 1838 there followed a great number of diplomatic assignments and tasks as an interpreter. The Maharaja had complete trust in him and rewarded him with honours and jagirs. Aziz ud-Din continued in the service of the Sikh Empire after the death of Ranjit Singh. In December 1839 he represented Maharaja

Kharak Singh Kharak Singh (22 February 1801 – 5 November 1840) was the second Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was the eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and his consort, Maharani Datar Kaur. He succeeded his father on 27 June ...

on a mission to the British Governor-General,

Lord Auckland Baron Auckland is a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in 1789 when the prominent politician and financial expert William Eden was made Baron Auckland in the Peerage of Ireland. In ...

. In 1842, on behalf of Maharaja

Sher Singh Sher Singh (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his ...

, he welcomed the new Governor-General,

Lord Ellenborough Baron Ellenborough, of Ellenborough in the County of Cumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 April 1802 for the lawyer, judge and politician Sir Edward Law, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from ...

, at Firozpur. He remained scrupulously aloof from the factional intrigues which had overtaken the Empire after Ranjit Singh's death. Saddened at the turn events had taken and by the death of two of his sons, Aziz ud-Din died in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

on 3 December 1845, aged 65.

References

1780 births 1845 deaths Sikh Empire 19th-century Indian Muslims People from Lahore {{Sikh-bio-stub