Isfandiyār Khān Bēg ( fa, , bn, ইসপেন্দিয়ার খান বেগ), was the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

faujdar Faujdar is a term of pre-Mughal origins. Under the Mughals it was an office that combined the functions of a military commander along with judicial and land revenue functions. In pre-Mughal times, the term referred to a military officer but d ...

of Sylhet Sarkar from 1663 to 1665.

Early life

Isfandiyar's father was Mirza Allah Yar Khan (also spelt Ilahyar, Allahyar or Ilah Yar) and his grandfather was Iftikhar Khan Turkmen (also known as Iftiyar), both of whom took part in

Islam Khan I Shaikh Alauddin Chisti (1570–1613; known as Islam Khan Chisti) was a Mughal general and the Subahdar of Bengal. He transferred the capital of Bengal from Rajmahal to Dhaka and renamed it Jahangirnagar. He was awarded the titular name of Islam ...

's battle at Daulambapur,

South Sylhet Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) also spelled Maulvibazar, Moulavibazar, and Maulavibazar, (former South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It i ...

against

Khwaja Usman Khawāja Uthmān Khān Lōhānī ( bn, খাজা উসমান খাঁন লোহানী), popularly known as Khwaja Usman, was a Pashtun chieftain and warrior based in northeastern Bengal. As one of the Baro-Bhuyans, he was a zamind ...

in 1612. Iftiyar died in this battle. Emperor

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 ...

granted

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

to Allah Yar Khan, who died in 1650.

Career

Following

Mir Jumla II Mir Jumla II (1591 – 30 March 1663) was a prominent subahdar of Bengal under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Early life Mir Jumla was born as Mir Mohammad Sayyid Ardistani in Iran in 1591 to a poor oil merchant of Isfahan named Mirza Hazar ...

's conquest of Cooch Behar, Isfandiyar Beg was put in charge of governing the area and defeated the previous ruler, Pran Narayan. According to a sanad from Dhar Chowdhury of Pailgaon, Isfandiyar Beg had revenues in Sylhet in 1658. Isfandiyar Khan succeeded

Lutfullah Shirazi Mīr Lutfullāh Khān Bahādur Shirāzī ( fa, , bn, মীর লুৎফুল্লাহ খান বাহাদুর শিরাজী), was a Mughal official who held a number of positions during his life such as the Faujdar of Shuj ...

as Faujdar of Sylhet in 1663. Isfandiyar was known to have destroyed the

Adina Mosque The Adina Mosque is a former mosque in Malda District, West Bengal, India. It was the largest such structure in the Indian subcontinent and was built during the Bengal Sultanate as a royal mosque by Sikandar Shah, who is also buried inside. T ...

replica in

Sylhet town Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate a ...

because the

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

started Eid al-Adha prayers without waiting for him. However, after its destruction, Isfandiyar attempted to build another mosque in Dargah Mahalla. The ruins of this mosque can be seen today, behind the trees near the Dargah Gateway. Isfandiyar also officially recognised Shaykh Pir Bakhsh as the rightful khadim (guardian) of

Shah Jalal Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī (), popularly known as Shah Jalal, was a celebrated Sufi figure of Bengal. His name is often associated with the Conquest of Sylhet and the spread of Islam into the region, part of a long history of interactions bet ...

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 ...

, a descendant of Haji Muhammad Yusuf who was the dargah's first guardian. Isfandiyar granted land to Shah Kamal Estate of Durmut in Jamalpur. Khan was succeeded by

Syed Ibrahim Khan Syed Ibrāhīm Khān ( bn, সৈয়দ ইব্রাহীম খান, Soiyod Ibrahim Khan, fa, ), was a Faujdar of the Mughal Bengal's Sylhet Sarkar. He succeeded Isfandiyar Beg as faujdar in 1665. In the same year, Khan granted 11.25 ...

in 1665.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Beg, Isfandiyar Rulers of Sylhet Mughal princes 17th-century Indian monarchs 17th-century Indian Muslims

Early life

Career

See also

References