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 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 Shujabad Sarkar from 1656 to 1658 and the faujdar of Sylhet Sarkar up until 1663.

Background and origin

Shirazi was of Persian descent, originally from the

Iran 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 ...

ian city of

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

Career

Documents show that Shirazi was a commander for the

Subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, Shah Shuja. He succeeded Noorullah Khan Herati as Faujdar of Shujabad Sarkar (Kamrup region) in 1656. In 1657, Shirazi built the hilltop

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

Hajo Hajo is a historic town set in the hills northwest of Guwahati, Assam, India. It is a meeting point of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims due to the various pilgrimage sites on the different hills of Hajo. To the Hindus, the Manikut Parbat of Hajo ...

, known as Powa-Makkah Barmaqam. It contained the shrine of Ghiyath ad-Din Awliya, an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i prince and preacher commonly credited for introducing Islam to the region. Shirazi was a disciple of Shah Syed Niamatullah of

Karnal Karnal ( is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. It was used by East India Company army as a refuge during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Delhi. The Battle of Karnal between ...

and he was visited by the Shah in this mosque according to inscriptions. As Mir Jumla's invasion of Assam commenced, Shirazi fled from Guwahati to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

in 1658 after the Ahoms and the Koch Biharis rebelled, being led by their rulers

Supangmung Supangmung (reigned 1663–1670), also known as Chakradhwaj Singha ( as, স্বৰ্গদেউ চক্ৰধ্বজ সিংহ), was an important Ahom king under whom the Ahom kingdom took back Guwahati from the Mughals followin ...

and Pran Narayan respectively. In

, he was then appointed the faujdar of Sylhet Sarkar and migrated there, replacing Sultan Nazar. In 1660, he established a strong enclosure in

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 ...

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 ...

and also built a small mosque next to it. The

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

inscription stating this is still in existence today. He granted Pandit Raghunath Bisharad of Shamshernagar three and a half ''haal''s of land in Ita Pargana in 1663.

Legacy

Sunarphool was a member of Shirazi's family . During the reign of King Paikhomba (r.1666–1697) of nearby

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

, a Muslim nobleman called

Muhammad Sani Muhammad Sani (also called Parsena Lanjingland Muhamadani or Mangal Ningthou Sayi in Meitei) was a 17th-century nobleman who led the first settlement of Manipuri Muslims (regionally known as Meitei Pangals) into the Manipur Kingdom, what is now ...

presented gold and elephants to the King in return that he allows more Muslims to reside in his kingdom. The king accepted, and Sunarphool moved to Manipur on

's request where he lived for the rest of his life. The

Pangal The Meitei Pangals ( mni, Meitei Pangan), also known as the Pangals ( mni, Pangan) or the Meitei Muslims ( mni, Meitei Pangal) or the Manipuri Muslims ( mni, Manipuri Pangal), are a group of Muslims who speak Meitei language as their nativ ...

s that belong to the Makak Angouba clan are descendants of Lutfullah Shirazi through Sunarphool.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shirazi, Lutfullah Rulers of Sylhet Indian people of Iranian descent People from Shiraz Mughal princes 17th-century rulers in Asia 17th-century Indian Muslims 17th-century Iranian politicians

Background and origin

Career

Legacy

See also

References