Nawab Ghazanfar-Jang, Bangash Khan (1665 – 1743) was the first Nawab of Farrukhabad in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, India. He was a "Bawan Hazari Sardar" (Commander of 52,000 men strong force) in the

Mughal Army The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 15th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, ...

. He served as governor of

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

and

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

provinces 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 ...

. He was also viceroy of Assam from 1735-1743. Although regarded as rude and illiterate he was well regarded for his loyalty, and it is believed that had fortune sided with him he would have been able to establish a kingdom rivalling those in the Deccan or

Awadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

Life

Muhammad Khan belonged to the Karlani Khaghzai clan of the

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

Bangash The Bangash, Bungish or Bangakh ( ps, بنګښ) are a tribe of Pashtuns, inhabiting their traditional homeland, historically known as Bangash district, which stretches from Kohat to Tall and Spīn Ghar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They also l ...

tribe. In India they were referred to as ''qaum-i-bangash''. His father, Ain Khan Bangash had migrated from his native lands in the time of

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

and settled in Mau Rashidabad. Muhammad Khan gained a reputation as one of the most powerful of the Afghan mercenary warriors who inhabited that part of Hindustan, and eventually came to establish the territories that were consolidated into the state of Farrukhabad. He was rewarded the ''

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 ...

'' of Farrukhabad area and part of

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lyin ...

. The state of Farrukhabad was named after Muhammad Khan's patron the Emperor Farrukhsiyar. In 1713, he was appointed a courtier by Emperor Farrukhsiyar and founded the town of

Farrukhabad Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. The city is on the banks of river Ganges and is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. ...

in 1714. He founded the town of Mohammadabad after his name and the town of

Qaimganj Kaimganj is a town in Farrukhabad district in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. Kaimganj Railway Station is a major station between Farrukhabad and Kasganj on Rajputana railway link of North Eastern Railway. Description Kaimganj is just 10&nb ...

after his son Qaim Khan's name. During Saadat Khan's journey to

, he stayed at

. Muhammad Khan Bangash gave him information about the strength of Shaikhzadas (a community which ruled

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

). He advised Khan to befriend the

sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

s of

Kakori Kakori is a town and a nagar panchayat in Lucknow district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, 14 km north of Lucknow. Kakori was a centre Urdu poetry, literature and the Qadiriya Qalandari Sufi order. On 9 August 1925 Indian revolution ...

, adversaries of the Shaikhzadas, before entering

. Bangash became Saadat Khan's closest ally. However, Saadat Khan began to go out of his ways to curry favour with the emperor. This obsession annoyed other ''nawabs'' and ''subahdars''. Among them was Bangash himself, who was angry at the latter for backing

Chhatrasal Chhatrasal Bundela (4 May 1649 – 20 December 1731) was an Indian warrior and ruler from the Bundela Rajput clan, who fought against the Mughal Empire, and established his own kingdom in Bundelkhand during the 17th-18th centuries. Early l ...

and instigating him. He served in the campaign against the

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

leader

Churaman Churaman (died 1721) was a Jat chieftain of Sinsini, Rajasthan. He became leader of the Jats after Rajaram's death. Bahadur Shah I made him a ''mansabdar'' after he supported him against Muhammad Azam Shah in becoming the emperor. He was also m ...

(October 1722 - September 1723) and

Ajit Singh of Marwar Ajit Singh Rathore ( hi, अजीत सिंह राठौड़; – 24 June 1724) was the ruler of Marwar region in the present-day Rajasthan and the son of Jaswant Singh Rathore. Early life Jaswant Singh of Marwar died at Jamrud in ...

. In 1730, emperor

Muhammad Shah Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the 13th Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the ...

appointed him as 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 ...

'' of

. However, he was unable to cope with the repeated

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

incursions and was removed from the post in 1732. He was appointed ''

'' of

for the admirable job he did against

the first time. On account of his failure in Bundelkhand against

the second time, he was removed from the governorship of

as well. At his death his dominions included the entire Doab from Koil in the North, to Kora in the South, including all of Farrukhabad and parts of Cawnpore, Shahjahanpur, Budaun and Aligarh. His brother Himmat Khan Bangash was the father of Nawab Murtaza Khan of Jahangirabad, and the grandfather of the poet Nawab Mustafa Khan Shefta.

Personality

Muhammad Khan Bangash was illiterate and could not understand a single word of

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 ...

, due to which he had to be accompanied by one of his sons. Contemporaries were amazed by the discrepancy between his great wealth & power and his simple personal habits. However, this roughness and general lack of ''adab'' could be rather embarrassing, especially during audiences at the imperial Mughal court. His descendants were more fully accommodated to the royal ''nawabi'' lifestyle and the etiquette of an Indo-Persian court.

Later Mughal-Maratha Wars

had rebelled against 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 ...

and established an independent kingdom. In December 1728, a Mughal force led by the distinguished commander Muhammad Khan Bangash attacked him, and besieged his fort with his family.

had repeatedly sought Peshwa Baji Rao's assistance, but the latter was busy in

at that time. In March 1729, the Peshwa

Baji Rao I Baji Rao I (18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740), born as Visaji, also known as Bajirao Ballal (Pronunciation: ad͡ʒiɾaːʋ bəlːaːɭ, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his 20-year tenure as a Peshwa, he defeated Nizam-ul-M ...

finally responded to

's request and marched towards Bundelkhand. Chhatrasal also escaped his captivity and joined the Maratha forces. After they marched to Jaitpur, as a result Bangash was defeated in the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and retreat from Bundelkhand. Chhatrasal's position as the ruler of Bundelkhand was restored.

Succession

Muhammad Khan Bangash was succeeded by his eldest son Qaim Khan in 1743. Qaim Khan was later succeeded by Ahmad Khan Bangash, his brother.

Nawabs

These were the following Nawabs of Farrukhabad- * Nawab Muhammad Khan Bangash * Nawab Qaim-Jang Qaim Khan Qaim-ud-daula * Nawab Ahmad Khan Bangash (took part in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 alongside Ahmad Shah Abdali ) * Nawab Muzaffar-Jang Daler Himmat Khan * Nawab Nasir-Jang Imdad Hussain Khan * Nawab Tafazzul Hussain Khan

References

Bibliography

*{{citation, title = The First Two Nawabs of Awadh , first = Ashirbadi Lal , last = Srivastava , authorlink = Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava , date = 1954 , publisher = Shiva Lal Agarwal , url = https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12411/page/n33 People from Farrukhabad Nawabs of India Mughal Empire 1743 deaths 1665 births