Muradyab Khan Kalhoro, Muhammad Muradyab Khan Kalhoro (Nawab Sarbuland Khan) (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Subedar Subedar is a rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army; a senior non-commissioned officer in the Pakistan Army, and formerly a Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History ''Subedar'' or ''subadar'' was the ...

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, appointed by

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

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 ...

and was given the Imperial title, ''Sarbuland Khan''.

Early life

Muhammad Muradyab Khan was the oldest son of Mian Nur Muhammad. His brothers included

Khudadad Khan Subedar Khudadad Khan, VC (20 October 1888 – 8 March 1971) was a Pakistani and the recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces. During t ...

, Ghulam Shah, and

Muhammad Atur Khan Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mono ...

. Atur Khan was his full brother; i.e. they shared the same mother. In 1732 (1145 AH), Muhammad Muradyab was married to a daughter of Murad Ali Khan, a cousin of the

Khan of Kalat The Khanate of Kalat ( bal, کلاتءِ ھانات) was a Baloch Khanate that existed from 1512 to 1955 in the centre of the modern-day province of Balochistan, Pakistan. Its rulers were Brahui speakers. Prior to that they were subjects ...

. At some point, he also became married to a daughter of the Imam of Muscat. After

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...

captured

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

in 1737 (1150 AH), he planned to go through Sindh on his way to India. He had sent notice of this plan to Mian Nur Muhammad, who then sent Muhammad Muradyab to secure

Thatta Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...

while he himself went to secure Ladkanah. Muhammad Muradyab arrived at Thatta at the end of Zikaad, 1151 AH (1738 CE). However, at the same time the Jam of Kakrala and the Rana of Dharajah brought armies to oppose him. Eventually, Muhammad Muradyab's forces drove them off with artillery, then gave pursuit until they surrendered. At the beginning of

Shawwal Shawwal ( ar, شَوَّال, ') is the tenth month of the lunar based Islamic calendar. ''Shawwāl'' stems from the verb ''shāla'' () which means to 'lift or carry', generally to take or move things from one place to another, Fasting during S ...

, 1152 AH (1739 CE), Muhammad Muradyab left Thatta and went with his father to the fort of

Umarkot Umerkot (formerly known as Amarkot) is a city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The local language is Dhatki, which is one of the Rajasthani languages of the Indo-Aryan language family. It is most closely related to Marwari. Sindhi, Urdu and ...

to ride out Nader Shah's invasion. However, Nader Shah himself showed up and Mian Nur Muhammad, caught unexpected and concerned that Nader Shah would think he was running away, surrendered and went with Nader's camp to Ladkanah. After a payment of one million

rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

s, Nader Shah confirmed Mian Nur Muhammad and went on his way, but he kept Muhammad Muradyab and Ghulam Shah as hostages. Atur Khan was later sent to join them. After Nader Shah was assassinated in 1747, Muradyab left

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

to return to Sindh while his brothers remained in Iran. His route took him through

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...

, which he reached by 1750 (1163 AH), when news of his arrival there reached Sindh. Meanwhile, his companion Shaikh Ghulam Muhammad had died. When Mian Nur Muhammad learned of this, he sent the late shaikh’s brother Shaikh Shukrullah to Muscat to bring Muradyab home, but he died on the return voyage. The two shaikhs had been the last scions of a renowned

Shi’i Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

religious family, and their deaths had a strong impression on the Shi’i community in Sindh; the poet Muhammad Pannah Reja wrote a poem in their memory, comparing their deaths to the martyrdom of

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

’s sons Hasan and

Husayn Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...

. When Muradyab finally returned to Sindh in 1753, Mian Nur Muhammad received him "with great affection" and appointed him to be in charge of the state's finances, giving him the ''

daftar A ''defter'' (plural: ''defterler'') was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Description The information collected could vary, but ''tahrir defterleri'' typically included details of villages, dwellings, household ...

'' and appointing him wazir. This was an important step in establishing Kalhoro independence after Nader Shah’s invasion because the previous wazir, Gidu Mal, had been based at the Iranian court. However, Muhammad Muradyab turned out to be an incompetent administrator and was soon removed from office. Meanwhile, his younger brother Khudadad Khan had been the heir apparent during Muhammad Muradyab's absence, and now that Muhammad Muradyab was back, he had to resign that position; annoyed and embarrassed, Khudadad Khan ended up travelling to

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used by ...

Accession as monarch

In 1755,

Ahmad Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

sent Mian Nur Muhammad a request. The Mian’s promised ''

kharaj Kharāj ( ar, خراج) is a type of individual Islamic tax on agricultural land and its produce, developed under Islamic law. With the first Muslim conquests in the 7th century, the ''kharaj'' initially denoted a lump-sum duty levied upon the ...

'' payment was overdue, and Ahmad Shah wanted it now. Nur Muhammad panicked and, once again, fled to Umarkot. He sent Gidu Mal, who by this point was again serving as wazir, to negotiate with Ahmad Shah. Muhammad Muradyab had originally accompanied his father on the way to Umarkot, but worried that he was going to be taken as a hostage again, he ended up leaving and going a different way. Meanwhile, on the 12th of Saffar, Mian Nur Muhammad died of quinsy at

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

. The nobles immediately elected Muhammad Muradyab as the successor to his father and went to retrieve him. He was officially enthroned on the 16th of Saffar, four days after his father's death. However, Ahmad Shah Abdali had other plans and appointed Ismail Khan Pini to be his deputy in Sindh. Gidu Mal’s influence proved crucial here, as he insisted that the shah back Muradyab Khan instead. In the end, Gidu Mal was able to sway Ahmad Shah into confirming Muhammad Muradyab Khan as ruler of Sindh, on the condition that an annual ''kharaj'' payment of 14

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

rupees be made to Ahmad Shah. Atur Khan was also to be given over as a hostage. Ahmad Shah granted Muradyab the title "Nawab Sarbuland Khan" and sent Gidu Mal back to Umarkot with an official decree and robe of honour for Muradyab. Upon receiving them, Muhammad Muradyab left to return to the capital at

Khudabad Khudabad ( sd, خدا آباد, ur, ) is a city in Dadu District, Sindh, Pakistan. It served as capital of the Kalhora dynasty between 1719 and 1768, when the capital was shifted to Hyderabad. Geography It is located at 26°39'0N 67°45'0E wit ...

. On the way to the capital, Muhammad Muradyab stopped at a plain near

Nasarpur Naserpur ( sd, نصرپور), or Nasarpur, is a small town in Sindh, Pakistan. Historical background According to Hakeem Fateh Mohammad Sehwani (book Abo-al-fazal) Naserpur was one of the major city along with Umar Kot, Thatta and Sewistan ( S ...

and set up a camp, which was "adorned with tents and flags" to mark the first camp of the new ruler on his way home. He stayed there for several days and founded a new city on the spot, which he named

Muradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and 344& ...

after himself.

Reign

Toward the end of the lunar year, Muhammad Muradyab decided to campaign against the Jam of Kakrala in the southern Indus Delta. After several battles, the Kalhoro army was victorious, and the Jam was taken into confinement. Muhammad Muradyab annexed the territories of Ochtah, Lanjari, Miran, and Kachah, and he built a fort at each one. Kachah was selected as the “chief centre of stores”.

Downfall

Several factors had contributed to make Muhammad Muradyab Khan unpopular with his subjects. Political and economic instability were the main issues, and contemporary Dutch records also mention that many Sindhi traders complained to them about Muradyab Khan’s oppressive rule. The contemporary historian Muhammad Azim attributes Muradyab’s downfall to his licentious behavior. The fact that he had discontinued the Sufi

tariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...

of his predecessors also hurt his popularity. In any case, by 1757 Muhammad Muradyab had become fed up with the ''kharaj'' demands from Ahmad Shah Abdali, and he decided to leave Sindh and sail to Muscat. In preparation, he began sending money and valuables oversea. He then proposed that, on his way to the coast, he would loot the Jam of Kakrala’s territory. This proposal was poorly received. The Kalhoro nobles refused to break the treaty they had made at the end of the previous Kakrala campaign, and according to the '' Tuhfat-ul-Kiram'' of Alisher Kanei this was when they decided to support Ghulam Shah instead. So on the night before the 13th of Dhu’l al-Hijjah, 1170 AH (1757 CE), the nobles went to Muradyab’s residence and took him and his closest allies prisoner. The next morning, they installed Ghulam Shah as ruler instead.

Later life and death

Meanwhile, Atur Khan was able to convince Ahmad Shah Abdali (whose hostage he technically still was) to name him the ruler instead. When the Kalhoro nobles heard that Atur Khan had a royal decree in his favour, they mostly decided that it would be best to submit to his authority, and they abandoned Ghulam Shah’s cause. As a result, Ghulam Shah left with his army on the 25th of Saffar to retreat to the safety of the desert. Atur Khan sent a letter that had Muradyab set free. Early in Rabi-us-Sani, 1171 AH, Muradyab came to meet with Atur Khan at his camp at

Naushahro Naushahro Feroze ( ur, , sd, نوشهرو فیروز), is the capital city of Naushahro Feroze District in Sindh province of Pakistan. The district is located at 26°50'0N 68°7'0E with an altitude of 38 metres (127 feet). Naushahro Fe ...

. He and his many supporters were hoping that Atur Khan was going to make him ruler again, since he was the older brother. But Atur Khan had other plans – without even meeting Muradyab in person, he ordered his supporters to seize Muradyab and remove him to Khudabad. This made him more unpopular. Muhammad Muradyab Khan died sometime later during 1171 AH, before the end of Shawwal.

Assessment and legacy

Muradyab Khan was an incompetent ruler who had little political knowledge and was unpopular with his subjects. His short reign was marked by political and economic instability. It is considered the beginning of the Later Kalhora period, a politically tumultuous time when Sindh was a

client state A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

rather than 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 ...

. Several important developments took place during his rule. He moved the capital twice, first to

in 1756 and then to

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

in 1757. He sought out the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

as a trading partner to help strengthen the economy, which also led to the English getting involved around the same time. Muradyab Khan was also the first Kalhora ruler to relinquish the role of Sufi '' pir'', which ended the ''piri-muridi'' (master-disciple) relationship between ruler and subject that had existed under his predecessors. Contemporary historians did not have a favourable attitude towards Muhammad Muradyab Khan. In the '' Fatehnama'', which he wrote in 1783, Muhammad Azim described Muradyab as “neither brave nor experienced in manly exercise… night and day, he was engaged in pleasure parties and in enjoying the company of dancing girls and singers". He also wrote that Muradyab’s officers did the same, and that this conduct was part of what contributed to his overthrow.

References

Sources

This article includes content derived from "''History of Sind - translated from Persian books,''" by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg (1853–1929), published in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

in 1902 and now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

. {{Cite web, url=https://www.scribd.com/document/420317/A-History-of-Sind-Vol-II, title=A History of Sind-Vol II {{! Sindh {{! Genghis Khan, website=Scribd, language=en, access-date=2018-05-22 History of Sindh Mughal Empire people Sindhi people 1758 deaths