Munim Khan II was the Grand Vizier 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 ...

during the reign of

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 ...

Bahadur Shah I Bahadur Shah I (14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712), also known as Muhammad Mu'azzam and Shah Alam I. was the eighth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father Aurangzeb, t ...

Background

Munim Khan was the son of Sultan Beg Barlas, who was the

kotwal The Kotwal also spelled as Cotwal, or Kotval was a title used in medieval India for the leader of a Kot or fort. Kotwals often controlled the fort of a major town or an area of smaller towns on behalf of another ruler. It was similar in functio ...

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...

and held a subordinate post in Kashmir. Muhammad Munim and his father returned to Kashmir, but after his father's death Muhamamd Munim went to the Deccan in search of service. In Aurangzeb's reign Munim Khan was made

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 ...

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

and also the governor of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

as an agent of the prince Muhammad Muazzam(later Bahadur Shah I), whose mother was the daughter of a

Jarral The Jarral Rajputs ( ur, جـرال راجپوت, also spelled Jaral, Jarral, Jerral) are a Muslim Rajput tribe of Azad Kashmir and Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanise ...

chieftain in

Rajauri Rajouri or Rajauri (; Pahari: 𑠤𑠬𑠑𑠶𑠤𑠮, راجوری; sa, राजपुर, ) is a city in Rajouri district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on the ...

, Kashmir. Munim Khan was born in the small town of

Bhimber Bhimber ( ur, ) is the capital of Bhimber District, in the Azad Kashmir. The town is on the border between Jammu region and Punjab in Pakistan proper about by road southeast of Mirpur. History Bhimber was the capital of the Chibhal dynasty, ...

, and was not considered to belong to either of the Irani or Turani parties. Muzaffar Alam connects him with a section of new nobles, especially of Indian Shaikhzada origin, who had been raised by Bahadur Shah I in order to counter the influence of the family of the former Wazir, Asad Khan, a noble 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 ...

origin. However, Munim Khan was most likely a

Muslim Rajput Muslim Rajputs are the descendants of Rajputs of Northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period in India onwards, retaining historically Hindu surnames suc ...

Career

During the War of Succession, Munim Khan secured for Muhammad Muazzam the path between

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 ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

. He was later made governor of

. He was instrumental in his rise to the throne. After Aurangzeb's death, Asad Khan had not followed the order of Aurangzeb of giving power to Muhammad Muazzam. However, Muazzam marched to Delhi and proclaimed himself king in 14 March 1707, with the title of Bahadur Shah I. The son of Munim Khan, Khanazad Khan, provided the munitions for war and Munim Khan secured the treasury of Delhi with Sayyid Amjad Khan and posted his own men at the gates. Bahadur Shah defeated the rival contenders to the throne at the Battle of Jajau, and bestowed new ranks and titles on his supporters, with Munim Khan appointed as his Grand Vizier. Bahadur Shah avowed that all his success was owing to his exertions and devotion, and raised him to the highest rank with the title of Khan-i-Khanan. He rose as the most powerful official in Bahadur Shah's court. His son Mahabat Khan became the third Bakhshi. The Rajputs had taken advantage of the death of Aurangzeb by attacking the imperial territories in Ajmer. There was a sharp difference of opinion between Bahadur Shah and Munim Khan on one hand, and Zulfiqar Khan on another, on how to deal with the Rajput rebellions. The latter wanted to conciliate the Rajas by not only readmitting their homelands, but restoring them to high administrative posts, while Munim Khan II was of the opinion that the homelands of the Rajputs should be distributed among the Mughal nobles as part of the Diwan-i-Khalisa(crown-lands). Although the Mughals defeated the first Rajput rebellion, another uprising started during Bahadur Shah's campaigns in the Deccan. Munim Khan led an attack of the Sikhs, but failed to capture the Guru, for which he was reprimanded by Bahadur Shah I. Munim Khan was known for his patronage of the Indian Shaikhzadas. When Ruh-ul-Amin Khan of Bilgram reportedly entered state service with only 60 horsemen and foot soldiers, the Wazir Munim Khan created him a mansab of 6000 and made him his close associate. The rise of Muhammad Murad Kashmiri(later Itiqad Khan), the favorite of the later emperor

Farrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily ...

, originally began through his old friend Munim Khan, who obtained for him a high post and the title of Wakalat Khan. On his death, Hidayatullah Khan Kashmiri succeeded him as the Wazir of the Mughal empire.

References

{{ci, date=October 2022 Grand viziers of the Mughal Empire Agra Kashmir History of India