Murtaza Nizam Shah II ( 1580–1610) was the Sultan of Ahmadnagar from 1600 to 1610. His rule was dominated by the powerful regent

Malik Ambar Malik Ambar (1548 – 13 May 1626) was a Siddi military leader and prime minister who became a kingmaker and de facto ruler of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in the Deccan region of India. Born in the Adal Sultunate, in present-day Ethiopia, Mali ...

, under whom he was an effective

puppet ruler A puppet ruler is a person who has a title indicating possession of political power, but who, in reality, is either loyal to or controlled by outside individuals or forces. Such outside power can be exercised by a foreign government, in which case ...

Life

Born 1580, he was originally given the name Ali at birth. His father Shah Ali was a younger son of Burhan Nizam Shah I (r.1509–1553) by Bibi Mariam, a daughter of

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, the Sultan of

Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural i ...

. Following the fall of

Chand Bibi Sultana Chand Bibi (1550–1599 CE) was an Indian ruler and warrior. She acted as the Regent of Bijapur Sultanate during the minority of Ibrahim Adil Shah II in 1580-1590, and regent of Ahmednagar Sultanate during the minority of her great ...

in 1600, the former sultan, Bahadur Nizam Shah, was captured and imprisoned by 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 ...

prince Daniyal. The military commander

chose to use this power vacuum to strengthen his own position. Aware of his limited resources at that time, he sought out a member of the ruling family to use as a unifying symbol among the populace. Though all the royal children had been taken captive by the Mughals, Malik Ambar discovered the twenty-year-old Ali residing in Paranda. Though Ali's father Shah Ali was still alive at that point, at eighty years old, he was viewed as a less preferable potential monarch in comparison to his son. Malik Ambar approached

Ibrahim Adil Shah II Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1570 – 12 September 1627) was king of the Sultanate of Bijapur and a member of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Under his reign the dynasty had its greatest period as he extended its frontier as far south as Mysore. He was ...

, with whom the younger prince had taken refuge in

, to ask for permission for Ali to accept the crown. However, Shah Ali was hesitant to give his own approval to the proposal, mistrustful of the commander's promises of safety for his son. To inspire confidence in the old prince, Malik Ambar offered to give own his daughter in marriage to Ali. Shah Ali agreed and the young prince married the daughter in an elaborate ceremony, before being raised to the throne with the name Murtaza Nizam Shah II. Malik Ambar, under his new official position as prime minister and regent, made Paranda the new capital and did much to restore stability to the kingdom. However, over the years the sultan began to chafe under the regency. When a truce was established between Ahmadnagar and the Mughals, Murtaza became offended by the development. He endorsed a rival of Malik Ambar, Raju Daccani, which resulted in a lengthy war between the two nobles. Murtaza continued to intrigue and form factions against Malik Ambar, instigating a number of rebellions against him. Ambar grew frustrated with the Sultan's duplicity and sought the advice of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, who disapproved of having Murtaza deposed. Ibrahim intervened on behalf of the Sultan and restored relations between the two for a time. However, in 1610 another, more serious quarrel occurred when Murtaza's Persian wife from an earlier marriage became embroiled in a verbal altercation with Malik Ambar's daughter. The former referred to her co-wife as a slave-girl to the Sultan, and the regent himself as a rebel. Ambar's daughter complained to her father, who in anger had both Murtaza and the wife poisoned by his secretary. Murtaza's five-year-old son, who was either his child by the Persian wife or by Malik Ambar's daughter, was subsequently enthroned under the name Burhan Nizam Shah III.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nizam Shah II, Murtaza Ahmadnagar Sultanate Sultans 17th-century Indian monarchs 1610 deaths