Malik Maqbul (Mala Yugandharudu ) , also referred to as Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul Tilangani
Delhi Information, retrieved 17 April 2019 and Jahan Khan) (d. 1369) was a commander in the

Kakatiya Empire The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...

who converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and rose to become the Wazir of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

under

Firuz Shah Tughlaq Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388) was a Muslim ruler from the Tughlaq dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388.

(). He was appointed as the governor of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

in service of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

and he ruled and governed all the lands of present day

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

on behalf of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

Career in Warangal

Malik Maqbul or Mala Yugandharudu another name of him is Gona Gannappa, was a commander of the

under

Prataparudra Pratāparudra (r. c. 1289–1323), also known as Rudradeva II, was the last ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty of India. He ruled the eastern part of Deccan, with his capital at Warangal. Prataparudra succeeded his grandmother Rudramadevi as the Ka ...

(). Marana's ''Markandeya Puranamu'' (in Telugu) names him as "Pedda Mala Devudu" and describes him as the commander (''Kataka paludu'') of

Warangal Fort Warangal Fort is located in Warangal District, Telangana, India. It was the capital city of Kakatiya dynasty and Musunuri Nayakas. It appears to have existed since at least the 12th century when it was the capital of the Kakatiyas. The fort has ...

, the capital of Kakatiyas. The term ''Vibhudu'' (meaning "Lord") implies that he was very high up in the hierarchy. After Ghiyasuddin Tughluq's son and general Ulugh Khan (

Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (1290 – 20 March 1351) was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from February 1325 until his death in 1351. The sultan was the eldest son of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, founder of the Tughlaq dynasty. In 1321, the youn ...

) captured Warangal in 1323, Ulugh Khan himself took over the Governorship of what is now a new province of "Teling" (Telangana) in the Sultanate. Gannappa converted to

, took the name Malik Maqbul and found a place in the new regime. When Ulugh Khan left for Delhi soon afterwards, he left Warangal in the charge of Malik Maqbul, since he asked not to remove Mala from his name, they gave him Malik Maqbul, who became its new governor. Ulugh Khan succeeded Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq as the new

Sultan of Delhi The following list of Indian monarchs is one of several lists of incumbents. It includes those said to have ruled a portion of the Indian subcontinent, including Sri Lanka. The Mahajanapada, earliest Indian rulers are known from epigraphica ...

under the name Muhammad bin Tughluq. The new regime was beset with rebellions and the Muslim governors were not welcomed as rulers. The coastal region around

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

slipped out immediately after Ulugh Khan's departure, the area south of Krishna river in 1325,

Bhadrachalam Bhadrachalam is a census town in Bhadradri Kothagudem district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage town with the Bhadrachalam Temple of Lord Rama, situated on the banks of Godavari river. It is located east o ...

area in 1330 and western Telangana between 1330–1335. The Sultan marched on South India in 1334 in order to suppress the rebellions, but his army was struck by an epidemic, and he was forced to return to Delhi. Soon afterwards, captured Warangal, and Malik Maqbul fled to Delhi. Facing significant losses in his army due to the epidemic, the Sultan was in no position to recover Telangana.

Career in Delhi

Malik Maqbul was initially made the governor of

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

and sent to administer

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 ...

. After his return to

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 w ...

, Maqbul earned the trust of

. He accompanied the sultan on an expedition to

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

to subdue the rebels in

Broach The BROACH warhead is a Tandem-charge, multi-stage warhead developed by Team BROACH; BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Munitions, Thales Missile Electronics and QinetiQ. BROACH stands for ''Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented CHarge''. Development of ...

. He put all the rebels to death and captured enormous amount of wealth. Subsequently, by making himself indispensable in the Delhi durbar (court), he became the

finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and finally, the Wazir, of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

under

Firuz Shah Tughlaq Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388) was a Muslim ruler from the Tughlaq dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388.

. When Firuz Shah was away on a Campaign to

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 ...

and

for six months and no news was available about his whereabouts Maqbul ably protected Delhi. He was the most highly favoured among the significant number of the nobles in Feroz Shah's court and retained the trust of the sultan. Feroz Shah used to call Maqbul as 'brother'. The sultan even remarked that Khan-i-Jahan was the real ruler of Delhi. The fiscal and general administration were entirely left to Maqbul. On his part, Maqbul never exceeded his powers, and kept the sultan fully informed. He was also scrupulously honest. Although he did take presents from the governors of the provinces, he entered them in the royal treasury. He was also strict in collecting government dues. His powers, however, were restricted by the auditor (''mustaufi'') and by the Accountant-General (''mushrif''). Sometimes it led to bitter disputes in which the sultan mediated. On one occasion, Maqbul threatened to leave for Mecca when he came into conflict with Ain-i-Mahru, the Accountant General. Sultan had to retrench Ain-i-Mahru. Maqbul was paid annually 13

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 ...

tankas over and above the expenses of his army and servants and separate allowances for his sons and sons-in-law. Maqbul also maintained a retinue of 2000 concubines.

Successor

Firoz Shah gave an undertaking that the position of Wazir will be inherited by Maqbul's son. After the death of Maqbul in 1369 CE, his son Jauna Khan became the Wazir. Jauna Khan was as competent as his father but he was no military leader. He failed in the conflict for succession, which began even during the lifetime of Feroz Shah. Jauna Khan was captured and executed. Also known as Junan Shah, he built seven large mosques in and around Delhi of which Khirki Masjid is very well known.

Monuments

Built in 1388 by Junan Shah (son of Malik Maqbul), his

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a :wikt:repository, repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be ...

(

Tughluq tombs Tughlaq Tombs in the Indian subcontinent are mostly simple, monotonous and heavy structures in Indo-Islamic architecture built during the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1413). They look more like fortresses with walls surrounding them and have restrained ...

) was the first

octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

to be built in Delhi. The only other octagonal mausoleum that pre-dates this tomb in the Indian subcontinent is the Tomb of Shah Rukn-i Alam in

. The mausoleum occupies the northwestern corner of

Nizamuddin West Nizamuddin West is an upscale residential locality, conveniently located south of India gate. It is a historically busy neighbourhood in Central Delhi and has many parks and trees. It sits in the green lung of delhi, with Humayun's Tomb, Sunde ...

. The plan is composed of an octagonal

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

chamber wrapped by a larger

al veranda. The verandah has three arched openings on each side, with a finial bearing cupola crowning the central arches. A large raised dome sits on top of the central chamber. While the parapet wall of the veranda is articulated with crenellations, a slanting stone overhang ( chhajja) runs beneath it, encasing all sides of the structure. The main entry to the structure is through the central arch of its south façade. The walls of the chamber are substantially thick. The

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

is set in a stepped niche on the west wall of the chamber. A stairwell leading to the crypt below is also built into the western wall and accessed from inside a doorway. A large rectangular

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

sits centred in the chamber beneath the dome in a two tiered arrangement. The tomb stands today in a very poor state of repair.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maqbul, Malik Year of birth missing Year of death missing Tughlaq dynasty Telugu people Indian Muslims Delhi Sultanate History of Delhi Converts to Islam from Hinduism