Mirza Ghazi Beg Tarkhan ( fa, میرزا غازى بیگ ترخان, r. 1599–1612 CE) of the
Tarkhan dynasty
The Tarkhan dynasty ( sd, ترخان گهراڻو), was established by the a Tarkhan and ruled Sindh, Pakistan from 1554 to 1591 AD. General Mirza Isa Beg founded the Tarkhan dynasty in Sindh after the death of Shah Husayn Arghun of the Arg ...
in
Sindh ruled from the capital city of
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 ...
. He was the most powerful
Mughal governor who administered Sindh, during whose rule the region had become fiercely loyal to the Mughals. In Sindh a network of small and large forts manned by cavalry and musketeers further extended Mughal power during the reign of Mughal Emperor
Shah Jahan.
[''The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia'' by Nicholas Tarling p.39](_blank)
/ref>[''Cambridge illustrated atlas, warfare: Renaissance to revolution, 1492-1792'' by Jeremy Black p.1]
/ref> He was a descendant of the powerful Mirza (noble), Mirza clan which had arrived in the region with the 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 ...
Babur who had conquered South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
in 1526. Mirza Ghazi Beg spoke nearly two languages which included 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 ...
(the official and native language of the Mughals), and some Turkic.
He is remembered for the completion of the monumental Shah Jahan Mosque built in 1647-49 at Thatta, he is also credited for introducing the Sindhi Abjad
An abjad (, ar, أبجد; also abgad) is a writing system in which only consonants are represented, leaving vowel sounds to be inferred by the reader. This contrasts with other alphabets, which provide graphemes for both consonants and vowels ...
(new Sindhi alphabets alongside the original Arabic Alphabets). He was a charismatic leader who had a deep passion for Horse-back archery and Sufi teachings. Mirza Ghazi Beg took action against the rebellious Hindu Brahmans
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...
. Debal
Debal (Urdu, Arabic, sd, ) was an ancient port located near modern Karachi, Pakistan. It is adjacent to the nearby Manora Island and was administered by Mansura, and later Thatta.
Etymology
In Arabic history books, most notably in the early ...
the port along the coastal area of Thatta was attacked by the Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
Admiral Fernão Mendes Pinto
Fernão Mendes Pinto (; c.1509 – 8 July 1583) was a Portuguese explorer and writer. His voyages are recorded in ''Pilgrimage'' ( pt, Peregrinação) (1614), his autobiographical memoir. The historical accuracy of the work is debatable due t ...
in an attempt to capture or destroy the Ottoman vessels anchored there, the port was heavy damaged and a large Mughal force armed with muskets
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...
was deployed on the shores to avoid such attacks and landings by the Portuguese.
References
{{authority control
Mughal nobility
Persian-language poets
Indian Muslims
People from Thatta District
Mughal Empire poets