Early life

Nawab Muzaffar Khan was born in 1757 in

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 ol ...

. He was the eldest son of his father. They were four brothers and one sister. He was well educated in religion, civil administration and warfare. He took part in the affairs of the state in very early age. He was only 18 years old when his father instructed him to lead a mission to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

in January 1775. His mission failed but he got the attention of the Afghan King who fixed 5000 rupees as his stipend. He commanded with bravery the Afghan contingent during the siege of Multan in February 1775. When Ganda Singh invaded

Shujabad Shujaabad ( ur, ) is a city and the capital of Shujabad Tehsil of Multan District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located about in south from Multan. Chenab River is situated in the west of city. Neighbouring settlements include Ja ...

, he defended city with great valour. He realised the greedy nature of the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

soldiers and gave them some money. He succeeded his father at the age of 18 in Shujabad on October 18, 1775. Nawab Muzaffar Khan could not get

until 1780, when he was reinstated by

Timur Shah Durrani Timur Shah Durrani (; prs, ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – May 20, 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the s ...

, King of

, who expelled the

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...

and appointed Muzaffar Khan as the Governor (''

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 t ...

'') of Multan. Timur Shah Durrani also gave him the title of

Nawab Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian, Punjabi , Sindhi, Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...

, at the age of 23.

Military career

In 1817,

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

sent his army to

. The commander of army was Diwan Bhiwani Das. Main purpose of this evasion was to ask Nawab Muzaffar Khan to accept the rule of Sikh Darbar. In 1818,

Kharak Singh Kharak Singh (22 February 1801 – 5 November 1840) was the second Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was the eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and his consort, Maharani Datar Kaur. He succeeded his father on 27 Jun ...

and Hindu Commander Misr Diwan Chand arms troops lay around

without making much initial headway.

sent a large cannon named ''

Zamzama The Zamzama Gun ( ur, , meaning "thunder" or "roar", sometimes written "Zam-Zammah" or "Zam-Zammeh") also known as ''Kim’s Gun'' or ''Bhangianwali Toap'' is a large-bore cannon. It was cast in about 1757 in Lahore (present-day Pakistan) du ...

'' . Though in name, the army was commanded by

but actual command was in the hand of Military genius Misr Diwan Chand. The Maharaja directed his son to pay full attention to the advice of Misr Diwan Chand, Book Title= Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society - Volume 30 - Page 15 , Book Title=The Panjab Past and Present - Volume 14 - Page 195 Muzaffar urged the majority of the Muslim population of the city of Multan to fight a war against the

and

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

. However, the

tactics Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tact ...

of Nawab Muzaffar Khan failed as the Sikh armies were able to suppress the revolt of the Multan population. In the battle, Misr Diwan Chand led the Sikh armies to victory over Nawab Muzaffar Khan. Muzzafar Khan and seven of his sons were killed before the Multan fort finally fell on June 2, 1818.

By name of Nawab Muzaffar Khan

Muzaffargarh Muzaffargarh (Urdu and pa, , , Fort of Muzaffar) is a city in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the bank of the Chenab River, it is the capital of the district with the same name. It is the 39th largest city of Pakistan by populatio ...

- Name of

is on the name of Nawab Muzaffar Khan.

means ''Fort of Muzaffar.'' * Nawab Muzaffar Khan Park, a park in Muzaffargarh * Muzaffarabad, Multan, a town near Multan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Nawab Muzaffar 1757 births 1818 deaths Pashtun people Pashtun dynasties Durrani dynasty History of Multan Emirs of Afghanistan Afghan expatriates in Pakistan 18th-century Afghan people 19th-century Afghan politicians Afghan people murdered abroad People from Muzaffargarh

Early life

Military career

By name of Nawab Muzaffar Khan

See also

References