Maulana Pir Muhammad Khan Shirwani was a senior official 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 ...

and a commander in the

Mughal Army The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 15th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, ...

Background

Pir Muhammad was the Vakil-i-Mutlaq (general manager) of the

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the Mughal Empire, Bairam Khan, who had granted him the titles of Khan and Sultan. However, in 1559, he was temporarily dismissed by Bairam due to his arrogance and ordered to go to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

for Hajj (pilgrimage). He was replaced by Haji Muhammad Sistani, one of Bairam's subordinates. This displeased Akbar as the dismissal of a senior official without prior consultation with the emperor was a sign of blatant disrespect on Bairam's part and Akbar decided to dismiss Bairam. Pir Muhammad, who had travelled till

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 ...

and made his way back to Rajputana, was sent secret messages by Akbar to be ready to return. Later in 1560, when Bairam was ordered by Akbar to go to Hajj, on the insistence of his political opponents

Maham Anga Maham Anga (died 1562) was the foster mother and chief wet nurse of the Mughal emperor Akbar. She was the political adviser of the teenage emperor and the de facto regent of the Mughal Empire from 1560 to 1562. Biography Maham Anga was Akbar' ...

and Adham Khan, Pir Muhammad (who had returned to the Mughal court) was sent to trail him and 'pack him off to Mecca'. When Bairam became aware of Pir Muhammad's approach, he took it as an insult and decided to turn back and rebel. At the sight of Bairam's Turkoman horse archers, Pir Muhammad hastily retreated.

Conquest of Malwa

In early 1561, Akbar sent Adham Khan and Pir Muhammad to lead an army to capture

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syn ...

(in present-day

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

and south-eastern

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

, India. The ruler of Malwa,

Baz Bahadur Bayazid Baz Bahadur Khan was the last Sultan of Malwa Sultanate, who reigned from 1555 to 1562. He succeeded his father, Shuja'at Khan. He is known for his romantic liaison with Roopmati. Baz Bahadur as sultan did not bother to look after hi ...

attempted to resist them at his capital, Sarangpur, but was deserted by his best officers and defeated, though he managed to escape to

Khandesh Khandesh is a geographic region in Central India, which includes parts of the northwestern portion of Maharashtra as well as Burhanpur District of Madhya Pradesh. The use of Khandeshi Language (a.k.a. the Ahirani Language) is prevalent in t ...

, leaving behind his harem, treasure and war elephants. Adham Khan and Pir Muhammad then conducted a general massacre in Malwa, killing women, children and even

Sayyids ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamma ...

, who were descendants of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

. Adham Khan kept all of the captive women and choice spoils for himself. His insolence infuriated Akbar, who dismissed him and the campaign of Malwa was left in command of Pir Muhammad, who was tasked to capture the fugitive Baz Bahadur. Pir Muhammad went south and captured Bijargarh (in present-day

) again with general massacre and invaded the kingdom of Khandesh, were Baz Bahadur had taken refuge. He also captured the fortress of

Asirgarh Asirgarh Fort is an Indian fortress ''(qila)'' situated in the Satpura Range about north of the city of Burhanpur, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Because the fortress commands a pass through the Satpuras connecting the valleys of the ...

and marched towards

Burhanpur Burhanpur'' is a historical city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative seat of Burhanpur District. It is situated on the north bank of the Tapti River and northeast of city of Mumbai, southwest of the state's capi ...

(both in present-day southern

), destroying everything on his way and conducting general massacres. At Burhanpur, however, he was defeated by a coalition of three rulers: Baz Bahadur himself, Mubarak Khan II, ruler of Khandesh and Tufal Khan, ruler of

Berar Berar may refer to: *Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra Province, India, historically known as Berar *Berar Sultanate (1490–1596), one of the Deccan sultanates *Berar Subah (1596–1724), a Subah of the Mughal Empire *Berar Province (1724 ...

(in present-day Maharashtra).

Death

Outnumbered by this coalition, Pir Muhammad hastily retreated towards Malwa. Having reached the Narmada River at night, he insisted at crossing it immediately despite his officers cautioning him not to do so. In the middle of the river, he fell off from his horse and died of drowning.

Legacy

Following his death, the leaderless Mughal army retreated from Malwa and Baz Bahadur temporarily recovered his kingdom. In 1562, Akbar sent Abdullah Khan Uzbeg to capture Malwa who managed to restore Mughal authority in the region. Baz Bahadur remained a fugitive till he surrendered to Akbar in 1570. Akbar pardoned him and made him a musician at his court.

In popular culture

In the Indian historical fiction television series Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap, which ran on the channel

Sony Entertainment Television Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel, that was launched on 30 September 1995, and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese Sony. SET India's ...

from 2013 to 2015, Pir Muhammad Khan was portrayed by actor

Kunal Bakshi Kunal Bakshi is an Indian television actor. He has done lots of serials for almost all the leading channels. Television * '' Baalveer Returns'' as King Emaaya Egypt Evil References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakshi, Kunal Living ...

References

Mughal generals {{DEFAULTSORT:Shirwani, Pir Muhammad Khan Year of birth missing 1561 deaths