Zakariya Khan (died 1745) was 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 ...

subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...

Lahore Subah Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

from 1726, succeeding his father,

Abd al-Samad Khan Abd al-Samad Khan (died 1737) was the Mughal Empire's subahdar of Lahore Subah from 1713 to 1726. He was appointed by the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar. He was descended from the Ansari family of Panipat. He was succeeded as governor of Punjab by ...

, in the post. He was descended from the Ansari family of Panipat. He continued and extended his father's policy of severe

persecution of Sikhs Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate o ...

, and thousands of Sikhs were killed during his period in the post, especially during the

Chhota Ghallughara Chhota Ghallughara ( pa, ਛੋਟਾ ਘੱਲੂਘਾਰਾ , "Smaller Massacre") was a massacre of a significant proportion of the Sikh population living in the region around present-day city of Lahore situated in Punjab, Pakistan, Pakistani P ...

Abd al-Samad Khan received by Jahandar Shah

Khan was given control of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

by Persian Emperor

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...

during his invasion of the Mughal Empire in 1738 in return for annual tribute payments to the Persian crown. He continued the prosecution of Sikhs and appointed Salabat Khan to block Amritsar and not allowing Sikhs to worship there. According to prominent early Sikh historian Ratan Singh Bhangu, in response to having his scalp torn off, Taru Singh cursed Zakaria Khan, saying he would be killed by his shoes. According to Sikh sources, after cutting Bhai Taru Singh's scalp, Zakaria Khan was stricken with unbearable pain and the inability to urinate. As a last resort, Khan sent an apology to the Khalsa Panth for his persecution of Sikhs and begged for forgiveness. It was suggested that if Khan hit himself with Singh's shoes, his condition might be lifted. Although it would cure Khan of his condition, he died 22 days later from having hit himself with the shoes, just as Singh predicted. Salabat Khan was killed in an encounter with

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Sultan-ul-Qaum Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the Supreme Leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period ...

and Sikhs liberated Amritsar in March 1748.

In popular culture

* Zakariya Khan is portrayed by Shaikh Sami in the

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is a state-owned public entertainment television channel in India. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, and the oldest and most widely available terrestrial television channel ...

series ''

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 ...

References

{{reflist 18th-century viceregal rulers 1747 deaths

In popular culture

See also

References