Mirza Ghiyas Beg (), also known by his title I'timad-ud-Daulah (), was an important official in the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

, whose children included the generals, wives and mothers of the Mughal emperors. Born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Mirza Ghiyas Beg belonged to a family of poets and high officials. Nevertheless, his fortunes fell into disfavor after the death of his father in 1576. Along with his pregnant wife Ismat Begum, and his three children, they immigrated to India. There he was received by the Mughal emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

(r. 1556-1605), and was enrolled into his service. During the latter's reign, Mirza Ghiyas Beg was appointed treasurer for the province of

Kabul Kabul 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. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. His fortunes further increased during the reign of Akbar's son and successor

Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

(r. 1605-1627), who in 1611 married his daughter

Nur Jahan Nur Jahan (; 31 May 1577 – 18 December 1645), born Mehr-un-Nissa was the twentieth wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. More decisive and proactive than her husband, Nur Jahan is considered by certain historians to have be ...

and appointed Mirza Ghiyas Beg as his prime minister. By 1615, Mirza Ghiyas Beg had risen to further prominence, when he was given the status of 6,000 men and was given a standard and drums, a prestige normally restricted for distinguished princes.

Family

Mirza Ghiyas Beg was a native of

, and was the youngest son of

Khvajeh Mohammad-Sharif Khvajeh Mohammad-Sharif () was a Persian people, Persian statesman, who occupied the post of vizier of several Safavid Iran, Safavid provinces. He was also a poet, who wrote under the pen name Hejri (). Biography Mohammad-Sharif was a native of ...

, a poet and

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

of Mohammad Khan Tekkelu and his son Tatar Soltan, who was the governor of the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

province of

Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West and Central Asia that encompasses western and no ...

. Mohammad-Sharif was later listed under the service of Shah Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576), where he initially served as the vizier of

Yazd Yazd (; ) is a city in the Central District of Yazd County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is rec ...

Abarkuh Abarkuh () is a city in the Central District of Abarkuh County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology A folk etymology of the name Abarquh, related by Hamdallah Mustawfi in 1340, is from '' ...

, and Biabanak for seven years. Thereafter he was appointed as the vizier of

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

, and died there in 1576. Ghiyas Beg's elder brother, Mohammad-Taher Wasli, was a learned man who composed poetry under the pen name of Wasli.

Immigration to India

After the death of Ghiyas' father, his family fell on hard times. Hoping to improve his family's fortunes, Ghiyas Beg chose to relocate to India where the Emperor

's court was said to be at the centre of the growing trade, industry and cultural scene. During their journey, the family was attacked by robbers who took from them whatever meager possessions they had. Left with only two mules, Ghiyas Beg, his pregnant wife, and their three children (Mohammad-Sharif, Asaf Khan and a daughter Sahlia) were forced to take turns riding on the backs of the animals for the rest of their journey. When the family arrived in

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

, Asmat Begum gave birth to their second daughter. The family was so impoverished, they feared they would be unable to take care of the newborn baby. Fortunately, the family was taken in by a caravan led by the merchant noble Malik Masud, who would later assist Ghiyas Beg in finding a job in the service of Emperor Akbar. Believing that the child had signaled a change in the family's fate, she was named Mehrunnisa, meaning "sun among women". Ghiyas Beg was not the first member of his family to move to India—his cousin Asaf Khan Jafar Beg and the uncle of Asmat Begum, Mirza Ghiyasuddin Ali Asaf Khan, had been enrolled into the provincial assignments of Akbar.

Service under the Mughal Empire

Mirza Ghiyas Beg was later appointed ''diwan'' (treasurer) for the province of Kabul. Due to his astute skills at conducting business he quickly rose through the ranks of the high administrative officials. For his excellent work he was awarded the title of ‘‘Itimad-ud-Daula‘‘ (‘Pillar of the State’) by the emperor. As a result of his work and promotions, Ghiyas Beg was able to ensure that Mehrunnisa (the future Nur Jahan) would have the best possible education. She became well versed in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

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 ...

. She also became well versed in

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. Ghiyas' daughter, Mehrunissa (Nur Jahan) married Akbar's son Jahangir in 1611, and his son Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan served as a general to Jahangir and as a grand vizier to his successor

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

. Ghiyas was also the grandfather of

Mumtaz Mahal Mumtaz Mahal (; ; born Arjumand Banu Begum; 27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of Mughal Empire from 1628 to 1631 as the chief consort of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of t ...

(originally named Arjumand Bano, daughter of Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan), the wife of the emperor

, responsible for the building of the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

. Jahangir was succeeded by his son Shah Jahan, and Abdul Hasan served as one of Shah Jahan's closest advisors. Shah Jahan married Abdul Hasan's daughter Arjumand Banu Begum, Mumtāz Mahal, who was the mother of his four sons, including his successor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

. Shah Jahan built the

to serve as Mumtaz Mahal's tomb.

Death and burial

Mirza Ghiyas Beg died near Kangra in 1622 while the Mughal camp was moving towards its summer residence in

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

. His body was carried back to Agra and buried on the left bank of the

Yamuna river The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

, where the Tomb of I'timad-ud-Daulah stand to this day.

References

Sources

* * * Keay, John (2000). ''India: A History''. Grove Press, New York. * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghiyas Beg, Mirza Mughal nobility Politicians from Tehran 1622 deaths 16th-century births Iranian emigrants to the Mughal Empire Grand viziers of the Mughal Empire 16th-century Mughal Empire people 17th-century Mughal Empire people