Lutfullah Tabrizi

Mīrzā Lutfullāh Khān Tabrīzī (Persian: ميرزا لطف الله تبریزی, Bengali: মীর্জা লুৎফুল্লাহ তবরীজী), also known as Murshid Qulī Khān II, was an 18th-century administrator who served under the Nawabs of Bengal as the Naib Nazim of Jahangirnagar (Dhaka) and Orissa respectively. Lutfullah was also a calligrapher,[1] as well as an author in the Persian language under the pen name Sarshār (Persian: سرشار).[2]

Mirza
Lutfullah Tabrizi
Murshid Quli Khan Bahadur, Rustam Jang
Naib Nazim of Jahangirnagar (Dhaka)
In office
1728–1733
MonarchNasiruddin Muhammad Shah
Preceded byItisam Khan's son
Succeeded bySarfaraz Khan
Naib Nazim of Orissa
In office
1734–1741
Preceded byTaqi Khan
Succeeded bySyed Ahmad Khan
Personal details
BornSurat, Gujarat, Mughal Empire
DiedDeccan
SpouseDurdana Begum Sahiba
ChildrenMirza Muhammad Yahya Khan Bahadur (son)
Two daughters
Parent
  • Haji Shukrullah Tabrizi (father)
RelativesSarfaraz Khan (brother-in-law), Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan (father-in-law), Mirza Agha Baqer (son-in-law)

Azad al-Husaini's Naubahar-i-Murshid-Quli-Khani book is dedicated to Lutfullah, and celebrates him as the conqueror of Lower Tippera.[3] This is because Tippera was only nominally under Mughal rule, and was fully annexed during Lutfullah's tenure as Naib Nazim.[4][5]

Early life and family

Mirza Lutfullah was born in 1684, in the city of Surat in Gujarat. His father, Haji Shukrullah, was a Persian from the Safavid city of Tabriz who had migrated to Surat. Lutfullah studied under Aqa Habibullah Isfahani.[6]

After his father's death, Lutfullah left Surat for Bengal as a merchant where he gained popularity in the court of the Nawab of Bengal. Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan married off his daughter,[7] Durdana Begum Sahiba, to Lutfullah. The couple had one son, Mirza Muhammad Yahya Khan Bahadur, and two daughters. Bangali Begum Sahiba, also known as Mehman Begum, was their eldest daughter, and their youngest daughter was the wife of Ala ud-din Muhammad Khan.

Career

In 1728, Lutfullah was appointed by his father-in-law Nawab Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan as the regional governor at Jahangirnagar.[8] Along with this appointment, Lutfullah was given the title of Murshid Quli Khan II.[9] During his tenure, Murshid Quli Khan II had shops constructed in Chowk Bazaar.[10][3] As the Nizamat of Jahangirnagar covered all of eastern Bengal, Lutfullah's responsibility also spread outside of Dhaka. He is credited for the complete Mughal annexation of Lower Tippera, which was formally only nominally under Mughal rule.[4]

In 1734, Lutfullah was transferred to govern the Nizamat of Orissa. The Battle of Giria near Murshidabad on 10 April 1740 meant the ascension of Alivardi Khan as the new Nawab of Bengal.[11] Lutfullah rejected the authority of Alivardi. Along with his son-in-law Mirza Agha Baqer, Lutfullah proceeded from Cuttack in Orissa towards Balasore and towards December 1740, established a camp at Phulwari Sharif in Bihar. Lutfullah was severely wounded in battle and was defeated on 3 March 1741, later fleeing to Machilipatnam in South India with Baqer. Alivardi later appointed Syed Ahmad Khan as the Naib Nazim of Orissa.[12]

In the Deccan, Lutfullah served the Nizam of Hyderabad and spent the rest of his life. In the literary sphere, his magnum opus is Makhmur.

See also

References
  1. The History of Bengal. Vol. 2. p. 426.
  2. Khayyāmṕūr, ʻA (1990). فرهن سخنوران (in Persian). Vol. 1. انتشارات طلايه. p. 447.
  3. Abdul Karim. Dacca, the Mughal Capital.
  4. E M Lewis (1868). "Dacca District". Principal Heads of the History and Statistics of the Dacca Division. Calcutta: Calcutta Central Press Company. p. 36.
  5. Abdul Karim (1992). History of Bengal: The reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzib. Institute of Bangladesh Studies. pp. 232, 269. OCLC 312807950.
  6. Kia, Mana (2020). Persianate Selves: Memories of Place and Origin Before Nationalism. Stanford University Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-5036-1068-2.
  7. Kia, Mana (2020). Persianate Selves: Memories of Place and Origin Before Nationalism. Stanford University Press. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-5036-1068-2.
  8. KM Karim (2012). "Naib Nazim". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  9. Tull Walsh, John Henry (1902). "Biographies". A history of Murshidabad District (Bengal): with biographies of some of its noted families. Jarrold. p. 135.
  10. Abdul Karim (1962). "An Account of Dacca, dated 1800". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Pakistan. 7 (2): 300–301.
  11. Nitish K. Sengupta (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. Penguin Books India. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-14-341678-4.
  12. Khan, Muazzam Hussain (2012). "Aga Muhammad Bakar, Mirza". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
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