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Mozaffar-Hosayn Mirza

Mozaffar-Hosayn Mirza (1563–1600; Persian: مظفر حسین میرزا) was an Iranian nobleman from the Safavid dynasty that held the governorship of Kandahar from 1578 until his defection to India in 1595. His rule was characterized by his constant conflict with his younger brother, Rustam Mirza, and his regent, Kur Hamza Beg. In 1593, he was able to kill Hamza Beg and capture Rustam's lands. He was then faced with raids from the Uzbek of Bukhara and the Mughal emperor Akbar wanting to conquer Kandahar. Unable to drive the Uzbeks away, he surrendered Kandahar to Akbar and defected to India. He was honoured greatly by Akbar and his daughter, Kandahari Begum, was married to Akbar's son, the future Shah Jahan. He died in 1600 in India, five years after his exodus from Iran.

Mozaffar-Hosayn Mirza
Governor of Kandahar
Reign1578–1595
PredecessorFulad Khalifa Shamlu
RegentKur Hamza Beg
Born1563
Kandahar, Safavid Iran
Died1600
Delhi, Mughal Empire
IssueSons and daughters, among which, Kandahari Begum
DynastySafavid dynasty
FatherSoltan Hosayn Mirza Safavi

Biography

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Early life

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Mozaffar-Hosayn Mirza was born in 1563 to Soltan Hosayn Mirza, the governor of Kandahar (now in Afghanistan). He was a member of the Safavid dynasty, his great-grandfather being Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid empire.[1] He had four other brothers and one sister.[2][3] His family were initially loyal to the imperial line; Soltan Hosayn had been treated kindly by his uncle, Tahmasp I, and was awarded with the governorship of Kandahar in 1558.[4] However, Tahmasp was succeeded by Ismail II in 1576, to whom Mozaffar's family had less loyalty, perhaps because they wished to become independent rulers of their own rights.[5]

Ismail initiated a purge of his male family members, in fear of their potential threat to his rule.[6] Among the victims were Mozaffar's eldest brother, Mohammad Hosayn Mirza, who was first blinded and then killed, and his two uncles, Ibrahim Mirza and Badi-al Zaman Mirza.[7][6] Mozaffar's father, Soltan Hosayn, revolted against Ismail, but died from unknown reasons in 1577.[5][a] Ismail prevented the governorship to be passed down to Soltan Hosayn's sons, and instead appointed Fulad Khalifa of the Shamlu tribe to rule over Kandahar.[5] According to the contemporary historian Iskandar Beg Munshi, Ismail had sent the orders for the murder of Mozaffar and his remaining brothers, however before the order could be executed, he died in 1577.[8]

Governor of Kandahar

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Indian portrait of Rustam Mirza, Mozaffar's brother.

Ismail was succeeded by his brother, Mohammad Khodabanda (r. 1578–1587), who was more tolerant of the existence of a cadet branch collateral to the royal family.[9] Per the request of the oligarchs of Kandahar, who wanted Soltan Hosayn's offspring to continue their rule, Khodabanda split the province of Kandahar between Mozaffar and his younger brother, Rustam Mirza; the eastern half of the province with Kandahar itself were given to Mozaffar and Rustam received the western half with the Zamindawar and Garmsir districts.[10] Since Mozaffar and Rustam were young, fifteen and twelve respectively, Hamza Beg Zul-Qadr known as Kur (blind) became their joint vakil (regent).[11] Hamza Beg made contact with the Mughal emperor, Akbar, who had been approached by the Uzbeks of Bukhara to conquer Kandahar, reassuring him that the commercial traffic was stable despite the rapid political changes.[12][13]

The division of Kandahar caused hostilities between the two brothers, as Mozaffar was granted with the richer parts of the province and Rustam was unsatisfied with his share. They also quarreled over Sistan, a region to the south of their lands.[11] Sistan had once been ruled by their uncle, Badi-al Zaman Mirza, but the new ruler of the region was Najm al-Din Mahmud, a nobleman from the local Mihrabanid dynasty.[14][15] Both Rustam and Mozaffar invaded Sistan but failed to gain any territories, however, Mozaffar negotiated with Najm al-Din and gained favourable results: he married Najm al-Din's daughter, and Najm al-Din's son married the daughter of Hamza Beg, and thereafter Najm al-Din and his successors were to treat Mozaffar and his offspring with 'good faith'.[11] Rustam Mirza envied his brother and plotted with Hamza Beg, who had a difficult relationship with Mozaffar, to conquer Kandahar.[12]

Rustam led several attacks into Kandahar, but Mozaffar withstood him with the support of Sistan.[11] In 1588, he briefly conquered Kandahar but failed to consolidate his position.[14] Mozaffar on the other hand increased his authority by murdering Hamza Beg and his successor, Mohammad Beg.[14][11] External pressure from all sides forced Rustam Mirza to leave Iran for India in 1593, which allowed Mozaffar to take control of Zamindawar.[11]

Defection to India

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In the early 1590s, the Kandahar region experienced constant raids from the Uzbeks of Bukhara under the leadership of Abdullah Khan II. Simultaneously, the defection of Rustam had encouraged the Mughal emperor Akbar to send an army to Kandahar.[16] Mozaffar accepted the Mughal sovereignty to drive away the Uzbeks, who did not have the power to fight the Mughals. He sent his mother and son to the Mughal court but intended to remain in Kandahar as the governor, however, Akbar recalled him to the court.[16] Eventually in 1595, Mozaffar left Kandahar for India like his brother and was received graciously by Akbar.[17][18] He received the highest mansab (courtly rank) in Akbar's administration, the rank of 5,000, which indicated the number of his retinue and his closeness to the sovereign.[19] Akbar honoured Mozaffar as his 'son', a status conferred to special collaborators and foreign monarchs.[17]

According to Iskandar Beg, Mozaffar always harboured a desire to return to Iran and felt disenchanted by India, this caused some estrangement between him and Akbar.[18] He died in 1600 in Delhi, only five years after his defection, thus leaving Rustam Mirza as the absolute head of his family in India.[17]

Family

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Sources differ on the number and names of Mozaffar's children.[20] The most accomplished of his sons was Mirza Haidar, who at the time of his death in 1631 had the mansab of 1000.[21] Mozaffar's grandson, Nauzar Mirza, bore the rank of 4000; the Nauzar Katra neighbourhood in Patna is named after him.[22] One of his daughters, called Kandahari Begum, was married to Prince Khurram (the future Shah Jahan). The pair had a daughter named Parhez Banu Begum, born in 1611.[23]

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Contemporary chroniclers propose different causes of death among which are suicide, assassination and natural causes.[5]

Citations

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  1. ^ Geevers 2015, p. 313, 294.
  2. ^ Afshar & Sarafrazi 2018, p. 198.
  3. ^ Munshi 1978, p. 220.
  4. ^ Geevers 2015, p. 309, 307.
  5. ^ a b c d Geevers 2015, p. 309.
  6. ^ a b Ghereghlou 2016.
  7. ^ Geevers 2015, p. 311.
  8. ^ Munshi 1978, p. 651.
  9. ^ Geevers 2015, p. 312.
  10. ^ Ibáñez 2024, p. 39.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Afshar & Sarafrazi 2018, p. 199.
  12. ^ a b Ibáñez 2024, p. 40.
  13. ^ Burton 2019, p. 30.
  14. ^ a b c Geevers 2015, p. 314.
  15. ^ Mir Jafari 1977, p. 65.
  16. ^ a b Geevers 2015, p. 316.
  17. ^ a b c Ibáñez 2024, p. 46.
  18. ^ a b Afshar & Sarafrazi 2018, p. 202.
  19. ^ Ibáñez 2024, p. 43, 46.
  20. ^ Afshar & Sarafrazi 2018, p. 204.
  21. ^ Ali 1985, p. 115.
  22. ^ Askari 1944, p. 348.
  23. ^ Afshar & Sarafrazi 2018, p. 205.

Bibliography

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Primary sources

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  • Munshi, Iskandar Beg (1978) [1629]. Tarikh-e Alam-ara-ye Abbasi [History of Shah 'Abbas the Great]. Persian Heritage Series. Vol. 1. Translated by Roger M., Savory. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. ISBN 9780891582960. OCLC 659933391. 

Secondary sources

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