Abd al-Samad Khan

Not to be confused with Abd al-Samad.
Abd-us-Samad Khan
Subahdar of Lahore
Detail of Abd-us-Samad Khān, from a painting of him being received by emperor Jahāndār Shah
Subahdar of Lahore
Tenure1713 – 1726
PredecessorIzzat Khān
SuccessorZakariyyā Khān
BornAbd-us-Samad Khān Ansārī
16??
Mughal Empire
Died1737
Lahore, Mughal Empire
Noble familyAnsari (Panipat)
IssueZakariyyā Khān
Sharaf-un-Nisa
Military career
Allegiance Mughal Empire
Service / branchMughal Army
RankSubahdar, General
Battles / warsMughal-Sikh Wars
Siege of Gurdaspur
Battle of Gurdas Nangal

Abd al-Samad Khan Al-Ansari or Abd-us-Samad Khan Al-Ansari[1] (died 1737), also known simply as Abdus Samad Khan,[2] was the Mughal subahdar of Lahore Subah from 1713 to 1726.

Biography

Early life

He was descended from Khwaja Ahrar.[3]

Lahore Subah

Abdus Samad Khan being received by Mughal emperor Jahandar Shah (1712–13), Punjab, late 18th century

He was appointed by the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar.[4] He was succeeded as governor of Punjab by his son Zakariya Khan Bahadur.

Kashmir Subah

He was the governor of the Kashmir Subah between 1720 and 1723.[5] He removed discriminatory policies that had been enacted against the local Kashmiri Hindus.[5]

In 1722, he led an excursion to Kashmir with a large military force and put the holder of the Sheikh-ul-Islam title, Mulla Sharaf-ul-Din, to death.[5] Mulla Sharaf-ul-Din was the son of a Mulla Abdul Nabi (also known as Mulla Khan), who was a bigoted extremist and conspired against the local Hindus of the region.[5]

Samad also executed fifty rebels from an area ranging from Naid Kadal to Khwaja Yarbal.[5]

Contemporary Kashmiri poets praise his reign:[5]

Haka an Samad Phutrun zin,

Na rud kuni Sharaf no rud kuni Din.

'Samad (horse) came swiftly; there remained neither Sharaf (cardinalship) nor Din (bigotry) anywhere.'

Mahbub Khan 'Abdul Nabi' launched anti-Hindu riots and plundering during his reign but the instigator was killed in the events.[5]

Wars

During his tenure as viceroy he fought many wars with the Sikh army and captured Banda Singh Bahadur in the Battle of Gurdas Nangal. Abdus Samad Khan's Lahore army consisted of Kharal, Bhatti and Wattu tribes.[6]

In March 1715, the army, under the rule of Abd al-Samad Khan,[7] drove Banda Bahadur and the Sikh forces into the village of Gurdas Nangal, Gurdaspur, Punjab and laid siege to the village.[8][9] But on 7 December 1715 the Mughals broke into the garrison and captured Banda Singh and his companions.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Irvine, William (1991). "Sikhs Ravage North Punjab Repeatedly". Later Mughals. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. p. 311.
  2. ^ Gupta, Hari Ram (2007). History of the Sikhs: Sikh Commonwealth or Rise and Fall of Sikh Misls. Vol. 4. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-8121501651.
  3. ^ Shāhnavāz Khān Awrangābādī. The Maāth̳ir-ul-umarā : being biographies of the Muhammadan and Hindu officers of the Timurid sovereigns of India from 1500 to about 1780 A.D. tr. Henry Beveridge and Baini Prashad. 1979.
  4. ^ "Abd Us Samad Khan - SikhiWiki, free Sikh encyclopedia".
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Bakshi, S.R. (1997). Kashmir: History and People. Kashmir Through Ages. Vol. 1. Sarup & Sons. pp. 131–132. ISBN 9788185431963.
  6. ^ J. S. Grewal (1998). The Sikhs of the Punjab:Volumes 2-3. Cambridge University Press. p. 83. ISBN 9780521637640.
  7. ^ Jawandha, Nahar (2010). Glimpses of Sikhism. New Delhi: Sanbun Publishers. p. 82. ISBN 9789380213255.
  8. ^ Pletcher, Kenneth (2010). The History of India. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 200. ISBN 9781615302017.
  9. ^ Hoiberg, Dale (2000). Students' Britannica India, Volumes 1-5. New Delhi: Popular Prakashan. p. 157. ISBN 9780852297605.
  10. ^ "Banda Singh Bahadar – Bandai or Tatt Khalsa?". Singh Sabha Canada. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2016.