Subah of Multan

Multan Subah
Multan Subah
1580–1752
	Elaborately illustrated map of the Multan Subah of the Mughal Empire, commissioned by Jean Baptiste Joseph Gentil, ca.1770
Capital	Multan
Historical era	Early modern period
• Established	1580
• Disestablished	1752
Area
• 1601	65,832 sq mi (170,500 km2)
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Mughal Empire
Durrani Empire
Today part of	Pakistan; India;

The Subah of Multan (Punjabi: ملتان دا صوبہ, romanized: Multān Dā Sūbāh; Persian: صوبه ملتان, romanized: Sūbāh-ey-Multān) was one of the three subahs (provinces) of the Mughal Empire in the Punjab region, alongside Lahore and Delhi subahs.^[2] It was also amongst the original twelve Mughal provinces, encompassing southern parts of Punjab, stretching towards parts of the regions of Pashtunistan and Balochistan, bordering Kandahar Province and the Persian Safavid Empire. It was one of the largest and most important provinces of the Mughal Empire.^[3] The province was annexed by Durrani Empire in 1752, with Ali Mohammad Khakwani as its first Durrani governor.

Geography

The subah of Multan was bordered to the north by the Lahore Subah and Kabul Subah, to the west by the Safavid Empire and for some time the Kandahar Subah, to the east by the Ajmer Subah and Delhi Subah, and to the south by the Thatta Subah.

History

The Subah of Multan was one of twelve administrative divisions created by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1580.^[4] Multan city acted as the capital of the Multan Subah according to the Ain-i-Akbari.

Economy

Under Mughal rule, Multan enjoyed 200 years of peace in a time when the city became known as Dar al-Aman ("Abode of Peace"). During the Mughal era, Multan was an important centre of agricultural production and manufacturing of cotton textiles.^[5] Multan was a centre for currency minting,^[5] as well as tile-making during the Mughal era.^[6]

Multan would remain an important trading centre until the city was ravaged by repeated invasions in the 18th and 19th centuries in the post-Mughal era.^[7] Many of Multan's merchants then migrated to Shikarpur in Sindh,^[7] and were found throughout Central Asia up until the 19th century.^[7]

Multan was also host to the offices of many commercial enterprises during the Mughal era,^[5] even in times when the Mughals were in control of the even more coveted city of Kandahar, given the unstable political situation resulting from frequent contestation of Kandadar with the Persian Safavid Empire.^[5]

Administrative divisions

The Multan Subah was divided into sarkars (equivalent to districts), with them being as follows as per the Ain-i-Akbari:^[8]

List of *sarkars* of Multan Subah in 1601^{[note 1]}^[8]
No.	Name	Area (sq. mi.)	Revenue (dams)
1.	Multan Sarkar	36,522 mi²	53,216,318
2.	Dipalpur Sarkar	7,930 mi²	78,562,285
3.	Bhakkar Sarkar	21,380 mi²	18,424,947
Total for the subah:		65,832 mi²	150,203,550

The sarkars were subdivided into pargannahs (equivalent to sub-districts or tehsils).

List of governors

The following is a list of notable governors of Multan subah appointed by the central Mughal government.^[4]^[9]^[10]

16th century

Syed Hamid Bukhari (c. 1580–1587)
Sadiq Khan (c. 1587–1590)
Muhib Ali Khan (c. 1590–1594)
Rustam Mirza (c. 1594–1602)
Said Khan (c. 1602–1605)

17th century

Mirza Ghazi Beg (c. 1605–1606)
Tashi Beg (c. 1606–1611)
Abdul Nabi Uzbek (1611–1613)
Baqir Khan Najam Sani (1613–1620)
Khan Jahan Lodi (1620–1624)
Asaf Khan (c. 1624–1631)
Qulij Khan Turrani (1631–1638)
Yusuf Khan (1638–1639)
Najabat Khan (1639–1641)
Qulij Khan Turrani (1641–1642)
Said Khan Bahadur (1642–1643)
Murad Baksh (1643–1646)
Said Khan Bahadur (1646–1647)
Bahadur Khan Rohela (1647–1649)
Aurangzeb (1649–1653)
Dara Shikoh (1653–1657)
Lashkar Khan (1658)
Tarbiat Khan (1658–1667)
Saif Khan (1667–1668)
Tahir Khan (1668–1669)
Lashkar Khan (1669–1671)
Mubariz Khan (1671–1672)
Khwaja Abid Khan (1672–1674
Diler Khan (1674–1676)
Muhammad Azam Shah (1676–1678)
Muhammad Akbar (1678–1687)
Mir Ashiq (1687–1695)
Allahyar Khan (1695–1696)

18th century

Abdus Samad Khan (1726–1737)
Zakariya Khan (1737–1745)
Shah Nawaz Khan (1745–1747)
Zahid Khan (1747–1748)
Kaura Mal (1748–1751)

Notes

^ The area of the sarkars is based on the years 1595–6/1601. The revenue figures are the official estimates for jama or naqdī as per the Ain-i-Akbari. However, the revenue figures do not take into account the regional variations in price-levels. The jama' is stated in dams (a copper coin). At the time of the Ain-i-Akbari one rupee was worth 40 dams.

References

^ Habib, Irfan (1986). "Table I: Area and ʽJama of the Mughal Empire, c. 1601". An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detained Notes, Bibliography and Index. Oxford University Press. pp. xii–xiii. ISBN 978-0-19-560379-8.
^ Wahi, Tripta (2013). Irrigation, State and Society in Pre-colonial India. Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. p. 3. ISBN 9789383650002.
^ Dasti, Humaira Faiz (1998). Multan, a Province of the Mughal Empire, 1525-1751. Royal Book. ISBN 978-969-407-226-5.
^ ^a ^b Husain, Afzal (1970). "Provincial Governors Under Akbar (1580-1605)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 32: 269–277. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44141074. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Oonk, Gijsbert (2007). Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory. Amsterdam University Press. p. 294. ISBN 9789053560358.
^ Chaudhry, Nazir Ahmad (2002). Multan Glimpses: With an Account of Siege and Surrender. Sang-e-Meel Publications. ISBN 9789693513516. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c Levi, Scott (2016). "Caravans: Punjabi Khatri Merchants on the Silk Road". Penguin UK. Penguin UK. ISBN 9789351189169. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
^ ^a ^b Habib, Irfan (1986). An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detailed Notes, Bibliography and Index (reprint ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. sheets 0A and 4A, pages VII–VIII, 8–13.
^ Ali, M. Athar (1970). "PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS UNDER SHAH JAHAN—AN ANALYSIS". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 32: 288–319. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44141077. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
^ Singh, Chetan (1991). Region and Empire: Panjab in the Seventeenth Century. Oxford University Press. pp. 64–67. ISBN 978-0-19-562759-6.

[9] The area of the sarkars is based on the years 1595–6/1601. The revenue figures are the official estimates for jama or naqdī as per the Ain-i-Akbari. However, the revenue figures do not take into account the regional variations in price-levels. The jama' is stated in dams (a copper coin). At the time of the Ain-i-Akbari one rupee was worth 40 dams.

[1] Habib, Irfan (1986). "Table I: Area and ʽJama of the Mughal Empire, c. 1601". An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detained Notes, Bibliography and Index. Oxford University Press. pp. xii–xiii. ISBN 978-0-19-560379-8.

[2] Wahi, Tripta (2013). Irrigation, State and Society in Pre-colonial India. Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. p. 3. ISBN 9789383650002.

[3] Dasti, Humaira Faiz (1998). Multan, a Province of the Mughal Empire, 1525-1751. Royal Book. ISBN 978-969-407-226-5.

[:0-4] Husain, Afzal (1970). "Provincial Governors Under Akbar (1580-1605)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 32: 269–277. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44141074. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

[Oonk-5] Oonk, Gijsbert (2007). Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory. Amsterdam University Press. p. 294. ISBN 9789053560358.

[6] Chaudhry, Nazir Ahmad (2002). Multan Glimpses: With an Account of Siege and Surrender. Sang-e-Meel Publications. ISBN 9789693513516. Retrieved 9 September 2017.

[Levi-7] Levi, Scott (2016). "Caravans: Punjabi Khatri Merchants on the Silk Road". Penguin UK. Penguin UK. ISBN 9789351189169. Retrieved 12 April 2017.

[:02-8] Habib, Irfan (1986). An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detailed Notes, Bibliography and Index (reprint ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. sheets 0A and 4A, pages VII–VIII, 8–13.

[10] Ali, M. Athar (1970). "PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS UNDER SHAH JAHAN—AN ANALYSIS". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 32: 288–319. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44141077. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

[11] Singh, Chetan (1991). Region and Empire: Panjab in the Seventeenth Century. Oxford University Press. pp. 64–67. ISBN 978-0-19-562759-6.

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