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Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech Military-Chief of the Mughal Empire | |
|---|---|
| Mughal Regent of Rohilkhand | |
| Regentship | 1749 – 1774 |
| Native name | حافظ رحمت خان |
| Born | 1723 (1723) Kabul Subah (present-dayMardan District,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) |
| Died | April 1774(1774-04-00) (aged 50–51) Miranpur,Kingdom of Rohilkhand |
| Buried | Bareilly,Rohilkhand |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Mughal Empire |
| Branch | Regents of Rohilkhand |
| Rank | Wali Faujdar Ispahsalar |
| Battles / wars | |
Hafiz Rahmat Khan (1723 – April 1774) was theregent of theKingdom of Rohilkhand from 1749 to 1774.[1] He was aPashtun by origin, ruling on behalf of the sons ofAli Mohammed Khan. Hafiz Rahmat Khan served throughout the reigns of threeMughal Emperors:Ahmad Shah Bahadur,Alamgir II andShah Alam II. He was also a mentor of PrinceMirza Jawan Bakht.[2]
In 1673 two Pashtun brothers of theBarechDurrani tribe, Shah Alam Khan and Husain Khan who ancestrally hailed from theShorawak district ofKandahār, came from the frontier to settle in theKatehr region. Hafiz Rehmat Khan Barech was the son of Shah Alam Khan.[3]
In the year 1748,Ahmad Shah Durrani led an expedition to plunder the western regions of theMughal Empire. This incursion posed as a major challenge to theMughal EmperorMuhammad Shah, who urgentlyAsaf Jah I from theDeccan in order to lead theMughal Army based in the North-WestSouth Asia, this army was also headed by PrinceAhmad Shah and according to the advice ofAli Mohammed Khan, Hafiz Rahmat Khan was appointed as theSubedar of Sirhind in order to lead and regain and recover territories from the Durrani,[4] forces evenMuradyab Khan Kalhoro theSubedar ofSindh to dispatch reinforcements to assist theMughal Army along the river banks.
Prince Ahmad and the respected Grand VizierAsaf Jah I were dispatched by theMughal EmperorMuhammad Shah to command a largeMughal Army of 75,000 to confront the advancing Durrani's. AtSirhind both forces fought a decisive battle and Prince Ahmad was nominally victorious. He was thereupon conferred with the titleBahadur, by the Mughal Emperor.[citation needed]
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According to aFirman byAhmad Shah Bahadur Hafiz Rahmat Khan was assigned to supportFeroze Jung III against theMughalGrand VizierSafdarjung, who was defeated and forgiven and thus withdrew to become just theNawab of Awadh and died in 1753.
When Ahmad Shah Bahadur tried to have young Feroze Jung III removed from the imperial court, the outcast then sought an alliance with the detestedMaratha chieftainSadashivrao Bhau. Together they deposed Ahmad Shah Bahadur after the devastatingFirst Battle of Sikandarabad in the year 1754.
Since then Hafiz Rahmat Khan entered the service of Najib-ul-Daula and constantly fought theMarathas led bySadashivrao Bhau and opposedFeroze Jung III.
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In 1757, theMughal EmperorAlamgir II with courtiers such asNajib-ul-Daula and Hafiz Rahmat Khan, nobles such as Shah Waliullah and the imperial family went to Sirhind to meetAhmad Shah Durrani, whose forces then engaged theMarathas in combat and threatened to overthrow and execute the regime ofImad-ul-Mulk. Ahmad Shah Durrani's relations with theMughal Emperor, strengthened further when his sonTimur Shah Durrani married the daughter of Alamgir II and patronized theMughal commander Jahan Khan.
He played an important part in Indian warfare over several decades, being on the winning side of Afghans at theThird Battle of Panipat of 1761, but was defeated and killed in theRohilla War.[5]
In the year 1764,Najib-ud-Daula the administrator of Delhi and the Mughal heartlands faced relentless warfare against theJats, led bySuraj Mal, who sacked theMughal garrison atAgra. They looted the silver doors of theTaj Mahal as awar trophy.[citation needed]
After the war NawabShuja-ud-Daula demanded payment for their help from theRohilla chief, Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech. When the demand was refused the Nawab joined with the British underGovernorWarren Hastings and hisCommander-in-Chief,Alexander Champion, to invadeRohilkhand and Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech was killed in the ensuingBattle of Miranpur Katra in 1774. The whole ofRohilkhand (includingBareilly,Pilibhit andShahjanpur) was surrendered to theEast India Company by the treaty of 10 November 1801. Later,Bareilly was a centre of rebellion for the entire area in theIndian Mutiny of 1857.[6]
He founded the town ofPilibhit, where he also built aJama Masjid, a replica of theJama Masjid, Delhi[7][8]
Hafiz Rehmat Khan's son, Muhabbat Khan Khan, wrote the Riaz-ul-Mahabbat for the Pashto language. He was however a native of India, and many peculiarities regarding the verbs and tenses, of which he must have been ignorant, have been omitted.[9]
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