| Man Singh I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maharaja of Amber MirzaRaja | |||||
 Portrait of Man Singh,c. 1590 | |||||
| 25thRaja ofAmber | |||||
| Reign | 10 December 1589 – 6 July 1614 | ||||
| Coronation | 10 December 1589 | ||||
| Predecessor | Bhagwant Das | ||||
| Successor | Bhau Singh | ||||
| Subahdar ofBihar | |||||
| Term | 1587–1594 | ||||
| Emperor | Akbar I | ||||
| Successor | Saeed Khan Chaghta | ||||
| 9thSubahdar ofBengal | |||||
| Term | 9 November 1595 – 2 September 1606 | ||||
| Emperor | Akbar I Jahangir | ||||
| Predecessor | Syed Khan | ||||
| Successor | Qutubuddin Khan | ||||
| Subahdar ofKabul | |||||
| Term | 10 October 1585 –1586 | ||||
| Emperor | Akbar I | ||||
| Predecessor | Mirza Muhammad Hakim | ||||
| Successor | Bhagwant Das | ||||
| Born | 21 December 1550 Amber,Amber Kingdom,Rajputana | ||||
| Died | 6 July 1614(1614-07-06) (aged 63) Ellichpur,Berar Subah,Mughal Empire | ||||
| Spouse | Rathorji Shringar Deiji ofJaitaran inMarwar Khichanji Ram Deiji of Gagron Katochiji Maha Deiji ofKangra Gajapatiji Achrang Deiji ofBodana inOrissa Gaudji Sahodra Deiji ofMaroth Yadavji Trilok Deiji ofKarauli Narayaniji Lakhma Deiji ofCooch Behar Khichanji Amar Deiji of Gagron Rathorji Asha Deiji ofMarwar Chauhanji Pratap Deiji of Bhadawar | ||||
| Issue among others... |
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| House | Kachhwaha | ||||
| Father | Bhagwant Das | ||||
| Mother | Parmarji Bhagwat Deiji d.of Rao Panchayan ofMalpura inAmber | ||||
| Religion | Hinduism | ||||
| Military career | |||||
| Allegiance | Mughal Empire Kingdom of Amber | ||||
| Service | Mughal Army | ||||
| Years of service | 1562–1614 | ||||
| Rank | Kunwar (1562–1589) Mansab (1598–1605) Mansabdar (1605–1614) | ||||
| Commands | Bengal Kabul | ||||
| Battles / wars | See list
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Farzand Mirza RajaMan Singh I (21 December 1550 – 6 July 1614) was the 24thKachawaha Rajput ruler of theKingdom of Amber from 1589 to 1614. He also served as the foremost imperialSubahdar ofBihar Subah from 1587 to 1594,[1] then forBengal Subah for three terms from 1595 to 1606 and the Subahdar ofKabul Subah from 1585 to 1586.[2] He served in the imperialMughal Army under EmperorAkbar. Man Singh fought sixty-seven important battles inKabul,Balkh,Bukhara,Bengal and Central and SouthernIndia. He was well versed in the battle tactics of both the Rajputs as well as the Mughals.[3] He is commonly considered to be one of theNavaratnas, or the nine (nava) gems (ratna) of the royal court of Akbar.[4][5]
He was the son of RajaBhagwant Das and his wife Bhagawati of Amer.[6] He was born on Sunday, 21 December 1550.
Initially known asKunwar (prince), Man Singh received the title ofMirza orRaja (King) and the rankmansab of 5000 after the death of his father on 10 December 1589 fromAkbar.[7] On 26 August 1605, Man Singh became amansabdar of 7,000, i.e., a commander of 7,000 cavalry in the Mughal forces, which was the maximum command for anyone other than a son of the Mughal emperor and the guardian ofKhusrau, the eldest son Jahangir.[8]Akbar called himFarzand (son). He fought many important campaigns forAkbar. Kunwar Man Singh led theMughal Army in the well-knownbattle of Haldighati fought in 1576 against the Kingdom of Mewar. He is also known for his reestablishment ofJagannath Temple ofPuri,Orissa,[9] construction ofKashi Vishwanath Temple,Varanasi.
Man Singh was sent by Akbar toMaharana Pratap to make a treaty with Akbar and accept Mughal sovereignty. However Pratap refused, starting theBattle of Haldighati in 1576.[10][11]
Pratap had 3,000 horsemen, elephants and 400Bhil archers underRana Poonja. A small artillery unit was also with him underHakim Khan Sur. The force was divided into five wings. The advance wing was underHakim Khan Sur, Bhim Singh Dodiya and Ramdas Rathore. The right wing was underBhamashah andMaharaja Ramshah Tanwar. The left wing was under Jhala Man Singh. Rana Pratap was in the centre. Behind him was Rana Punja with hisBhil warriors.[10]
Man Sing's Forces Consisted of 10,000 horsemen, infantry and some elephants. This included 4,000Kachwaha Rajput forces. and 5,00Mughal forces, out of which, 1,000 were other Hindu reserves, and 5,000 were Muslims.[12]
This force was divided into five wings. There were two advance wings. The first was under Sayyid Hashim Barha, son ofSayyed Mahmud Khan, Jagannath Kachwaha and Asaf Ali Khan. The second advance troop was under Madho Singh Kachwaha. Behind this was Man Singh. To his right was Mulla Qazi Khan and to his left wereSayyeds of Barah. At first Rana Pratap attacked and scattered the advance and left wings of the Mughal army but soon momentum shifted with Mansingh's counter charge forced Pratap to retreat back. Jagannath Kachwaha killed Ramshah Tanwar and Rajput warriors of both sides engaged in a fierce battle. The Mughals were the victors and inflicted significant casualties among the Mewaris but failed to capture Pratap, who escaped to the hills.[13][14]
In 1580 CE, some prominent Muslim officers of Akbar, displeased with his liberal religious policies, started to conspire against him. Qazi Muhammad Yazdi declared it the duty of every Muslim to rebel against Akbar. InBihar andBengal they declaredMirza Hakim, Akbar's stepbrother and Governor ofKabul, to be the emperor. Akbar sent armies toBihar andBengal to crush this rebellion, while he himself started towards Kabul; Man Singh with him. On 8 March 1581, Akbar reachedMachhiwara and soon arrived on the banks ofRiver Indus, he then sent an advance force led by Man Singh to Kabul. Although, Akbar's army was hesitating to cross the swelling Indus River, Man Singh was able to cross it first followed by troops. Hearing the news Mirza Hakim fled to Gurband. Following the army, Akbar himself arrived at Kabul on 10 August 1581. Hakim was pardoned by Akbar, but his sisterBakhtunissa Begum was appointed Governor of Kabul. After Akbar returned toFatehpur Sikri; Bakhtunissa remained as the nominal head of state, while Hakim acted as the governor (Hakim died in July, 1582). Kabul was annexed by the Mughal Empire and Man Singh was appointed governor. He remained in Kabul for some years and built a fortress, used by succeeding Mughal governors. Man Singh brought many talented men with him when he returned from Kabul. Some of their descendants still live inJaipur.[15]
Again in 1585 CE, someAfghan tribesrose against the Mughal empire. TheYusufzai and "Mandar" tribes were the main ones among them. Akbar sent an army underZain Khan, Hakim Abul Fateh andRajaBirbal to control these revolting tribes. However, they failed to control the revolting Afghans and Raja Birbal, friend of Akbar and one of hisNavratnas was also killed in thebattle with Afghans. Akbar then sentRaja Todar Mal to crush the revolt and called Raja Man Singh to help Todar Mal. Todarmal had some success in controlling the rebellious Afghan tribes, but the real source of the revolt was behind theKhyber Pass. It was hard to cross this pass which was dominated by Afghan "Kabailies". Man Singh was accompanied by "Rao Gopaldas" ofNindar in this expedition, who bravely made way for Mughal army in the pass. After crossing the pass, Man Singh entered Kabul and decisively defeated five major tribes of Afghans including Yusufzai and "Mandar" tribes. The flag of Amber was changed from "Katchanar" (green climber in white base) to "Pachranga" (five colored) to commemorate this victory. This flag continued in use until accession of Jaipur state in India. This permanently crushed the revolt and the area remained peaceful thereafter.[15]
In 1586 CE, Akbar sent another army underRaja Bhagwant Das, father of Kunwar Man Singh to winKashmir. Kashmir was captured and annexed in theMughal Empire and made a Sarkar (district) ofKabul province. Man Singh and his father Raja Bhagwant Das are reputed to have brought the technology of cannon production to Amber. Raja man singh lost his commander rao govind das in the war of kabul. Rao govind das was awarded the jagir of bhatton ki gali and chaparwada.[15]
When Akbar had conquered Delhi, many of his Afghan enemies had fled to the refuge of the eastern Raja's. Man Singh was sent by Emperor Akbar to bring the resisting Raja's to submission. Man Singh's first target was Raja Puranmal ofGidhaur whose fort was easily conquered by the Kachwaha army. Puranmals treasury was captured and his daughter was married to Man Singh's brother Chandrabhan Kachwaha. Man Singh continued his campaign and defeated the raja's of Gaya and Kargpur, both of them were forced into submission and paid tribute to the emperor. Some Afghan nobles of Bengal tried to invade Bihar during Man Singh's occupation, but were soundly defeated by Man Singh's son Jagat Singh. The invaders left their loot and fled back to Bengal, the spoils of war and 54 elephants were sent to the emperor. Abul Fazl has described Man Singh's campaign in Bihar in the following words. "The Raja united ability with courage and genius with strenuous action".[16][17]
After conquering Bihar, Man Singh was ordered to defeat the Afghan SultanQatlu Khan Lohani of Orissa. Man Singh set out for Orissa in April 1590. Jagat Singh Kachwaha was sent with an advance army to study the area, however he was attacked by Sultan Qatlu Khan and was badly defeated where several notable commanders of Amber were killed, including Bika Rathor, Narupal Charan and Mahesh Das. Jagat was saved byRaja Hamir Singh and escaped to thefort of Bishnupur. Qatlu however died after 10 days and the Afghans under his son Nasir Khan surrendered to Man Singh. Nasir bowed before Man Singh and promised to read the Khutba and stamp coins in the name of emperor Akbar. He further ceded lands and gave a tribute of 150 elephants. After this success, Man Singh returned to Bihar. The Afghans however rebelled against Nasir after his regent Isa Khan died. The Afghans captured the lands that had been ceded and started another rebellion. Man Singh was once again forced to march to Orissa. On 9 April 1592, the two armies met near Jaleswar city and after a bloody fight Man Singh defeated the Afghans, Man singh followed the fleeing Afghans and forced the Afghan leaders to accept Mughal overlordship. The remaining Afghan chieftains fled to the Hindu Raja's of Orissa. Man Singh attacked these Raja's and captured several forts with ease and forced them to surrender, the strongest of these Raja's, the Raja of Khurda however refused and was pressed by Man Singh, several of his cities and forts were captured after which the Khurda Raja shut himself in his capital fort. Akbar denounced this rough behaviour towards such an ancient dynasty and ordered Man singh to show leniency after which the Khurda Raja surrendered and offered his daughter to Man Singh in marriage. The conquest of Orissa was thus complete. Man Singh was called to Lahore where the crown prince Salim personally received him and he was given robes of condolence by the emperor for his father's death. Man Singh presented to the emperor three sons of Quatlu Khan Lohani and 2 nobles of Orissa.[18]
On 17 March 1594, Man Singh was made the guardian of Prince Salim (Jehangir) by Akbar. He was also appointed as the viceroy ofBengal and many large jagirs in Orissa and Bengal were given to Man Singh and his nobles. Man Singh soon started sending his men to quell the rebellions in Bengal. On 2 April 1595, the Amber army conquered Bhushna fort.[7] On 7th November, Man Singh founded a new capital for Bengal called Akbarnagar. After founding the new capital, Man personally marched against the Afghans under Isa Bhati, resulting in the retreat of the Afghans and the annexation of Isa's lands. Man Singh fell ill after this campaign, which renewed the rebellion. Man Singh sent Himmat Singh to deal with the rebels, and once again defeated them.[7] Man Singh also helped Lakshmi Narayan, the raja ofCooch Behar, for which the grateful Raja of Cooch Behar gave his sister in marriage to Man Singh and also agreed to become a vassal of the Mughal Emperor.[7] Man Singh would leave Bengal for Ajmer and during this period the Mughals started to lose control over Bengal and even lost several skirmishes. Man Singh was thus once again sent to Bengal. Man Singh defeated the rebels near Sherpur-Atia on 12 February 1601 and chased them for 8 miles. Man Singh, after this victory, marched towards Dacca and forced Kedar Rai, the zamindar ofBhushna, to submit to him. The rebels Jalal Khan and Qazi Mumin were also defeated by Man Singh's grandson. Man Singh then marched towards the Banar river where he defeated the successor of Qatlu Khan called Usman and quelled the Pathans under him. Man Singh would go on to defeat the Arracan Pirates and then Kedar Rai, who was captured after a battle and died before he could be brought before Man Singh. The Magh raja and Usman were also defeated after this battle. Man Singh thus returned toDacca and camped at Nazirpur after a series of victories against the powerful rebels of Bengal.[7]
Prince Salim was born, but he became addicted to alcohol andopium in his youth. He disobeyed royal orders and became infamous for torture such as murderingAbul Fazal. Akbar tried hard to reform him as well as his eldest sonKhusrau Mirza. Two of Akbar's sons, Murad and Danial, died in his lifetime. The royal court was divided into two factions, one favoring Khusrau and the other Salim to be the next emperor. Raja Man Singh andMirza Aziz Koka were in Khusrau's favour. In 1605, when Akbar fell ill, he appointed Salim to be his heir. Though Man Singh opposed Salim's accession to the throne during Akbar's lifetime, he never opposed Jahangir (Salim) after his coronation. AfterAkbar's death,Jahangir (Salim) became emperor. Man Singh was initially sent asSubahdar of Bengal on 10 November 1605 for a short period, but soon he was replaced by Qutb-ud-Din Khan Koka on 2 September 1606.[19] Jahangir also ordered removal of some of the modifications which had been made by Raja Man Singh to his palace atAmber. But in 1611 CE, the southern provinces ofAhmednagar,Berar andKhandesh defied Mughal sovereignty underMalik Ambar.Jahangir sent Raja Man Singh and others to crush the revolt.[7]
Man Singh died a natural death on 6 July 1614 atEllichpur. Following his death, he was succeeded by his brother Mirza RajaBhau Singh. His direct descendants are known (to this date) as the Rajawats who had the privilege to thethrone ofAmber and subsequentlyJaipur.[7]
Raja Man Singh was a devotee of the deity Krishna. He had a seven-storied temple of Krishna constructed for SrilaRupa Goswami, disciple ofSri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, inVrindavan. The cost of construction was one crore rupees at that time. The four-storey temple is still present atVrindavan. He also constructed a temple of Krishna at his capital,Amber. The place is now known as "Kanak Vrindavan" near Amber Ghati of Jaipur. He constructed the temple of Shila Devi at Amber Fort. He also constructed and repaired many temples atBenaras,Allahabad and various other places. He added much beautification to his palace atAmber. When Akbar called a meeting of his nobles at Fatehpur Sikri in 1582, to discussDin-i-Ilahi,Raja Bhagwant Das was the only man to oppose this religion. Later, Man Singh also refused to convert toDin-i-Ilahi. It is believed his son Jagat Singh I received education from GoswamiTulsidas and Man Singh himself used to attend his religious lectures.Tulsidas was a contemporary of Akbar and author ofRamacharitamanasa, also known as the Tulasi Ramayana, and much other famous poetry devoted toRama andHanuman.[7]
.JPG)
Man Singh took part in as many as sixty-seven important military campaigns and battles....Man Singh became familiar with traditional Rajput as well as Mughal technique of warfare and tactics.
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