| Safdar Jang | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nawab of Awadh Khan Bahadur Mir Atish Firdaus Aaramgah[a] | |||||
 | |||||
| 2ndNawab of Awadh | |||||
| Reign | 19 March 1739 – 5 October 1754 | ||||
| Predecessor | Saadat Ali Khan I | ||||
| Successor | Shuja-ud-Daula | ||||
| Born | 1708 | ||||
| Died | 5 October 1754(1754-10-05) (aged 45–46) Sultanpur,Kingdom of Awadh | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Nawab Sadar Jahan Ara Begum nee (Sadr-un-Nisa Begum) | ||||
| |||||
| House | Nishapuri Branch of theQara Qoyunlu | ||||
| Father | Siyadat Khan (Mirza Jafar Khan Beg) | ||||
| Mother | sister ofSaadat Ali Khan I | ||||
| Religion | Shia Islam | ||||
Wazir-ul-Mamalik-e-Hindustan Asaf Jah Jamat-ul-Mulk Shuja-ud-Daula Nawab Abul Mansur Khan Bahadur Safdar Jang Sipah Salar (c. 1708 – 5 October 1754), better known asSafdar Jang, was the secondNawab ofKingdom of Awadh succeedingSaadat Ali Khan I (his maternal uncle and father-in-law) in the year 1739. All future Nawabs of Awadh were patriarchal descendants of Safdar Jang. He was a major political figure at theimperial Mughal court during its declining years.
He was a descendant ofQara Yusuf of theQara Qoyunlu confederation. In 1735, he was given the rank ofsipahsalar. In 1739, he succeeded his father-in-law and maternal uncle, Burhan-ul-MulkSaadat Ali Khan I to the throne of Awadh/Oudh and ruled from 19 March 1739 to 5 October 1754.[citation needed] TheMughal EmperorMuhammad Shah gave him the title of "Safdar Jang".[1]
Safdar Jang was an able administrator. He was not only effective in keeping control ofAwadh, but also managed to render valuable assistance to the weakened EmperorMuhammad Shah. He was soon given governorship ofKashmir as well, and became a central figure at theDelhi court. During the later years of Muhammad Shah, he gained complete control of administration over the wholeMughal Empire. WhenAhmad Shah Bahadur ascended the throne atDelhi in 1748, Safdar Jang became hisWazir-ul-Malik-i-Hindustan orPrime Minister ofHindustan. He was also made the governor ofAjmer and became the "Faujdar" ofNarnaul. In 1748, Javed Khan, a rival invited the newNizam of HyderabadNasir Jung, to join an alliance against the wazir. Safdar Jang requested Maratha support against Nasir Jung.Balaji Baji Rao dispatched Scindia and Holkar chiefs to prevent Nasir Jung's forces from reaching Delhi, and thus, saved Safdar Jang.[2] In 1752, theRohillas of theDoab region rebelled against the Mughal emperor. Safdar Jang crushed the rebellion with Maratha support. However, court politics eventually overtook him and he was dismissed in 1753.[1] He returned to Oudh in December 1753 and selectedFaizabad as his military headquarters and administrative capital. He intervened on behalf ofMadho Singh of Jaipur in his conflict withMarathas and convinced the Marathas to leave with an apology and some compensation. He died in October 1754 at the age of 46 years inSultanpur nearFaizabad.[1]
Safdar Jang had maintained a contingent of 20,000 "Mughaliya" cavalry, most of whom were Hindustani Muslims, many who were chiefly from the Jadibal district ofSrinagar inKashmir, who had imitated theQizilbash in dress and spoke thePersian language.[3][4] The state also saw a large migration of Kashmiri Shi'as to the Shi'a kingdom of Awadh, both to escape persecution and to secure courtly patronage.[5] This was especially the case with men from the district of Jadibal in Kashmir, who were all Shias, who looked to Safdar Jang as the sword-arm of the Shi'as in India.
Safdar Jang's Tomb was built in 1754 and is situated on a road now known asSafdar Jang Road, inNew Delhi.[6]
Several other modern structures near the tomb also carry his name today likeSafdar Jang Airport andSafdar Jang Hospital.
| Preceded by | Subadar Nawab of Oudh 1739–1748 (1st time) | Succeeded by post abolished |
| Preceded by new creation | Nawab Wazir al-Mamalik of Oudh 1748–1753 (acting to 29 Jun 1748) | Succeeded by post abolished |
| Preceded by new creation | Subadar Nawab of Oudh 1753–1754 (2nd time) | Succeeded by |
