Talpur Dynasty تالپور ءِ راج دفتر ءِ سرا‎
1783–1843
Flag
Talpur dynasty in 1823 before annexation by the British. Khairpur was later carved out as a British vassal state
Capital	Hyderabad,Khairpur, andMirpur Khas
Official languages	Persian[1]
Other languages	Balochi (Dynastic)[2][3] Sindhi
Religion	Islam
Government	Nobility (Mirs)
History
• Established	1783
• continued in upper Sindh as theKhairpur princely state until 1955	1843
Preceded by Succeeded by Kalhora dynasty Bombay Presidency Khairpur (princely state)
Today part of	Pakistan India

TheTalpur dynasty (Balochi: تالپور ءِ راج دفتر ءِ سرا) was aShiaBaloch dynasty established byMir Fateh Ali Khan in 1783, following his abolition of theKalhora dynasty.^[2][4] TheTalpurs had originally been appointed as military commanders and administrators inKalhora dynasty. Tensions grew whenMian Sarfaraz Kalhora ordered the execution of the Talpur leaderMir Bahram Khan and his sonMir Sobdar Khan, leading the Talpurs to take control ofSindh and overthrow theKalhora dynasty at theBattle of Halani. Under the Talpurs leadership,Sindh was divided into several semi-autonomous states, includingHyderabad,Khairpur,Mirpur Khas, andTando Muhammad Khan. marking the beginning of a golden era of architecture, culture, and regional governance. that ruled theSind State (present-daySindh,Pakistan) after in 1783 untilBritish conquest of Sindh in 1843. A branch of the family continued to ruleKhairpur, underBritish suzerainty and later as aPakistani princely state, until 1955 when it was amalgamated intoWest Pakistan.

For most of their rule, they were subordinate to theKhanate of Kalat^[5][6]

The Talpurs were ethnicallyBaloch people,^[2] and were descendants of Mir Sulaiman Kako Talpur, who had arrived in Sindh from Choti Bala in southern Punjab.^[7] The Talpurs had served theKalhora dynasty until 1775, when the Kalhora ruler had ordered the assassination of the chief of theTalpur clan, Mir Bahram Khan, leading to a revolt among the Talpurs against the Kalhora crown.Mir Shahdad Khan Talpur, the great-grandfather of the founder of the Talpur dynasty, was a Mughal bureaucrat and established the city ofShahdadpur in 1713.^[8]

The Talpur dynasty was established in 1783 by Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur, who declared himself the firstRais, or ruler of Sindh, after defeating theKalhoras at theBattle of Halani.^{[citation needed]} Early Talpur rule was termed the FirstChauyari, or "rule of four friends" - Mir Fateh along with his brothers Mir Ghulam, Mir Karam, and Mir Murad.^[9] The Talpur capital was declared to beHyderabad, which had served as the capital of the overthrown Kalhoras. After his success, Fateh Ali Khan ruled from Hyderabad, while his nephew established a branch of the dynasty in Khairpur. Another relative, MirThara Khan, established the Mankani branch in southeast Sindh aroundMirpur Khas - a city which was founded by his sonAli Murad Talpur.^{[citation needed]}

The Talpur brothers extended their rule over neighbouring regions such asBalochistan,Kutch, andSabzalkot, covering an area of over 100,000 square kilometers, with a population of approximately 4 million. They administered their realm by assigningjagirs to control individual land grants. In 1832, Afghan kingShah Shuja invaded Sindh, which the brothers united against to defeat. During their rule,Syed Ahmad Barelvi tried to garner support for a campaign against the Sikh emperorRanjit Singh.^[10]

Divisions among the Talpurs, such as the Khairpur chiefs' request to the British to seizeKarachi from the Hyderabadi chiefs, allowed the British to eventually conquer Sindh. The British conquered Karachi in 1839, and with the support ofKhojas andHindus, were able to quickly advance on Hyderabad, forcing the Talpurs to pay tribute. Seth Naumal, a Hindu merchant, was held responsible by the Talpurs for encouraging non-Baloch tribes in lower Sindh to defect and aid the British. Naumal was later granted the titleSitara-e-Hind by the British for his service to them against the Talpurs.^[9]

The Talpurs were followers of theShia sect ofIslam. Under their rule in both Hyderabad and Khairpur, Shia practices such as the building ofShabeeh andZareeh Mubarak, or replicas of shrines ofShia Imams, were established. The first was built at Tando Agha in Hyderabad in 1785 by the founder of the Talpur dynasty, Mir Fateh Ali Khan. TheQadamgah Imam Ali was established in Hyderabad during his rule, and houses what are considered by the faithful to be the footprint ofImam Ali, and were gifted to Mir Fateh Ali Khan by the Shah of Persia,Fath Ali Khan Qajar.

The footprints were housed in a special shrine for the Talpur family, and were viewed by the public on certain holidays. Under the rule of the last Hyderabadi Talpur Mir, Naseer Khan, a new shrine was made in which the footprints were made accessible to the public. Other Shia replica shrines were eventually built by other Talpur rulers in several cities and towns in Sindh. These replicas were built for the poor people who did not have resources to travel to the actual shrines inIraq andIran, and continue to operate until present day.^[11]

The Talpur dynasty was established in 1783 by Mir Fateh Ali Khan, who declared himself the firstRais, or ruler of Sindh, after defeating theKalhoras at theBattle of Halani. He ruled until his death in 1801, when he was succeeded by his son Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur until 1811. From 1811 to 1828, the Hyderabadi Talpur state was ruled by Mir Karam Ali Talpur. After his death in 1828, The Hyderabad branch of the Talpurs was ruled by Mir Murad Ali Khan until 1833. Mir Murad Ali Khan was succeeded by Mir Noor Muhammad, who was in turn succeeded by Mir Naseer Khan Talpur. The Hyderabadi branch of the Talpur Mirs were defeated by theBritish at theBattle of Miani on 17 February 1843.^{[citation needed]}

The Talpur dynasty was established in 1783 by Mir Fateh Ali Khan, who declared himself the firstRais, or ruler of Sindh, after defeating theKalhoras at theBattle of Halani. The nephew of Mir Fateh Ali Khan, Mir Sohrab Khan Talpur, established a branch of the Talpur dynasty in 1783 in Burahan, which was renamedKhairpur in 1783. The Khairpur branch of the dynasty maintained a degree of sovereignty during British rule as theprincely state of Khairpur until 1947.

The death of Mir Sohrab Khan Talpur, founder of theKhairpur branch abdicated power to his eldest son Mir Rustam 'Ali Khan, in 1811. Rustam's youngest half brother, 'Ali Murad, strengthened his hand by signing a treaty with the British in 1832, in which he secured recognition as the independent ruler of Khairpur in exchange for surrendering control of foreign relations to the British, as well as use of Sindh's roads and the Indus River.^{[citation needed]} The new state's economy became heavily dependent on the production ofopium.^[12]

Rustam ruled until 1842, when he in turn was replaced by Mir Ali Murad. Ali Murad helped the British in 1845 during the Turki campaign, but was later accused of plotting against the British, and so was stripped of his lands in upper Sindh. The remaining land under his control consisted mostly of Khairpur city, and its immediate environs. During the 1857Sepoy Mutiny, Ali Murad sided which the British, and prevented rebels from seizing theShikarpur jail and treasury. In 1866, the British promised to recognize any future successors as rightful rulers of Khairpur. Ali Murad's rule went on uninterrupted until his death in 1894.^{[citation needed]}

Ali Murad was succeeded by his second son, Mir Faiz Muhammad Khan, who died in 1909. He was in turn succeeded by his son, Mir Sir Imam Bakhsh Khan Talpur, who aided the British war effort duringWorld War I, and was thus awarded the honorary title Lieutenant-Colonel in 1918. He died in 1921, and was succeeded by His Highness Mir Ali Nawaz Khan. Under his rule, the feudalCherr system of forced labour was abolished, while new canals were laid for irrigation.^{[citation needed]}

Mir Ali Nawaz Khan died in 1935, and was succeeded byMir Faiz Muhammad Khan II, who had suffered from an unstable and nervous affliction, then became nominal leader. The Khairpur government instituted a council of regency under local ministers and ordered the Mir to live outside the state. After a period of twelve years, and shortly before the transfer of power, he abdicated in favour of his minor sonGeorge Ali Murad Khan in July 1947. The state acceded to the Dominion of Pakistan in October that year, and merged into West Pakistan in 1955.^{[citation needed]}

MirThara Khan, a relative of the Talpur founder Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur, established the Manikani branch in southeast Sindh around the area aroundMirpur Khas - a city which was founded by his sonAli Murad Talpur.

Mir Sher Muhammad Talpur succeeded Mir Ali Murad Talpur in 1829, and built a fort in the city when he declared the ruler of the state, and ran akutchery from within the fort. Elaborate graves for the local rulers were built atChitorri under his rule. and feature a syncretic architectural style that combines elements of Islamic andRajasthani architecture.^[13] Mir Sher Muhammad Talpur established friendly relations with the Sikh emperorRanjit Singh, but fought against the British.^{[citation needed]} He has been described as the "Lion of Sindh."^[14]

Mirpur Khas remained the capital of the Talpur Mirs of Mirpurkhas until 1843, when Sindh was annexed to British India under theEast India Company following the conquest of Sindh byCharles James Napier and defeat ofMir Sher Muhammad Talpur on 24 March 1843 at thebattleground of Dubbo.^{[citation needed]} During the battle, some local Sindhijagirs are reported to have taken bribes from British forces, and aimed their guns towards Talpur forces. Following British victory, the chief'sharem was entered, and its women plundered of their jewelry before being imprisoned.^[9]

The Shahwani branch of the Talpur dynasty was established by Mir Muhammad Khan Talpur Shahwani, who died in 1813. Under his rule, the city ofTando Muhammad Khan was named and/or established.^{[citation needed]}

On 27 December 1932, theAnjuman-organised “Balochistan and All India Baloch Conference” was held at Jacobabad, Sindh. The conference commenced with the Presidential address byMir Ali Nawaz Khan Talpur, the ruler of Khairpur State, in which he called on the Baloch for unity.^[15]

• List of monarchs of Sindh

• Talpur dynasty
• Sind State
• History of Kutch
• Dynasties of Pakistan
• Dynasties of India
• Shia dynasties
• Nawabs of Pakistan

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