178. Akbar (1586-1605 A.D.)

 

First visit of Akbar to Kashmir in 1589 – Faizi accompanies him and composes the Qasida on Kashmir – also Urfi Shirazi.

Second visit of the Emperor in 1592 accompanied by Nizam-ud-Din, the author of Tabaqat-i-Akbari. Shaikh Yaqubsarfi dies in 1594. In the same year Akbar asks ‘Abdul Qadir Badayuni’ to rewrite Bahr-ul-Asmar (Sea of Stories) of Mulla Ahmad’s [Mullā Shāh Muḥammad Shāhābādī] translation of the Rajatarangini. Famine in Kashmir in 1596.

Third visit of Akbar in 1597.

 

 

Governors:

Mirza Kasim Khan (1586-1587 A.D.)

Syed Yusuf Khan (1587-1590 A.D.)

Mohamad Qulich (Kilbeh) Khan (1590-1601 A.D.) Removed from office after complaint by Hindus.

According to Pandit Suka’s Rajatarangini, the fort city came up at the time as Mughal soldiers were living in civilian areas and casuing much trouble. The walled city was a solution. In charge of the creation of wall was a man named Kamal Kant. Kant, were later going to convert and rise in power with vast Jagirs.

Mirza Ali Khan (1601-1606 A.D.)

 

179. Jahangir (1605-1627 A.D.)

Visits Kashmir eight times. Kistawar conquered in 1620 (even though in local lore people of region remember Akbar with respect). Plague in Kashmir.

Gunpowder plot in 1605 to frighten James I. Death of Mazhari, the poet, in Srinagar. Milton born in 1608. British factory established at Surat in 1613 by permission of Jajangir.

Intihab-i-Tarikh-i-Kasmir, a concise Persian translation of Rajatarangini ordered by Jahangir, written anonymously, alluded by Bernier that goes on to be source of Haider Malik Cadura Tarikh-i-Kashmir. Haider Malik was instrumental in the killing of Sher Afghan, the first husband of Nurjahan.

 

In 1618, Muḥammad Ḥusayn does translation of the Rajatarangini in Persian.

Jahangir visits Anadh Nag and tells the story of blind fish of the spring. He also visits other Nags of the Anantnag region like Lok Bhawan and Macchi Bhawan. According to him, the garden around the Macchi Bhawan spring and temple was developed by Rajput Mansabdar of Mughals Ram Das Kachhwaha. The springs in the area were developed by these Mansabdars. This went on to be the the prototype on which Verinag garden (which was named Shahbad by Noorjahan) was built.

 

Governors:

 

Nawab Kulbeh Khan (1606-09 A.D.)

Hasham Khan (1609-1612 A.D.)

Safdar Khan (1612-1615 A.D.)

Ahmad Begh Khan (1615-1618 A.D.) [Tyrant]

Dilawar Khan (1618-1620 A.D.)

Iradat Khan (1620-1622 A.D.) [Chaks finally finished off in Kashmir under his rule. Abdal the chief of Baltistan, a Nurbakshi, providing support to Habib Khan Chak and Ahamad Khan Chak was the trigger.]

 

Itikhad Khan (1622-1633 A.D.)

Revives the “begaar” methods of Shihab-ud-din era (1354-1373 A.D.) Villagers are dragged to collect saffron.

 

180. Shah Jehan (1628-1657 A.D.)

Kashmir becomes Mughal garden.

Kashmir gets Nishat Bagh, laid out by Asafkhan, Prime Minister and father-in-law of Shah Jehan. Chasma Shahi. Bagh-i-Glahi laid out near Bacchapor just a mile up Nasim. Akhun Mulla Shah’s mosque near Hari Parbat under the supervision of Dara Shukuh. Completion of Verinag Arcade. Bridge over Jhelum at Bijibehara built under the supervision of Dara. He also lays a garden at Bijibehara and the observatory at Pari Mahal.

Mulla Tahir Ghani, one of the greatest persian poets of Kashmir is born in 1630 A.D. Building of Taj Mahal begun in 1631. Philosopher Spinoza born in 1632. Building of Red Fort begun in 1638 A.D. The English occupy Hughli in 1640 A.D. Newton born in 1642 A.D.

Dara Shukuh writes Risalah-i-Haqq-numa in 1646 A.D. while in Kashmir. English factory at Hughli founded. Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur in 1656.

Mulla Muhsin Fani writes Dabastani Mazahib (a very important work on comparative religions). Rupa Bhawani offers philosophical musings.

Avatara, grandfather of Ratankantha, writes Isvarasataka (c. 1625 A.D.) Now in Kashmir archive.

Sahib Kaul (1642-1667) writes Devinamavilasa and many other works, briefly reviving the strota devotional tradition of Kashmir.

 

Muhammad Saleh Kamboh (d.1675), biographer of Shah Jahan and teacher of Aurangzeb, writes about destruction of temples of Anantnag by Shah Jahan.

 

Shah Jahan summoned Khwaja Khawand Mahmud in 1636 to Delhi due to Shia-Sunni conflict and banned his entry to Srinagar. He spends his last days in Lahore and dies there.

After Khawja Khawand Mahmood’s death in 1640 in Lahore, his son Khawaja Moin-Ud-Din Naqshbandi comes to Kashmir and takes over the order in Kashmir. He dies in 1674 and at Ziyarat Naqshband Sahab, Nowhatta.

Zaffar Khan (1633-1640 A.D.): A Mughal nobel, Sadiq Khan lays out a garden by the shore of Dal called Bagh-i-Sadiq Khan. The place that later came to be known as Hazrat Bal

 

Murad Baksh (1640-1641 A.D.)

Nawab Ali Mardan Khan (1641-1642 A.D.)

Zaffar Khan (1642-1646 A.D.) Abolishes taxes on saffron, wood and poll-tax on sheep and boatmen.

 

Tarbait Khan (1646-1648 A.D.)

Hassan begh Khan (1648-1650 A.D.)

Ali Mardan Khan 1650-1657 A.D.) fantastical tales told about him (philosopher’s stone/snake woman/Shiva/ etc.) Builds serais on Pir Panjal route and the road from Kashmir to Rajouri. A religious fanatic named Khwaja Man sets fire to pandit Mahadev’s house and kills many pandits.

 

Zamindar Dars of Shahabad pargana came to prominence. Under Mardan Khan, one Ibadullah Dar is given a jagir as large as about 30000 lakh Karwars.

 

Shah Jahan’s farman inscribed at Jama Masjid regarding “begaar” mentions, “jagirdars in Kashmir are at liberty to collect the saffron they way they liked”. Essentially, jagirdar was free to do with cultivators as he pleased.

 

181. Aurangzeb (1658-1707 A.D.)

Fire-Famine-Earthquake and floods in Kashmir. The ancestors of Muhammad Iqbal, Saprus, embrace Islam. Royal Society of England founded in 1660. Dara Shukuh executed the same year. Acquisition of Bombay by the English from Portugal in 1662 as dowry. French East India Co., established in 1644.

Aurangzeb’s first visit to Kashmir in 1665. Bernier accompanies him. Ghani dies in 1668. Mulla Muhsin dies in 1671. Guru Gobind Singh born in 1676. Revolution in England in 1688. Voltaire born in 1694. Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa in 1695. Khwaja Nur-ud-Din Ishbari brought the sacred hairs of the Prophet from Bijapur which led to the construction of a shrine at Hazrat Bal.

In 1666, first Kashmiri trader colony in Lhasa, Tibet. A ruler of Tiber, mentioned in Persian chronicles as Daldal Namjal converts to Islam, mints coins in the name of Aurangzeb. When Black Qalmaqs invade Tibet, Daldal asks the emperor for help. The Emperor sends the Imperial force from Kabul under Fidai Khan (son of Kashmir governor Ibrahim Khan).

 

 

Governors:

 

Itimad Khan (1659-1622 A.D.)

Ibrahim Khan (1622-1633 A.D.)

Islam Khan (1663-1664 A.D.) Islamabad named after him.

Saif Khan (1644-67 A.D.) Introduced new ways for taxing. Started actual measurement of lands for taxes.

Mubariz Khan (1667-68 A.D.)

Saif Khan (1668-71 A.D.) in second term went about promoting agriculture and building new towns.

Iftikhar Khan (1671-75 A.D.)

 

On 24 November 1675, Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur was killed by Aurangzeb. Guru Khalsa Twarikh of Bhai gyan Singh Gyani and Suraj Prakash of Bhai Santosh Singh Gyani (written during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh) records the famous tale of 500 Kashmiri Brahmins arriving in Anandpur to seek help from the Guru. Brahmins had gone to Amarnath to seek help from God, and someone in dream was told to seek the Guru.

 

Quam-ud-din (1675-78 A.D.): Mirza Salim, brother of Khalifa Wazir Shah of Iran (friend of Shah Abbas II, 7th Safavid king) visits Kashmir and buys land around Idgah Srinagar and builds residential houses and gardens on it. He later gives it to one Abdul Majid.

 

Ibrahim Khan (1678-86 A.D.)

Hafiz Ullah Khan (1686-90 A.D)

Muzaffar Khan (1690-92 A.D.) :tyrant who had uzbek retainers for doing the dirty work

Abu Nasar Khan (1692-98 A.D.)

 

Fazil Khan (1689-1701 A.D.) :Built gardens, schools, mosques, serais etc. Kashmiris brought into administrative services. Abolishes taxes on earthen jars, salt, bird catchers.

 

 

Ibrahim Khan (1701-1706 A.D.): Shia-Sunni riots of 1684. Hasanabad quarters of Shia burnt down.

Nawazish Khan (1706-08 A.D.)

Arif Khan (1710-11 A.D.) commissioned Narayan Kaul “Aziz” to write the history of Kashmir. This is the first one by a Kashmiri Pandit in Persian.

Kashmir experienced earthquakes in 1669 and 81. Major fires in Srinagar in 1672 and 78. Flood in 1682. Famine in 1688.

 

Narayan Kaul writes Muntakhaba-ul-Tawarikh.

 

182. Later Mughals (1707-1752 A.D.)

Pandit Raj Kaul, a Sanskrit and Persian scholar migrated to India in 1716 under the instructions of Farrukh Siyar – this family became the Nehru family.

 

[Contrary to the popular claim by Kashmiri Pandits that they are all Saraswat Brahmins, Kashmiri Brahmins actually belong to six kind of origins: Sārasvatas, Maithilas, Kānyakubjas, Drāvidas, Gaudas, and Gurjaras. The Gotra of Kauls – Dattātreya Gotra – places them in Maithilas, Brahmins of Mithila in Bihar]

 

Unsettled conditions in Kashmir. Famine due to excessive rain 1724. 1720 sees rioting and mini-rebellion in Kashmir over Jazia tax and other restrictions on Hindus and Shias. Mughal court right from the time of Farrukh Siyar keeps applying the tax and then removing it, both acts under pressure from different quarters.

In 1719 during the time of Muhammad Shah, Jazia was abolished. The Mughal court is not as powerful as it was and has seen one emperor after another in quick succession. In Kashmir, a Sunni Jagirdar named Mahbub Khan (also known as Abdun Nabi Kashmiri/Mullah Abdun Nabi Muhtavi Khan) sees an opportunity to seize power in Kashmir. Mahbub Khan was appointed chief theologian of Kashmir by Emperor Bahadur Shah. He makes Jazia his rallying cry and seizes power from Mughal Deputy Subedar Mir Ahmed Khan and using support of masses and Kazis/clerics decrees that non-Muslims should not ride horses, should not put turbans, coats, armors, should not go to parks and gardens for excursions, and should not bath on certain days.

 

Mughal officials in Kashmir refuse to comply as Emperor Muhammad Shah has already abolished Jazia and offered Zimmi status to non-Muslims. In response Abdun Nabi Kashmiri and his men start harassing and violating Hindu life and property. Mughal representatives are helpless as their troops are defeated by Abdun Nabi Kashmiri’s men but then Shias get involved in the affair as Abdun Nabi’s violence is against all those he considers non-Muslims. In the end, Abdun Nabi Kashmiri dies at the hand of Shias who managed to corner and kill him along with his two sons through deception on 12 September, 1720. This leads to Shia-Sunni riots as Zadibal is burnt down by third son of Abdun Nabi, Mulla Sharaf-ud-din and general Sunni masses. The riots end with Delhi sending fresh reinforcement in 1721 under Abdus Samad Khan. Delhi must have been worried to have sent the man who captured Khalsa rebel warrior Banda Singh Bahadur in Punjab in 1715. To put end to rioting Mughal forces kill Sharaf-ud-din and publicly hang 50 ringleaders of the rioting gangs.

 

In around 1722, one Ragho Ram Koul converts to Islam at the hands of Mir Abdul Rashid Baihiqi and changes name to Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah. He is the ancestor of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah.

During the time of Dil Diler Khan [1735-1738 A.D], one Abdul Barakh Khan at war his his official. Both parties set fire to Srinagar, 20000 houses burned.

 

In 1739, Fakhr-ud-daula, a Mughal subadar of Kashmir retired to Lahore where he conspires to recapture the administration of Kashmir with the help of Nadir Shah. Using Nadir Shah’s troops he captures Kashmir and starts governing it. He stuck coins in the name of Nadir Shah. But, after 40 days Mughals again managed to regain control after a fight put up by Mughals under Abul Barkat Khan and Ati Ullah Khan (1739-1741). 15000 houses burn in Srinagar areas during conflict.

 

1747, Nadir Shah is assassinated. In sleep, he is attacked by 15 men. He kills 2 before he dies. Ahmad Shah Durrani/Abdali takes over. Kashmir is now within Afghan reach. End of Mughal rule in the valley in 1752 A.D. It is said they left 770 gardens in Kashmir.

[R.K Parimu, citing Khafi Khan’s Muntakhab -ul-Lubab (1874) and Khwaja Muhammad A’zam Mustaghni Kaul Didamari’s Waquiat-i-Kashmir. Another source: “The History of India, as told by its own historians (1867-77)” by Elliot and Dowson]

 

Governors under Shah Alam (1707-12)

 

Jaffar Khan (1708-09)

Ibrahim Khan (1709-09)

Nawazish Khan (1709-11)

Inayat-ullah Khan (1711-12)

 

Governors under Farrukh Siyar (1713-19 A.D)

 

Ali Mohamed Khan (1712-14)

Aziz Khan (1714-15)

Ali Mohamed Khan (1715-16)

Ahtram Khan (1716-16)

Inayat Ullah Khan (1716-20)

 

Abdul Samad Khan (1720-23)

Azim Khan Bahadur (1723-24)

Saadat Khan Bahadur (1712-16)

 

Governor under Mohamed Shah (1719-48)

Inayat Ullah Khan (1724-25)

Akidat Khan (1725-27)

Aghar Khan (1727-28)

Amir Khan (1728-35)

Dil Diler Khan (1735-38)

Fakhur-ul-Dwala (1738-39)

Ataya Ullah Khan (1739-41)

Asad Baz Khan (1741-45)

Abu-ul-Mansoor Khan (1745-48)

 

Governor under Ahmed Shah (1748-54)

 

Abdul Mansoor Khan (1748-53)

Ali Kuli Khan (1753-1753)

 

Source: Search Kashmir

 

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