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 SEPT. 6, 1872.]

263

MUGHUL GRANDEES.

he built a bath, a bézár, and several houses, and also the Jāmi' Masjid, which is still known at Láhor as the Wazir Khán's mosque. The in scriptions on it shew that it was built in A. H.

biography of the grandee who held the title of Vazir Khán under Aurangzib.

VAZſſ: KHAN, MUHAMMAD TAHIR KHURXSANí. Muhammad Táhir was born at M a s h had

1044, or 1634–35 A.D.— Sál i tärikh iá binae Masjide 'ālimakán.

Az khirad justam, bagufta “sijdahgāhe ahl i fazl." “I pondered to find a chronogram for the building

in Khurásán. He served Prince Aurangzib as treasurer, and had the reputation of being a good soldier. In the 10th year of Sháhjahán's

of this noble mosque, and discovered the words

reign, Aurangzib ordered him to invade, to

‘sijdahgahe ahl i fa: l', a place of worship for

gether with Málūji, the Dak'hini, the district of B a gl § n a h, which the emperor had given Aurangzib as an dºltamghd tenure. Muhammad

the good.’ The other chronogram is better— Tárikh in bindie pursidam az khirad. -

Táhir invested M. ul he r, the stronghold of

Guſtá bigo kih “bani i masjid Vazir Khán.” in which the words bână î Masjid Vazir Khán, ‘the builder of the Mosque Vazir Khán,’ will be found to give 1044. Like other buildings in Láhor, the mosque was desecrated by the Sikhs, who are said to have killed swine in it and

the Bharji of Baglánah, and forced him to sub mit. The district received a financial settlement, and Táhir remained as governor in Mulher.

In 1062 (A.D. 1652), he was appointed by Prince Aurangzib as his náib, or vice-governor of Khándesh, where he remained for several

used the interior as a stable.

years.

Vazir àbād, in the neighbourhood of Láhor, was also founded by Wazir Khán. In Chiniot, his birth place, he built the brick wall of the town, erected many houses which he gave away to the inhabitants, as also a bazār with shops, a mosque, an inn, a Madrasah, an hospital, and besides he dug several wells. “In fact, he ad

púr to march against Dárá Shikoh, he left Táhir in Khándesh, gave him the title of Vazir Khán,

When Aurangzib, in 1068, left Burhān

and conferred upon him “the right of a flag and a kettledrum.” After Aurangzib's accession (Ramazán, 1068), Vazir Khán was called to court,

Mir Jumlah

having been

appointed

anxious to revisit his native town he found no

governor of Khándesh, and was made, in the 3rd year, Qūbahdār of Ágrah. In the 6th year, he accompanied Prince Muhammad Mu’azzam to the Dak'hin, and was again sent to Khándesh

suitable opportunity for doing so. Vazir Khán's son, Saláh Khán, served under Aurangzib as Mir Tozak. In the 29th year, he received the title of Anvar Khán, was appointed

as governor. In the following year, he was ap pointed to Málwah” and received a full com mand of 5,000. He died in Málwah in 1083 A. H., or A.D. 1672.

orned his native town as no other Amir in India

has done.” (Madsir ul-Umará.) Though he was

Dároghah of the establishment of servants,

“There is a spot in Aurangābād, still called

and died in the 36th year of Aurangzib's

after his name, where he had a villa. The part of Aurangābād between the ‘Little Tank’

reign.

The title of Vazir Khán was first held, under

Akbar, by the brother of 'Abdul Majid Agaf Khán, the conqueror of G on d w a na h.

His

biography will be found in my Ain translation (p. 353).

Under Jahāngir, the title of Wazir

Khán was again conferred, namely, on Muqim, who served as Assistant Finance Minister and as

and the tomb of Islám Khán of Mashhad, was founded by his elder brother Mirzā Mah mild and is hence called Mahmūdparah. His son, Muhammad Taqi Khán, was Bakhshi and Wáqi'ahnawis, or intelligencer, and died in the 10th year of Aurangzib. He built a palace at the Little Tank in Mahmudpārah “which still stands.”.

Diwān of Bengal, but he rose to no importance.

Another nephew of Vazir Khán is Rafi’ Khán,

Under Sháhjahān, as we saw above, the title was In order

who was for some time Faujdúr of Båns Bareli (Rohilkhand). He was a poet and wrote under

to complete the series, I shall now give a short

the nom-de-plume of Bázil (liberal). His large

agitation regarding the best system of spelling of Indian
 * Or Málwā, as Aurangzib spelt it. In the present

written as ending in ah, the h being silent. This peculiarity of spelling was needlessly transferred by Muhammadan

names, it may be of interest to refer to Aurangzíb's order,

writºrs to Indian names, and thus we have an expla:

by which Indian names ending in long d, as raja, Malwa, &c., were forbidden to be spelt rajah, Málirah, &c. In Persian there are but few names ending in long d, but a large number ending in a short a ; but as words in Persian generally end in a consonant, words with final short a were

nation for Rajah, Korrah, Málwah, Burmah, instead ºf

conferred on 'Alimuddin of Chiniot.

Rājá, Korrá, &c. However, the order of the emperor only referred to the final ah (Khāfi Khan, II. 399). Of course, it

would be wrong to spell Persian words ending in ah with a final a, as Khajah, bandah, &c.