By: Saif Beg
Bairam Beg, also known by his title of Khan-i-Khanan, was one of the most prominent men of the early Timurid period in India especially during the reign of the Padishahs Humayun and the early years of Akbar’s reign. However, he has been overlooked by a majority of writers, especially Abdul-Fazl, who either only devoted a paragraph on his achievements or ignored him completely, before extensively describing Akbar’s reign. This paper examines the three reasons why instead of Humayun and Akbar, it is Bairam Beg who should be called the true founder of the Timurid Empire in India, instead of giving credit to any other person, except for Babur. It is only through the success of Bairam Beg’s own actions that the Timurids in India expanded as they did.
Bairam Beg was born as a member of the prestigious Baharlu tribe, which was one of the most prominent and vital tribe during the Qara Qoyunlu confederation. One of his ancestors, Ali Shukr Beg Baharlu, was a prominent figure not only in Mirza Jahan Shah’s court but also was prominent in his predecessor Mirza Iskander’s court, both as a statesman and as a prominent warrior and leader of the army1. Mirza Iskander had married his daughter to Ali Shukr Beg’s son, Pir Ali Beg, in a bid to strengthen his position on the throne2. The next leader of the Qara Qoyunlu, Jahan Shah had also used this route where he had his own two sons, Mirza Muhammadi and Mirza Abu Yusuf, who had been married to Ali Shukr Beg’s two daughters3. Ali Shukr Beg was a prominent member of the court, he was sent by Jahan Shah to Sultaniya as an envoy to the Timurid Sultan Shah Rukh but when he arrived there, Shah Rukh had already died. Taking this advantage Ali Shukr Beg captured the city from the officers of the deceased Timurid4. Upon his return he was given the task of conquering the regions of Kurdistan and Luristan, a task that was performed most aptly. His successes were not only in conquering provinces but also in governing them well. He held the regions of Hamadan and its dependencies5 so well that until the late 16th and early 17th centuries these areas were still known as the country of Ali Shukr or “qalamrav-i-Ali Shukr”6.
In
1453/857 Jahan Shah sent him to fight against the Aq Qoyunlu ruler, Uzun Hasan,
near the Tigris River in support of the
rival claimant to the Aq Qoyunlu throne, Jahangir7. The battle however, resulted in the complete routing of
Jahangir’s forces and notables, as well as the capture of several prominent Qara Qoyunlu notables. It was a
hall mark for Uzun Hasan as it was the only pitched battle in which Uzun Hasan had won in his career.
This
victory was later followed by the defeat and death of Jahan Shah in November
1467/12 Rabi II 871 when Uzun Hasan’s
forces surprised and decapitated Jahan Shah while he was resting8. This resulted in the breakup of the confederation
forcing Ali Shukr to gather the disbanded followers of Jahan Shah and set up his own independent rule with
the capital at Hamadan9. He continued the fight against Uzun Hasan who had become stronger since
then, enough to “curb the power of the Timurid Mirza Abu Sa’id”10. Ali Shukr’s last battle was at
Azerbaijan where on the cusp of victory he accidently fell into the hand of Uzun Hasan’s forces and was executed
on his order in 147311.
On
the death of Ali Shukr Beg, Pir Ali Beg succeeded to the leadership of the
Baharlu. His efforts were mainly aimed
at trying to raise the son of Jahan Shah, Mirza Abu Yusuf, who had been blinded
by Uzun Hasan after the death of Jahan
Shah, to the throne of the Qara Qoyunlu12. Joining the army of the Timurid Abu Sa’id alongside that of his
brothers, he waged a new war on Uzun Hasan. However, this attempt had failed as well on the account of
the defeat and death of Abu Sa’id in February 146913. The death of Abu Sai’d, a valuable ally in
the fight against Uzun Hasan was a setback to Pir Ali Beg. He however, tried once more at restoring
Mirza Abu Yusuf to power this time in Fars14. His endeavor however, once again came to naught
as they were defeated and Mirza Abu Yusuf was captured and put to death15. Pir Ali Beg had escaped
and made his way to Hamadan where he faced the ruler of the area known as Little Lur, Shah Husain16. Shah
Husain was easily defeated and had been slain resulting in the temporary consolidation of power in
Hamadan. However, the power of Uzun Hasan at that time was still on the rise and Pir Ali Beg with his
followers had to leave Hamadan and joined Sultan Mahmud, son of Sultan Abu Sa’id in Badakhshan. His
sister, Pasha Begum, was married to Sultan Mahmud and in his court he found service and refuge for the
time being17.
Pir
Ali Beg however, was not pleased at the amount of substantial help he was
receiving from Sultan Mahmud and as a
response he moved from his court and went to Kabul where in six months, he had gathered his army and marched once again
towards Fars, this time seeking to establish his own kingdom18. His defeat at Shiraz by Uzun
Hasan’s notables resulted in his withdrawal to Kirman where he once again joined the court of the Timurids,
this time Sultan Mahmud’s brother, Mirza Abu Bakr19, alongside his brother Bahram Beg. There he
incited Mirza Abu Bakr to “fulfill his ambition of conquering Iraq”20. He was once again defeated by the Aq
Qoyunlu army resulting in their attempted withdrawal into Khurasan.
Here
they were welcomed by the Timurid ruler Sultan Husayn who was given the
governorship by Uzun Hasan himself21.
Uzun Hasan was not pleased that these rebels were given asylum which resulted in three invasions of Khurasan22. The
combined force of Pir Ali Beg, Mirza Abu Bakr and Sultan Husayn resulted in the defeat of the first Aq
Qoyunlu army. However, they were unable to stand up to the second and third army's invasion. The result was a
“crushing defeat on Mirza Abu Bakr”23 who however had survived but Pir Ali Beg was captured and
executed at Astarabad in 148024.
Pir
Ali Beg was succeeded by his eldest son Yar Ali Beg, the grandfather of Bairam
Khan. He gathered those that remained
from Pir Ali Beg’s followers alongside other Chaghatai nobles that had managed to escape and went back to his uncle
Sultan Mahmud along with his son, Saif Ali Beg25. There he was received kindly and given the “pargana
of Ala-ul-mulk”26 as a jagir. He became influential and was able to exercise “great authority in the
affairs of the kingdom”27.
At
the death of Sultan Mahmud in 1495, he came to the court of Khusrav Shah in
Badakhshan, with his son. During this
time, Bairam Khan was born at Qil’a-i-Zafar [31] to Saif Ali Beg. After
the defeat of Khusrav Shah in 1504-1505
Yar Ali Beg and his entire family joined the court of the great Timurid Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur28. It is at
this point in history that the family of Bairam Beg had become entwined with the family of Temur
which would eventually lead into India.
Under
Babur, Yar Ali Beg was the governor of Ghazni which had been conquered in
October 150429. Saif Ali Beg however,
was drawn to the idea of the previous imperial Qara Qoyunlu personas such as Qara Yusuf and Jahan Shah, which resulted
in the attempt to restore the dominion and glory of his forefathers30. He withdrew from Badakhshan
and went to Khurasan and then to Iraq and had gathered the remnants of the Baharlu from these regions.
Bairam Khan was left with his grandfather, Yar Ali Beg, as well as maternal Uncle Amir Beg along with
his great-grandmother who did their best for his education and upkeep31. During this time, he not only
gained excellent military training but was also trained in the arts of culture and “humanities”32 that was
traditionally a part of his family. Saif Ali Beg however failed in his efforts to recreate his empire due to
the Safavids who were on the ascent33. Defeated in his plan of restoring the Qara Qoyunlu, he alongside his
followers went to Qandahar where he rejoined the service of Babur.
Yar
Ali Beg died soon after the return of Saif Ali Beg and his death allowed him to
gain his father’s position. Soon
however, Saif Ali Beg had also died at Ghazni and Bairam was sent to Balkh among his other relatives who were living
there to gain further education34. Balkh, even after being ravaged not only by the Mongols but also by
Temur as well, was still one of the great cities of Central Asia and was still the center of lucrative
trade and culture. There Bairam Khan would gain most of his education and return at the age of sixteen to
join the service of Babur as his father and grandfather once did35.
During
his service with Babur he was nominally attached in the retinue of Humayun who
was still a child36. Bairam participated with Babur in the battle of Ghazdawan,
near Bukhara, in 918/ November 1512
during which Babur had been badly defeated by the Uzbeks and during the course
of the battle, Bairam was wounded37.
After the battle Babur, highly impressed with Bairam’s ability and in light of
his ancestry, had favored him greatly
over the other nobles in the court which resulted in “wounded pride and jealousy of the rising man”38. Bairam’s
success was also the success of his tribe members as they were also given employment in his government. He
gained the position of an accountant, during which he was successful in managing the affairs of Babur’s
realm39. This success sparked an interest in Humayun who “begged his father to give Bairam in his
service”40 something which Babur accepted.
Bairam
Khan’s acceptance into Humayun’s service had begun his rise within the
Timurid administration. He played a
prominent role in the campaigns of Humayun, especially in Malwa and Gujarat41 as well as during the retreat of
Humayun in the face of the onslaught brought by Sher Shah Suri. It is here the Bairam Khan began his role as
the true founder of the Timurid Empire in India.
One
of the most important reasons why Bairam Khan is the true founder of the
Timurid Empire in India was that it was
through his skills in diplomacy and from his ancestry which had enabled
Humayun to escape from his situation
into Persia. The start of Humayun’s loss of his empire can be traced to
his unfortunate campaign in the Bengal
mixed alongside his chronic “lethargy... [and usage of] opium”42 which enabled
Sher Shah Suri, an Afghan leader as well as Humayun’s brother, Mirza Kamran to
take full advantage and stake their own
claim to these lands. The result was that Humayun had been driven off completely from northern India by Sher Shah
Suri and hounded in Afghanistan by his brother Mirza Kamran and his other brother, Mirza Askari43.
Humayun had only a few loyal subjects, including Bairam Khan, who alongside the deposed Timurid
emperor, wandered around trying to find a source of help. Bairam had advised Humayun to go to Mashtang,
which was near Qandahar. There he could
recruit Afghans who would be loyal and willing to fight for him as well
as gain some followers from Mirza
Askari’s court who was at Qandahar, holding the city as a governor for Mirza
Kamran44. To reach Qandahar, Humayun and
his followers had to cross Sind. The ruler at the time was Shah Husain
Arghun, who at once told Mirza Kamran
about Humayun’s passage and destination45. Mirza Kamran had ordered Mirza Askari to capture him and his
followers. To accurately assess the situation Mirza Askari sent Jai Bahadur, also known as Chuli Uzbek, since he
had the knowledge of the area where Humayun and his party were located46.
Jai
Bahadur had once served under Humayun and it may be the case that he was still
loyal to him which resulted in his
entering the camp, seeking out Bairam Beg and informing him of the plans of
Mirza Askari and Mirza Kamran47. Bairam
Beg at this junction persuaded Humayun to leave the idea of going to Qandahar and instead to retreat to Persia
from where he could regain the throne. Persia was chosen, not only because Bairam had an ancestral
connection to Persia, but because by this time the Safavids were in full control and the Baharlu, as member of
the Qizilbash, was a part of the local governing elite48. Another reason was that by this time Persia was
undergoing a transformation from being Sunni to being completely Shi’i. Since Bairam was a Shi’i,
the Shah would be more favorable to Humayun.
Once
near the domains of the Safavids, he advised Humayun to write a letter to the
Shah stating his intention to meet with
him and visit his domain. This letter was sent on December 29, 1543 but Humayun did not receive a reply as Mirza
Askari’s forces were close by, pursuing him and he was forced to cross Helmand and enter Sistan49.
Bairam
Beg was sent to Shah Tahmasp’s court as an envoy of Humayun on the request of
Shah Tahmasp who was impressed with his
ancestry and his relation to Persia. Once there, he was received with “great honor and pomp”50 not only by the
governors and members of the court but also by his relatives who were serving the court at this
time. This meeting allowed Bairam to discuss further the meeting between the two monarchs and how Shah
Tahmasp could help Humayun51. The meeting between the two monarchs however, was cold and Shah
Tahmasp treated Humayun with great indifference even though a grand reception had been held in
Humayun’s honor where “nobles and grandees, low and high great and small” had attended52. Shah Tahmasp
even went further and suggested that if Humayun wanted his help, he would have to declare himself of
the Shi’i faith53. Bairam Beg and his other advisors, who were there at the time, suggested a route of
“moderation and compromise”54 and to accept Shah Tahmasp’s request in the light of the
circumstances in which Humayun had entered Persia. Humayun reluctantly agreed to this compromise and
became a Shi’i. It is not known whether he remained Shi’i after his return to India in 1554 but it none the
less allowed him to gain 12,000 soldiers under the command of Prince Murad, the support he needed to win
back his empire, thanks in no little part to the advice of Bairam Beg.
Through
these actions, Bairam Beg comes onto the stage of history on his own, apart
from his ancestry, as an able minded
individual who through his connections as a member of the Baharlu and his actions in Shah Tahmasp’s court as well as in
the presence of Humayun had allowed this mission to succeed. He had impressed Shah Tahmasp that,
after his reconciliation with Humayun, he privately discussed with him about Humayun’s affairs55
and conferred on him the titles of “amir-i-mu’azzam”56 and of Khan in recognition of his abilities. It
can be said that the history of Humayun, in exile and in Persia is not actually the history of Humayun but the
history of Bairam Beg whose presence in the Safavid court allowed the restoration of the Timurid
Empire.
Another important reason why Bairam Beg should
be considered the true founder of the Timurid
Empire in India was his military skills and actions which ensured the
survival of the empire and secured it
from the Afghan threat during Humayun’s reign. During this time, Humayun
had no obstacles to face in his
re-conquest plan. He was secure in Afghanistan having eliminated the threats
that his brothers had posed. Mirza
Askari had been exiled in 1551, his other brother Mirza Hindal, a supporter of
Mirza Kamran, had been killed in battle
and finally his “eternal enemy”57 Mirza Kamran had been blinded and had left to go to Mecca. Sher Shah Sur had
also died in 154558 thus paving the way for Humayun and Bairam to gain easy access to northern
India.
The
battle of Machiwara was the first battle that they had to face when entering
India itself. The Afghans were led by
Nasib Khan, Tatar Khan and Mubarak Khan as well as other notables. Nasib Khan had been ruling over Hariana and when Bairam
Beg and his army had entered the area they were met by a feeble resistance after which Nasib Khan had
fled resulting in massive amount of money and goods falling into the Timurid hands59.
Nasib
Khan and the others had regrouped in Sirhind and had begun marching
towards Machiwara. They had a larger
army than the notables who were given governorships of certain areas placed by Bairam. The most notable of them
was Iskandar Khan Uzbeg. They had withdrawn and returned to the camp of Humayun and Bairam
citing a lack of manpower to face such a large threat60. Bairam Beg then hastened to meet with the
Afghans and finding on one opposing him had crossed the river Sutlej in opposition to the advice of
other commanders, namely Tardi Beg Khan who wanted to defend and not cross the river.
The
Afghan army, which had numbered 30,000 horses61, had tried to prevent the
crossing of Bairam Beg but was slow in
approaching the river and by the time they had arrived, Bairam Beg had already crossed the river. Although the
Timurid army was quite smaller than its opponents, it became a battle of archery which resulted in a massive
number of casualties for the Afghans62. The battle had lasted all night at which time the Afghans trying to
get an advantage over their enemy lit a couple of the thatched house of a village nearby to get a
better view of the enemy. However, this method failed, as the light revealed their positions not the opponents.
The Timurid forces were able to fire but the Afghan’s could not retaliate back. As a result, an
attack led by Bairam Beg succeeded in breaking the ranks of the Afghans and the battle had been won. After
this battle several titles were given to Bairam Beg such as “Khan Khanan, Yar Wafadar, Hamdam Gjam-gusar,
Biradar Niku-siyar and Farzand Sa’adatmand”63.
Although
a victory against the Afghan’s in India was not a decisive victory nor did it
completely eliminate the threat of Sher
Shah Sur’s successor, Sikander Shah. Though he had supported the Afghans in the battle of Machiwara by sending some of
his troops to help the nobles, his main army had yet to do battle with the Timurid forces. The true
battle that truly decided the fate of India was the battle of Sirhind
in
which Sikander Shah’s forces would meet the forces led by Bairam and
Humayun. The defeat of Machiwara had
greatly concerned Sikander Shah and so he had led his army into the region of Sirhind where Bairam Beg and
his army was stationed. Although the size of the armies is in dispute, Sikander
Shah’s army was said to number 80,000 with horses, artillery and war
elephants64. Using the tactics of his
father, he had dug a trench which surrounded his camp and fortified it.
Bairam Beg in contrast had only 700 to
800 horses to contest the forces of Sikander Shah and he remained to defend the fort rather than leave and return
with a larger force65. He had sent dispatches to Humayun asking for reinforcements to face Sikander
Shah and was first sent forces under Prince Akbar and then Humayun led another force on May 28th,
155566. During this time, he had successfully held off the forces of Sikander Shah and had even ordered
repeated sallies to harass the enemy.
The
total combined forces of Timurids did not go over 10,000 troops which is again
a disputed number67. Bairam and Humayun
in the face of such numbers had decided to reuse their plan that they had used before against Bahadur Shah of Gujarat.
As a part of their plan, Tardi Beg Khan was sent to intercept the supply lines of Sikandar Shah’s
army. He was successful and the raid had resulted in the death of one of Sikander Shah’s brothers68.
This forced the Afghans to abandon their fortifications and meet the Timurids on the field.
Once
the two armies met, the Afghan forces had begun to concentrate on what they
considered to be the weakest part of the
Timurid battle line, that of Bairam Beg’s, which if defeated it would be
easier to break the others69. However,
Bairam Beg had erected defenses to protect his section of the battle line and once on the defensive, the Afghans were
unable to break his line. This had allowed other sections, once again commanded by Tardi Beg Khan among
other notables, to attack the Afghans in the rear70. This resulted in mass confusion and panic
eventually resulting in their flight. This enabled the Timurid forces to kill many of the soldiers as they were
fleeing and resulted in Sikander Shah being forced to flee to Siwalik Hills71.
The
resulting action of this battle sealed who would rule India in the coming
centuries. The Afghans were beaten and
in true Timurid fashion, the heads of those slain were used to erect a tower
of skulls72. It was not only the forces
of Sikander Shah which were unable to challenge the Timurid forces individually anymore, other Afghan forces
such as those of Ibrahim Khan or Muhammad Adil Shah were unable to fight against the Timurids after
their victory. The only other power which could challenge the Timurid empire was the army under the command
of Himu, the Hindu merchant who was an advisor to Muhammad Adil Shah, but otherwise the field
was wide open for the Timurids to regain much of their lands back.
The
corner stone in these victories which sealed the fate of the Afghans and of the
Timurids in India was Bairam Beg. His
victory at Machiwara and his plans in the battle of Sirhand had restored
the Timurid empire to its full strength
and had eliminated most of the prominent enemy who could challenge the empire at this time. Humayun was well
aware of Bairam’s actions which enabled him to regain the throne and at ever victory Bairam was awarded
titles after titles. It was Bairam Khan who had set the stage for the Timurid resurrection.
The
final reason why Bairam Beg should be considered the true founder of the Indian
Timurid Empire was that through his
regency of the Padishah Akbar he had stabilized the realm and had removed the largest obstacles to the empire and
transformed the realm from one of weakness which was left by Humayun when he died on January 26th 1556 to
one of strength and wealth that was further built on not only by Akbar but his successors all the way
to Aurangzeb.
Bairam
Beg’s actions, immediately after the death of Humayun and until Akbar was
raised on the throne, was one of
quickness with a mind to stabilizing the empire before it well apart once again
and ruined all his effort. The situation
before Bairam Beg was not easy. He was in Kalanawr where he was conducting campaigns against the remnant
forces of Sikandar Shah who were in the area73. The army was small and in certain areas where it claimed
rule, it could only enforce it by force, thus it was not very stable. Another issue was that the army could
never be fully trusted as it was mainly commanded by “adventurers whose sole bond of union...
[was] advantage during success”74. It was not only the internal issues which Bairam Beg had to deal with.
External issues such as that of Himu, the Hindu advisor who was working in the name of the titular Afghan
monarch, Muhammad Adil Shah, and the remnants of the Sur family, who were still agitating for
control of India75 also remained to defy the Timurids.
Faced
with these threats, he returned from Kalanawr and through the help of a
visiting Ottoman admiral, Sidi ‘Ali
Rais, who assured the people at Lahore that Humayun was recovering76, he
enthroned Akbar on 2 Rabi-us-Sanu 963/14
February 1556 as the next Padishah of Timurid India. Bairam then became the “Vakil-as-Saltanat”77 leaving him
with all the authority in the affairs of the government and who had complete civil and military powers in
the realm. It is also to be noted how similar this is to the actions taken by Temur-e-Lang upon raising a
member of Chinggis Khan’s family to his throne78.
The
first pressing issue Bairam Beg wanted to deal with was that of Sikandar Shah
and the Sur family. He had sent a force
under Pir Mohammad Khan to pursue him but Sikandar Shah had fled into the Siwalik Hills once again without trying to
confront the Timurid army79. Around this time a force under Tardi Beg Khan had defeated one of Sikandar
Shah’s prominent servants, Haji Khan, when he tried to lay siege to Narnaul80. However, this operation
had to be paused when a message came to Jullundur, where Bairam and Akbar were overseeing the campaign
against Sikandar Shah that Himu was advancing to
Delhi
in 8 Zil Hajj/13th October 155681. Their withdrawal did not end the campaign,
it was instead given to Khizr Khwaja
Khan who proceeded to Lahore with his forces and stationed himself there82. Tardi Beg Khan, who at this time was the
governor of Delhi, had become alarmed at the size and appearance of Himu’s army and had tried to
gather reinforcements from nearby notables for help. Many of them had thus gathered within Delhi to
assess the situation and were divided on the course of action they would take when Himu’s army began
besieging them83. Some wanted to use the defensive position they had within Delhi to oppose Himu and
await for the army under Akbar and Bairam while other decided to flee to regain an advantageous
position and then come and fight Himu. However, the discussions resulted in them deciding on
fighting Himu84.
The battle which took place on the 7th of
October 1556 resulted in the complete defeat of the Timurid forces with Tardi Beg Khan fleeing
from his position when Himu directly attacked it. Himu had now gained complete control of Delhi and had
marched and taken Agra as well85. He took on the title of Raja Bikramajit86 and had forced the Afghan
soldiers who were with his army to call him Shah Himu. Abdul Fazl described him as coming from the
lowly Dhusur tribe and had having neither “rank (hasb) nor race (nasab), nor beauty of form (surat) nor
noble qualities (seerat)”87.
Bairam did not waste any time and marched
onwards to Delhi with Akbar in tow to reclaim both of these important cities and remove Himu as
a threat to the state. As they advanced they had met with the advanced force of Himu commanded by Mubarak
Khan and Bahadur Khan at Panipat88. These forces were defeated and Bairam’s army was able to
capture Turkish artillery which had been in Himu’s army.
The victory over the advance guard had not
calmed the fears of Bairam, who saw that the defeat and fleeing of Tardi Beg Khan had a negative
effect on the notables. He therefore held a magnificent darbar where “rich presents and robes of
honor”89 where given as well as granting them favors from Akbar in the future. Bairam also gave a
speech to the nobles telling them that each one of them should “do your best”90 and that once Himu was
defeated there was no other force that could stop them from conquering more of northern India. He finally
stated that their belief and trust in God should be supreme as if they were defeated they would “not be
able to find asylum”91.
The two armies met on 2 Muharram 964/5
November 1556 at the plains of Panipat where Babur had once defeated the Delhi Sultans and had
opened up India for his conquest. Once again this plain was the site of another historic battle. The
battle itself was not a one sided affair as both armies struggled with
fighting
each other on equal terms. However, the tide of battle was turned once Himu was
hit in the eye by an errant arrow92. He
was able to continue for a while but then had succumbed to the wound and had fell “unconscious on the saddle”93. This had
shaken Himu’s army and as a result their morale broke and they fled. They were pursued by the Timurid
soldiers who, once captured, “where put to the sword”94.
The end result of this battle was the complete
destruction of one of the most powerful
oppositional forces that Bairam and his charge Akbar had faced and had
set about the real consolidation of the
empire. This was not only a victory for the Timurid empire in India but a
victory for Bairam as well. It
consolidated his power and had shown those who had doubted that his military
skill, in defeating a major obstacle
like Himu, was very much on the assent rather than on the decline.
The
execution of Himu had also played a pivotal role. Himu, the self confessed Raja
and Shah, was captured and brought
before Bairam and Akbar. Bairam suggested that Akbar slay Himu as this was his first victory against the infidel and he
could acquire “merit by holy combat”95. Akbar, on the order of Bairam Beg had struck Himu thus granting him
further titles such as ghazi and gaining the reward of the jihad. However, it was Bairam who actually
delivered the death blow which beheaded Himu96. This resulted in not only Akbar receiving the titles,
but consolidated Bairam’s position as well as a warrior against the infidels. It had also cemented
the Indian Timurid empire as a strong and viable Islamic empire that had no qualms about going to holy war
when threatened. It had also eliminated any hope of Hindu ascendency in the face of Timurid power and
had sealed the fate of India.
After
the battle one last pressing concern remained that of Sikander Shah. During
Himu’s conquest of Delhi and Agra he
used his period of turmoil to gather the Afghan soldiers who had been scattered and create alliance with the land
holders and was able to direct the revenue to his domain. Khizr Khan in response to this event had left his
camp at Lahore and proceeded to meet Sikander in the hopes of correcting the situation. However, the
advance guard that he had sent had been defeated by Sikander’s forces and instead of pressing the attack,
Khizr Khan had retreated back to Lahore to regroup97.
This
victory had emboldened Sikander Shah who set out to gather more revenue from
the areas near his quarter. After his
defeat at Sirhind he had seemed to be sidelined for more pressing matters
and his own personal power had seemed
insignificant. His recent victory however, had shown the Timurids that he was still someone that could threaten
what Bairam Beg had built so far. When the news had arrived at Delhi, Bairam and Akbar left
immediately after gathering a large force to deal with him once and for all and completely remove the Afghan
threat.
When
they had reached Jullundur Sikandar Shah did not give battle but instead once
again withdrew back to Siwalik, a
mountainous area where it would be hard to follow. However, Bairam Beg did not relent and pursued him there
resulting in Sikandar Shah fleeing to the fort of Mankot. Once in Siwalik they
set about dealing with the local hill people and the zamidars who had joined
Sikandar Shah’s camp98. Having chastised
those who gave their support to him, the Timurid army marched to the fort
of Mankot. It was one of the most
impregnable forts in India99. It had no abundant supply of water or food for the besiegers, was extremely difficult to
assault having walls comprised of “stone and mortar…the whole fortification seemed like one fort”100.
Akbar,
meanwhile, had tried of his duties and had left to meet the ladies of the royal
court who had entered northern India
from Kabul101 and thus once again showed that the security and foundation
of the empire was not his concern, thus
he played his role of a puppet ruler quite well.
The
siege of Mankot lasted six grueling months and could have lasted for much
longer except for the ingenuity of
Bairam Beg. Sikandar Shah, still having hopes that the Afghans would unite
under his banner against the Timurids,
had sought out outside help, namely from the Afghan landlords, such as Rukn Khan Lohani, Hasan Khan Backoli and
Jalal Khan Sur as well as Himu’s former employer, Muhammad Adil Shah. However, Bairam had
anticipated these moves and had sent out Khizr Khan to Bengal to oppose Muhammad Adil Shah which
resulted in his defeat and death at Chunar102. Ali Quli Khan, who was currently the Khan Zaman,
defeated Rukn Khan Lohani, Hasan Khan Backoli and Jalal Khan Sur near Lucknow103. When the results of
these battles were known, it not only alarmed the Afghans, it demoralized them to such an
extent that prominent nobles of Sikandar Shah had begun to desert to the Timurid camp.
Sikandar
Shah had now lost any hope of success. His men were demoralized, food was diminishing and his nobles and prominent men
were fleeing to the Timurids. As such, he had sent his men to Akbar, who had recently arrived back from
his foray with the royal women, to settle the terms of surrender. He would only surrender if his
offensives were pardoned, Kharid and Bihar were to become his jagirs and he was to leave Timurid territory
and his son and one of the prominent men would be left as hostage to the court in return for his “good
conduct in the future”104. These terms, though it would seem hardly harsh, were accepted on the 27th of
Ramzan, 964/24th May 1557 and the fort was abandoned and he left for Kharid where after two years he
died105.
The
defeat and subsequent death of Sikandar Shah had left the Timurids with no
viable opposition remaining which had
enabled the further conquest of the rest of northern India to go on relatively easily. The elimination of the
major opposition to the Timurid rule can all be traced back to one individual, Bairam Beg. It was his skill, not
only in military matters but administratively as well, which enabled the smooth transition from a
relatively weak dynasty during Humayun’s death to a strong dynasty which was able to last for centuries.
It
should be noted however, that these events were not the only methods that
Bairam Beg had used to consolidate
Timurid rule. His executions of a number of prominent notables, like Tardi Beg
Khan and others106 had secured the realm
from those that had once deserted Humayun during his time of need or had otherwise brought unneeded harm to the
Indian Timurid empire. In the case of Tardi Beg Khan, it was both these matters which resulted in his
execution107. These deaths had once again, like in the times of Babur, had forced the notables into a
position of extreme obedience and loyalty to the throne. Had he not done so, the empire could never have truly
relied on stalwart individuals to defend and defy the enemy in its time of need.
At
the moment of strength however, there were forces that had been jealous of his
power, not only as a regent, but on his
influence on Akbar. The question does come up on whether this movement was backed or supported by Akbar himself or
not. Evidence however, does point to his knowing of the plot and his tact approval of the methods
used108 to ouster Bairam Khan from his position. With the flowering of the plot, Bairam Beg was forced
to rebel, trying to free Akbar from these sinister forces and try to regain his position. In the end it had
failed and his ignominious murder at the hands of Lohani Afghans was a pitiful end to such a glorious
founder of the Indian Timurid empire.
The
three reasons listed above, his role in the meeting between the two houses of
power, his battles to destroy the
Afghans which allowed the Timurids to enter northern India once more and
finally his removal of the two biggest
opponent to Timurid power proves that neither Humayun nor Akbar had the mettle to create an empire without
significant foundations that were built by Bairam Beg. Akbar, the Padishah who everyone views as enlightened,
would be nothing without Bairam Beg actually establishing his groundwork which enabled him to go on
frivolous pursuits like the Din-i-Ilahi. The empire of Babur had ended when Humayun had lost it due to his
inability to effectively govern and this new empire was built on the back of Bairam Beg’s efforts.
Like his ancestors before him, he was made from the same mold as conquerors and empire builders, thus
making him the true founder of the second Timurid Empire, an achievement that no one else can claim
to.
Notes
1
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of Karachi
Press, 1992), 3. 2 Ibid., 4.
3
Ibid., 4.
4
Ibid., 3.
5
Ibid., 3.
6
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of Karachi,
1992), 3. 7 John E. Woods, The
Aqquyunlu: Clan, Confederation, Empire (Salt Lake City: The University of Utah
Press, 1999), 84.
8
Ray, Bairam Khan, 96.
9
Ibid., 4.
10
Ibid., 4.
11
Ibid., 4.
12
Ibid., 4.
13
Ibid., 4.
14
Ibid., 5.
15
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of
Karachi, 1992), 5. 16 Ibid., 5.
17
Ibid., 5.
18
Ibid., 5.
19
Ibid., 5.
20
Ibid., 6.
21
John E. Woods, The Aqquyunlu: Clan, Confederation, Empire (Salt Lake City: The
University of Utah Press, 1999), 112.
22
Ibid., 112.
23
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of
Karachi, 1992), 6. 24 Ibid., 6.
25
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of Karachi,
1992), 6. 26 Ibid., 6.
27
Ibid., 6.
28
Ibid., 7.
29
Ibid., 7.
30
Ibid., 8.
31
Ibid., 14.
32
Ibid., 14.
33
Ibid., 8.
34
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of Karachi,
1992), 15. 35 Ibid., 15.
36
Ibid., 16.
37
Longworth Dames M., Morgenstierne, G., Ghushman, R. ͞AfghaŶistaŶ͟, Encyclopedia
of Islam, 2nd Edition Edited by: P.
Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs (Liden,
The Netherlands: Brill, 2006), 222.
38
Ray, Bairam Khan, 16.
39
Ibid., 16.
40
Ibid., 16.
41
Ibid., 28.
42
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi, University of
Karachi, 1992), 42.
43
Douglas E. Streusand, Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and
Mughals (Boulder, Colorado: Westview
Press, 2011), 213.
44
Ray, Bairam Khan, 70.
45
Ibid., 70.
46
Ibid., 70.
47
Ibid., 70.
48
Ibid., 71.
49
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of
Karachi, 1992), 72. 50 Ibid., 75.
51
Ibid., 75.
52
Gul-Badan Begum, Humayun-Nama, trans. Annette S. Beveridge (Lahore: Sang-e-Meel
Publications, 2008), 169. 53 Ray, Bairam
Khan, 77.
54
Ibid., 77.
55
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of
Karachi, 1992), 82. 56 Ibid., 112.
57
Ibid., 112.
58
Douglas E. Streusand, Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and
Mughals, (Boulder, Colorado: Westview
Press, 2011), 213.
59
Ray, Bairam Khan, 116.
60
Ibid., 116.
61
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi, University of
Karachi, 1992), 117. 62 Ibid., 117.
63
Ibid., 118.
64
Ibid., 118.
65
Ibid., 118.
66
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi, University of
Karachi, 1992), 119. 67 Ray, Bairam
Khan, 119.
68
Ibid., 119.
69
Ibid., 119.
70
Ibid., 120.
71
Ibid., 120.
72
Ibid., 129.
73
Dƌ. “adiƋ Ali Gill, ͞Baiƌaŵ KhaŶ: The Buildeƌ of Mughal Eŵpiƌe͟, Pakistan
Vision 3(2002): 3. 74 Sukumar Ray,
Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of Karachi, 1992), 129. 75 Ibid., 129.
76
Ibid., 129.
77
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi, University of
Karachi, 1992), 129. 78 Peter B. Golden,
Central in World History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 95. 79 Ray, Bairam Khan, 132.
80
Ibid., 132.
81
Ibid., 133.
82
Ibid., 149.
83
Ibid., 135.
84
Ibid., 135.
85
Ibid., 145.
86
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of
Karachi, 1992), 144. 87 Abu-l-Fazl, The Akbar Nama, vol. 1-2 trans. H.
Beveridge (Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2005), 499. 88 Ray, Bairam Khan, 144.
89
Ibid., 144.
90
Ibid., 144.
91
Ibid., 144.
92
Ibid., 145.
93
Ibid., 145.
94
Ibid., 145.
95
Abu-l-Fazl, The Akbar Nama, vol. 1-2 trans. H. Beveridge (Lahore: Sang-E-Meel
Publications, 2005), 589. 96 Ibid.,
590.
97
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited by: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi: University of
Karachi, 1992), 150.
98
Sukumar Ray, Bairam Khan, Edited By: M.H.A. Beg (Karachi, University of
Karachi, 1992), 150. 99 Ibid., 151.
100
Ibid., 150.
101
Ibid., 151.
102
Ibid., 151.
103
Ibid., 151.
104
Ibid., 152.
105
Ibid., 152.
106
Qazi Mukhtaƌ Ahŵad, ͞Was Baiƌaŵ KhaŶ a Rebel?,͟ Islamic Culture 21(1947),
56.
107
Ibid., 65.
108
Ibid., 65.
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