Khusrau | The unfortunate Mughal Prince - Struggle for Power - 1

This post is about an unfortunate Mughal Prince, Khusrau, the son of Jahangir and Maan Bai, who became a victim of the political propaganda ; in the game to capture the power - the throne of Hindustan.

The series had 2 articles. This is Part-1 of the same.

Power, then as now, brings its own price. Neither life nor death was kind to this unfortunate son of Jahangir. Recounting one of the most tragic yet inspiring stories to come out of Mughal India…

The Fort of Agra, October 27/28 1605. Inside the gilded chambers of the Royal Quarters a man lay on his bed, dying. Select queens of the zenana and senior courtiers were gathered around, as was a younger man of royal countenance in his mid-thirties. It was upon him that the gaze of the sinking man finally rested. He was not to know, even if he was in any position to reflect on it, that the prince had been smuggled into the room in the nick of time. 

He raised his head painfully and nodded, beckoning the prince forward. With a servant supporting him reverently, the sick man placed the robes and turban in the younger man's hands in a formal yet curiously tender gesture. Then he fell back on the cushions; his eyes roved around the room one last time before glazing forever.

The wails of the women from the anteroom began, marking the end of one of the defining reigns in the annals of Hindustan. For almost half a century, Jalal-ud-din Mohammed Akbar had been master of one of the largest empires. He was the greatest of the Mughals , an empire-builder of genius, whose name shines undimmed through the passage of centuries not just for what he achieved by force of arms, but for the brilliant administrative edifice through which he governed, and for the religious syncretism and tolerance that he brought to polity.

Prince Khusrau ( the son Jahangir and Maan Bai), in red turban, with his brother Parvez(behind) meeting Jahangir. Khusrau is giving a drink to his father and Parvez is serving dishes. | 1605-06

Akbar was a man far in advance of his time. So potent was his persona that only those most gifted and possessed of a strong sense of self-worth could stand up to him. It was a trait that was to have fateful consequences for his heirs. 

Akbar had three surviving sons: Salim, Murad and Daniyal, born to him in 1569, 1570 and 1572 respectively. Yet, by 1605 only Salim still lived; the other two had self-destructed through addiction to opium and alcohol. At the time of his father's death, Salim too had become over-fond of stimulants and subject to the most capricious mood swings when in the grip of arrack and opium. Between 1599 and 1605 he also led a series of revolts against Akbar, and war between father and son was averted only through the intervention of Akbar's senior begum - namely Salima Begum and his mother Hamida Bano Begum, and by Salim's own realization that he was militarily no match for his father. {Link}

In despair over the succession, Akbar's mind turned to one who, by widespread consent, had all the requisite qualities to succeed him: Salim's eldest son Khusrau. Khusrau was born in 1587 to Salim and Man Bai, a Rajput princess from Amer, the daughter of Raja Bhagwan Das and sister of Raja Man Singh. Khusrau soon grew up to be a court favourite.

A European clergyman writes of Khusrau : “He had a pleasing presence and excellent carriage, was exceedingly beloved of the common people, their love and delight”. At 18, Khusrau was everything his father was not: personable, brave, and a talented battlefield commander.

"1. Following details have been collected from Akbarnama(Persian), Vol-3, Page-651. 

On 28th March 1594, Akbar made a decision, which had no precedent, and neither it saw a feat of this kind being repeated in the future, in Mughal Empire. He granted Khusrau, a high imperial rank (mansab) of panz hazari, i.e., 5000, even though Khusrau was only six years old at the time.!

In the Akbarnama, Abu'l Fazl praises Khusrau, as possessor of "great khird(wisdom) with a khurd(small)" , meaning "a small/young kid with great wisdom".

Along with the high ranking mansab, Akbar assigned the financial resources of the newly conquered province of Orissa to Khusrau. The emperor also appointed his maternal uncle and Salim’s brother-in-law - Raja Man Singh, as his ataliq (guardian). 

Simultaneously, Raja Man Singh was  made the governor of the neighboring province of Bengal. Not only this, Khusrau was placed as incharge of the seasoned Rajput and Afghan troops to his command. Thus, political and military muscle was added at the hold of Khusrau.

This was Khusrau at the age of 6.!.He was everything his father was not at this age, in his lifetime. Further, he insisted that Prince Khusrau was to remain under his exclusive charge. He also proclaimed - "I love my grandchildren more than sons."




2. 16th August 1604 was a very important day, as many important decisions were taken. 
Scan from Akbarnama is given below.


 Akbarnama tells us before his death, Akbar made Khusrau a commander/mansabdar of 10,000 forces (he was already a commander of 5000 in 1594 at the age of 6), which was the highest Imperial rank existing that time. Now, after receiving this rank, his status was equal to his father Salim, despite he being a grandson, and not a direct/natural claimant in the succession to throne. But, further, his status was raised over Salim when, along with this dus-hazari mansabdari, Akbar also assigned him drum and a tuman-togh(yak tail fixed at the end of long staff, normally we see this in Gurudwaras to honor Shri Guru Granth Sahib, Sikh readers might be knowing.)


Drum - This was a symbol of authority, and the honor reserved ONLY for The Emperor. This honor was rarely given to anyone, once it was bestowed upon Raja Bhagwan Das after the Battle of Gujarat in 1573, for his exceptional bravery in guarding Akbar's life.

Tuman-togh - Akbarnama, Vol-2, Pg-182 tells us that, after the death of Bairam Khan, Akbar had given "Drums and tuman-togh" to Ataga Khan - raised him to an authority just under him. Note that, now these imperial standards were given to Khusrau.!

Tuman-togh

 
 Akbar further secured the interests of Khusrau by assigning him under the guardianship of Raja Man Singh. Along with that, Raja Man Singh was made a mansabdar of 7000/6000. Mirza Aziz Koka, the father in law of Khusrau was assigned the province of Bihar. The young grandson of Raja Man Singh, Maha Singh, who was his preferred choice for the throne of Amer, was assigned a mansab of 2000. Raja Man Singh already had the province of Bengal, and as we saw earlier Khusrau was having the command of Orissa since the age of 6.!

Raja Man Singh was already called as his Farzand(son) by Akbar. For Mirza Aziz Koka, Akbar used to say - "There flows a river of milk between the two of us, which i can never cross." After reading the above facts, it can be understood, what was Akbar trying to do, while bestowing one honor after another on Khusrau and his supporters.


In 1599(the year Murad died), Akbar granted the use of red-tents to Danial. Red-tents(apart from drums and tuman togh) were a symbol of "Imperial authority", which only Akbar used till then. This act of Akbar was very offending to Salim, as he was the eldest son, still Akbar gave this authority to Danial. But, Akbar knew who was more able to succeed him.

It is worth noting that, after the death of Danial, Akbar openly started bestowing favors on Khusrau and his supporters. These crucial steps were taken just after the death of Prince Danial(1604). He was considered a good successor of Akbar, if not for his alcohol addiction. But after his death, Akbar's bet was on Khusrau.

Akbar was a man of vision. He never opened his cards before anyone. No one could read his mind. He had groomed Khusrau since his young days to be a ruler, and now, when Daniyal also died, he began to execute his plans silently for Khusrau.


Akbar's policy was one of "action and pacification", rather say of "carrots and sticks", with Salim. On one hand, he wanted him to mend his ways , on the other hand he was placing Khusrau on the way to throne. Here are 3 more steps taken by him. 

a. Akbar decided, in 1597, to remove Salim from the Imperial court, despite his resistance. Salim argued that he should remain at court in light of the Emperor’s advancing age, and this drew support from Salim’s own circle(see point b. below). But, in 1599, Akbar made Salim to accept command of an expedition against the recalcitrant Rajput state of Mewar and to subjugate it by going against Rana Amar Singh, after the death of Maharana Pratap. {It may be noted that in his lifetime Maharana Pratap{To read More details : Click here} had gained entire Mewar back except Chittor and the Fort of Mandal.} This(1599) was the same time, when Danial was granted the use of red-tents, while Salim was away, as we saw earlier. This opened the tensions between the father-son and in 1599 Salim rebelled against Akbar.

b. We saw in point-a, that Salim had many supporters. Akbar's daughter Shakr-un-Nissa Begum was a very strong supporter of her brother Salim, since starting. {See more here at #10:Children of Akbar and Mariam-Uz-Zamani} In order to contain the force from her side, Akbar played a masterstroke. He made her husband, his son-in-law Mirza Shahrukh a mansabdar of 7000/5500, just below the rank of Raja Man Singh(7000/6000), on 16th August 1604.

c. Such calculated were moves of Akbar that he knew how to proceed with caution at every step, "carrot and stick". An example : Before granting the huge favors to Man Singh, Khusrau, Mirza Aziz Koka, Mirza Shahrukh, and others on 16th August 1604, he went to the quarters of Salim, mounting on a boat without informing anyone, and spent one pahar in his quarters. Akbarnama notes that Salim "received him with the step of devotion and made the dust of Akbar's feet his eye salve, and opened his lips in thanks giving for the visit." 

Akbar came back and after granting favors on everyone, Akbar made a concession for Salim by announcing that the diwans should manage the affairs of the kingdom in accordance with the "advice" of Salim , and that his seal should be affixed to the grants of the officer's mansab. To me, this appears to be a gimmick of Akbar to contain Salim, because the real powers were being given to Khusrau and his supporters. It is worth noting that Salim's seal, perhaps, was to be used to grant an equal mansab to his son and his supporters, as moments back Akbar had elevated their position.

 Note that, all imperial court members have seals, and they worked as modern day signatures at the end of a document, and Salim's powers were merely "advisory" in nature. "

Note:
This year of bestowing all these favors on the nobles and Khusrau is also said to be 1605, not 1604. But that can be verified only after reading the Persian text, not from the English translation.

Struggle for power

Inevitably, in the years just prior to Akbar's death his court was a political cauldron, “a snake-pit of intrigue” between the rival camps of Salim and Khusrau. So distressed was Man Bai at the vicious infighting that she committed suicide by an overdose of opium in May 1605, according to the accounts present with us.{Link}

By October, the succession was poised on a knife-edge. Khusrau was backed by the duo of Raja Man Singh, the Raja of Amer, and Mirza Aziz Koka (Khusrau's uncle and father-in-law respectively), and by Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana. These 3 were amongst the most influential nobles in the Mughal durbar and Khusrau's star seemed clearly in the ascendant. 

Khusrau himself was convinced that he was destined to be the next ruler of Hindustan, addressing his father in terms of equality as ‘Bhai' or brother rather than as a father. {From, Masir-i-Jahangiri of Husaini, Alavi Bombay edition, 1978, Persian, Pg-53} This had complete backing of Akbar. An alternate view is that - Akbar was pitting Khusrau against Jahangir in order to contain the latter, since 1594.!

No sooner was Akbar laid to rest than events began to move at breakneck speed. At a meeting of the senior umra(nobles) called to decide the succession, Akbar's handing of the robes to Salim tipped the scales in favour of the Salim faction, which carried the day. But, Akbar had not declared him as the next ruler, but only asked him to return to his quarters, until he asks him to come back again. Finally, In November, 1605, Salim ascended the Mughal throne as Nur-ud-din Mohammed Jahangir Padshah Ghazi. One of the first acts of the new Emperor was to have Prince Khusrau confined to his quarters in the fort, with only his wife to keep him company. Also, he was denied his governorship of Bengal, which was promised to him earlier.

Chroniclers at Jahangir's court record dismissively Khusrau's descent into melancholy at this time. But this was a young man who had been offered a giddy vision of power afforded to very few, encouraged by many, including his illustrious grandfather - The great Akbar himself, to believe in his manifest destiny — only to have it crushed in the space of just hours.

Whatever be the reason, Khusrau's character now underwent a shift as the disappointment ate into him like a cancer. One of the acts which alarmed Khusrau was, when he came to know - Jahangir was being guided by one of the nobles to blind him. Goaded on by a wide network of informants and sympathizers, he made his move in April, 1606. During a visit to the tomb of his grandfather Akbar at Sikandra, he slipped past his guards and, with a small band of soldiers faithful to him, struck out northwest towards Lahore.

The rebellion

The news of Khusrau's flight sped through the country like wildfire. Malcontents of every kind — disaffected nobles of many clans and several frontier tribes — flocked to his banner as did some senior loyalists of his grandfather.

However, Khusrau did not foresee the swiftness of the Mughal response. For once, Jahangir acted with speed and decision. The newly appointed governor, Dilawar Khan, raced from Agra to Lahore in just 11 days and strengthened and sealed the defences before Khusrau's army could reach the city. Simultaneously, a punitive force of over 50,000 was assembled at Agra and launched towards the enemy. Unable to break Lahore's defences, Khusrau had no option but to turn and fight. 

The armies met on the north bank of the Ravi on April 27, 1606. Fighting in heavy rain, which turned the battlefield into a mud soup, the rebels were routed and Khusrau captured and brought before his father in chains. Jahangir's retribution was ruthless. The rebel soldiers and their commanders were impaled alive on stakes by the hundreds, and Khusrau forced to ride between the screaming men to witness their agony up close. 

A more fateful outcome was the summary execution of the Sikh Guru, Arjan Dev, whose only fault was to bless Khusrau on his way to Lahore; an act dictated purely by the canons of hospitality, and which in no way could be construed as supportive of the rebellion. The result was a scarring of the Sikh psyche that would reverberate for centuries. {Note that, accounts contest it was NOT Jahangir who got the Holy Saint executed.}

Khusrau's life was spared, but he was condemned to a fate almost as terrible. Either immediately after the rebellion or a year later, holding him complicit in a further plot against him, Jahangir ordered Khusrau blinded.

Related Posts : 

a. 2 HOURS that changed Mughal History | Death of Akbar - Victory of Jahangir - Defeat of Khusrau, Raja Man Singh & Mirza Aziz Koka | Story of treachery, loyalty & fluctuating fortunes - A detailed analysis from Portuguese account of 3rd Christian Mission at Mughal Court, Akbarnama, lesser known Persian histories & hitherto unknown Rajasthani (Jaipur) Manuscript | Part-2 of 3 part series

b. Akbar and His Chosen Heir: A Battle of Succession - Salim, Murad, Daniyal & Khusrau

Part-2 of this series will be posted soon. It will analyze the events which ultiamtely resulted in the murder of Prince Khusrau, along with the tussle between Mariam-Uz-Zamani Begum and Nur Jahan Begum and Co. regarding Khusrau.

This article has been posted under the Mughals(Akbar) & Miscellaneous topics section of this history Blog.

Note: 
Brief contents in this writeup have been borrowed from Mr. Aron R, and my friend Radhika who contributed to this.