JillianCogburn at 02:13, 28 May 2025

2025-05-28T02:13:54Z

New page

{{Infobox royalty
| name = Abdullah Khan Barha<br><br>Sayyid Miyan I
| title = [[Nawab]] of [[Ajmer Subah|Ajmer]] <br> Nawab of [[Bijapur#Bahmani and Bijapur Sultanates|Bijapur]]
| titletext = Sayyid Miyan I
| more =
| type =
| image = A portrait of abdullah khan from padshahnama folio.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| succession = [[Subahdar]] of [[Ajmer Subah|Ajmer]]
| moretext =
| reign = ? – 1710
| reign-type =
| successor = [[Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha|Abdullah Khan II]]
| succession1 = [[Subahdar]] of [[Bijapur Subah|Bijapur]]
| reign1 = 12 September 1686 – ?
| predecessor = ''Position established''
| birth_date = 
| birth_place = [[Jansath]], [[Mughal Empire]]
| death_date = 
| death_place = [[Ajmer]], [[Mughal Empire]]
| burial_date =
| burial_place = [[Ajmer]]
| spouse =
| spouse-type =
| issue = {{plainlist|
* [[Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha|Nawab Sayyid Hassan Ali Khan]] ''(later, Sayyid Mian II and Abdullah Khan II)''
* [[Nawab Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha|Nawab Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan]]
* Nawab Sayyid Najmuddin Ali Khan
* Sayyid Saifuddin Khan
}}
| regnal name = Sayyid Mian
| house = [[Barha Dynasty]]
| father = Nawab Ghulam Muhammad Khan Barha
| religion = [[Shia Islam]]
| module =
}}
'''Nawab Sayyid Abdullah Khan I''' also known as '''Sayyid Mian I''', was the father of [[Hassan Ali Khan Barha]] and [[Hussain Ali Khan Barha]], the two famous [[Sayyid Brothers]]. His full name was Sayyid Abdullah Khan Tihanpuri, Tihanpur was the ancestral village of this branch of [[Sayyid]]s in [[Patiala district|Patiala]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ma'asir al-Umara of Shahnavaz Khan Aurangabadi, Vol. 2, English |url=https://www.mughallibrary.com/ebooks2020/Ma%27asir-al-Umara-of-Shahnavaz-Khan-Aurangabadi,-Vol.-2,-English |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=MUGHAL LIBRARY |page=376 |language=en |quote=His full name was Saiyid 'Âbidullâh Khân Tihanpürî alias Saiyid Miyân}}</ref>

Sayyid Mian, was a loyal serviceman of [[Aurangzeb]], he became famous as a commander during the [[Siege of Bijapur]] for planning the trenches and leading assaults during the Siege of Bijapur. Due to his services he was appointed the first [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Subahdar]] of [[Bijapur, Karnataka|Bijapur]].

== Ancestry ==
Syed Mian belonged to the [[Barha dynasty]], who claimed to be descendants of Muhammad, or [[Sayyids]], this claim was always dubious.{{sfn|Kolff, Dirk H. A.|2002|p=18}}{{sfn|Reichmuth, Stefan|2009|p=4}} Emperor [[Jahangir]], although noting that people questioned their lineage, considered their bravery as a proof of their claims.{{sfn|Kolff, Dirk H. A.|2002|p=18}} They took much pride in their Indian ancestry,{{sfn|Reichmuth, Stefan|2009|p=4}} and according to the American historian [[Richard M. Eaton]], were "as native to India as were [[Jats]], [[Rajputs]] or [[Marathas]]."<ref>{{Cite book |author=Eaton, Richard M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WpCMEAAAQBAJ |title=India in the Persianate Age: 1000-1765 |date=2020 |publisher=National Geographic Books |isbn=978-0-14-198539-8 |language=en|page=342|quote=On one side were the Saiyid brothers, whose Baraha clan of Indian Muslims was as native to India as were Jats, Rajputs or Marathas.}}</ref> [[Dirk H. A. Kolff]] writes that they were of peasant origins, the ancestors had moved at an uncertain date from their homeland in [[Punjab]] to a barren region in [[Muzaffarnagar district]] of [[Uttar Pradesh]].{{sfn|Kolff, Dirk H. A.|2002|p=18}}

By the time of the [[Aurangzeb|Emperor Aurangzeb]], the dynasty was firmly regarded as "Old Nobility" and enjoyed the unique status of holding the premier realms of [[Ajmer]] and [[Deccan Plateau|Dakhin]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Irvine |first1=William |title=The Later Mughals |date=August 2012 |isbn=978-1290917766 |page=203}}</ref>

== Biography ==
[[File:The Decapitation of Khan Jahan Lodi.jpg|thumb|The Decapitation of Khan Jahan Lodi by Khan-i Jahan Muzaffar Barha on the left and Syed Mian on the right|left]]
Abdullah Khan Barha served in the succession war between [[Aurangzeb]] and his Brother [[Dara Shukoh|Dara Shikoh]], on the side of Dara. After Dara's defeat, the Emperor Aurangzeb pardoned Abdullah Khan and allowed him to continue his military service in allegiance to him.

Abdullah Khan rose to fame during the [[Siege of Bijapur]] and afterwards was made the first Subedar of [[Bijapur]]. He later came to be made the Subedar of [[Ajmer]] and granted the title of "Sayyid Mian" by the Emperor Aurangzeb. His sons [[Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha|Hassan Ali Khan]] and Hussain Ali Khan served with the Imperial Prince of [[Azim-ush-Shan|Azim-U-Shan]] son of the Imperial Prince [[Bahadur Shah I|Mu'azzam]]. After helping Mu'azzam ascend to the throne of Delhi as [[Bahadur Shah I|Bahdur Shah I]]. The new emperor awarded the bravery of the brothers for their service in the Battle of Agra, 1707, by giving them the Subedari of [[Allahabad]] and latter [[Patna]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nevill |first1=H.R. |title=Muzaffarnagar Gazetteer |journal=District Gazieter of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh |date=1920 |volume=III |page=163}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
===Sources===
* {{Cite book |author=Kolff, Dirk H. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SrdiVPsFRYIC&dq=barha+sayyids&pg=PA18 |title=Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850 |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52305-9 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |author=Reichmuth, Stefan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GoCCBAAAQBAJ&dq=barha+sayyids&pg=PA4 |title=The World of Murtada Al-Zabidi: 1732-91 Life, Networks and Writings |date=2009 |publisher=Gibb Memorial Trust |isbn=978-0-906094-60-0 |language=en}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan Barha, Abdullah}}
[[Category:18th-century Mughal Empire people]]
[[Category:17th-century Mughal Empire people]]

Abdullah Khan Barha - Revision history

JillianCogburn at 02:13, 28 May 2025