Birjesh Kumar at 20:57, 24 November 2025

2025-11-24T20:57:55Z

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{{Short description|Nawab of Farrukhabad from 1750 to 1771}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox royalty
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| name = Ahmad Khān Bangash
| title = [[Nawab]] of [[Farrukhabad]]<br>[[Amir-ul-Umara]]<br>[[Mir Bakhshi]]
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| image = Portrait of Ahmad Khan Bangash.png
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| caption = Nawab Ahmad Khan Bangash of Farrukhabad
| succession = [[Nawab]] of [[Farrukhabad]]
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| reign = 1750–1771
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| predecessor = Nawab Qaim Khan Bangash
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| successor = [[Diler Himmat Khan]]
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| birth_name = Ahmad Khan
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| death_date = 12 July 1771
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| consort = Dulhin Begum<br>Khair-un-nissa
| issue = {{plainlist|
*Mahmud Khan Bangash
*[[Diler Himmat Khan]]
*Dil Daler Khan Bangash
*Sitara Begum}}
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| house = [[Bangash#Bangash state of Farrukhabad|Bangash]]
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| father = [[Muhammad Khan Bangash]]
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| religion = [[Islam]]
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'''Muhammad Ahmad Khan Bahadur Ghalib Jang''' ({{langx|fa|احمد خان بنغاخ}}) or {{nowrap|'''Ahmad Khan Bangash'''}} ({{langx|fa|احمد خان بنگش}}) was a [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] nobleman and [[Nawab]] of [[Farrukhabad]] from the [[Rohilla|Rohilla Afghan]] [[Bangash]] dynasty.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YiYxDwAAQBAJ&dq=ahmad+khan+bangash+language&pg=PT205 |title= Shahnama:The Visual Language of the Persian Book of Kings |date=2017 |isbn= 9781351548915 |last1= Hillenbrand |first1= Robert }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xfo3AAAAIAAJ&dq=farrukhabad+indian+pathan&pg=PA118 |title=Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars:North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770-1870 |author= C. A. Bayly |date= 1988 |page=119 |isbn=9780521310543 }}</ref> He was the second son of [[Muhammad Khan Bangash]], a powerful [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] nobleman. He took part in the [[Third Battle of Panipat]] in 1761 against the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] led by [[Sadashivrao Bhau]].<ref name="panipat">{{cite book |last1=Sharma |first1=Suresh K. |title=Haryana: Past and Present |date=1 February 2006 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-8324-046-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6n7vV0eiS3YC&q=khan+and+panipat+%281761%29&pg=PA191 |language=en}}</ref>

He was a close friend of [[Imad-ul-Mulk]], the infamous [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Vizier|wazir]].<ref name="jstor">{{cite journal |last1=Askari |first1=Syed Hasan |title=Some Unpublished Letters of Raja Ramnarain Relating to Shah Alam's Invasions of Bihar |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=1939 |volume=3 |pages=979–1001 |jstor=44252447 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44252447}}</ref>
[[File:Probably Ahmad Khan Bangash.jpg|thumb|a [[Painting]] of Ahmad Khan Bangash at the [[Third Battle of Panipat]]]]

==Early life==
Ahmad Khan Bangash was the second son of [[Muhammad Khan Bangash|Ghazanfar Jang]] and the younger brother of Qaim Khan Bangash. His father [[Muhammad Khan Bangash]] was a powerful [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] nobleman who ruled a large domain in what is now [[Uttar Pradesh]], with his capital at [[Farrukhabad]].<ref name="awadh">{{cite book |last1=Bhasin |first1=Rakesh |title=Dastan-e-Awadh: A Momentous Journey from Faizabad to Lucknow |date=21 May 2018 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=978-1-64249-882-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lhbDwAAQBAJ&dq=Ahmad+khan+bangash&pg=PT53 |language=en}}</ref> Although his father Muhammad Khan, being a mere mercenary who was noted for his lack of Adab,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HkpnDwAAQBAJ&dq=ahmad+khan+bangash+indo+persian&pg=PT186 |title= The Indian Frontier Horse and Warband in the Making of Empires |publisher=Taylor & Francis|author=Jos Gommans|author-link=Jos Gommans |date=2017 |isbn= 9781351363563 }}</ref> was so illiterate that he did not understand a single word of either [[Persian language|Persian]] or [[Pashto]], Ahmad Khan was more accustomed to the Nawabi and Indo-Persian lifestyle of Delhi. He accompanied his father when it was required for him to translate from Persian.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-2TH8UYeAaoC&dq=ahmad+khan+bangash+indo+persian&pg=PA132 |title= The Rise of the Indo-Afghan Empire, C.1710-1780 |author=Jos J. L. Gommans |date=1995 |page=132 |isbn= 9004101098 }}</ref><ref name= "indo-afghan"/><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RBtCAQAAMAAJ&dq=could+not+understand+a+single+word+of+Persian,+due+to+which+he+had+to+be+accompanied+by+one+of+his+sons&pg=PA332|title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal:Volume 47|year=1878 |quote=Muhammad Khan, being a mere soldier, did not understand a single word of Persian, Turki or Pushtu |page=331 |publisher=Asiatic Society (Kolkata, India), Asiatic Society of Bengal }}</ref>

After [[Muhammad Khan Bangash]]'s death, his eldest son Kaim Khan Bangash inherited his domains. During the reign of his elder brother, [[Nawab]] Kaim Khan, he lived at the imperial [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] capital of [[Delhi]] for some time. He returned to [[Farrukhabad]] and took a farming lease of five [[parganas]], Sakrawah (a village) among others, from his brother Kaim Khan.<ref name="bangash"/>

However, instead of paying the revenue from his lands he spent it on a silver [[howdah]], a privilege which only Nawab Kaim Khan owned. Mahmud Khan Bakhshi, a courtier at [[Farrukhabad]] instigated Kaim Khan against his brother Ahmad Khan, a thousand cavalry were despatched to Sakrawah with orders to kill Ahmad Khan. Ahmad Khan escaped to Delhi, where he placed himself under the protection of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] nobleman [[Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung II|Ghazi ud-Din Feroze Jung]].<ref name="bangash">{{cite book |title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |date=1832 |publisher=Calcutta |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiat4811879asia/page/58/mode/2up?q=bangash&view=theater |page= 49-165 |chapter=The Bangash Nawabs of Farrukhabad: 1713-1857}}</ref>

==Accession==
Nawab Kaim Khan despised [[Safdar Jang]], the ruler of [[Awadh]] because of the [[Nawab of Awadh|Awadh nawabs]]' troubled relations with his father [[Muhammad Khan Bangash]]. Due to the scheming of [[Safdar Jang]], Kaim Khan, was killed in a battle at [[Badaun]] in 1749 against Dundi Khan of the [[Kingdom of Rohilkhand]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=evFFAQAAIAAJ&q=qaim+khan+rohilla+killed |quote=but the attempt ended in disaster as Qutb - ud - din was killed by the Rohillas ( under Dunde Khan a Rohilla chief |publisher=Government of Uttar Pradesh |title=Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Moradabad |year=1968 |page=49 }}</ref> Farrukhabad was formally annexed to [[Oudh State|Awadh]] and plundered.<ref name="ahmad">{{cite web |title=Nawab Ahmad Khan Bangash {{!}} The Indian Portrait |url=http://www.theindianportrait.com/artwork/nawab-ahmad-khan-bangash/ |website=The Indian Portrait |language=en}}</ref><ref name="awadh"/><ref name="bangash"/>

Ahmad Khan thus escaped from [[Delhi]] at midnight with the help of [[Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung II|Feroze Jang]], without receiving the Emperor's permission. He lived in poverty for some time at [[Farrukhabad]], until Rustam Khan Afridi among other [[Pathan]] chiefs, tired of [[Oudh State|Awadh]]'s tyranny, requested Ahmad Khan to reconquer the [[Bangash]] lands and become [[Nawab]].<ref name="first">{{cite book |last1=Srivastava |first1=Ashirbadi Lal |title=The First Two Nawabs of Oudh: A Critical Study Based on Original Sources |date=1933 |publisher=Upper India Publishing House |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h9pBAAAAIAAJ&q=ahmad+khan+bangash |language=en}}</ref><ref name="awadh"/><ref name="bangash"/> Ahmad Khan gathered an army of 10,000 and declared himself [[Nawab]] after re-capturing [[Farrukhabad]].<ref name="bangash"/>

==Reign==
Nawal Rai, the Hindu deputy of [[Safdar Jang]] personally marched to [[Farrukhabad]] to suppress the rebels. The Utara, the act of dismounting and fighting on foot to the death, was a peculiarity of Indian Muslims horsemen of which they were very proud, which William Irvine says specially affected Indians such as the [[Sadaat-e-Bara|Barha Sayyids]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gRsoAAAAYAAJ&dq=dismount+utara&pg=PA237 |title= The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration |author=William Irvine |date=1903 }}</ref> When Ahmad Khan Bangash met the army of Naval Rai, he was faced by the Rai's contingent of Barha Sayyids who had made Ahmad Khan's troops to flee from the battlefield. Disdaining to leave the place alive, Ahmad Khan practised the act of Utara or dismounting and had his soldiers tie their skirts of their heavy plaited coats (Jamaah) to fight to the death, cursing his men: "Have you brought me here only to see you run away".<ref name="JASBp63"/> At the Battle of Khudaganj on the night of 12 August 1750, Ahmad Khan's troops surprised Nawal Rai, the deputy of [[Safdar Jang]] and gained victory.<ref name="awadh"/><ref name="first"/><ref name="dictionary"/> [[Safdar Jang]] was furious at the [[Bangash]] rebellion and marched from [[Delhi]] to Marhara. On 13 September 1750, Ahmad Khan defeated [[Safdar Jang]] in a pitched battle at Ram Chatauni.<ref name="bangash"/> In 1750, a powerful coalition was against [[Safdar Jang]] at the Mughal court, which included Ahmad Khan Bangash, [[Nasir Jung]], [[Intizam-ud-Daulah]], [[Javed Khan Nawab Bahadur|Javed Khan]] and the [[Kingdom of Rohilkhand]]. However, the alliance fell apart after the death of [[Javed Khan Nawab Bahadur|Javed Khan]].<ref name="modern">{{cite book |editor1-last=Markovits |editor1-first=Claude |title=A History of Modern India, 1480-1950 |date=2002 |publisher=Anthem |isbn=9781843310044 |page=193,207 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzOmy2y0Zh4C&dq=Ahmad+Khan+Bangash&pg=PA193 |language=en}}</ref>

Ahmad Khan then laid siege to [[Allahabad]], which he was about to capture when [[Safdar Jang]] called in the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] under [[Malhar Rao Holkar]] and [[Jayappaji Rao Scindia]], the [[Bharatpur State|Jats]] under [[Suraj Mal]] and the [[Kingdom of Rohilkhand|Rohillas]] under [[Saadullah Khan of Rohilkhand|Nawab Saadullah Khan]] for help.<ref name="bangash"/><ref name="dictionary"/> After a string of defeats, Ahmad Khan fled to the north and was only able to return after promising half of his lands to the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] in 1752.<ref name="ahmad"/>

After his return to [[Farrukhabad]], Ahmad Khan soon became prosperous again and a school of painting developed under him.<ref name="painting">{{cite book |last1=Losty |first1=J.P. |title=Indian court painting |publisher=Forgelynch |url=https://www.forgelynch.com/_files/ugd/78856d_7ec73a1da7e24d3f86a8c4ab7a017661.pdf}}</ref> He began spending most of his time at the imperial court in [[Delhi]]. According to J.L. Gommans, he lived a luxurious life there and "started to pilfer precious books and paintings from the imperial stores".<ref name="indo-afghan">{{cite book |last1=Gommans |first1=Jos J. L. |title=The Rise of the Indo-Afghan Empire: C. 1710-1780 |date=1995 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-10109-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-2TH8UYeAaoC&q=Nawab+of+Farrukhabad |language=en}}</ref>
In 1756, Ahmad Khan cultivated a close friendship with the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] nobleman [[Imad-ul-Mulk]], who appointed Ahmad Khan as [[Amir-ul-Umara]] and [[Mir Bakhshi]] of the [[Mughal Empire]] on the dismissal of [[Najib-ud-Daula]].<ref name="jstor"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Tarikh e Aal e Muzaffar (Farsi) |url=https://archive.org/details/TarikhEAalEMuzaffarFarsi/page/n71/mode/2up?q=+%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86+%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%B4}}</ref><ref name="biography"/> Ahmad Khan became a leading figure in court owing to [[Imad-ul-Mulk]] and became the leader of the Indo-Afghan nobility.<ref name="indo-afghan"/>

In 1757, Ahmad Khan Bangash readily contributed valuable troops to the attack of [[Oudh State|Awadh]] under [[Nawab]] [[Shuja-ud-Daula]] by [[Imad-ul-Mulk]].<ref name="awadh"/>

In 1761, he supported the [[Durrani Empire|Durrani]] king [[Ahmad Shah Abdali]] against the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] in the [[Third Battle of Panipat]].<ref name="panipat"/> As a result, he received extensive territories in the Mian doab (in [[Uttar Pradesh]]) along with the [[Kingdom of Rohilkhand|Rohilla nawab]].<ref name="indo-afghan"/> Thus, Ahmad Khan recovered his territories lost to the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]].<ref name="ahmad"/>

Taking advantage of the [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] threat to his power, [[Nawab]] [[Shuja-ud-Daula]], the ruler of [[Oudh State|Awadh]], attacked [[Farrukhabad]] in 1762.<ref name="raj">{{cite book |last1=Garg |first1=Sanjay |title=The Raj and the Rajas: Money and Coinage in Colonial India |date=22 December 2022 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-82889-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0MudEAAAQBAJ&dq=Nawab+Ahmad+Khan+Bangash+of+Farrukhabad&pg=PT277 |language=en}}</ref>
In 1764, [[Nawab]] [[Shuja-ud-Daula]] requested the help of Ahmad Khan Bangash, [[Hafiz Rahmat Khan]] and other Indo-Afghan chiefs against the [[Company Rule in India|British East India Company]], who had been rapidly advancing on [[Oudh State|Awadh]] after their victory at the [[Battle of Buxar]]. Ahmad Khan and the other chiefs all declined to help due to fear of the [[Company Rule in India|British]].<ref name="elliot">{{cite book |last1=Elliot |first1=Henry Miers |editor1-last=Dowson |editor1-first=John |title=The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians: The Muhammadan Period |date=21 March 2013 |isbn=9781108055901 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7q0z7BdvyQC&dq=Nawab+Ahmad+Khan+Bangash+of+Farrukhabad&pg=PA221 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] invaded Ahmad Khan's domains once again in 1769, and he defended his kingdom with great difficulty.<ref name="raj"/> On 12 July 1771, Ahmad Khan Bangash passed away and was succeeded by his younger son [[Diler Himmat Khan]] as Nawab of [[Farrukhabad]].<ref name="ahmad"/><ref name="dictionary">{{cite book |last1=Buckland |first1=Charles Edward |title=Dictionary of Indian Biography |date=1906 |publisher=S. Sonnenschein |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvMRAAAAYAAJ&dq=Nawab+Ahmad+Khan+Bangash+of+Farrukhabad&pg=PA143 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="biography">{{cite book |last1=Beale |first1=Thomas William |title=An Oriental Biographical Dictionary |date=1894 |publisher=W.H. Allen |isbn=978-1-4047-0648-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zaoYAAAAIAAJ&dq=muhammad+khan+bangash&pg=PA268 |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Nawab Ahmad Khan Bangash seated with a woman on a terrace at night (6124539933).jpg|thumb|Nawab Ahmad Khan Bangash seated with a woman on a terrace at night]]
Ahmad Khan's first wife was Dulhin Begum, through whom he had his sons Mahmud Khan and Rustan Khan. Mahmud Khan greatly assisted his father in the re-conquest of [[Farrukhabad]] from [[Oudh State|Awadh]].

When one of Naval Rai's escorts tried to curse the men of Ahmad Khan in Pashto, they had heard his speech but did not understand its words, and required a translator to understand him.<ref name="JASBp63">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiat4811879asia/page/62/mode/2up?q=dismount |title= Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |date= 1832 |page=63 }}</ref>

Ahmad Khan married his fourth wife Khair-un-nissa around 1756. Khair-un-nissa was the adopted daughter of Yakut Khan, one of Ahmad Khan's salves and reportedly a descendant of [[Khan Jahan Lodi|Khan Jahan Khan Lodi]], the principal [[Afghans|Afghan]] noble during the reign of [[Mughal emperor]] [[Shah Jahan]].<ref name="house">{{cite book |last1=Gommans |first1=Jos |title=The Indian Frontier: Horse and Warband in the Making of Empires |date=22 December 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-36356-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HkpnDwAAQBAJ&dq=Nawab+Ahmad+Khan+Bangash+of+Farrukhabad&pg=PT171 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Abid - The Decapitation of Khan Jahan Lodi (3 February 1631) |url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/1005025-q/the-decapitation-of-khan-jahan-lodi-3-february-1631 |website=www.rct.uk |language=en}}</ref> Khair-un-nissa was sixteen when he married her; they had a son around 1757-1758, who was named Diler Himmat Khan. Later, [[Diler Himmat Khan]] succeeded him as Nawab of [[Farrukhabad]].<ref name="bangash"/>

The celebrated [[Urdu]] poets, Mirza Sauda and Mir Soz were in the employ of Ahmad Khan Bangash.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/journalofasiat4811879asia/page/162/mode/2up?q=mahratta |title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |page=162 }}</ref>

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |date=1832 |publisher=Calcutta |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiat4811879asia/page/58/mode/2up?q=bangash&view=theater |pages= 49–165 |chapter=The Bangash Nawabs of Farrukhabad: 1713–1857}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category: People from Farrukhabad]]
[[Category: Nawabs of India]]
[[Category:Mughal Empire people]]
[[Category: 1771 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian people of Pashtun descent]]

Ahmad Khan Bangash - Revision history

Birjesh Kumar at 20:57, 24 November 2025