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{{Short description|Foreign Minister of the Sikh Empire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Fakir Azizuddin
|image = Fakir Azizuddin.jpg
|imagesize =
|smallimage =
|caption = Faqir Aziz ud-Din
|order = [[Foreign minister]] of the [[Sikh Empire]]
|term_start =
|term_end = 1791
|predecessor = Zahadat Shah
|successor = Abdullah Syed
|birth_date = 1780
|birth_place = [[Lahore]], [[Bhangi Misl]], [[Sikh Confederacy]] <br> {{small|(present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]])}}
|death_date = 3 December 1845 (aged 65)
|death_place = [[Lahore]], [[Sikh Empire]] <br> {{small|(present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]])}}
|constituency = [[Sikh Empire]]
|party =
|spouse =
|children = Shah Dilzar Khan
|profession =
|signature =
|footnotes =
|occupation=Foreign Minister, [[Physician]], [[Linguist]], [[Diplomat]]
| blank1 = Religion
| data1 = [[Shia Islam]]
}}

'''Fakir Aziz ud-Din''' ({{lang-pa|{{nq|فقیر عزیزالدین}}}} {{small| ([[Shahmukhi]])}}; {{lang|pa|ਫ਼ਕੀਰ ਅਜ਼ੀਜ਼ ਉੱਦੀਨ}} {{small|([[Gurmukhi]])}}; 1780–1845) was a physician, linguist, diplomat, and foreign minister at the court of [[Maharaja Ranjit Singh]].<ref name=eos>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/ |title=AZĪZ UD-DĪN, FAQĪR (17801–845) |last1=Aijāzūddīn |first1=F. S. |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=13 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508213214/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/ |archive-date=8 May 2014 |df= }}</ref> He belonged to a [[Sayyid]] family. A Muslim and in one of many non-[[Sikhs]] in Ranjit Singh's [[secular]] government of the [[Sikh Empire]].

He was the eldest son of Hakīm Ghulām Mohy ud-Dīn and had two brothers, Nūr ud-Dīn and Imām ud-Dīn. Both had senior military posts in the empire. He was apprenticed as a physician, and was originally known by the title ''Hakīm'' (physician). Later in life he adopted the title ''Fakir'' (beggar), as a mark of humility, that title appearing in British correspondence after 1826.<ref name=eos/>

His first contact with Ranjit Singh was as a physician. The Maharaja was impressed by his medical skill and proficiency in languages – Arabic, Persian and English – and granted him a jagir and a position at court. His first major assignment was to assist the Maharaja in the negotiations with the British which led to the [[Treaty of Amritsar, 1809]]. Between 1810 and 1838 there followed a great number of diplomatic assignments and tasks as an interpreter. The Maharaja had complete trust in him and rewarded him with honours and jagirs.<ref name=eos/>

Aziz ud-Din continued in the service of the Sikh Empire after the death of Ranjit Singh.
In December 1839 he represented Maharaja [[Kharak Singh]] on a mission to the British Governor-General, [[George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland|Lord Auckland]]. In 1842, on behalf of Maharaja [[Sher Singh]], he welcomed the new Governor-General, [[Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough|Lord Ellenborough]], at Firozpur. He remained scrupulously aloof from the factional intrigues which had overtaken the Empire after Ranjit Singh's death.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/biographies/muslims-rulers-and-sufi-saints/aziz-ud-din-faqir |title=AZIZ UD-DIN, FAQIR |publisher=The Sikh Encyclopedia
|accessdate=14 April 2014}}</ref>

Saddened at the turn events had taken and by the death of two of his sons, Aziz ud-Din died in [[Lahore]] on 3 December 1845, aged 65.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azizuddin, Fakir}}
[[Category:1780 births]]
[[Category:1845 deaths]]
[[Category:Sikh Empire]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:People from Lahore]]

{{Sikh-bio-stub}}

Fakir Azizuddin - Revision history

UpdateBot at 01:07, 1 December 2021