Roshan-ud-Daulah
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Roshan-ud-Daulah, known by his original name Khwaja Muzaffar Panipati and the title of Turra-i-Baz Roshan-ud-Daulah Zafar Khan,[1] was the Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Muhammad Shah.[2] He was known by the nickname Turra-i-Baz (falcon's crest) as Roshan-ud-Daula and all his men wore their turbans in the same way, with an end sticking out.
Roshan-ud-Daulah was an Indian Muslim descendant of the Naqshbandi Khwajas,[3][4] and was a native of Panipat.[5] His father, Khwaja Fathullah, was married to the sister of Sarbuland Khan, a Sayyid who was the Mir Bakhshi of Aurangzeb.[6] His ancestors gained positions in the time of Aurangzeb as the religious mentality had turned in favour of the Naqshbandis and the seeds of Ahmad Sirhindi's teachings had grown both in the subcontinent and central asia.[7]
In the reign of Farrukhsiyar, he replaced Khan-i Dauran in charge of the duties as the deputy Bakhshi of Ihtisham-ul-Mulk Barha the Mir Bakhshi,[8] one of the Sayyid Brothers. He was part of Hussain Khan Barha's campaign against Ajit Singh and returned to court with the news of Ajit Singh's submission on May 1714, being rewarded with the title Fidwi-i-Farmanbardar.[9] His daughter was married to the son of the Asaf Jah I, which was celebrated at Aurangabad.[10] Another daughter was married to Banda Ali Khan,[11] the daughter's son of Sher Afkan Panipati, the son of Abdur Razzaq Ansari.[12] In 1718 he was the Bakhshi of the Ahadis,[13] the personal guard cavalry of the Emperor Farrukhsiyar.[14] He was friendly to the Sayyids, while at the same time professed to be zealous for the Emperor. He made all efforts he could to bring both parties to an agreement.[15]
In the reign of Muhammad Shah, he was appointed Wazir succeeding Qamar-ud-Din, as Muhammad Shah resolved to break the power of the "Chin" group of nobles and had dismissed Qamar-ud-Din from Wizarat.[16] Zafar Khan was the most powerful noble in Muhammad Shah's court,[17] and part of the king's intimate circle of nobles along with Shah Abdul Ghafur of Thatta.[18] According to Ashob, like Khan-i Dauran, Ashob considered himself an Indian Muslim, and his armed retinue and following consisted almost exclusively of Indian Muslims.[19] Although he was a Hindustani, he formed his own faction with Sher Afkan Khan(brother of Lutfullah Khan Panipati),[20] and did not side with the Indian Muslim Amir-ul-Umara, Khan-i-Dauran. He was related by marriage to the Nizam of Hyderabad, but did not side with him against Khan-i-Dauran.[21][22] The new Wazir Roshan-ud-Daulah was disgusted at the dilly-dally approach of Muhammad Shah and his neglect in official duties.[23] However, Zafar Khan was also a corrupt official.[24]
Ashob states that Roshan-ud-Daulah had amassed more wealth than what the Pharaoh dreamed to possess, writing that Zafar Khan's house looked like a mountain of gold, and that it appeared as if streams of gold were flowing from productive lands of the empire into the villas of the nobles.[25] He was later found guilty of misappropriation of funds and was dismissed from his post,[26] after he was accused of corruption by the Amir-ul-Umara, Khan-i Dauran.[27] along with his brother Fakhr-ud-Daula, the governor of Bihar.[28] It is said that Muhammad Shah had also been suspicious of Roshan-ud-Daulah for his marriage alliance with the Nizam in the Deccan, which also contributed to his downfall.[29] The faction of Roshan-ud-Daulah was supplanted by the clique of Khan-i-Dauran Samsam-ud-Daulah and his brother Muzaffar Khan until their deaths at 1739.[30]
