Saadat Khan, also known as Burhan-ul-Mulk, founded the autonomous principality of Awadh. Saadat Khan was the son of Muhammad Nasir. At the age of 25, he accompanied his father on the last campaign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb against the Maratha in the Deccan, and the emperor bestowed the title of Khan Bahadur on him in recognition of his service. This article will explain to you about Saadat Khan (1722-39) which will be helpful in Modern Indian History preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Saadat Khan - Early Life

• Khan's birth date has not been recorded. According to historians Khan was born about 1680 as Mir Muhammad Amin.
• Mir Muhammad Nasir, a businessman from Khorasan, was his father.
• Mir Muhammad Baqar Khan was Khan's elder brother. Mir Shamsuddin, a sayyid (descendant of Muhammad) and Kazi (Islamic judge) at Nishapur, was one of their forebears.
• He was a twenty-first-generation descendant of Musa al-Kadhim, Shia Islam's seventh imam.
• No historian has documented any of Khan's early life occurrences.
• Saadat Khan belonged to the Shia sect. He had participated in a plot against the Sayyid brothers, which resulted in an enhanced mansab.
• After being pushed out of the court, he was inspired to establish a new independent state.
• He was the faujdari (garrison commander) of Bayana at the start of Emperor Muhammad Shah's reign.
• During the Battle of Bhopal, he attempted but failed to rescue the trapped Mughal Army.
• In the Battle of Karnal against Nadir Shah, he was one of the commanding Mughal generals.
• During the battle, Sa'adat Khan was captured and died the night before Nadir Shah massacred Delhi on March 19, 1739.
• He was interred in the mausoleum of his brother-in-law Sayadat Khan in Delhi.

Saadat khan

Saadat Khan - Governor of Akbarabad

• On 15 October 1720, Khan was raised to the rank of 6,000 zat and 5,000 horsemen and named governor of Akbarabad province (present-day Agra).
• He was given the title Burhan-ul-Mulk and Nilkanth were designated as his deputy.
• Khan chose to put down a Jat uprising when he arrived at Akbarabad, and he crushed the Jats of Mathura and Bharatpur.
• They retreated to their mud forts along the Delhi-Mathura highway. Khan besieged them and took control of four of the forts.
• In September 1721, Nilkanth's army was defeated by Mukkam Singh (the son of Jat chieftain Churaman), and Nilkanth was slain in the battle.
• Khan chose to confront Churaman in October.
• Badan Singh, Churaman's nephew, deserted to the Mughal side. Khan Dauran, on the other hand, removed Khan as governor of Akbarabad.

Saadat Khan - Governor of Awadh

• After the transfer of provincial governor Girdhar Bahadur, he was appointed governor of Awadh (in modern-day Uttar Pradesh) on September 9, 1722.
• Before leaving for the province, Khan gathered his troops, including Kalika Prasad Tandon, and recruited more.
• He stayed in Farrukhabad during his journey. The Afghan chief of the city, Muhammad Khan Bangash, informed him of Shaikhzadas' strength (a community which ruled Lucknow).
• Before entering Lucknow, he advised Khan to make friends with the Kakori sheikhs, who were enemies of the Shaikhzadas.
• Khan did so, and the sheikhs briefed him on the Shaikhzadas of Lucknow's strengths and weaknesses.
• He then marched to Lucknow and camped on the outskirts of the city.
• The zamindars of Awadh refused to follow Mughal regulations at the start of Khan's governorship.
• Khan sent agents to assess crop yields in order to solve Awadh's fiscal and jagirdar problems.
• Except for the zamindars, no one (including local officials) seemed to like his plan, and jagirdar agents tried to stop it from being implemented.
• Khan's scheme was viewed by the jagirdar's amils (personal staff) as an attempt by Khan to subvert the existing jagirdar system.
• This concerned him because he didn't want to offend the jagirdars. In response, he offered the jagirdars a discount on the jagir assessment.
• This system is referred to as ijara by Saiyad Ghulam Ali, author of Imad-us-Sadat.

Saadat Khan v/s Nader Shah

• Nader Shah, the Persian ruler, invaded India in early 1739. Khan marched with a cavalry of 30,000 men from Awadh to assist Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.
• Nader Shah's army tried in vain to intercept him during his stay in Panipat. Khan joined Muhammad Shah's forces at Karnal on February 12th.
• When Nader Shah learned of the reinforcements, he relocated his camp three miles away from the Mughal line.
• Shah's army fired arrows at Khan and his men, prompting Khan to charge. The Persian army retreated strategically, leaving their weapons behind.
• Khan mistook them for fugitives and dispatched couriers to the Mughal emperor, requesting reinforcements.
• The Persian army then launched a cavalry attack against Khan's army, killing many of his men.
• Khan's nephew, Sher Jung, became enraged and pursued Khan into the Persian ranks, shooting arrows at him in vain.
• Khan was recognized by a Turkmen soldier in the Persian army from Nishapur, Khan's birthplace, who climbed to the howdah (elephant's seat), greeted Khan, and asked him to surrender. Khan was taken to Nader Shah's camp as a prisoner.
• Due to pressure from Nadir Shah, who demanded a large booty from him, Saadat Khan committed suicide.
• As Nawab of Awadh, he was succeeded by Safdar Jang.

Conclusion

Muhammad Nasir, a merchant from Khurasan, had a son named Saadat Ali Khan. He was given the title of Burhan-ul-Mulk and became the governor of Akbarabad. Mughal influence in Awadh was reduced by Burhan-ul-Mulk. During the Nader Shah invasion, Saadat Ali Burhan-ul-Mulk played a crucial role. In the Battle of Karnal, he was one of the commanding Mughal generals. Because of his humiliation and shame, Saadat Khan committed suicide.