1. Fath Khan, written as Fateh Khan, was a 17th-century political figure of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, a historical principality spanning the Western Deccan region in the Indian subcontinent.
24 Facts About Fath Khan
1. 2.
Fath Khan was the eldest son of Malik Ambar, the Peshwa of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate.
3.
Fath Khan succeeded his father as the Sultanate's de facto ruler after the latter's death in 1626, and served as Peshwa until his imprisonment in 1633.
4.
Fath Khan's tenure, lasting less than a decade, spanned the eclipse days of the kingdom; it was characterised by internal strife and political pressure from the Mughal Empire.
5.
Fath Khan played a key role in the kingdom's collapse by defecting to the Mughal Empire, and killed the ruler Burhan Nizam Shah III in the name of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
6.
Fath Khan was the eldest of Malik Ambar's two sons, the younger being Changiz Khan.
7.
Malik Ambar trained Fath Khan to be his natural successor as de facto ruler of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate.
8.
Fath Khan arranged Fath Khan's marriage to the daughter of Yaqut Khan, a leading Adil Shahi commander who was of Ethiopian extraction.
9.
Fath Khan's appointment was not well received by Deccani and Habshi groups at court, resulting in defections to the Mughal Empire.
10.
Fath Khan sought the support of an influential Ethiopian noble named Hamid Khan; however, the latter aspired to build his own power base.
11.
Burhan Nizam Shah hoped that Fath Khan could help forge peace with the Mughals, but Fath Khan instead opened negotiations with Shah Jahan, willing to cede the Berar and Balaghat regions.
12.
Fath Khan secretly resisted impending Mughal invasion by collaborating with local groups to block the roads, but his willingness to engage the Mughal emperor alarmed the Nizam Shahi nobility.
13.
Fath Khan was promptly imprisoned by Burhan Nizam Shah and Hamid Khan at Junnar.
14.
Fath Khan was then defeated by Hamid Khan and his forces, and imprisoned at Daulatabad by Hamid Khan and Burhan Nizam Shah.
15.
Fath Khan's unpopularity contributed to further desertion, such as that of the noble Muqarrab Khan.
16.
Fath Khan simultaneously put to death twenty-five leading members of the court, and reopened negotiations with Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, offering to recognize Mughal sovereignty.
17.
Shah Jahan responded asking Fath Khan to prove the sincerity of his claims, upon which Fath Khan put Burhan Nizam Shah to death, and installed the king's 10-year-old son as ruler Husayn III.
18.
Publicly, Fath Khan claimed he was not responsible for Burhan's death.
19.
Fath Khan struck coins and had the khutba read in Shah Jahan's name, symbolising Mughal sovereignty.
20.
In return, Fath Khan received some of the jagirs of Shahaji Bhonsle, a Mughal officer; this prompted the latter to desert the Mughals.
21.
Fath Khan now resolved to defend the fort of Daulatabad from the Mughal army.
22.
Fath Khan was then brought to Agra along with Husayn Nizam Shah, where he surrendered before Shah Jahan.
23.
Fath Khan was pardoned by the Mughal emperor; his jagirs were restored to him, and he received an allowance of two lakh rupees.
24.
Fath Khan later retired to Lahore, and died a natural death.