Kingsmen of Golconda ; Prime ministers and nobles

Kingsmen of Golconda : prime ministers and nobles

    The Golconda kingdom attracted many traders,merchants, artists,intellectuals and scholars from faraway lands like Persia. Many of them entered the service of the Qutub Shahi kings. Some of them became prime ministers and held many high posts in the government. Historians have mentioned them in their narrations of Golconda.

•  Mir Jumla Musatafa Khan(1550-1565) 

          His origin was from Persia and he migrated to Golconda and joined the army. He rose to become an Amir. Along with a few more Amirs  he received Mohammed Ibrahim,youngest son of Sultan Quli on the outskirts of the kingdom with an army. He invited him to ascend to the throne. All this was in 1550. Ibrahim soon became the Sultan and he was made Mir Jumla Mustafa Khan soon after. He displayed great  political talent and wisdom to bring about some unity among the Deccan Sultans of Bijapur, Golconda and Ahmadnagar. However Mustafa Khan seemed to have acted independently in the handing over of the land between rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra to the Adil Shahis. This angered Nizam Shah who complained about him to the Golconda Sultan and ensured his exit from Golconda. He was asked to leave to Mecca with his personal belongings which included pearls,gems, camels and men. However he went to Bijapur and stayed there for 12 years. He was not favoured by the prime-minister of Bijapur,Kishwar Khan, and was was surreptitiously murdered in a forest in 1577.

•    Meer Shah Meer (1579-1582)

   His name was Meer Taqi and he was from Persia. He too came to Golconda for better prospects. He joined the service of the Qutub Shahis under Sultan Ibrahim Qutub Shah and by 1579 he became a commander in his army. He took possession of the Kondaveedu Fort in April, 1579. The title Meer Shah Meer was conferred on him by the Sultan. and Meer Taqi's daughter was engaged to the Sutan's second son and crown prince Hussain Quli. However circumstances changed and Mohammad Quli the Sultan's third son became the king. Golconda lost at Naldurg, Bijapur though the new king himself joined the invading armies. In 1682 the Sultan dismissed Meer Taqi and sent him back with his daughter. He died a broken hearted man on the way.

•    Mir Momin Astarabadi (1585-1624)

  Mir Momin Astarabadi was from Astarabad in Persia (Iran).  He was from a family of scholars and his family had instilled him with qualities like discipline and civility. He worked as a tutor to the imperial crown prince, Hyder Mirza but  as the prince died unexpectedly followed by his father Tahmasp Safavi; he left Persia and went to Mecca. Finally he came to Golconda in 1580 when Sultan Mohammad Quli was its ruler. 

     Mir Momin was teaching theology and lecturing in mosques and soon became well known in Golconda. He was of the Shia faith and was soon spotted by the Sultan who appointed him as his Peshwa in 1585.  Mir Momin was the chief architect of the city of Hyderabad. He is buried in Daira-e-Mir Momin which was developed by him as a graveyard during his lifetime.

        




Mir Momin Astarabadi.

• Shaikh Mohammad Ibn-e-Khatoon (1629-1649)

   He was first a minister and ambassador in 1615 A.D. under the 6th Sultan Mohammad Qutub Shah. He went to Persia and returned to Golconda after the Sultan's death. He was made Peshwa in 1628. He died on his way to Mecca. However his body was brought to Hyderabad and he is buried near Purani Haveli at Hyderabad.      

• Mir Jumla Muhammad Sayeed (1643-1656) 

               He was from Isfahan in Persia. He came to Golconda as a trader and became a wealthy diamond merchant. He later joined the service of the Sultan to become a general and was a appointed as governor of Karnatak. However he fell out with the Sultan when his son Mohammad Ameen was arrested. He appealed to Mughal Emperor Shahjahan; Aurangzeb attacked Golconda in 1656. Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah entered into a peace treaty. His son was released. He joined the Mughals and died as a governor of Bengal. A tank in Hyderabad is named after him.

    

Mir Jumla Muhammad Sayeed,painting,17th century,Golconda.

By Golkonda Painters - http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=265604&partid=1&searchText=mughal&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&numpages=10&images=on&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx&currentPage=87, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17783132

• Neknam Khan

    He was a prime minister in the Qutub Shahi reign, his original name was Raza Quli and he had come from Persia. He became Neknam Khan for his loyalty during the rebellion of Muhammad Sayeed. He was scholarly, a poet and an administrator. He was an accomplished general who commanded 40,000 troops. He was posted in the Karnatak province during the reign of Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah. He died in 1672. His tomb is at the necropolis at Ibrahimbagh in Hyderabad.

• Khairat Khan

     He was first ambassador under Sultan Abdullah to Persia.He returned in 1634 and was made a minister.He died in 1655. He is buried at Gowlipura in Hyderabad.

• Musa Khan

   Musa Khan was a mahaldar  and a general during the reign of Sultan Adullah. He built the Musa Burj at the Golconda Fort and the Toli Masjid. He defended the fort during the first attack by the Mughal forces in 1656. He was later disloyal and was confined in 1674.

• Syed Muzaffar

    He was close to the royal family of Persia. He was the first minister of Sultan Abul Hasan Tana Shah. He was later dismissed because of disloyal acts. He is buried at Hari- Bowli in Hyderbad.

• Madanna and Akanna

    Madanna was a Hindu from Hanamakonda. The family had links with the Qutub Shahi rulers. Madanna was made peshwa under Abdullah Qutub Shah. Later he became dewan (1674-1686) under Sultan Tana Shah. His brother Akanna assisted him as his secretary. Both were killed in a conspiracy.

References :

• The Qutub Shahi prime ministers/Rao,Bhoopala,K.V, Hyderabad : Mahamantri Madanna Trust,1992. 
• M.A.Nayeem/The heritage of the Qutub Shahis of Golconda and Hyderabad,Hyderabad: Hyderabad Publishers,2006.

Posted by :

Soma Ghosh

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