Murad Baksh

Murad Baksh
Mughal Prince
House	Timurid
Father	Shah Jahan
Mother	Mumtaz Mahal
Died	1661
Religion	Islam

Murad Baksh (died 1661) was the youngest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and empress Mumtaz Mahal^[1], he was the Subedar of Balkh until he was replaced by his brother Aurangzeb in the year 1647.

In 1657 he proclaimed himself emperor after reports that his father had died, during the same year he received the Ottoman ambassador Manzada Husain Agha, who arrived in the port of Surat and was on his way to meet Shah Jahan in Agra. Manzada Husain Agha mentions his disappointed regarding the wars between Shah Jahans sons.^[2]

Murad Baksh joined hands with Aurangzeb to defeat Dara Shikhoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan. In fact it was the ferocious charge led by Murad Baksh and his Sowars that eventually turned the outcome of the battle in favor of Aurangzeb during the Battle of Samugarh. The following year while he was in a tent with his brother Aurangzeb, he was intoxicated and was secretly sent to the prison in Gwalior Fort where he faced a trial that sentenced him to death for having murdered former Diwan clerk named Ali Naqi, in 1661. Aurangzeb then replaced Murad Baksh as the Subedar of Gujarat and placed Inayat Khan as the new Mughal commander of Surat.

In 1661, after 3 years in prison, he was executed.^[3][4] With the last of his brothers now dead, Aurangzeb soon became the undisputed emperor of the Mughal Empire.

See also

• Shah Jahan
• Mughal–Safavid War (1649–1653)

References

1. ^ The Indian Empire - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 2, p. 402.
2. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=uB1uAAAAMAAJ&q=husein+agha#search_anchor
3. ^ The Rediscovery of India: A New Subcontinent - Ansar Hussain Khan
4. ^ Sháh-Jahán-námas - The History of India

Persondata
Name	Murad Baksh
Alternative names
Short description	Mughal Empire emperor
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	1662
Place of death