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	{{short description\|Official and poet in the Mughal court}}		{{short description\|Official and poet in the Mughal court}}
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Adding short description: "Official and poet in the Mughal court" (Shortdesc helper)

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{{short description|Official and poet in the Mughal court}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mirza Zulqarnain
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = c. 1594
| birth_place =
| death_date = c. {{death year and age|1656|1594}}
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| nationality = Mughal Empire
| residence =
| education =
| alma mater =
| occupation = Official of the Mughal court
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| known for = Poetry and songs
| boards =
| salary =
| networth =
| spouse = Helen
| children =
| parents = [[Sikandar Mirza]] (died 1613) & Lady Juliana (died 1598)
| relations =
| website =
}}
'''Mirza Zulqarnain''' or '''Mirza Zul-Qarnain''' (c. 1594 – c. 1656) was a ''[[Diwan (title)|diwan]]'' and ''[[faujdar]]'' of Armenian descent in the court of the [[Mughal empire]].

He was brought up in the royal harem and, after being appointed to official posts, spent most of his career in Sambhar where he administered the lucrative salt pans there. He also served as governor in other parts of the empire. He was a noted poet and composer of Hindi songs.

==Early life and family==
[[File:Jesuits at Akbar's court.jpg|thumb|Akbar receiving the Jesuit missionaries (in black) [[Rodolfo Acquaviva]] and [[Francisco Henriques (Jesuit)|Francisco Henriques]] at the [[Ibadat Khana]] (House of Worship) in [[Fatehpur Sikri]]. Miniature by Nar Singh from the ''[[Akbarnama]]'', c. 1592–94.<ref>[https://www.historytoday.com/iris-macfarlane/akbar-and-jesuits Akbar and the Jesuits.] Macfarlane, Iris. ''History Today''. Originally published 7 July 1970. Retrieved 10 November 2018. {{subscription required}}</ref>]]
Mirza Zulqarnain was born around 1594,{{refn|group=note|He was about 19 at the time of his father's death in 1613 according to Husain.<ref name=jstor /> Born 1592 according to Seth.<ref name="Seth"/>}} the elder son of [[Sikandar Mirza]] (or Iskander/Alexander Mirza)<ref name="Seth"/> (died 1613), an Armenian merchant who travelled from [[Aleppo]] to [[Lahore]] during the reign of [[Akbar]] and joined his court.<ref name=jstor/> His mother, Lady Juliana (died 1598),<ref name=seth205/><ref group=note>Not to be confused with [[Lady Juliana of Agra]]</ref> was a doctor in Akbar's [[seraglio]] and the daughter of the Armenian chief justice [[Abdul Hai (chief justice)|Abdul Hai]].<ref name=seth93>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BlreO8bmK30C&pg=PA93 Seth, p. 93.]</ref> She was given to Sikandar by Akbar.<ref name="Seth"/>

He was originally named Alexander but given the name Mirza Zul-Qarnain by Akbar, Zul-Qarnain meaning "the two-horned" like [[Alexander the Great in the Quran|Alexander the Great]].<ref name="Seth">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BlreO8bmK30C&pg=PA3|title=Armenians in India, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day: A Work of Original Research|last=Seth|first=Mesrovb Jacob|author-link=Mesrovb Jacob Seth|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=2005|place=New Delhi|isbn=81-206-0812-7|pages=3}}</ref> Zulqarnain was brought up in the royal harem with one of his brothers until the age of 12<ref name=seth36>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BlreO8bmK30C&pg=PA36 Seth, pp. 36–37.]</ref> and thus got to know the royal children of the court including [[Prince Khurram]]<ref name=jstor/> and Shah Jahan.<ref name=Basil1969>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7SgQAQAAIAAJ&q=Mirza+Zulqarnain|title=Armenian Settlements in India: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day|last=Basil|first=Anne.|date=1969|publisher=Armenian College|place=Calcutta|language=en}}</ref>

Around 1590, he married Helen, for which a special dispensation was obtained from the Pope.<ref name=seth36/> They had three sons and a daughter.<ref name=seth14/> She died in 1638 and was buried in a mausoleum in her garden in Lahore.<ref name=seth205>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BlreO8bmK30C&pg=PA205 Seth, p. 205.]</ref>

==Career==
[[File:Shah Jahan accepts a falcon from Dara Shikoh.jpg|thumb|''Shah Jahan Accepts a Falcon From [[Dara Shikoh]]''. c.1630.<ref>[https://www.apollo-magazine.com/art-diary/rembrandt-and-the-inspiration-of-india/ Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India.] ''Apollo''. Retrieved 10 November 2018.</ref>]]
Zulqarnain spent most of his career in [[Sambhar Lake Town|Sambhar]] where he was a ''diwan'' of the [[Sambhar Salt Lake|salt pans]], a prestigious and lucrative post involving financial administration that had also been held by his father. He was also ''faujdar'' (provincial administrator or governor) there and ''faujdar'' of [[Bahraich]] from 1629 to 1633. In 1632 he presented five elephants to the Mughal Court as ''[[nazr]]''.<ref name=jstor/>

From 1642 to around 1648 he was serving with Shah Shuja in Bengal below the rank of ''subedar'' or ''hakim'' before returning as ''faujdar'' of Sambhar in 1649. He was a ''[[mansabdar]]'' and held the rank of ''panjsadi seh sad sawar'' on three occasions.<ref name=jstor/> He retired to Delhi on a pension of 100 rupees per day in 1654.<ref name=seth14/>

==Writing==
He was an accomplished poet, as attested by the ''[[Padshahnama]]'', and was praised by Emperor [[Jahangir]] as a composer of Hindi songs. He presented his poems at the court of [[Shah Jahan]] on special occasions such as the shah's accession and before [[Shahjahanabad]] (Old Delhi) was created capital of the empire.<ref name=jstor>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/44146996 "Mirza Zulqarnain - An Armenian Noble"] by Ruquiya K. Husain, ''[[Proceedings of the Indian History Congress]]'', Vol. 59 (1998), pp. 260–265. Via Jstor.org {{subscription required}}</ref>

==Christianity==
According to the 17th-century merchant [[Peter Mundy]], Zulqarnain was the "chiefest" Christian of the Mughal Empire.<ref>Husain, 1998, p. 263.</ref> He made donations to the church, helped in the compilation of chronicles, and retained his faith throughout his life as described by the 17th-century traveller [[Jean-Baptiste Tavernier]]: "The Armenian had been brought up with Shah Jahan, and as he was very clever and an excellent poet he was high in the good graces of the Emperor, who had given him valuable governorships, but had never been able, either by promises or threats to induce him to become a Mussulman [Muslim]."<ref name=jstor/>

One of the principal sources for his life is the accounts of the [[Jesuit Fathers]] who described him as the "Father of the Mogor Christians",<ref name=Basil1969/> in reference to the donations he made to the Jesuits there,<ref name=seth35>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BlreO8bmK30C&pg=PA35 Seth, p. 35.]</ref> and the "Pillar of Christianity in India".<ref name=Basil1969/>

==Death==
Zulqarnain probably died in 1656 and may have been buried with his mother and wife in the family mausoleum in Lahore.<ref name=seth14>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BlreO8bmK30C&pg=PA14 Seth, p. 14.]</ref> His father had left money in his will for the establishment of a "cemetery for the deceased Christians of Lahore" but no trace of Zulqarnain's interment has been found.<ref name=seth205/> He is included in the list of Mughal nobles for 1657 and 1658, raising doubt about the exact year of his death.<ref name=jstor/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References==
{{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zulqarnain, Mirza}}
[[Category:1590s births]]
[[Category:1650s deaths]]
[[Category:Indian people of Armenian descent]]
[[Category:Armenian Christians]]
[[Category:Indian Christians]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]
[[Category:Indian male poets]]
[[Category:Hindi-language culture]]
[[Category:Jaipur district]]
[[Category:Mughal Court]]

Mirza Zulqarnain - Revision history

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imported>Error: Adding short description: "Official and poet in the Mughal court" (Shortdesc helper)