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{{For|other people with similar names|Sheikh Farid|Murtaza Khan (disambiguation){{!}}Murtaza Khan}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Murtaza Khan
| image = Sheikh Farid Murtaza Khan.jpg
| caption = Portrait of Murtaza Khan
| office1 = Mir Bakhshi of the [[Mughal Empire]]
|term_start1= 1600
|term_end1 = 1616
|monarch1 = [[Akbar]]
|monarch2= [[Jahangir]]
| birth_name = Sheikh Farid Bukhari
| death_date = 1616
| resting_place = Serai Shahji, [[Delhi]]
| birth_place =
| allegiance = Mughal Empire
}}

'''Shaikh Farid Bukhari''' (died 1616),<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=- Portrait of Shaykh Farid known as Murtaza Khan|url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/1005038-aj/portrait-of-shaykh-farid-known-as-murtaza-khan|access-date=2021-07-22|website=www.rct.uk|language=en}}</ref> also known by the title '''Murtaza Khan''', was a leading [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] noble during the reign of the [[Mughal emperors]] [[Akbar]] and [[Jahangir]]. He served as governor of [[Gujarat Subah|Gujarat]] and later of [[Subah of Lahore|Punjab]]. He was also well known as an architectural patron in Mughal India,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Asher|first=Catherine B.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521267281|title=Architecture of Mughal India|date=1992-09-24|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26728-1|pages=156}}</ref> and founded the city of [[Faridabad]] in modern-day [[Haryana]], India.

==Background==
Shaikh Farid Murtaza Khan was an Indian Muslim.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Religion_and_Politics_in_India_During_th/IxluAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=murtaza+indian&printsec=frontcover |author= Mohammad Akram Lari Azad |date= 1990 |title= Religion and Politics in India During the Seventeenth Century |publisher= the University of Michigan }}</ref> His ancestors were likely learned men who had been given rent-free lands for their subsistence. One of them, Sayyid Abdul Ghaffar of Dehli, enjoined his descendants to adopt military profession instead of living on charity. Sheikh Farid's family had a long history of imperial service, such as his uncle Sheikh Muhammad Bukhari, who was one of Akbar's trusted men, and his brother Jafar Khan, who died fighting in Gujarat in 1573.<ref>{{cite book |title= Indian Muslims |url= https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Indian_Muslims/7KauAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=sheikh+muhammad+bukhari+mughal+mir+bakhshi&pg=PA265&printsec=frontcover |author= M. Mujeeb |date= 1967 |publisher= McGill-Queen's University Press }}</ref>

== Career ==
[[File:The Elderly Akbar Receives Murtaza Khan.jpg|thumb|left|Emperor Akbar receives Murtaza Khan.]]

Shaikh Farid was promoted to the command of 1500 horses by Akbar, for his achievements fighting against [[Afghans]] in [[Orissa]]. Akbar also bestowed upon him the title ''sahib-us-saif-w-al-qalm'' ('master of the pen and the sword').<ref name=":2">{{Citation|last=Singh|first=Pashaura|title=The Martyrdom Of Guru Arjan|date=2006-09-28|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195679212.003.0008|work=Life and Work of Guru Arjan|pages=205–235|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567921-2|access-date=2021-07-22}}</ref> In 1600,<ref>{{cite book |url= https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Indian_Muslims/7KauAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=sheikh+muhammad+bukhari+mughal+mir+bakhshi&pg=PA265&printsec=frontcover |title= The Indian Muslims |author= M. Mujeeb |date= 1967 }}</ref> he rose to the post of ''mir bakhshi'' under Akbar.<ref>{{Cite book|last=K.|first=Sharma, Praduman|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/231968849|title=Mughal architecture of Delhi : a study of mosques and tombs : (1556-1627 A.D.)|date=2000|publisher=Sundeep Prakashan|isbn=81-7574-094-9|pages=131|oclc=231968849}}</ref>

In the Mughal court there was a movement of [[Naqshbandi|Naqshbandis]] who had been trying to garner power in the hopes of supplanting the religiously erratic Akbar with a more stable and orthodoxly Muslim emperor. Du Jarric among the Jesuits at court described that Shaykh Farid had been sent as a representative of the orthodox faction to promise support of Prince Salim (future Mughal Emperor Jahangir), "provided that he would swear to defend the law of Mahomet". Shaykh Farid had been receiving letters from [[Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi]],<ref>{{cite book |url= https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Nur_Jahan_Empress_of_Mughal_India/R3nmCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=farid+bukhari++traditional+islam&pg=PA23&printsec=frontcover |title= Nur Jahan, Empress of Mughal India |date= 1993 |author= Ellison Banks Findly }}</ref> and was his devoted disciple.<ref>{{cite book |title= Sikh Gurus and the Indian Spiritual Thought |author= Tārana Siṅgha |date= 1981 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Sikh_Gurus_and_the_Indian_Spiritual_Thou/784XAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=devoted+disciple&printsec=frontcover |publisher= Publication Bureau, Punjabi University }}</ref>

After Jahangir's coronation, prince [[Khusrau Mirza|Khusrau]] rebelled in 1606 and fled [[Agra]], where he had been confined, towards the [[Punjab]]. Shaikh Farid pursued and defeated him at a battle near Bharowal. After Khusrau was later captured, Jahangir awarded Shaikh Farid the title 'Murtaza Khan' for his actions, and his rank was increased to 6000 horses.<ref name=":2" /> Jahangir also awarded him the site of the battle, Bharowal, as a land grant.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Faruqui|first=Munis D.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139135474|title=The Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504–1719|date=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-13547-4|location=Cambridge|pages=229}}</ref>

From 1606 to 1609, Shaikh Farid served as the governor of Gujarat under Jahangir.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Asher|first=Catherine B.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521267281|title=Architecture of Mughal India|date=1992-09-24|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26728-1|pages=136}}</ref> He later became the governor of Punjab.<ref name=":0" /> During this time, Jahangir gave him the infamous order of executing [[Sikh]] leader [[Guru Arjan]].<ref name=":2" />

== Architecture ==
Shaikh Farid was noted for his building activities in Mughal texts.<ref name=":1" /> A major undertaking was the establishment of [[Faridabad]] in 1607, to which he provided a [[caravanserai]] and mosque.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Alfieri|first=Bianca Maria|title=Islamic Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent|publisher=Lawrence King Publishing|year=2000|isbn=9781856691895|pages=237}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Faridabad {{!}} India|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Faridabad|access-date=2021-07-23|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> As governor of Gujarat, he constructed extensively in the city of [[Ahmedabad]]; however none of these structures remain, with the exception of [[Wajihuddin's Tomb]], the [[dargah]] of Sufi saint [[Wajihuddin Alvi]].<ref name=":4" /> He also contributed several religious structures to the city of [[Bihar Sharif]], and made additions to the [[Nizamuddin Dargah]] in Delhi.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Asher|first=Catherine B.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521267281|title=Architecture of Mughal India|date=1992-09-24|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26728-1|pages=141}}</ref><ref name=":3" />

== Tomb ==
Shaikh Farid's tomb is located in [[Malviya Nagar (Delhi)|Malviya Nagar]], Delhi, near a [[caravanserai]] constructed by him named Serai Shahji.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Breaking journey - Indian Express|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/breaking-journey/603583/2|access-date=2021-07-30|website=archive.indianexpress.com}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Mughal nobility]]
[[Category:Subahdars of Gujarat]]
[[Category:1616 deaths]]

Shaikh Farid Bukhari - Revision history

Rajaraj2050 at 08:15, 8 January 2026

imported>Gowhk8: Removed whitespace.