Man Singh I: Difference between revisions

{{use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}

{{use Indian English|date=March 2016}}

| title       = [[Raja|Mirza Raja]] of [[Jaipur State|Amber]] ii

| image       = Raja Man Singh.jpg

| alt         = Raja Man Singh I

| caption     = Raja ManSingh I of Amer

| reign       = 10 Dec 1589 – 6 Jul 1614

| predecessor = [[Bhagwant Das]]

| successor   = [[Bhau Singh]]

| birth_date = 21 December 1550

| birth_place = [[Amer, India|Amer]], [[Rajputana]], [[Mughal Empire]] <small>(present-day Amer, [[Rajasthan]], [[India]])</small>

| death_date = {{death date and age|1614|7|6|1550|12|21|df=y}}

| death_place = [[Ellichpur]], Mughal Empire <small>(present-day [[Achalpur]], [[Maharashtra]], India)</small>

| spouse     = {{plainlist|

* Bibi Mubarak (1564–1638)

*  Maharani Sahodra Gaud ( 1565-1614)

| issue       = {{plainlist|

* Raja [[Bhau Singh]] (1580–1621)

* Kunwar Jagat Singh (1586–1620)

| father     = [[Bhagwant Das]]  

| mother     = [[Rani Bhagwati Bai]]

| religion   = [[Hinduism]]

'''Raja Man Singh''' ('''Man Singh I''') (21 December 1550 &ndash; 6 July 1614) was the [[Kachwaha]] [[Raja]] of [[Amer, India|Amer]], a state later known as [[Jaipur]] in [[Rajputana]]. He was a trusted general of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Akbar]], who included him among the [[Navaratnas]], or the nine (''nava'') gems (''ratna'') of the royal court of Akbar.<ref>[http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D00702051%26ct%3D237%26rqs%3D302%26rqs%3D309%26rqs%3D310 30. Ra´jah Ma´n Singh, son of Bhagwán Dás - Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007092053/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D00702051%26ct%3D237%26rqs%3D302%26rqs%3D309%26rqs%3D310 |date=7 October 2016 }} [[Ain-i-Akbari]], Vol. I.</ref><ref>[http://www.mapsofindia.com/who-is-who/history/raja-man-singh.html Raja Man Singh Biography] India's who's who, www.mapsofindia.com.</ref> Man Singh fought sixty-seven important battles in Kabul, Balkh, Bukhara, Bengal and Central and Southern India. He was well versed in the battle tactics of both the Rajputs as well as the Mughals.<ref name=FO>{{Cite book|first=Rima|last=Hooja|title=Rajasthan, a concise history|publisher=Rupa Publications India|year=2018|pages=322|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=CfmEswEACAAJ&dq=rajasthan+rima+hooja&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y|quote=Man Singh took part in as many as sixty-seven important military campaigns and battles....Man Singh became familiar with traditional Rajput as well as Mughal technique of warfare and tactics.}}</ref>

[[File:Akbar Fights with Raja Man Singh.jpg|thumb|left|Akbar and Man Singh playing "Kushti".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://warfare.uphero.com/Moghul/Akbar/Akbar_Fights_with_Raja_Man_Singh-large.htm |title=Akbar Fights with Raja Man Singh |date=c. 1600 |work=A copy of the Akbarnama}}</ref>]]

He was the son of Raja [[Bhagwant Das]] and his Rani Bhagawati of Amer.<ref>Harnath Singh Dundlod, ''Jaipur and Its Environs'' (1970), p.7</ref> He was born on Sunday, 21 December 1550.  He was about eight years younger than Mughal Emperor Akbar who was born on 15 October 1542.

Initially known as ''Kunwar'' (prince), Man Singh received the title of ''[[Mirza]]'' [Raja] and the ''[[mansabdar|mansab]]'' (rank) of 5000 after the death of his father on 10 December 1589 from [[Akbar]].<ref>Sarkar, Jadunath (1984, reprint 1994). ''A History of Jaipur'', New Delhi: Orient Longman {{ISBN|81-250-0333-9}}, p.74</ref> On 26 August 1605, Man Singh became a [[mansabdar]] of 7,000, i.e., a commander of 7,000 cavalry in the Mughal forces, which was the maximum command for anyone other than a son of the Mughal emperor and the guardian of [[Khusrau Mirza|Khusrau]], the eldest son Jahangir.<ref>Sarkar, Jadunath (1984, reprint 1994). ''A History of Jaipur'', New Delhi: Orient Longman {{ISBN|81-250-0333-9}}, p.86</ref> [[Akbar]] called him ''Farzand'' (son). He fought many important campaigns for [[Akbar]]. Kunwar Man Singh led the [[Mughal Army]] in the well-known [[battle of Haldighati]] fought in 1576 against the [[Kingdom of Mewar]] and for his reestablishment of Jagannaath Temple of Puri,Orissa.<ref>Beveridge H. (tr.) (1939, Reprint 2000). ''The Akbarnama of Abu´l Fazl'', Vol. III, Kolkata: The Asiatic Society, {{ISBN|81-7236-094-0}}, p.244</ref>

 

Man Singh was sent by Akbar to [[Maharana Pratap Singh]] to make a treaty with Akbar and accept Mughal sovereignty. However Pratap, as a grandson of [[Rana Sanga]], considered the Mughals as foreign invaders on Indian soil; he refused to accept Akbar's sovereignty and called the emperor a lowly ''Turk''.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.21517 |title = Military History of India| publisher=Orient Longmans |last1 = Sarkar|first1 = Sir Jadunath|year = 1960}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC |title = Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II|isbn = 9788124110669|last1 = Chandra|first1 = Satish|year = 2005}}</ref>

Man Singh was appointed by Akbar to lead the Mughal Army against the kingdom of Mewar . Man Singh started from [[Ajmer]] on 3 April 1576.

In the [[Battle of Haldighati]], Maharana Pratap had 18,000 horsemen, some elephants and 400 [[Bhil]] warriors under [[Rana Poonja]]. A small artillery unit was also with him under [[Hakim Khan Sur]]. The force was divided into five wings. The advance wing was under [[Hakim Khan Sur]], Bhim Singh Dodiya and Ramdas Rathore. The right wing was under [[Bhamashah]] and [[Ramshah Tanwar|Maharaja Ramshah Tanwar]]. The left wing was under Jhala Man Singh. Rana Pratap was in the centre. Behind him was [[Rao Poonja]] with his [[Bhil]] warriors.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.21517 |title = Military History of India| publisher=Orient Longmans |last1 = Sarkar|first1 = Sir Jadunath|year = 1960}}</ref>

While on the other side The Mughal army was heavily outnumbered and had                    80,000 horsemen, infantry and some elephants. Among the horsemen, 30,000 were [[Kachwaha]] Rajput warriors,  and the rest 60,000 were [[Uzbeks]], [[Tajiks]], [[Kazakhs]], [[Sayyid]]s and other [[Turkic peoples]] . This force was divided into five wings. There were two advance wings. The first was under Sayyid Hashim Barha, son of [[Sayyed Mahmud Khan]], Jagannath Kachwaha and Asaf Ali Khan. The second advance troop was under Madho Singh Kachwaha. Behind this was Man Singh. To his right was Mulla Qazi Khan and to his left were [[Saadat-e-Bara|Sayyeds of Barah]]. At first Rana Pratap attacked and scattered the advance and left wings of the Mughal army. Jagannath Kachwaha killed Ramshah Tanwar and Rajput warriors of both sides engaged in a fierce battle. Maharana Pratap’s army lost to The Mughal army led by Man Singh.

In 1580 CE, some prominent Muslim officers of Akbar, displeased with his liberal religious policies, started to conspire against him. Qazi Muhammad Yazdi declared it the duty of every Muslim to rebel against Akbar. In [[Bihar]] and [[Bengal]] they declared [[Mirza Muhammad Hakim|Mirza Hakim]], Akbar's stepbrother and Governor of [[Kabul]], to be the emperor. Akbar sent armies to [[Bihar]] and [[Bengal]] to crush this rebellion, while he himself started towards Kabul; Man Singh with him. On 8 March 1581, Akbar reached [[Machhiwara]] and soon arrived on the banks of [[River Indus]], he then sent an advance force led by Man Singh to Kabul. Although, Akbar's army was hesitating to cross the swelling Indus River, Man Singh was able to cross it first followed by troops. Hearing the news Mirza Hakim fled to Gurband. Following the army, Akbar himself arrived at Kabul on 10 August 1581. Hakim was pardoned by Akbar, but his sister [[Bakht-un-Nissa Begum|Bakhtunissa Begum]] was appointed Governor of Kabul. After Akbar returned to [[Fatehpur Sikri]]; Bakhtunissa remained as the nominal head of state, while Hakim acted as the governor (Hakim died in July, 1582). Kabul was annexed by the Mughal Empire and Man Singh was appointed governor. He remained in Kabul for some years and built a fortress, used by succeeding Mughal governors. Man Singh brought many talented men with him when he returned from Kabul. Some of their descendants still live in [[Jaipur]].{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

Again in 1585 CE, some [[Afghan]] tribes rose against the Mughal empire. The [[Yusufzai]] and "Mandar" tribes were the main ones among them. Akbar sent an army under Zain Khan, Hakim Abul Fateh and [[Raja]] [[Birbal]] to control these revolting tribes. However,  they failed to control the revolting Afghans and Raja Birbal, friend of Akbar and one of his [[Navratnas]] was also killed in the battle with Afghans. Akbar then sent [[Raja Todar Mal]] to crush the revolt and called Raja Man Singh to help Todar Mal. Todarmal had some success in controlling  the rebellious Afghan tribes, but the real source of the revolt was behind the [[Khyber Pass]]. It was hard to cross this pass which was dominated by Afghan "Kabailies". Man Singh was accompanied by "Rao Gopaldas" of [[Nindar]] in this expedition, who bravely made way for Mughal army in the pass. After crossing the pass Man Singh decisively defeated five major tribes of Afghans including Yusufzai and "Mandar" tribes. The flag of Amber was changed from "Katchanar" (green climber in white base) to "Pachranga" (five colored) to commemorate this victory. This flag continued in use until accession of Jaipur state in India. This permanently crushed the revolt and the area remained peaceful thereafter.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

In 1586 CE, Akbar sent another army under [[Raja Bhagwant Das]], father of Kunwar Man Singh to win [[Kashmir]]. Kashmir was included in the Mughal Empire and made a Sarkar (district) of Kabul province. Man Singh and his father Raja Bhagwant Das are reputed to have brought the technology of cannon production to Amber.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

When Akbar had conquered Delhi, many of his Afghan enemies had fled to the refuge of the eastern Raja's. Man Singh was sent by Emperor Akbar to bring the rebel Raja's to submission. Man Singhs first target was Raja Puranmal of Gidhaur whose fort was easily conquered by the Kachwaha army. Puranmals treasury was captured and his daughter was married to Man Singhs brother Chandrabhan Kachwaha. Man Singh continued his campaign and defeated the raja's of Gaya and Kargpur, both of them were forced into submission and paid tribute to the emperor. Some Afghan nobles of Bengal tried to invade Bihar during Man Singhs occupation, but were soundly defeated by Man Singhs son Jagat Singh. The invaders left their loot and fled back to Bengal, the spoils of war and 54 elephants were sent to the emperor. Abul Fazl has described Man Singhs campaign in Bihar in the following words. "The Raja united ability with courage and genius with strenuous action".<ref>Akbarnama III pg.872</ref><ref>Rajasthan Through the Ages Vol III, By R.K. Gupta, S.R. Bakshi pg.3-4</ref>

Man Singh after conquering Bihar was ordered to defeat the Afghan Sultan Qatlu Khan Lohani of Orissa, Man Singh set out for Orissa on April 1590, Jagat Singh Kachwaha was sent with an advance army to study the area, however he was attacked by Sultan Qatlu Khan and was badly defeated, several notable commanders of Amber were killed, including Bika Rathor, Mahesh Das and Naru Charan. Jagat was saved by  Raja Hamir Singh and escaped to the fort of Vishnupur. Qatlu however died after 10 days and the Afghans under his son Nasir Khan surrendered to Man Singh. Nasir bowed before Man Singh and promised to read the Khutba and stamp coins in the name of emperor Akbar. He further ceded lands and gave a tribute of 150 elephants. After this success Man Singh returned to Bihar. The Afghans however rebelled against Nasir after his regent Isa Khan died. The Afghans captured the lands that had been ceded and started another rebellion. Man Singh was once again forced to march to Orissa. On 9 April 1592, the two armies met near Jaleswar city and after a bloody fight Man Singh defeated the Afghans, Man singh followed the fleeing Afghans and forced the Afghan leaders to accept Mughal overlordship. The remaining Afghan chieftains fled to the Hindu Raja's of Orissa. Man Singh attacked these Raja's and captured several forts with ease and forced them to surrender, the strongest of these Raja's, the Raja of Khurda however refused and was pressed by Man Singh, several of his cities and forts were captured after which the Khurda Raja shut himself in his capital fort. Akbar denounced this rough behaviour towards such an ancient dynasty and ordered Man singh to show leniency after which the Khurda Raja surrendered and offered his daughter to Man Singh in marriage. The conquest of Orissa was thus complete. Man Singh was called to Lahore where the crown prince Salim personally received him and he was given robes of condolence by the emperor for his fathers death. Man Singh presented to the emperor three sons of Quatlu Khan Lohani and 2 nobles of Orissa.<ref>Rajasthan Through the Ages Vol III, By R.K. Gupta, S.R. Bakshi pg.4-6</ref>

[[Prince Salim]] was born, but he soon became addicted to alcohol and [[opium]]. He disobeyed royal orders and became infamous for torture such as murdering [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak|Abul Fazal]]. Akbar tried hard to reform him as well as his eldest son [[Khusrau Mirza]]. Two of Akbar's sons, Murad and Danial, died in his lifetime. The royal court was divided into two factions, one favoring Khusrau and the other Salim to be the next emperor. Raja Man Singh and [[Mirza Aziz Koka]] were in Khusrau's favour. In 1605, when Akbar fell ill, he appointed Salim to be his heir. Though Man Singh opposed Salim's accession to the throne during Akbar's lifetime, he never opposed Jahangir (Salim) after his coronation. After [[Akbar]]'s death, [[Jahangir]] (Salim) became emperor. Man Singh was initially sent as [[Subahdar]] of Bengal on 10 November 1605 for a short period, but soon he was replaced by Qutb-ud-Din Khan Koka on 2 September 1606.<ref>Sarkar, Jadunath (1984, reprint 1994). ''A History of Jaipur'', New Delhi: Orient Longman {{ISBN|81-250-0333-9}}, pp.86-87</ref> Jahangir also ordered removal of some of the modifications which had been made by Raja Man Singh to his palace at [[Amer, Rajasthan|Amber]]. But in 1611 CE, the southern provinces of [[Ahmednagar district|Ahmednagar]], [[Berar Province|Berar]] and [[Khandesh]] defied Mughal sovereignty under [[Malik Ambar]]. [[Jahangir]] sent Raja Man Singh and others to crush the revolt.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Man Singh died a natural death on 6 July 1614 at [[Ellichpur]]. Following his death, he was succeeded by his son Mirza Raja [[Bhau Singh]]. His direct descendants became known (to this date) as the [[Rajawat]]s who had the privilege to the [[throne]] of [[Amber, India|Amber]] and subsequently [[Jaipur]].{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Raja Man Singh was a devotee of [[Shri Krishna]]. He had a seven-storied temple of Krishna constructed for Srila [[Rupa Goswami]], disciple of [[Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu]], in [[Vrindavan]]. The cost of construction was one crore rupees at that time. The four-storey temple is still present at [[Vrindavan]]. He also constructed a temple of Krishna at his capital, [[Amer, Rajasthan|Amber]]. The place is now known as "Kanak Vrindavan" near Amber Ghati of Jaipur. He constructed the temple of Shila Devi at Amber Fort. He also constructed and repaired many temples at [[Benaras]], [[Allahabad]] and various other places. He added much beautification to his palace at [[Amer, Rajasthan|Amber]]. When Akbar called a meeting of his nobles at Fatehpur Sikri in 1582, to discuss [[Din-i-Ilahi]], [[Raja Bhagwant Das]] was the only man to oppose this religion. Later, Man Singh also refused to convert to [[Din-i-Ilahi]]. It is believed his son Jagat Singh I received education from Goswami [[Tulsidas]] and Man Singh himself used to attend his religious lectures. [[Tulsidas]] was a contemporary of Akbar and author of [[Ramcharit Manas]], known as Tulsi Ramayana, and much other famous poetry devoted to [[Rama]] and [[Hanuman]].{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

[[Category:1540 births]]

[[Category:Akbar]]

[[Category:Traitors in history]]