Mirzā Isfandiyār Khān Bēg (Persian: اسفندیار خان بیگ, Bengali: ইসপেন্দিয়ার খান বেগ), was the Mughal faujdar of Sylhet Sarkar from 1663 to 1665.

Isfandiyar Khan Beg
Faujdar of Sylhet
In office
1663–1665
MonarchAurangzeb
GovernorMir Jumla II, Shaista Khan
Preceded byLutfullah Shirazi
Succeeded bySyed Ibrahim Khan
Personal details
Parent
  • Allah Yar Khan (father)
The entrance of Pailgaon Zamindar Bari

Early life

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Isfandiyar's father was Mirza Allah Yar Khan (also spelt Ilahyar, Allahyar or Ilah Yar) and his grandfather was Iftikhar Khan Turkmen (also known as Iftiyar), both of whom took part in Islam Khan I's battle at Daulambapur, South Sylhet against Khwaja Usman in 1612.[1] Iftiyar died in this battle. Emperor Jahangir granted jagir to Allah Yar Khan, who died in 1650.[2]

Career

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Shah Jalal's mausoleum.

Following Mir Jumla II's conquest of Cooch Behar, Isfandiyar Beg was put in charge of governing the area and defeated the previous ruler, Pran Narayan. According to a sanad from Dhar Chowdhury of Pailgaon, Isfandiyar Beg had revenues in Sylhet in 1658.[3]

Isfandiyar Khan succeeded Lutfullah Shirazi as Faujdar of Sylhet in 1663. Isfandiyar was known to have destroyed the Adina Mosque replica in Sylhet town because the imam started Eid al-Adha prayers without waiting for him. However, after its destruction, Isfandiyar attempted to build another mosque in Dargah Mahalla. The ruins of this mosque can be seen today, behind the trees near the Dargah Gateway. Isfandiyar also officially recognised Shaykh Pir Bakhsh as the rightful khadim (guardian) of Shah Jalal's dargah, a descendant of Haji Muhammad Yusuf who was the dargah's first guardian.[4]

Isfandiyar granted land to Shah Kamal Estate of Durmut in Jamalpur.[2] Khan was succeeded by Syed Ibrahim Khan in 1665.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Nathan, Mirza (1936). Baharistan-i-Ghaibi. p. 23.
  2. ^ a b Syed Murtaza Ali (1965). Hazrat Shah Jalal O Sileter Itihas. pp. 92–94.
  3. ^ Syed Mohammad Ali (1900). "A chronology of Muslim faujdars of Sylhet". The Proceedings Of The All Pakistan History Conference. Vol. 1. Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society. pp. 280.
  4. ^ Chowdhury, Mujibur Rahman (2 October 2019). "গৌড়-বঙ্গে মুসলিম বিজয় এবং সুফি-সাধকদের কথা". Sylheter Dak. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
Political offices
Preceded by
Governor of Cooch Behar
1658-1663
Succeeded by
Preceded by Faujdar of Sylhet
1663-1665
Succeeded by