Ali Mardan Khan
Ali Mardan Khan (died 2 April 1657) was a seventeenth-century military leader and administrator who served under the Safavid shahs Shah Abbas I and Shah Safi, and later the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. A Kurd of the Zig tribe, he inherited his father's governorship of Kandahar before defecting to the Mughals in 1638, handing over the strategically vital fortress to Shah Jahan. In Mughal service he rose to the highest rank in the nobility and became one of the era's most distinguished engineers and architectural patrons.[1][2]
Safavid service
Ali Mardan Khan was the son of Ganj Ali Khan, a prominent Safavid official who served as governor of Kerman, Sistan, and Kandahar under Shah Abbas I. Ganj Ali Khan was held in such high regard by the shah that he was given the appellation Bābā ("father"). When he died in 1624, Ali Mardan Khan inherited his father's positions.[1][3]
As governor of Kandahar, Ali Mardan Khan oversaw the restoration and fortification of the city's defences, which were perpetually contested between the Safavids and the Mughals. He also undertook civic building projects, including the construction of Bāg-e Nazar in Kandahar and a new fort on the summit of Mount Laka, which commanded the outer fortifications of the city.[2][3]
Defection to the Mughals
In 1632, Ali Mardan Khan began a series of correspondences with the Mughal court. The likely reason for his actions was fear of assassination by the new Safavid ruler Shah Safi, who had already caused the death or disappearance of several prominent individuals in the Safavid government. In March 1638, Ali Mardan Khan officially surrendered Kandahar and its fortress to Emperor Shah Jahan.[1][2]
The handover was highlighted in both Mughal and Safavid chronicles. Shah Jahan was so pleased that he sent Ali Mardan Khan 100,000 rupees and precious gifts. The surrender temporarily resolved the long-standing dispute between the two empires over Kandahar, which had changed hands multiple times since 1622.[2][3]
Mughal career
Ali Mardan Khan experienced a meteoric rise in Mughal government. In 1638 he was appointed governor of Kashmir, later also given the administration of Punjab. By 1643 he had become the highest-ranked noble in the Mughal nobility, reaching a rank of 7,000 zat (infantry) and 7,000 sowar (cavalry). He was honoured with the title Amir al-Umara ("lord of the lords"). In 1641 he was moved to the strategic post of governor of Kabul, which he held until his death.[1][2]
Shah Jahan held Ali Mardan Khan in such high esteem that on five recorded occasions the emperor visited his mansion. When Shah Jahan travelled through Kabul on his way to Balkh in 1646, he resided in Ali Mardan Khan's mansion for an entire month while the royal buildings of Kabul were not yet completed.[2]
As a military commander, Ali Mardan Khan served in Shah Jahan's wars against the Uzbeks, particularly in December 1649 when he commanded forces in the campaign.[2][3]
Engineering and architecture
Ali Mardan Khan was a civil engineer, architect, and architectural patron of exceptional ability. His most notable architectural feat was the creation of a canal that brought water from the Ravi River to the suburbs of Lahore — a distance of more than one hundred miles. This canal, known as the Shah Nahar, enabled the construction of the Shalimar Gardens, the most prominent garden of Mughal history.[2][3]
In Kabul, he built a covered bazaar that would later be known as the Char Chatta Bazaar, the city's finest commercial establishment. He also constructed bridges, canals, and gardens in Kabul, Peshawar, and Shahjahanabad (Delhi). His Iranian-style covered bazaar in Peshawar so impressed Shah Jahan that he ordered a replica built in his new capital.[1][2]
In Srinagar, he built the Chashme Shahi garden. In Kandahar, he had previously built multiple gardens including Bāg-e Nazar. A neighbourhood and bridge in Kabul also bore his name.[2][3]
Death and tomb
Ali Mardan Khan died on 2 April 1657 in Lahore while travelling to Kashmir. He was buried in an octagonal tomb in Mughalpura, Lahore, which was probably commissioned by him for his mother and later used for his own burial by his son Ibrahim Khan.[4] The tomb was constructed with traditional bricks faced with red sandstone, white and black marble, and kashi kari tile inlay. It featured a double dome, eight kiosks at the angular points, and fresco paintings — making it one of the most spectacular Mughal tombs of the period.[2][3][5]