The Malwa Subah was one of the original twelve Subahs (provinces) of the Mughal Empire, including Gondwana, from 1568-1743. Its seat was Ujjain. It shared borders with the autonomous and tributary chiefdoms in the east, as well as Berar, Kandesh, Ahmadnagar (Deccan), Gujarat, Ajmer, Agra, and Allahabad subahs.

Malwa Province
Malwa Subah
Province of Mughals
1568–1737

Malwa Subah depicted in map of Mughal Empire by Robert Wilkinson (1805)
CapitalUjjain
Area
 • Coordinates23°10′37″N 75°47′10″E / 23.177°N 75.786°E / 23.177; 75.786
Government
Subahdar 
• 1561
Adham Khan Koka (first)
• 1732 - 1737
Jai Singh II (last)
History 
• First conquered from Baz Bahadur
1561
• Established
1568
• Conquered by Maratha Empire
1737
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Malwa Sultanate
Maratha Confederacy
Today part ofIndia

History

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Before becoming part of the Mughal Empire, the Malwa region was an independent sultanate. Its last ruler, Baz Bahadur, was defeated and its capital, Mandu, was conquered in 1562 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s army led by Abdullah Khan, the Uzbeg.[1] He was appointed its first governor. In 1564 he was replaced by Qara Bahadur Khan. In 1568 it became a subah of Mughal empire.[citation needed] One of its last governors was Sawai Jai Singh, who was the governor of the Subah for three times, from 1714-17, from 1729-30 and from 28 September 1732 to 4 August 1737.[2] The Mughal hold on Malwa ended in 1743, when Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao obtained the formal grant of Naib-subahdari (deputy governorship) of Malwa.

Administrative divisions

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Malwa Subah comprised 12 sarkars (districts): Ujjain, Chanderi, Raisen, Garha Mandla, Sarangpur, Bijagarh, Mandu, Handia, Nandurbar, Mandsaur, Gagron and Kotri-Parava. These sarkars are further divided into 301 parganas. The city of Ujjain was the capital of the subah.[3]

The sarkars (districts) and the parganas (tehsils) of Malwa Subah were:

SarkarPargana
Ujjain10 parganas, Ujjain was the capital
Raisen32 parganas
Garha Mandla57 parganas
Chanderi61 parganas
Sarangpur24 parganas
Bijagarh29 parganas
Mandu16 parganas
Handia23 parganas
Nandurbar7 parganas
Mandsaur17 parganas
Gagron12 parganas
Kotri-Pirawa10 parganas

Mughal Subahdars (Governors) of Malwa (1561–1737)

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Personal Name[4]Reign
Conquest of Malwa from Baz Bahadur by the Mughal Emperor Akbar
Adham Khan Koka1561
Pir Muhammad Khan1561
Malwa retaken by Baz Bahadur
Abdullah Khan Uzbek1562 – 1564
Abdullah Khan Uzbek revolts; Malwa retaken by Emperor Akbar
Muhammad Quli Khan Barlas1564 – 1566
Shihab-ud-din Ahmed Khan1566 – 1568
Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan1568 – ?
Muzaffar Khan Turbati1573? – ?
Shihab-ud-din Ahmed Khan1574? – 1577?
Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan1577? – ?
Mirza Aziz Koka Khan-e-Azam1578? – 1590
Ahmed1590
Sultan Murad Mirza1590 – 1594
Mirza Shahrukh1594 – 1600
Sultan Daniyal Mirza1600 – 1604
Pir Khan Lodhi Khan Jahan II1627 – ?
Abdullah Khan Firoz Jang1657 – ?
Mukhtiyar Khan1697 – 1701
Abu Nasr Khan Shaista Khan II1701 – 1704
Sultan Bidar Bakht1704 – 1706
Ikhlas Khan Khan-e-Aalam1706 – 1707
Nijabat Khan1707
Abdullah Khan1707
Sawai Mirza Raja Jai Singh II1714 – 1717
Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk1719 – 1722
Girdhar Bahadur1722 – 1723
Azim-ullah Khan1723 – 1725
Girdhar Bahadur1725 – 1728
Sawai Mirza Raja Jai Singh II1729 – 1730
Muhammad Khan Bangash Ghazanfar Jang1730 – 1732
Sawai Mirza Raja Jai Singh II1732 – 1737
Conquered by Marathas under Baji Rao I in 1737

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). The Mughul Empire, Mumbai:Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-407-1, p.113
  2. ^ Sarkar, Jadunath (1984). A History of Jaipur, New Delhi:Orient Longman, ISBN 81-250-0333-9, pp.163-86
  3. ^ Abul Fazl-i-Allami (1949, reprint 1993). Ain-i-Akbari, Vol.II (English tr. by H.S. Jarrett, rev. by J.N. Sarkar), Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, pp.206-31
  4. ^ Eaton, Richard M. (1993). The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 325–6. ISBN 0-520-20507-3.