Shahbaz Khan

Shahbaz Khan a man of the Kambu tribe of Lahore whose real name was Shahrullah. His sixth ancestor was Haji Ismail, a disciple of the renowned saint Bahauddin Zakariya of Multan. He entered Mughal service during the time of akbar, drew the attention of the emperor and was elevated to the rank of an Amir. In 1572 he was appointed Mir Bakhshi (Paymaster-General) and the title of 'Shahbaz Khan' was conferred on him.

On 18 May 1583 Shahbaz Khan was appointed subahdar of Bengal. His main task in Bengal was to subdue masum khan kabuli, isa khan and their allies. On 15 November 1583, he defeated Masum Khan Kabuli and compelled him to flee to Bhati while Jabbari, an ally of Masum Khan, fled to Kooch Bihar. Taking this opportunity Shahbaz Khan occupied Ghoraghat and Sherpur Murcha, two outposts of the rebels. Shahbaz Khan then turned his attention towards Bhati. In 1584, he led an expedition against Isa Khan, initially achieved some success and even ravaged katrabo, Khizirpur, sonargaon and egarasindhur. But finally, suffering disastrous defeats in the battles of Egarasindur and Bhawal at the hands of Isa Khan and his allies, he was forced to turn back to Tanda. In 1586, rejuvenated with reinforcements sent by Akbar, Shahbaz Khan again marched towards Bhati and forced Isa Khan to come to an understanding with the Mughals.

In November 1586, Shahbaz Khan was appointed Bakhshi (Paymaster) of Bengal in which capacity he served for two years before leaving Bengal in 1588. He died on 11 November 1599 at Ajmer at the ripe age of over 70 years. [AA Sheikh Md Asrarul Hoque Chisti]