For the districts in Delhi, see Safdarjung (Delhi)

Safdarjung (Delhi)

Safdarjung area consists of mainly two localities in South Delhi, namely Safdarjung Enclave and Safdarjung Development Area...

.

Safdarjung (b. c. 1708 – d. 5 October 1754)

was the Subadar Nawab of Oudh from 19 March 1739 to 5 October 1754.

Life

Safdarjung was born as Muhammad Muqim in Khurasan

Greater Khorasan

Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...

, Persia and migrated to India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 in 1722.

Career

He succeeded his father-in-law and maternal uncle, the Burhan ul Mulk Saadat Ali Khan I to the throne of Oudh, apparently by paying Nadir Shah two crore

Crore

A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....

s of rupees. The Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah

Muhammad Shah

Muhammad Shah also known as Roshan Akhtar, was a Mughal emperor of India between 1719 and 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar Jahan Shah, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. Ascending the throne at 17 with the help of the Sayyid Brothers, he later got rid of them with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk Chin...

 gave him the title of "Safdarjung".

Safdarjung was an able administrator. He was not only effective in keeping control of Oudh, but also managed to render valuable assistance to the weakened Muhammad Shah

Muhammad Shah

Muhammad Shah also known as Roshan Akhtar, was a Mughal emperor of India between 1719 and 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar Jahan Shah, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. Ascending the throne at 17 with the help of the Sayyid Brothers, he later got rid of them with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk Chin...

. He was soon given governorship of Kashmir

Kashmir

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

 as well, and became a central figure at the Delhi court. During the later years of Muhammad Shah

Muhammad Shah

Muhammad Shah also known as Roshan Akhtar, was a Mughal emperor of India between 1719 and 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar Jahan Shah, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. Ascending the throne at 17 with the help of the Sayyid Brothers, he later got rid of them with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk Chin...

, he gained complete control of administration in the Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

. When Ahmad Shah Bahadur

Ahmad Shah Bahadur

Ahmad Shah Bahadur was born to Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah. He succeeded his father to the throne as the 15th Mughal Emperor in 1748 at the age of 22. His mother was Udhambai, . When Ahmed Shah came to power the rule of the Mughal Empire was collapsing...

 ascended the throne at Delhi, Safdarjung became his Wazir ul-Mamalik-i-Hindustan or Chief Minister of India. However, court politics eventually overtook him and he was dismissed in 1753.

After the accession of Ahmad Shah in 1748, he made sufdarjung his Chief Minister and gave him the charge of "Harem". He was also made the governor of Ajmer and became the "Faujdar " of Narnaul. This was fact that all the power of Mughal Empire was bestowed upon Safdarjung by the end of second half of 18th century. Apart from these responsibilities of Delhi Safdarjung has not neglected the Oudh and its prosperity, which he considered as his family property. Due to corrupt policy of Delhi court and confrontation with Ahmad Shah, he came to Oudh in Dec' 1753 AD, where he died in Oct'1755 AD at the age of 46 years.

Tomb

The Safdarjung's Tomb

Safdarjung's Tomb

Safdarjung's Tomb is a garden tomb with a marble mausoleum in New Delhi, India. It was built in 1754 in the late Mughal Empire style, and was described as "the last flicker in the lamp of Mughal architecture". The top storey of the edifice houses the Archaeological Survey of India...

, built in 1754 is now situated on a road known as Safdarjung Road

Safdarjung Road

Safdarjung Road is a main road, in New Delhi, India, named after 18th century Safdarjung's Tomb near it. At the north end, the road stretches from the junction of Teen Murti Marg, Akbar Road, Rajaji Marg and Racecourse Road, which is a roundabout...

, in New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

.

There are several other structures that carry his name today in the area, like Safdarjung Airport

Safdarjung Airport

Safdarjung Airport also is an airport in New Delhi, India, in the neighbourhood of the same name. Established during the British Raj, as Willingdon Airfield, it started operations as an airport in 1929, when was the India's second airport and Delhi’s only airport...

, Safdarjang Hospital

Safdarjang hospital

Safdarjang Hospital is a 1600 bed multi-specialty hospital, one of the largest government hospitals in India. It is located in New Delhi on the Ring Road, right opposite the All India Institute of Medical Sciences...

, Safdarjung Terminal, and a nearby residential neighbourhood of Safdarjung (colony)

Safdarjung (Delhi)

Safdarjung area consists of mainly two localities in South Delhi, namely Safdarjung Enclave and Safdarjung Development Area...

.

Timeline

External links

• The complete genealogy of Safdarjung can be found here.
• The National Information Centre in Lucknow maintains a page on him.
• Indiacoins has an article on Safdarjung here.
• Tomb of Safdarjung http://www.incredibledelhi.com/delhi-places-see/safdarjung-tomb.html.