The Malwa Subah (Persian: صوبه ملوا) 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
29 March 1561
• Established
1568
24 December 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:

Sarkar Pargana
Ujjain 10 parganas, Ujjain was the capital
Raisen 32 parganas
Garha Mandla 57 parganas
Chanderi 61 parganas
Sarangpur 24 parganas
Bijagarh 29 parganas
Mandu 16 parganas
Handia 23 parganas
Nandurbar 7 parganas
Mandsaur 17 parganas
Gagron 12 parganas
Kotri-Pirawa 10 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 Koka 1561
Pir Muhammad Khan 1561
Malwa retaken by Baz Bahadur
Abdullah Khan Uzbek 1562 – 1564
Abdullah Khan Uzbek revolts; Malwa retaken by Emperor Akbar
Muhammad Quli Khan Barlas 1564 – 1566
Shihab-ud-din Ahmed Khan 1566 – 1568
Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan 1568 – ?
Muzaffar Khan Turbati 1573? – ?
Shihab-ud-din Ahmed Khan 1574? – 1577?
Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan 1577? – ?
Mirza Aziz Koka Khan-e-Azam 1578? – 1590
Ahmed 1590
Sultan Murad Mirza 1590 – 1594
Mirza Shahrukh 1594 – 1600
Sultan Daniyal Mirza 1600 – 1604
Pir Khan Lodhi Khan Jahan II 1627 – ?
Abdullah Khan Firoz Jang 1657 – ?
Mukhtiyar Khan 1697 – 1701
Abu Nasr Khan Shaista Khan II 1701 – 1704
Sultan Bidar Bakht 1704 – 1706
Ikhlas Khan Khan-e-Aalam 1706 – 1707
Nijabat Khan 1707
Abdullah Khan 1707
Sawai Mirza Raja Jai Singh II 1714 – 1717
Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk 1719 – 1722
Girdhar Bahadur 1722 – 1723
Azim-ullah Khan 1723 – 1725
Girdhar Bahadur 1725 – 1728
Sawai Mirza Raja Jai Singh II 1729 – 1730
Muhammad Khan Bangash Ghazanfar Jang 1730 – 1732
Sawai Mirza Raja Jai Singh II 1732 – 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.