Mirza Aziz Koka acknowledged the achievements of Sher Shah Sur

by

Mirza Aziz Koka, foster-brother and childhood playmate of Mughal emperor Akbar, praised Sher Shah Sur in a 1611’s letter written to Emperor Jahangir as follow;

“Sher Shah Afghan, who was not a ‘malak’ (angel) but a ‘malik’ (king), established such a stable government that his memory is still alive. He turned Hindustan into a garden and the kings of Iran and Turan developed a desire to see it. Hazrat Arsh Asyani (Akbar Badshah) continued Sher Shah’s regulations for fifty years without changing them”. [Maktubat-i-Khan-i-Khanan wa Gwaliornama as quoted by Iqtidar Husain Sidiqqui]

It is a rare instance of high-ranking Mughal acknowledging the achievements of Sher Shah Sur. In the above letter Mirza Aziz Koka is expressing his respect for the Pashtun king by referring to him as ‘Sher Shah’ instead of ‘Sher Khan’ (Mughals viewed Sher Shah as a usurper and have always called him merely Sher Khan in their writings). 

Mirza Aziz Koka (Khan-i-Azam) (ca. 1542 – 1624) also known as Kotaltash, foster brother of Akbar, who remained one of the leading nobles at the courts of the Mughal emperors Akbar and Jahangir. He also remained Subahdar, governor of the Subah (province) of Gujarat. He was also father in law of Prince Murad And Prince Khusraw.  1

Sher Shah Suri
The Portrait on right is that of Sher Shah Sur from 1570’s manuscript “Tarikh-i Khandan-i Timuriya” written by an anonymous author (used by Annette Beveridge in the English translation of Humayun-nama of Gulbadan Begam)

 

Share

Leave a comment