Gujarat Subah
The Gujarat Subah was a province of the Mughal Empire, encompassing the Gujarat region. The region first fell under Mughal control in 1573, when the Mughal emperor Akbar defeated the Gujarat Sultanate under Muzaffar Shah III.
Muzaffar tried to regain the Sultanate in 1584 but failed. Gujarat remained the Mughal province governed by the viceroys and officers appointed by the Mughal emperors from Delhi. Akbar's foster brother Mirza Aziz Kokaltash was appointed as the subahdar who strengthened Mughal hold over the region. The nobles of former Sultanate continued to resist and rebel during the reign of the next emperor Jahangir but Kokaltash and his successor subahdars subdued them. Jehangir also permitted the British East India Company to establish factories in Surat and elsewhere in Gujarat. The next emperor Shah Jahan expanded his territories in south and his subahdars made hold over Kathiawar peninsula including Nawanagar. Shah Jahan had also appointed his prince Aurangzeb, who was involved in religious disputes, prince Dara Shikoh and later prince Murad Bakhsh as subahdars. Following battle of succession, Aurangzeb came to the Mughal throne and his policies resulted in revolts and discontent. During his reign, the Maratha Kingdom under Shivaji raided Surat and their incursions in Gujarat started. Till then Gujarat prospered due to political stability, peace and growing international trade.
During the next three emperors who had brief reigns, the nobles became more and more powerful due to instability in the Delhi. The royals of Marwar were appointed viceroys frequently. During the reign of the emperor Muhammad Shah, the struggle between the Mughal and Maratha nobles were heightened with frequent battles and incursions. The south Gujarat was lost to the Marathas and the towns in north and central Gujarat was attacked on several occasions with frequent demand of tributes. The Marathas continued to grow their hold and the frequent change of viceroys did not reverse the trend. The competing houses of Marathas, Gaekwads and Peshwas engaged between themselves which slow down their progress for a while. They later made peace between themselves. During the reign of the next emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur, there was nominal control over the nobles who acted on their own. There were frequent fights between themselves and with Marathas. Ahmedabad, the capital of province, finally fell to the Marathas in 1752. It was regained by noble Momin Khan for a short time but again lost to the Marathas in 1756 after a long siege. Finding opportunity, the British captured Surat in 1759. After a setback at Panipat in 1761, the Marathas strengthened their hold on Gujarat. During this fifty years, the power struggle between the Mughal nobles and Marathas caused disorder and the decline in prosperity.
History
Under Humayun (1535–1536)
In 1532–1533, Gujarat Sultan Bahadur Shah provoked a war with Humayun, the Mughal Emperor of Delhi. The immediate cause of the hostility is understood to be Bahadur Shah's protection of Muhammad Zaman Mirza, a Timurid prince and brother-in-law of Humayun, who had previous plotted against Humayun and his government and had subsequently been held in confinement. This antagonism was furthered by Bahadur Shah's favorable reception of the Afghan princes of the Lodi dynasty who had offended the Mughal Empire. As Bahadur Shah failed to extradite Muhammad Zaman Mirza, Humayun marched from Agra towards Chittor; he waited idly by Gwalior while Bahadur Shah laid siege to Chittor.Bahadur Shah listened to the advice of Rumi Khan—who was considered to have secretly allied with Humayun after Bahadur Shah refused to uphold the promise of putting him in command of Chittor—over that of Taj Khan and Sadr Khan and established a fortified camp near Mandasor. While Bahadur Shah had significant artillery, Humayun took Rumi Khan's advice and cut Bahadur Shah's supplies. The highly effective blockade and the realization of Rumi Khan's betrayal forced Bahadur Shah to flee from the camp in April 1535. After fleeing Mandasor, Bahadur Shah took refuge in the hill-fortress of Mandu, which was summarily stormed by Humayun's troops. As a result, Malwa was annexed under the Mughal Empire and Bahadur Shah escaped first to Champaner via Songarh, next to Khambhat, and finally to Diu.
Humayun kept pursuit of Bahadur Shah until he found out that the latter had successfully retreated to Diu. Having abandoned his pursuit, Humayun encamped at Khambhat where an old aboriginal woman warned him of an upcoming night attack by 5,000–6,000 members of the Koli and Gowar tribes. Humayun was able to route the attack on account of the warning; however, given the perceived insult, he ordered the town of Khambhat to be set on fire and plundered. After being convinced to postpone the attack on Diu, Humayun returned to successfully lay siege to Champaner in August 1535.
In settling the government of Gujarat, Humayun nominated Mirza Askari, his brother, as the viceroy. Before he could resume his pursuit of Bahadur Shah, he received news that the eastern provinces of the Mughal Empire were revolting under Sher Khan Afghan and that the imperial garrisons in Malwa were being challenged by the local chieftains. No sooner had Humayun turned to attend to these matters, a counter was launched with Bahadur Shah's officers reclaiming the towns of Surat, Bharuch, and Khambhat. Bahadur Shah marched towards Ahmedabad while amassing an army but Mirza Askari and his army retreated without engaging in battle. Bahadur Shah continued to pursue the retreating forces defeating them in battle at Kanij near Mahemdavad. Under instruction from Humayun, Tardi Beg is said to have abandoned Champaner finally marking the end of the Mughal occupation of Gujarat under Humayun.
Having to deal with Humayun's march on the one side and the Portuguese attack at Diu on the other side, Bahadur Shah entered into the Treaty of Bassein in December 1534. The treaty granted the Portuguese Empire control of the town of Bassein, required vessels bound for the Red Sea to call at Bassein to procure passes and pay customary dues on their return trip, and prohibited the building of warships at any of the Gujarat ports. At a later time, following his retreat to Diu, Bahadur Shah turned to the Portuguese Empire for assistance and entered into a second treaty with them in October 1535 granting them permission to build a fort at Diu in exchange for military assistance.
Under Akbar (1573–1605)
In 1572–1573, Mughal Emperor Akbar conquered Gujarat Sultanate taking advantage of the puppet-ruler Sultan Muzaffar Shah III and his quarreling nobles. Muzaffar was held captive at Agra. Akbar appointed his foster brother Mirza Aziz Koka, the Khan-i-Azam, as the first viceroy who faced an insurrection by the rebel nobles of the former Sultanate. Akbar quickly came to aid, arrested the Gujarati nobles, and ended the insurrection. Raja Todar Mal was tasked to survey the land and fix the assessment in order to settle the land revenues. The viceroy Shihab-ud-din Ahmad Khan strengthened the cavalry and decreased crime. Sultan Muzaffar III escaped in 1578, returned with dissident troops that previously worked for ex-viceroy Shihab-ud-dín Ahmad Khan in 1583, and led an attack on Ahmedabad and recaptured it when the then viceroy Itimad Khan mistakenly left the city. Upon hearing of the events in Gujarat, Akbar reappointed Mirza Abdurrahim Khan as the viceroy who defeated Muzaffar III in the battle of Fateh Bagh in January 1584. Mirza Aziz Koka was appointed as the viceroy for a second time and defeated the combined forces of Sultan Muzaffar III, Jam of Navanagar, Daulat Khan Ghori of Junagadh, and the Kathi Loma Khuman in the battle of Bhuchar Mori. Muzaffar III was captured in Bhuj but he committed suicide, putting an end to the Gujarat Sultanate. Mirza Aziz Koka conquered Junagadh and established Mughal authority over Saurashtra in 1592 before leaving for Mecca on pilgrimage in 1593. Subsequently, Prince Murad Bakhsh was appointed as the viceroy on whose death, Mirza Aziz Koka returned a third time as the viceroy serving through his sons. Akbar was succeeded by Jahangir.Under Jahangir (1605–1627)
Jahangir appointed Qulij Khan was as the viceroy of Gujarat in the first year of his reign. However, on account of Qulij Khan being called to Punjab and Sultan Muzaffar Shah III's son, Prince Bahadur, leading an insurrection around Ahmedabad, Jahangir sent Raja Vikramajit to Gujarat as his next viceroy. He was succeeded by Shaikh Farid-i-Bukhari, a scholar and a military commander, who was responsible for constructing the fort of Kadi, a town in the Mehsana district. Mirza Aziz Koka was appointed as the viceroy for a fourth time but was asked to rule through his son Jahangir Quli Khan as his deputy; they subdued the rebellions and protests of the nobles of the former Sultanate and of the Hindu chiefs and successfully averted an invasion by Malik Ambar from Daulatabad in the south. The next viceroy Abdulla Khan Bahadur Firuz Jang undertook expeditions against the Nizam Shahi kingdom of Ahmednagar. Under Jahangir, the British East India Company was permitted to establish factories in Surat in 1612. During reign of the next viceroy Muqarrab Khan, Jahangir arrived at Ahmedabad for an extended visit to Gujarat. In January 1618, he appointed his son Prince Shah Jahan as the next viceroy. Shah Jahan rebelled against his father, Jahangir, in 1622–1623 and he was replaced by Prince Dawar Bakhsh whose imperial forces recovered Bharuch and Surat. Upon the death of Dawar Bakhsh's guardian, Khan Jahan was briefly appointed as the viceroy. Subsequently, Saif Khan served as the viceroy of Gujarat until the end of Jahangir's reign and Shah Jahan's ascension in 1627.Following his appointment as viceroy in 1618, Prince Shah Jahan governed through his deputies Rustam Khan and Raja Vikramjit until the start of his rebellion against Jahangir in 1622. During this time, land was acquired in the suburb of Maqsudpur on the banks of the Sabarmati River for a royal garden, which later came to be known as Shahi Bagh.