Khusrau Mirza

Khusrau Mirza (16 August 1587 – 26 January 1622) was the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and his first wife, Shah Begum. The young prince displayed exceptional skills and wisdom and had the privilege to be groomed by the Mughal Emperor (Akbar) himself for the throne of the Mughal Empire. He turned out to be the most capable and qualified son of Jahangir but was befallen by an unfortunate destiny. Being Jahangir's eldest son, he was the heir-apparent to his father but Jahangir favoured his son Khurram Mirza as he held an animosity against Khusrau.

The charismatic prince was loved by the common people widely known for his valour, battlefield talent, and was free of all vices of the people of his age. It is noted that Akbar used to see himself in Khusrau as a brave, capable, and talented battlefield commander and a charismatic person. Khusrau Mirza had powerful people backing him which included his father-in-law Mirza Aziz Koka, his maternal uncle Raja Man Singh, Queen Mother Mariam-uz-Zamani, Salima Sultan Begum and Jahangir's favourite sister Shakr-un-Nissa Begum, all of them together tried to secure a pardon for the charming prince and save him from death penalty.

Early life
Khusrau was born in Lahore on August 16, 1587, as the eldest son and second child of Jahangir. His mother, Man Bai, was the daughter of Raja Bhagwant Das of Amber, India (modern-day Jaipur), head of the Kachhwaha clan of Rajputs and was the chief wife of his father. She was the niece of her mother-in-law, Mariam-uz-Zamani, and thus the maternal cousin of her husband. On account of Khusrau's birth, Prince Salim (later known as Emperor Jahangir) honoured his wife with the title of Shah Begum.

His mother was highly devoted to her husband and sided with her husband Prince Salim over her son Khusrau when the latter overlooked his father. She continuously advised Khusrau to be sincere with his father. She committed suicide on May 5, 1605, by consuming opium when the hostility between the father and the son seemingly would not subside and the chances of their reconciliation faded. He was extremely loved by his grandfather Akbar, whom Khusrau would call  "Shahi Baba"  (royal father), and his father Salim as  "Shahi Bhai"  (royal elder brother).

Education
Khusrau received an extensive and top-tier education which was overseen by Emperor Akbar. Akbar had appointed his most able and talented nobles who happened to be his Navaratnas, for the education of the young Prince. He had commenced his linguistic education under the liberal scholar Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak who was the Grand Vizier of Akbar, and by his brother, the learned, Abu'l Khair.

He received military training under the most trusted and highest-ranking noble in the Mughal Court, his maternal uncle, Raja Man Singh. A revered Hindu Brahmin named Shiv Dutt Bhattacharya was appointed Khusrau's teacher who taught him at length about various Hindu scriptures. Furthermore, Akbar himself invested time in his military training to teach him different warfare tactics.

Character
As noted by a European clergyman of the Mughal court, Khusrau is reported to have a pleasing presence and was admired by the common people. He was known for his valour, secularism, and battlefield talent. On 28 March 1594, Akbar made an unprecedented decision in honour of the young prince in the Mughal Court by granting Khusrau a high imperial rank of 5000 horses when he was six years old. Along with the high-ranking Mansabs, he assigned the financial resources of the province of Orissa to the young prince. Raja Man Singh, Akbar's most trusted general and one of his nine gems, was made his guardian. Further, Akbar insisted that the prince was to remain under his exclusive charge and groomed him personally which was an honour exclusive to him only.

An incident noted by a Christian missionary, on his first encounter with Prince Khusrau, records, "On the evening following our arrival, the Emperor (Akbar) called us and showed us pictures of our Savior (Jesus Christ) and the Blessed Virgin (Mother Mary), and held them in his arms with as much as reverence as though it was our priests. When we saw the holy pictures, we knelt down and saw that the Emperor's 7-year-old grandson (Khusrau), the Prince's son, also clasped his hands and bent his knees: wherein the Emperor was delighted and said to the prince (Salim) "Look at your son (Khusrau)!"

He was praised in the biography of his grandfather, Akbar. Abul Fazl describes him as a young prince with possession of great wisdom. Akbar also proclaimed that he loved his grandchildren (Khusrau and Khurram) more than his children. After the death of Prince Daniyal, the favourite son of Akbar, Akbar openly started bestowing imperial favours on Khusrau and his supporters which were prerogative of the apparent successor. Akbar made Khusrau the commander of 10,000 forces, after which his status became equal to that of his father, Salim. His status in subsequent months was raised above his father's when Akbar assigned him a drum and tuman-togh (A staff with a Yaks tail fur affixed), the symbols of honour that were exclusive to the Emperor himself. In 1605, Khusrau was a young prince of age 17, of eminently handsome countenance, agreeable manners, and irreproachable character.

His father-in-law, the foster brother of Emperor Akbar, Mirza Aziz Koka was so devoted to the cause of Khusrau that he is recorded to have repeatedly declared: "I am willing that they (the fate) should convey the good news of his (Khusrau's) sovereignty to my right ear and should seize my soul from my left ear."

Family
Khusrau's first wife and chief consort was the daughter of extremely powerful Mirza Aziz Koka, known as Khan Azam, son of Jiji Anga, Emperor Akbar's Wet nurse. When Khusrau's marriage was arranged with her, an order was given that S'aid Khan Abdullah Khan and Mir Sadr Jahan should convey 100,000 rupees as sachaq to the Mirza house by the way of Sihr Baha. She was his favourite wife, and was the mother of his eldest son, Dawar Bakhsh, and his second son, Prince Buland Akhtar Mirza, born on 11 March 1609, who died in infancy.

Another of Khusrau's wives was the daughter of Jani Beg Tarkhan of Thatta. She was the sister of Mirza Ghazi Beg. The marriage was arranged by Khusrau's grandfather, Emperor Akbar. Another of his wives was the daughter of Muqim, son of Mihtar Fazil Rikabdar (stirrup holder). She was the mother of Prince Gurshasp Mirza, born on 8 April 1616. Khusrau had a daughter, Hoshmand Banu Begum, born in about 1605, and married to Prince Hoshang Mirza, son of Prince Daniyal Mirza.

Jahangir's reign
Emperor Akbar, who had been deeply disappointed with Khusrau's father, Jahangir, due to his debauchery, negligence of duties, and rebellions against him, favoured his grandson, Khusrau for the succession to the Mughal throne over Salim. In 1605, after the death of Akbar, he was succeeded by Salim, resulting in a decline of Prince Khusrau's position and influence in the court. Jahangir was extremely angered by his son as he was favoured by Akbar for succession to the Mughal throne and had been insincere towards him. Khusrau was eventually pardoned by the Jahangir, by the intervention of the his mother, his sisters and Khusrau’s stepmothers and sisters. Mariam-uz-Zamani, Khusrau's grandmother became the prime shield of Khusrau during Jahangir's reign and as noted by a Christian missionary present in the Mughal court, she secured a pardon for the prince along with Salima Sultan Begum, Shakr-un-Nissa Begum, and Emperor Jahangir's other sisters upon Jahangir's succession.

Rebellion and aftermath
In 1606, Khusrau rebelled against his father to secure the throne for himself. He left Agra with 350 horsemen on 6 April 1606 under the pretext of visiting Akbar's tomb in nearby Sikandra. He was then joined by Hussain Beg and about 3,000 horsemen in Mathura; and Abdur Rahim, the provincial dewan (administrator) of Lahore in Panipat. Khusrau reached Tarn Taran Sahib, near Amritsar, he received the blessings of Guru Arjan Dev. Khusrau laid siege on Lahore, defended by Dilawar Khan. Emperor Jahangir relieved the siege and defeated Khusrau at the battle of Bhairowal. He was captured by Jahangir's army while crossing the Chenab river while attempting to flee toward Kabul.

Khusrau was first brought to Delhi, where a novel punishment was meted out to him. He was seated in a grand style on an elephant and paraded down Chandni Chowk, while on both sides of the narrow street, the noblemen and barons who had supported him were held at knifepoint on raised platforms. As the elephant approached each such platform, the luckless supporters were impaled on stakes (through their bowels), while Khusrau was compelled to watch the grisly sight and listen to the screams and pleas of those who had supported him. This was repeated numerous times throughout the entire length of Chandni Chowk.

In 1607, he was partially blinded and imprisoned in Agra. He accompanied his father on his trip to Kabul while in shackles. Jahangir, however, filled with guilt later asked his health officials to find a remedy for the recovery of his son's eyesight though they remained unsuccessful. Ellison B. Findly notes a strong-worded letter of Mariam-uz-Zamani to her son, Jahangir, written by her in the year 1616, expressing her concern for the safety of Khusrau, in which she had anticipated that if his charge was to be entrusted to Prince Khurram, whom she believed was eager to eliminate Khusrau to secure his succession to Mughal throne, she said that he would eventually kill Khusrau and it would be disastrous for the Mughal dynasty as the future male descendants would use it as a specimen to murder their brothers for the possession of the royal throne. Further, Findly adds that this foretelling of her substantiated soon afterwards in the Mughal Empire when Shah Jahan's children, Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh had a face-off for the royal throne eventually leading to the murder of Prince Dara Shikoh by his brother.

Nur Jahan is reported to have faked tears in front of her mother-in-law, Queen Mother Mariam-uz-Zamani for the possession of the charge of Prince Khusrau who was considered a powerful contender to the throne by the ambitious empress Nur Jahan. It is noted that when Jahangir was drunk and was not in his senses, Nur Jahan would take advantage and often ask for the transfer of Prince Khusrau to themselves. In 1616, he was handed over to Asaf Khan, the brother of Nur Jahan. His grandmother, who was vehemently opposed to the transfer, was assured of Khusrau's safety by Jahangir. In 1620, Khusrau, along with his paternal uncle, Prince Daniyal, were handed over to, Prince Khurram.

In 1620, in order to secure her power in the Mughal court amidst Jahangir's declining health, Nur Jehan proposed a marriage of her daughter Mihr-un-Nissa Begum to Khusrau. However, Khusrau, in an effort to uphold fidelity to his chief wife refused the marriage proposal, and the proposal was passed on to and accepted by Shahryar Mirza.

Death


In 1622, Khusrau was killed on the orders of Prince Khurram. Khurram reported to Jahangir that the order was necessary due to an escape attempt made by Khusrau.

To honour his son, Jahangir had him buried next to the tomb of his mother, Shah Begum, and ordered the construction of a mausoleum in Khusro Bagh in Allahabad.

Legacy
After the death of Jahangir in 1627, Khusrau's son, Prince Dawar was briefly made ruler of the Mughal Empire by Asaf Khan to secure the Mughal throne for Shah Jahan. On Jumada-l awwal 2, 1037 AH (December 30, 1627 ), Shah Jahan was proclaimed as the emperor at Lahore.

On Jumada-l awwal 26, 1037 AH (January 23, 1628 ), Dawar, his brother Garshasp, uncle Shahryar Mirza, as well as Tahmuras and Hoshang, sons of the deceased Prince Daniyal, were all put to death by Asaf Khan, who was ordered by Shah Jahan to send them "out of the world", which he faithfully carried out.