Abu Talib
Shaista Khan
(-1694)
Other names: Mirza Murad
Positions Held
Amir-ul-Umra
Governor of Bengal, 1664-78
Governor of the Deccan, 1659
Viceroy of the Deccan, 1656
Governor of Gujrat, 1652
Wazir of the Mughal Empire, 1641
Governor of Berar, 1638
Biographical
After the death of his father he was appointed wazir by the emperor Shah
Jahan. The large Jama Masjid which stood (till 1857) on the banks of the
Jamna river to the west of the fortress of Allahabad, was built by him
in the time of Shah Jahan and completed in the year 1646. Shaista Khan
was appointed governor of Berar and of Gujrat by Shah Jahan. In 1656 he
was employed by Aurangzeb, at that time viceroy of the Deccan, to serve
as lieutenant to his eldest son, Sultan Muhammad, in the war of Golkanda.
In the contentions of Shah Jahan's sons for the throne in 1658, he served
with Dara Shikoh, whom he betrayed by giving intelligence and guides to
Aurangzeb. He was appointed in July 1659, governor of the Deccan in the
room of Muhammad Muazzim, the son of the emperor Aurangzeb, who was recalled
to the presence. He kept his court at Dacca, and by his injustice provoked
a war with Job Charnock, Governor of the factory of the East India Company
at Golaghat, near Hughli. He died in the reign of Aurangzeb.
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Sources
1. H.G. Keene. An Oriental Biographical Dictionary Founded on Materials Collected by Thomas William Beale. London: W. H. Allen & Co., Limited, 1894.
2. R.M. Eaton. The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760. Berkeley; Los Angeles; London: University of California Press, 1993.
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