History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c38.34.1

v2.c38.34.1

The subsequent history of Orissa during the reign of Shāh Jahān I is a mere string of names. Muta’qad Khān governed Orissa till 1641 and the order removing him was issued from the Imperial Court on the 9th March 1640, but he did not reach the Court before the 29th July 1641. It is recorded that he died in extreme old age on the 17th October 1651. His successor was Shāh Nawāz Khān Safāwī, who ruled for a short time only. He was removed by an order dated the 8th March 1642, but remained in charge of the province till the end of that year. It appears that from 1642 till the death or flight of Shuja’ from Bengal, Orissa remained an appanage of Prince Shuja’s joint Viceroyalty of the three provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Shāh Nawāz Khān was succeeded by Āghā Muḥmmad Zamān Tiharānī who governed the province from 1642 to 1645. His order of appointment is dated the 8th March 1642, and that of removal, 21st November 1645. Muta'qād Khān was again appointed on the 21st November 1645 to be recalled to Court in the 22nd year of the reign of Shāh Jahān (July 1648 to June 1649). Then followed Samsāmuddaulah,¹ an agent of Prince Shuja' in 1654. The next agent of Shuja' was Tarbiyat Khān *alias* Shafiullah Birlas *Vilāyet-zā* who ruled over the province from 1655 to 1666. He was followed by Khwajah Bakhardad Ashraf Khān. Shān Jahān fell ill in September 1657 and from that date till the day of prince Shuja's final departure from Dacca (6th May 1660) there was great anarchy in Orissa.