The History Of The Rajas ( Biography Of Jarral Rajput Kings )

Image Depicts Noourddin Khan As Described

Raja Neel Singh ( Nooruddin Khan )

Raja Neel Singh was the son of Raja Sher Afgan Khan. He, along with his father, embraced Islam and was bestowed the name Raja Noourddin Khan by Muhammad Ghori. Known as a converted Muslim Rajput from Hinduism, he was a courageous king who successfully conquered the principality of Rajouri at a young age. Described as tall, fair-skinned, and robust, he possessed remarkable strength. He had a son named Raja Bahauddin Khan, continuing the legacy of his lineage.

The Title Of "Mirza"

History Of Mirza Title

When Mughal King Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar Visited Rajouri . The Ruler Of Rajouri At That Time Was Raja Mast Khan Jarral . He Was The Son Of Raja Bahadur Khan ( Bahadur Singh Jarral ) . The Jarral Ruler With His Army Helped Akbar In Conquest Of Kashmir From The Previous Dynasty. Due To Their Bravory And Valor, Akbar Awarded Jarrals With The Royal Title Of Mughals ( Mirza ) . Raja Mast Khan Accepted The Title And Thus , Muslim Jarrals Became Famous With Mirza And Hindu Jarrals Continue Using Singh Title .

About The Early Ages ( Rule On Kalanaur )

27 Nov 2024

THE RAJAS OF RAJOURI

Jarrals First Ruled On Kalanaur ( Present Day Gurdaspur , Punjab , India ) . The Jarrals Allied With Prithviraj Chauhan ( Rajput Chauhan King Of Ajmer ) They Fought A Battle Against Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori , The Battles Are Known As First And Second Battles Of Tarrain . The Rajputs , Along With The Jarrals Won The First Battle Of Tarrain , But , Lost The Second One . Many Rajput Clans Accepted Islam ( Jarrals Were One Of Them )

Raja Sher Afgan Khan ( Sahab Singh )

He Was A Devoted Hindu And Later Converted To Islam . He Was The Father Of Raja Nooruddin Khan ( The First Jarral Raja Of Rajouri ) . He Fought Many Battles At The Side Of Prithviraj Chauhan Against Muhammad Ghouri . He Played A Major Role In The First And Second Battle Of Tarain . He Was Also Called " Lion " .

Veer Jaswant Singh Jaryal

Veer Jaswant Singh Jaryal ( Baba Shaheed )

He Was A Hindu Jarral Rajput Ruler . When Raja Sher Afgan Khan ( Sahab Singh ) Embraced Islam , He Didn't Cooperated With Raja Sher Afgan Khan And Left Him And Move Towards Mukerian , Punjab With Some Hindu Jarrals Who Didn't Converted To Islam . In 14 Villages Of Mukerian , There Was The Control Of Malik Awans On The Villages . Veer Jaswant Singh Jaryal Fought Bravely With Them And The Awans Surrendered And Gave The Control Of All The Villages To Veer Singh . Many Awans Were Killed In The Battle . After Some Time , Mughal Emperor Jahangir Got The News Of The Control Of Hindu Raja Veer Singh On Mukerian Village's. He Got Frustrated And He Silently Executed Veer Singh . He Was A Brave , Tall , Courageous Leader . He Is Known As Baba Shaheed And His Jayanti ( Birthday ) Is Celebrated By Hindu Rajputs Per Year In Mukerian To Whole Punjab .

Raja Karam Khan ( Raja Bikramajeet )

Raja Karam Khan Jarral ( Raja Bikramajeet )

Raja Karam Khan Is One Of The Most Famous Jarral Rajput Raja Of Rajput History . He Was Conferred The Title " Bikramajeet" By The Ruler Of Kashmir , Raja Abdullah Khan , For His Bravery And Strategic Skills And Conquests . He Conquered The Area Of Poonch From Raja Abdullah Khan And Took Charge Of It . He Also Defeated Raja Abdullah Khan 2 Times , With His 2000 Men , While Raja Abdullah Khan Had 5000 Men . This Proved His Strategic Skills . He Is Also Renowned For His Sacrifice's For His Sultanat , Rajouri . As He Was Given The Raaj , He First Conquered All The Areas , Which Were Disassembled During His Father ( Raja Azmat Ullah Khan's) Reign . His Tales Are Still Famous Today . He Married 2 Women And Had Many Slave's. He Had Four Sons . Two Sons Are Very Remarkable In History And Ruled Rajouri For Some Time . Raja Agar Khan Jarral And Raja Raheemullah Khan Jarral .

Raja Agar Khan ( Agarullah Khan )

Raja Agar Khan Was The Elder Son , From The First Wife Of Raja Karam Khan . He Was Known For His Bravery And Several Revolts Again Maharana Ranjit Singh And The Sikh Empire. One Of His Notable Battles Include The Battle Of Shopian , On Which , He Opposed Maharaja Ranjit Singh And Fought On The Side Of Jabbar Khan , As A Leader . He Was First On The Side Of Maharaja Ranjit Singh . But , He Was Indirectly Opposed Of Him Because Maharaja Destroyed His Villages In Rajouri . Due To This , He Was Perilous For Ranjit Singh And At The Time Of Conquest Of Kashmir In 1819 , He Betrayed Him And Took The Side Of Durrani Empire ( Jabbar Khan ) .

Appearance

He Was Tall , Fair Skinned , Strong And Robust . He Used To Drink Wine And Calean . He Was Of Brave Nature And Didn't Feared The Greater Empires Of The Time . He Was Known For His Furious Nature And His Love For His People .

Children

He Had Four Sons . His Most Notable Son Was Raja Hameed Ullah Khan , Who Became Raja Of Rajouri For Some Time . He Is Also Known As Tikka Haseeb Ullah Khan Jarral .

The Conflicts Between Jarrals And Khalsa ( Sikhs )

Battle Of Shopian ( 1819 )

Leaders

Sikh Empire Afghan Empire

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Raja Agar Khan

Kharak Singh Jabbar Khan

Misr Dewan Chand

Raja Rahimullah Khan

Note

Raja Agar Khan Was A Rajput While Jabbar Khan Was A Pathan

Raja Agar Khan And Raja Rahimullah Khan Were Brothers

Battle

Battle of Shopian took place on 3 July 1819 between an expeditionary force from the Sikh Empire and Jabbar Khan, the governor of the Durrani Empire province of Kashmir. It was the decisive battle during the Sikh expedition into Kashmir in 1819.

From 1814 to 1819, the Sikh Empire was forced to send successive punitive expeditions against the hill states of Bhimber, Rajauri, Poonch, Nurpur, and others. By subduing rebellions in these states, the Sikh Empire was attempting to keep control of the routes through the Pir Panjal range and into Kashmir. However the Durrani Empire kept de facto control of the areas because the Pir Panjal Range blocked supplies and fresh troops to the Sikh armies.

By 1819, Azim Khan had taken a force of troops to Kabul. Birbal Dhar, Azim Khan's revenue minister, traveled to Lahore, the capital of the Sikh Empire, and asked Maharaja Ranjit Singh to annex Kashmir from the Durrani Empire. He informed Ranjit Singh that Azim Khan was no longer leading the Durrani forces in Kashmir, and supplied information on invasion routes into Kashmir.

The Sikh expeditionary force established two armories for the expedition at Gujrat and Wazirabad.On 20 April, Ranjit Singh ordered 30,000 men from Lahore to the hill states at the foot of the Pir Panjal range.The expedition was split into three columns: Misr Diwan Chand commanded the advance force, Kharak Singh commanded the rear guard, and Ranjit Singh commanded a reserve of 10,000 troops protecting the supply train.The expeditionary force marched to Bhimber and resupplied, capturing the fort of a local Hakim without resistance.On 1 May, both columns of the Sikh Army reached Rajouri and its ruler, Raja Agarullah Khan, rebelled and forced a battle. Hari Singh Nalwa took command of a force and routed his army, which offered an unconditional surrender after losing most of its men and war supplies.His brother, Raja Rahimullah Khan, was appointed the Raja of Rajauri in return for assistance in navigating the 'Behram Pass' (Baramgala, 33.605°N 74.4136°E, the lower end of the Pir Panjal Pass).

Once the Sikh forces reached the Behram Pass, the Durrani-appointed faujdar charged with guarding it fled to Srinagar.Mir Mohammad Khan, the kotwal of Poonch, and Mohammad Ali, the kotwal of Shopian, attempted a defense at the Dhaki Deo and Maja passes but were defeated and surrendered to Misr Diwan Chand on 23 June 1819.Kharak Singh now advanced to Surdee Thana. while Misr Diwan Chand split his force into three divisions and ordered them to cross the Pir Panjal Range through different passes.

The army regrouped at Surai Ali on the road to Shopian. On 3 July 1819, the Sikh army attempted to march through Shopian to Srinagar but was stopped by a Durrani army headed by Jabbar Khan. The Durrani force had heavily entrenched itself in preparation for the Sikh artillery attack and brought heavy artillery, which the Sikhs were unprepared for because they had brought only light guns.

Once his artillery was in range, Misr Diwan Chand opened the battle with an artillery barrage and multiple infantry and cavalry charges. The Durrani army was able to hold back the Sikh attempts to storm their lines until the Sikhs began moving their guns forward. However, when Misr Diwan Chand was overseeing the movement of guns on the Sikh left flank, Jabbar Khan saw an opening and led the Durrani right flank which stormed Misr Diwan Chand's artillery battery, captured two guns, and threw the Sikh left flank in "disarray".However the Durrani force attacking the Sikh left flank was exposed from their left and Akali Phoola Singh, the commander of the Sikh right flank, rallied his troops and led his command in a charge across the battlefield to the artillery battery. After a close quarters fight which resulted in both sides resorting to using swords and daggers, the ill-trained Durrani soldiers proved to be ineffective against the much superior martial skills of the Sikh soldiers and sections of the Durrani force began to retreat and Jabbar Khan was wounded while escaping the battlefield.

Although both sides sustained heavy losses, Jabbar Khan and his army fled from the battlefield away from Kashmir over the Indus river. When the Sikh army entered the city of Srinagar after the battle, Prince Kharak Singh guaranteed the personal safety of every citizen and ensured the city was not plundered.

After taking Srinagar, the Sikh army faced no major opposition in conquering Kashmir. However, when Ranjit Singh installed Moti Ram, the son of Dewan Mokham Chand, as the new governor of Kashmir.

Raja Rahimullah Khan ( Mirza Rahimullah )

He Was The Younger Son From Second Wife Of Raja Karam Khan And Half Brother Of Raja Agar Khan . He Opposed His Brother In Conflict With Ranjit Singh And Took Side Of Ranjit Singh . In The Battle Of Rajouri , He Was On The Side If Ranjit Singh And Fought Against His Brother . But , Was Defeated Vigorously. He Was Also On The Behalf Of Ranjit Singh In The Battle Of Shopian . With His Help , They Defeated Agar Khan And Jabbar Khan ( Durrani ) . Raja Rahimullah Was Known For His Bravery And Loyalty To Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He Also Gave Three Hawks As A Gift For Ranjit Singh . These Hawks Are Still Known Today .

Appearance

He Was Of Normal Height , Fair Skinned , Robust And Loyal King . He Was A Devoted Muslim . He Had A Long Nose , Robust Body And Calm Nature .

Childern

He Had 4 Sons . His Famous Son Was Mirza Faqirullah Khan . He Was The Last King Of Rajouri .

Title

He Was Given The Title "Khan Bahadur " By Maharaja Ranjit Singh .

Photo by

Henry Hustava