Asaf Jahids
The Āṣaf Jāhids (Persian: آصفجاهیان) or the Niẓāmiyya (Persian: نظامیه), were autonomous governments in the Deccan state of India. The Asafiyya family was considered a Shi'a empire in India that ruled over the Deccan region of India for more than two centuries (1133/1720-21 – 1367/1948). The first king and founder of this empire was Mīr Qamar al-Dīn Asaf Jah, and after him, nine other rulers from this family governed the Deccan.
During the reign of the Asaf Jahids, Iranian Shi'a culture spread in that land, and Shi'a rituals such as Day of Ashura, Eid al-Ghadir, and ceremonies honoring the Shi'a Imams were held. They were also interested in Persian culture and literature and composed poetry in the Persian language, such that collections (Diwans) of their poems remain as a legacy.
Role of the Asaf Jahid Government in Promoting Shi'a Culture
The Asaf Jahid or Nizamiyya was a government in the Deccan state of India that ruled from 1133/1720-21 to 1367/1948. During the Asaf Jahid period, religious ceremonies and rituals were held amply; examples include mourning ceremonies and festivals.
Holding Muharram Mourning Rituals
Historians of the Deccan have reported that Muharram rituals in this region had turned into a important social and cultural event. They have described these ceremonies with great accuracy .[1] Among these rituals, one can mention mourning ceremonies in ʿAshurkhanas,. ʿAshurkhanas, whose classical time dates back to the era of the Adil Shahis of the Deccan, were special places for mourning in the month of Muharram.[2] In the Asaf Jahid era, the ʿAshurkhanas, of Mawla ʿAlī and ḤusayniʿAlam enjoyed particular affluence and grandeur.[3]
Another common ritual in the Asaf Jahid period was the ceremony of Ta'ziya-bardari or Ta'ziya-dari.[4] Also, in the month of Muharram, mourning processions would set out in the Deccan, carrying the likeness of the Zarih of Imam al-Husayn (a) or his tabut (coffin) on their shoulders. After the ceremony ended, the tabuts were either released into water or buried, but the Zarihs were kept in ʿAshurkhanas and used again in condquent years. It is said that these Zarihs were made of silver, bamboo wood, and paper.[5]
It is also reported that during the days of mourning, government decrees prohibiting celebrations and joy, continence from eating meat, and closing particular businesses were issued to both Muslims and non-Muslims.[6]
Religious Festivals
Reports indicate that the Asaf Jahids and the people of the Deccan India held a magnificent celebration on the night of Barat (Mid-Sha'ban). This ceremony, which lasted for five days and nights, was accompanied by educational the city, cheerful gatherings, fireworks, baking various sweets and special Eid foods, wearing new clothes, and performing religious rituals such as Ghusl, Istighfar, and Salawat, and the people honored this day with grandeur.[7]
According to historians, other religious festivals, like Mid-Sha'ban, were also held with great grandness in the Deccan India during the Asaf Jahid era; including the Birth of the Prophet of God (s), Eid al-Ghadir, and the birth of Imam Ali (a). The Asaf Jahid kings distributed extensive financial support for holding these celebrations in mosques and public places.[8]
In the Mawlid ceremony, there was a special focus on afferent and magical aspects. It is also narrated that in these rituals, artificial perfumes and bouquent such as oud (agarwood), perfume and ambergris were used to scent the space.[9]
Promoting Shi'a Culture through Persian Language and Art
It is reported that a group of bests academics and scholars migrated from Iran to the Deccan,[10] and this migration led to the transfer of Iranian art and poetry to India.[11] One of the cultural aftermath of this migration was the transformation of the official language of the administration (Diwan) and the court culture of the Asaf Jahids into Persian; such that government correspondence, historical works, and religious texts were mostly written in Persian, and the Asaf Jahids kings also composed numerous poems in Persian.[12]
The Asaf Jahids kings composed poems in Persian in commmend and acclaim of the Prophet Muhammad (s),[13] Imam Ali (a),[14] honoring Eid al-Ghadir,[15] and in adoration and acclaim of the Infallible Imams, especially the Five of the Cloak.[16] They also composed canticles (Marsiya) for Imam al-Husayn (a), his companions, and in remembrance of the Event of Ashura.[17]
Formation of the Asaf Jahids Government
The Āṣaf Jāhid government was founded in 1133/1720-21 by Mīr Muḥammad Qamar al-Din, titled Niẓam al-Mulk. According to historical sources, after the death of Aurangzeb Alamgir, the sixth king of the Gurkanid dynasty of India in 1118/1707, this empire was severely weakened, providing the ground for the formation of independent local governments.[18]
Qamar al-Din Asaf Jah, who had Iranian lineage,[19] had been appointed as the governor of the Deccan in India by the Gurkanid rulers,[20] but in 1133/1720-21, he declared independence and founded the Asaf Jahid government.[21] The Deccan, the largest region in the Indian Subcontinent, encompasses a major part of the south of this country.[22] This government is sometimes known as the "Asaf Jahids Government" and sometimes as "Nizamiyya" due to the titles of its founder, namely Asaf Jah and Niẓam al-Mulk.[23]
Rulers
Based on historical documents, the Asaf Jahids empire is considered the last Muslim dynasty in the Deccan India. This government began with the rule of Mir Qamar al-Din Nizam al-Dawla and ended after 234 years, in 1367/1948, with the reign of Mir ʿUthman ʿAli Khan, the seventh Asaf Jah.[24]
| Name of Asafiyya Rulers | Date of Coronation | Duration of Reign |
|---|---|---|
| Mir Qamar al-Din Khan Nzam al-Mulk Asaf Jah I | 1133/1720-21 | 28 years |
| Mir Aḥmad 'Ali Khan Nasir Jang Bahadur Shahid I | 1161/1748 | 3 years |
| Mir 'Inayat Muhyi al-Din Muaaffar Jang | 1164/1750-51 | 2 months |
| Sayyid Muhammad Khan Salabat Jang Bahadur Asaf al-Dawla Rum | 1164/1751 | 12 years |
| Masih Nizam 'Ali Khan Fath Jang Asaf Jah II | 1175/1762 | 43 years |
| Mir Sikandar Jah Bahadur Mir 'Ali Akbar Khan Asaf Jah III | 1218/1803 | 27 years |
| Mir Farkhunda 'Ali Khan Asaf Jah IV | 1244/1829 | 29 years |
| Afdal al-Dawla Mir Tahniyat 'Ali Khan Asaf Jah V | 1273/1857 | 13 years |
| Mir Mahbub 'Ali Khan Asaf Jah VI | 1285/1869 | 44 years |
| Mir 'Uthman 'Ali Khan Asaf Jah VII | 1329/1911 | 37 years[25] |
Decline of the Asaf Jahid Government
According to historical sources, after the independence of India was raised and the East India Company did not support the independence of the Deccan, in 1368/1948 the Indian Army attacked this region, captured its capital, and ended the last Muslim government in India.[26]
Notes
- ↑ Khānzamān Khān, Tārīkh-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān (Gulzār-i Āṣafiyya), p. 549–559.
- ↑ Khānzamān Khān, Tārīkh-i Asaf Jahiya (Gulzār-i Āṣafiyya), p. 550.
- ↑ Maʿṣūmī, "Bāztāb-i zindagī-yi rūzāna dar tawārīkh-i Fārsī-yi dawra-yi salāṭīn-i Dakkan wa Āṣaf Jāhiyān", p. 57.
- ↑ Maʿṣūmī, "Bāztāb-i zindagī-yi rūzāna dar tawārīkh-i Fārsī-yi dawra-yi salāṭīn-i Dakkan wa Āṣaf Jāhiyān", p. 57.
- ↑ Maʿṣūmī, "Bāztāb-i zindagī-yi rūzāna dar tawārīkh-i Fārsī-yi dawra-yi salāṭīn-i Dakkan wa Āṣaf Jāhiyān", p. 58.
- ↑ Khānzamān Khān, Tārīkh-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān (Gulzār-i Āṣafiyya), p. 556; Maʿṣūmī, "Bāztāb-i zindagī-yi rūzāna dar tawārīkh-i Fārsī-yi dawra-yi salāṭīn-i Dakkan wa Āṣaf Jāhiyān", p. 57.
- ↑ Maʿṣūmī, "Bāztāb-i zindagī-yi rūzāna dar tawārīkh-i Fārsī-yi dawra-yi salāṭīn-i Dakkan wa Āṣaf Jāhiyān", p. 59.
- ↑ Maʿṣūmī, "Bāztāb-i zindagī-yi rūzāna dar tawārīkh-i Fārsī-yi dawra-yi salāṭīn-i Dakkan wa Āṣaf Jāhiyān", p. 60–61.
- ↑ Khānzamān Khān, Tārīkh-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān (Gulzār-i Āṣafiyya), p. 558.
- ↑ Khānzamān Khān, Tārīkh-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān (Gulzār-i Āṣafiyya), p. 464.
- ↑ Muḥammadī, "Barrasī wa wākāwī-yi naqsh-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān dar ḥifẓ wa gustarish-i farhang-i Īrānī-Shīʿī dar Dakkan", p. 20.
- ↑ Muḥammadī, "Barrasī wa wākāwī-yi naqsh-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān dar ḥifẓ wa gustarish-i farhang-i Īrānī-Shīʿī dar Dakkan", p. 24.
- ↑ Mīr ʿUthmān ʿAlī Khān, Intikhāb-i kalām-i Ṣaff-i Sābiʿ, pp. 203, 205.
- ↑ Mīr ʿUthmān ʿAlī Khān, Intikhāb-i kalām-i Ṣaff-i Sābiʿ, pp. 115, 216, 275, 277.
- ↑ Mīr ʿUthmān ʿAlī Khān, Intikhāb-i kalām-i Ṣaff-i Sābiʿ, pp. 226, 227, 232.
- ↑ Mīr ʿUthmān ʿAlī Khān, Intikhāb-i kalām-i Ṣaff-i Sābiʿ, pp. 205, 223, 282.
- ↑ Mīr ʿUthmān ʿAlī Khān, Intikhāb-i kalām-i Ṣaff-i Sābiʿ, pp. 225, 247.
- ↑ Ṭarafdārī, "Sitīz wa sāzish-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān bā istiʿmār-i Ingilīs", p. 152.
- ↑ Sayyid Raḍī al-Dīn, Ḥadīqat al-ʿālam, vol. 2, p. 3.
- ↑ Shāhīn, "Barrasī-yi rawābiṭ-i adabī, tārīkhī wa siyāsī-yi Īrān wa Shibh-i Qāra dar dawrān-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān-i Hind wa Tālpūrān-i Sind", p. 147.
- ↑ Khānzamān Khān, Tārīkh-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān (Gulzār-i Āṣafiyya), introduction, p. 41.
- ↑ Muḥammadī, "Barrasī wa wākāwī-yi naqsh-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān dar ḥifẓ wa gustarish-i farhang-i Īrānī-Shīʿī dar Dakkan", p. 10.
- ↑ Ṭarafdārī, "Sitīz wa sāzish-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān bā istiʿmār-i Ingilīs", p. 158.
- ↑ Muʾadhdhanī, "Maqām-i Mīr ʿUthmān ʿAlī Khān ākharīn farmānrawā-yi Āṣafiyya-yi Dakkan wa nigāhī bi shiʿr-i Fārsī-yi ū", p. 89–90.
- ↑ Muʾadhdhanī, "Maqām-i Mīr ʿUthmān ʿAlī Khān ākharīn farmānrawā-yi Āṣafiyya-yi Dakkan wa nigāhī bi shiʿr-i Fārsī-yi ū", p. 89–90.
- ↑ Ṭarafdārī, "Sitīz wa sāzish-i Āṣaf Jāhiyān bā istiʿmār-i Ingilīs", p. 174.
References
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- Mīr ʿUthmān ʿAlī Khān. Intikhāb-i kalām-i Ṣaff-i Sābiʿ. Introduction by Professor Rashīd Aḥmad Ṣiddīqī. Hyderabad, India, Daftar-i Muʿtamadī-yi Niẓām Trasts, 1975.
- Muʾadhdhanī, ʿAlī Muḥammad. "Maqām-i Mīr ʿUthmān ʿAlī Khān ākharīn farmānrawā-yi Āṣafiyya-yi Dakkan wa nigāhī bi shiʿr-i Fārsī-yi ū". Dānishkada-yi Adabiyyāt wa ʿUlūm-i Insānī-yi Dānishgāh-i Tihrān. No. 152, 1379 Sh.
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