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Dost Mohammad Khan (c. 1657–1728) was the founder of the Bhopal State in central India. He founded the modern city of Bhopal, the capital of the Madhya Pradesh state. A Pashtun from Tirah, Dost Mohammad Khan joined the Mughal imperial army at Delhi in 1703. He rapidly rose through the ranks, and was assigned to the Malwa province in central India. After the death of the emperor Aurangzeb, Khan started providing mercenary services to several local chieftains in the politically unstable Malwa region. In 1709, he took on the lease of Berasia estate, while serving the small Rajput principality of Mangalgarh as a mercenary. He invited his Pashtun kinsmen to Malwa to create a group of loyal associates. Khan successfully protected Mangalgarh from its other Rajput neighbors, married into its royal family, and took over the state after the death of its heirless dowager Rani. Khan sided with the local Rajput chiefs of Malwa in a rebellion against the Mughal empire. Defeated and wounded in the ensuing battle, he ended up helping an injured Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha, one of the Sayyid Brothers. This helped him gain the friendship of the Sayyid Brothers, who had become highly influential king-makers in the Mughal court. Subsequently, Khan annexed several territories in Malwa to his state. Khan also provided mercenary services to the Rani Kamlapati, the ruler of a small Gond kingdom, and received the territory of Bhopal (then a small village) in lieu of payment. After the Rani's death, he killed her son and annexed the Gond kingdom. During the early 1720s, he transformed the village of Bhopal into a fortified city, and claimed the title of Nawab, which was used by the Muslim rulers of princely states in India. Khan's support to the Sayyid Brothers earned him the enmity of the rival Mughal nobleman Nizam-ul-Mulk. The Nizam invaded Bhopal in March 1724, forcing Khan to cede much of his territory, give away his son as hostage and accept the Nizam's suzerainty.〔 In his final years, Khan sought inspiration from Sufi mystics and saints, veering towards spiritualism. He and the other Pathans who settled in Bhopal during his reign, brought the Pathan and Islamic influence to the culture and architecture of Bhopal. At its zenith, the Bhopal state comprised a territory of around . The state became a British protectorate in 1818, and was ruled by the descendents of Dost Mohammad Khan till 1949, when it was merged with the Dominion of India. == Early life == Dost Mohammad Khan was born in the Tirah region on the western frontier of the Mughal Empire (now in Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan). His father Nur Mohammad Khan was a Pashtun nobleman belonging to the Mirazikhel clan of the Orakzai tribe.〔"Mirazi" is probably a of "Mir Aziz". (Shaharyar M. Khan, 2000)〕 This tribe lives in Tirah and the Peshawar region. In his mid-20s, Dost Mohammad Khan was engaged to Mehraj Bibi, an attractive girl from a neighboring Orakzai clan. However, Mehraj was later betrothed to his cousin, because Khan's character was seen as too aggressive and rough. An angry Khan killed his cousin, leading to his ostracism from his family.〔 Attracted by the promise of a bright future in the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's service, Khan set out for Jalalabad, near Delhi, where his Pashtun relatives had settled. He was welcomed by the family of his relative Jalal Khan, the Mughal mansabdar (a military aristocrat) of Jalalabad's suburb Lohari. He arrived in Jalalabad sometime between 1696 and 1703, and spent some time with Jalal Khan's family. During a birthday celebration, a fight broke out between Dost and one of Jalal Khan's sons, over one of the young housemaids. Jalal Khan's son attacked Dost with a bow and arrow, and Dost killed him with a dagger in retaliation.〔 Following this incident, Dost Mohammad Khan decided to flee to Delhi, the Mughal capital. His horse collapsed and died after six hours of galloping. Khan continued his journey on foot and reached Karnal. While waiting in front of a bakery to steal some food, he was recognized by the old clergyman Mullah Jamali of Kashgar, who had taught him Koran in Tirah. Mullah Jamali had left Pushtunistan, and had founded a madrasa (Muslim school) in Delhi. Khan spent around a year in Delhi under Mullah Jamali's shelter, after which he decided to join the Mughal army. The Mullah helped him financially by giving him a horse and five ''asharfi''s (gold coins).〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dost Mohammad of Bhopal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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