Back مالك عنبر Arabic Malik Ambar Catalan Malik Ambar German Malik Ambar Spanish Malik Ambar French मलिक अंबर Hindi Malik Ambar ID Malik Ambar Italian മാലിക് അംബർ Malayalam मलिक अंबर Marathi
Malik Ambar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Peshwa of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate | |
| In office 1600–1626 | |
| Monarchs | Murtaza Nizam Shah II Burhan Nizam Shah III |
| Succeeded by | Fath Khan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1548[4] Harar, Adal Sultanate[4] |
| Died | 13 May 1626 (aged 77–78) Khuldabad, Ahmadnagar Sultanate |
| Spouse | Bibi Karima |
| Children | Fateh Khan Changiz Khan |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar |
| Battles/wars | Siege of Ahmednagar (1609) Siege of Ahmednagar (1619) Battle of Bhatvadi |
Malik Ambar (1548 – 13 May 1626) was a military leader and statesman who served as the Peshwa (Prime Minister) of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate and its de facto ruler from 1600 until his death in 1626.[5]
Originally a slave from modern day Ethiopia, Chapu, as he was known then, was sold from place to place by many slave merchants, one of whom renamed him Ambar and converted him to Islam. He was eventually brought to India, where he was bought by his last owner, the Peshwa of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Ambar rose through the ranks at Ahmadnagar, where he created a mercenary force numbering greater than 50,000 men. He was eventually given the title "Malik"(ملِك) meaning King in arabic. He was based in the Deccan region and was hired by local kings. Ambar became a popular Prime Minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, showing administrative acumen.[6]
He is also regarded as a pioneer in guerrilla warfare in the region. He is credited with carrying out a revenue settlement of much of the Deccan, which formed the basis for subsequent settlements. He is a figure of veneration to the Siddis of Gujarat. He challenged the might of the Mughals and Adil Shahs of Bijapur and raised the low status of the Nizam Shah.[7][8]
- ^ Sheikh Chand, Malik Ambar,"Ehde Afreen; Hyderabad; 1929
- ^ Times of India, Plus Supplement, July 1999,
- ^ a b Kenneth X. Robbins; John McLeod (2006). African Elites in India. Mapin. p. 50. ISBN 81-88204-73-0. OCLC 701823920.
- ^ a b "Malik Ambar: The Ethiopian slave who became a kingmaker in India".
- ^ "Malik Ambar: The African king who built Aurangabad and ruined the game for Mughals in the Deccan". 15 May 2020.
- ^ Sohoni, Pushkar (30 August 2018). The architecture of a Deccan sultanate: courtly practice and royal authority in late medieval India. London: Bloomsbury. pp. xx–xxv. ISBN 978-1-83860-927-6. OCLC 1090743377.
- ^ Maciszewski, Amelia (Winter–Spring 2005). "From Africa to India: Music of the Sidis and the Indian Ocean Diaspora (review)". Asian Music. 36 (1): 132–135. doi:10.1353/amu.2005.0008. S2CID 191611760.
- ^ Michell, George & Mark Zebrowski. Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates (The New Cambridge History of India Vol. I:7), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999, ISBN 0-521-56321-6, p.11-12