The Malwa Subah () was one of the original twelve Subahs (provinces) of the Mughal Empire, including Gondwana, from 1568–1743. Its seat was Ujjain in the Malwa region. It shared borders with the autonomous and tributary chiefdoms in the east, as well as Berar, Khandesh, Ahmadnagar, Gujarat, Ajmer, Agra, and Illahabad subahs.
History Before becoming part of the Mughal Empire, the Malwa region was an independent sultanate. Its last ruler, Baz Bahadur, was defeated and its capital, Mandu, was conquered in 1562 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s army led by Abdullah Khan, the Uzbeg.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). The Mughul Empire, Mumbai:Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, , p.113 He was appointed its first governor. In 1564 he was replaced by Qara Bahadur Khan. In 1568 it became a subah of Mughal empire. One of its last governors was Sawai Jai Singh, who was the governor of the Subah for three times, from 1714-17, from 1729-30 and from 28 September 1732 to 4 August 1737.Sarkar, Jadunath (1984). A History of Jaipur, New Delhi:Orient Longman, , pp.163-86 The Mughal hold on Malwa ended in 1743, when Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao obtained the formal grant of Naib-subahdari (deputy governorship) of Malwa.
Administrative divisions Malwa Subah comprised 12 sarkars (districts): Ujjain, Chanderi, Raisen, Garha Mandla, Sarangpur, Bijagarh, Mandu, Handia, Nandurbar, Mandsaur, Gagron and Kotri-Parava. These sarkars are further divided into 301 parganas. The city of Ujjain was the capital of the subah.Abul Fazl-i-Allami (1949, reprint 1993). Ain-i-Akbari, Vol.II (English tr. by H.S. Jarrett, rev. by J.N. Sarkar), Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, pp.206-31
The sarkars (districts) and the parganas (tehsils) of Malwa Subah were:
Sarkar Pargana Ujjain10 parganas, Ujjain was the capital Raisen32 parganas Garha Mandla57 parganas Chanderi61 parganas Sarangpur24 parganas Bijagarh29 parganas Mandu16 parganas Handia23 parganas Nandurbar7 parganas Mandsaur17 parganas Gagron12 parganas Kotri-Pirawa10 parganas
Mughal Subahdars (Governors) of Malwa (1561–1737) Personal Name Reign Conquest of Malwa from Baz Bahadur by the Mughal Emperor Akbar Adham Khan Koka1561 Pir Muhammad Khan1561 Malwa retaken by Baz Bahadur Abdullah Khan Uzbek1562 – 1564 Abdullah Khan Uzbek revolts; Malwa retaken by Emperor Akbar Muhammad Quli Khan Barlas1564 – 1566 Shihab-ud-din Ahmed Khan 1566 – 1568 Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan 1568 – ? Muzaffar Khan Turbati1573? – ? Shihab-ud-din Ahmed Khan 1574? – 1577? Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan 1577? – ? Mirza Aziz Koka Khan-e-Azam1578? – 1590Ahmed 1590Sultan Murad Mirza 1590 – 1594 Mirza Shahrukh1594 – 1600Sultan Daniyal Mirza 1600 – 1604Pir Khan Lodhi Khan Jahan II 1627 – ?Abdullah Khan Firoz Jang 1657 – ? Mukhtiyar Khan1697 – 1701 Abu Nasr Khan Shaista Khan II1701 – 1704 Sultan Bidar Bakht1704 – 1706 Ikhlas Khan Khan-e-Aalam1706 – 1707 Nijabat Khan1707 Abdullah Khan1707 Sawai Mirza Raja Jai Singh II1714 – 1717 Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk1719 – 1722 Girdhar Bahadur1722 – 1723 Azim-ullah Khan1723 – 1725 Girdhar Bahadur1725 – 1728 Sawai Mirza Raja Jai Singh II1729 – 1730 Muhammad Khan Bangash Ghazanfar Jang1730 – 1732 Sawai Mirza Raja Jai Singh II1732 – 1737 Conquered by Marathas under Baji Rao I in 1737
See also Malwa Sultanate
Notes