Amir-ul-Umara Mirza Raja Bhao Singh
Raja of Amber
Portrait of Raja Bhau Singh from Golconda c.1675
25th Raja of Amber
Reign6 July 1614 – 13 December 1621
PredecessorMan Singh I
SuccessorJai Singh I
Bornc.1577
Died13 December 1621 (aged 43–44)
Burhanpur, Khandesh Subah Mughal Empire
(modern-day Madhya Pradesh, India)
SpouseRathorji Aas Deiji d.of Raja Sur Singh of Marwar
IssueKunwar Badri Prasad (died infant)


Suraj Deiji m.to Raja Gaj Singh of Marwar
DynastyKachwaha
FatherMan Singh I
MotherGaurji Sahodra Deiji d.of Rajmal of Maroth

Mirza Raja Bhao Singh (c.1577 – 13 December 1621) was a high ranking Mughal nobleman as well as the ruler of the Kachwaha Kingdom of Amber.He succeeded Mirza Raja Man Singh I on throne with the help of Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1614 as he had survived all his brothers in the lifetime of his father.

Life

Mirza Raja Bhau Singh was a younger son of Mirza Raja Man Singh I, Raja of Amber,[1] born of his Gaur/Gaud queen Sahodra Deiji , daughter of Rajmal of Maroth near Nagaur. He had one full brother named Kunwar Durjan Singh.[2] Prior to his accession to the throne, Bhau Singh had been posted in the province of Bengal, working alongside the Deputy Subedar of the region.[3]

Following the death of his father in 1614, Hindu custom dictated that Kunwar Maha Singh, the son of Bhau Singh's late elder brother Yuvraj Jagat Singh, inherit the throne. However, the Mughal emperor Jahangir overruled this and instead bestowed the crown of Amber on Kunwar Bhau Singh.[1] The former, who had a close relationship with the new Raja,[3] justified this decision by declaring that he was "the most capable of Raja Man Singh's sons". Kunwar Maha Singh was given the rule of the lands of Garha (present-day Jabalpur) as consolation for his loss.[1]

Upon his accession,[3] Jahangir initially raised Raja Bhau Singh's mansab to 3000, then to 4000 the following year, before finally promoting him to a commander of 5000 in March 1617.[1] However, when the Emperor dispatched him to the southern province of Deccan to serve in the military campaign against the Abyssinian noble of Nizam Shahi kingdom of Ahmadnagar Malik Amber, Bhau Singh only served as a subordinate captain, in contrast to the supreme commands previously enjoyed by his father and grandfather.[4] The languid manner and poor management of the campaign, combined with the bafflement of mughal officers when faced with Malik Amber's guerrilla tactics, prevented Bhau Singh from having any substantial achievements in this role.[3]

This inactive and inglorious life appears to have caused a deep melancholy in him, who turned to over drinking in response. Following a sojourn to the Mughal royal court, he returned to the Deccan where, in December 1621, he suddenly fainted. His health now debilitated due to severe alcoholism, Bhau Singh did not regain consciousness and died a day later at the young age of 44. Having had no sons, Jahangir appointed as Bhau Singh's successor his great-nephew Jai Singh I, the son of Kunwar Maha Singh, the latter having died some years earlier under similar circumstances.[4][3][5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sarkar, Jadunath (1984). A History of Jaipur. Orient Longman. p. 97. ISBN 81-250-0333-9.
  2. ↑ Sarkar (1984, p. 93)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Gupta, Savitri (1997). Rajasthan District Gazetteers: Jaipur. Govt. Central Press. p. 38.
  4. 1 2 Sarkar (1984, p. 98)
  5. ↑ Sarkar (1984, p. 111)
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