Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung
Muhammad Ismail (1649/1657 – 11 February 1713), known by his title
Zulfiqar Khan, was a leading noble and military general of the
Mughal Empire. His father was
Asad Khan, ''
wazir'' (prime minister) to
Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. During Aurangzeb's reign, Zulfiqar Khan led several military campaigns in pursuit of the emperor's ambitions in the
Deccan and
South India, notable of which is the
Siege of Jinji. He held the post of ''
mir bakhshi'' (paymaster general), appointed towards the later part of Aurangzeb's reign, and was made
governor of the Deccan by emperor
Bahadur Shah I. These positions helped make Zulfiqar Khan the most powerful noble in the empire by the early 1700s.
For his role in engineering the accession of emperor
Jahandar Shah, Zulfiqar Khan has been termed the first
kingmaker in Mughal history. During this emperor's brief reign, Zulfiqar Khan served as ''
wazir'' (prime minister) and acted as effective ruler of the empire, before being executed in 1713 by claimant to the throne
Farrukhsiyar.
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