| Mughal Conquest of Sindh |
|---|
|
| Belligerents |
|---|
 Mughal Empire |
Tarkhan dynasty |
| Commanders and leaders |
|---|
Akbar
Sadiq Khan
Abdur Rahman |
Mirza Jani Beg Tarkhan 
Muhammad Paynda †
Abu'l Fath † |
In 1574, Akbar took control of the island fortress of Bhakkar and aimed to conquer the southern part of Sind, near the mouth of the Indus River. He wanted this area to complete his dominance over north-western India and use it as a base for attacking Kandahar, which was under Shah Abbas of Persia.[1][2]
In 1590, Akbar appointed Abdur Rahman (Khan Khana) as the governor of Multan and tasked him with capturing the principality of Thatta in lower Sindh, ruled by Mirza Jani Beg. After two battles, Mirza Jani Beg was defeated and forced to surrender his land, including the forts of Thatta and Sehwan, in 1591. He then joined Akbar’s service as a mansabdar with a rank of 3,000 and became a member of the Din Ilahi.[1][3]
Battle
The Arghuns tried to keep good relations with the Mughals by claiming they shared a common ancestry, but Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) refused any marriage alliances with them. In 1586, the Mughal governor of Bakhar, Nawab Sadiq Khan, laid siege to Sehwan, but Jani Beg, the Tarkhan ruler, used his boats to cut off the Mughal army's supplies, forcing them to retreat. Despite this victory, Akbar wanted to control the Tarkhans, so in 1589-90, he sent Abd al-Rahim Khan-i-Khanan to conquer Qandahar. Jani Beg raised an army of local tribes and hired European mercenaries to help defend his land, holding off the Mughal army for two years, even after losing his father Muhammad Paynda and son Abu'l Fath in battle.[4][5]
In 1592, Jani Beg was forced to surrender to Khan-i-Khanan, ending Tarkhan rule in Sindh. Akbar rewarded Jani Beg by promoting him to a higher military rank. After Jani Beg's death in 1600, his son Ghazi Beg took over. Sindh was later reorganized by the Mughals into a province with several districts, and Thatta was ruled by different governors until 1737.[4][6]
References
