# Murad Mirza (son of Akbar)

Murad Mirza (Persian: مراد میرزا; 15 June 1570 – 12 May 1599) was a Mughal prince as the second surviving son of Mughal Emperor Akbar. He was raised by Salima Sultan Begum until age of 5. He was the maternal grandfather of Nadira Banu Begum, wife of Prince Dara Shikoh (eldest son of the emperor Shah Jahan).

## Birth and education

Few months after birth of Prince Salim, another son was born to Akbar from a royal concubine and he was named Murad. Since he was born in the mountains of Fatehpur, he was called "Pahari”. He was entrusted to Salima Sultan Begum for upbringing who undertook it till 1575 as she left for Hajj thereafter.
Murad was first educated by Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak and, as from 1580, by Jesuit priests Antonio de Montserrat (as a tutor) and Francisco Aquaviva, who were called up by Akbar himself to teach Murad Portuguese and the basics of Christianity.
Murad became the first Mughal prince to be educated by western Jesuit priests or, as Dr. Oscar R. Gómez points out, the first person to be educated in the paradigmatic model driven by Murad's father Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, the 3rd Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso, and Jesuit Antonio de Montserrat, which resulted in the current existentialist model.
Hence, Sultan Murad Pahari has become the first person resulting from the amalgamation of Tibetan tantric Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity.

## Military command

In 1577 (at the age of seven), Murad was awarded his first military rank, receiving a mansab of 7000 men. In 1584, after he attained puberty, this was enhanced to 9000 men. From 1593 Prince Murad was in command of the army in the Deccan. He was ineffective in command largely due to his drunkenness. His condition led to his replacement by Abu'l-Fazl, who arrived at Murad's camp in early May.

## Later life and death

Due to his failed expedition to Ahmadnagar, Murad Mirza fell into chronic grief and was pushed further into despair on the death of his son, Rustum and turned to excessive drinking. This excessive drinking led to illnesses like epilepsy and chronic indigestion.
In February 1599, Murad started his march towards Ahmadnagar in order to avoid going to Agra and meeting the Emperor. On 6 May 1599, he had a severe seizure and subsequently died in an unconscious state on 12 May, near Ahmadnagar.

## Family

One of Prince Murad's wives was Habiba Banu Begum, the daughter of Mirza Aziz Koka, Known as Khan Azam. He was the son of Akbar's milk mother, Jiji Anga. The marriage took place on 15 May 1587, when Murad was seventeen. She was the mother of Rustam Mirza, born on 27 August 1588, father of Bilqis Banu Begum (wife of Shah Shuja), and Alam Mirza, born on 4 November 1590 and died in infancy.
Another of his wives was the daughter of Bahadur Khan, the son, and successor of Raja Ali Khan, ruler of Khandesh. Akbar arranged this marriage, in order to exact more help from Khandesh for the Mughals' future operations in the Deccan. His only daughter Princess Jahan Banu Begum was married to Prince Parviz Mirza, son of Emperor Jahangir. This marriage was held at the palace of his mother, Mariam-uz-Zamani.

## Governorships

* Malwa 1590–1594
* Berar 1596–1599
* Assam 1595–1597