User:Flemmish Nietzsche/Ikhlas Khan

Ikhlas Khan (died 1656), born Malik Raihan Habshi, was the prime minister of the Sultanate of Bijapur under Mohammed Adil Shah and the leader of the Habshi faction in the sultanate.

Ikhlas Khan was originally a Habshi (Abyssinian) slave foreign to the Deccan. He was relieved of his servitude working in the court of the sultanate, and was later promoted to a higher position, in which he partook in campaigns in the southern frontiers of the state. Under Mohammed Adil Shah he was appointed prime minister, and granted his title Ikhlas Khan in 1635. He was executed shortly after Mohammed's death in 1656 on charges of treason.

Much of his historical prominence has been attained from the many contemporary paintings depicting him, where he is often pictured with the sultan.

References

Sources

Ali, Shanti Sadiq (1996). The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 9788125004851.
Bhatt, Purnima Mehta (2017). The African Diaspora in India: Assimilation, Change and Cultural Survivals. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351373654.
Haidar, Navina Najat; Sardar, Marika (2015). Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780300211108.
Overton, Keelan, ed. (2020). "Iran and the Deccan: Persianate Art, Culture, and Talent in Circulation". Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253048943.