Adina Beg Khan

Adina Beg Khan (Punjabi: [ədinaː beːɡ xãː]; c. 1710 – 15 September 1758) was a Punjabi general, administrator, and statesman who served as the Nawab of Punjab from April 1758 until his death in September of the same year. He began his career as a patwari (accountant) and later as a sepoy after joining the Mughal army, eventually drawing the attention of the Punjabi nobles. After serving through various posts, he was appointed as the Subahdar of the entirety of Punjab by Raghunath Rao on behalf of Rajaram II and later recognised as the Nawab by Emperor Alamgir II during the power vacuum in 1758.

Though illiterate, Adina Beg served as the Shiqdar of Sultanpur Pargana, Faujdar of Sirhind Sarkar, Naib Nazim and then Nazim of Bist Doab Sarkar and, later, the Subahdar of the Subahs of Lahore and Multan, though his claim in Multan was disputed. He joined hands with the Sikh leader Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and the Marathas in defeating the Afghans. Despite being short, Adina Beg's reign has often been compared with that of his ideological aftercomer Ranjit Singh by modern historians.