Murshid Quli Khan

Murshid Quli Khan (c. 1660 – 30 June 1727), also known as Mohammad Hadi (born as Suryanarayana Mishra), was the first Nawab of Bengal, serving from 1717 to 1727.

According to some writers, he was born a Hindu in the Deccan Plateau c. 1670, Murshid Quli Khan was bought by Mughal noble Haji Shafi. After Shafi's death, he worked under the Divan of Vidarbha, during which time he piqued the attention of the then-emperor Aurangzeb, who sent him to Bengal as the divan c. 1700. However, he entered into a bloody conflict with the province's subahdar, Azim-us-Shan. After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, he was transferred to the Deccan Plateau by Azim-us-Shan's father the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I. However, he was brought back as deputy subahdar in 1710. In 1717, he was appointed as the Nawab Nazim of Murshidabad by Farrukhsiyar. During his reign, he changed the jagirdari system (land management) to the mal jasmani, which would later transform into the zamindari system. He also continued sending revenues from the state to the Mughal Empire. He received various titles from the Mughal emperors such as Kārtalab Khān, Murshid Quli Khān, Jafar Khān and Mutamin al-Mulk Ála' al-Dauläh Jafar Khān Nasiri Nasir Jang Bahadur successively. He built the Katra Masjid mosque at Murshidabad where he was buried under the staircase after his death on 30 June 1727. He was succeeded by his son-in-law Shuja ud Din Muhammad Khan.