Mirza Aziz Koka


Mirzā Azīz Koka also known as Kotaltash, foster brother of Akbar, who remained one of the leading nobles at the courts of the Mughal emperors Akbar and Jahangir. He also remained Subahdar, governor of the Subah of Gujarat. He was also father in law of Prince Murad And Prince Khusraw.

Biography

Early life

He was the son of Shams ud-Din Ataga Khan, the Prime Minister of Akbar and Akbar's wet-nurse Jiji Anga, hence his Turkish sobriquet “Koka” or “foster-brother.” Ataga Khan was murdered by Adham Khan, the jealous son of Maham Anga, also one of Akbar's wet-nurses in 1562. Thereafter, Aziz Koka built his father's tomb next to Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi in 1566-67. Adham Khan on the other hand, was executed by the orders of Akbar.
After Akbar conquered Gujarat, he made Aziz Koka the governor of the new province. In 1573, the Gujaratis rebelled and besieged Aziz Koka in Ahmedabad. But he defended the city until Akbar's army came to his relieve. In 1579, he was made governor of Bihar and ordered to quell a rebellion in Bengal. however, he did not take action until the next year, when the rebels began to take Bihar as well. He was similarly reluctant when ordered to conquests in the Deccan in 1586.
Akbar was very lenient to Aziz Koka, his foster-brother and childhood playmate. Nevertheless, Aziz Koka did not obey Akbar, his emperor, readily. He was especially opposed to Akbar's law to brand all horses, and could not accept prostration in Akbar's new court ritual. When Aziz Koka was summoned to court in 1592, he went on pilgrimage to Mecca instead. There he spent much money to pious causes for a year and a half, until Akbar forgave him, and restored him in his positions.

Later life

During the rule of Jahangir, however, he lost many positions, as he along with Raja Man Singh I supported the rebellion of Khusrau Mirza, the eldest son of Jahangir. Khusrau's rebellion was crushed in 1606. He was first blinded and later executed. Though Jahangir never found any directed evidence against Man Singh and Aziz Koka to have them executed, he however took away much of their powers, and chided them in the Jahangirnama. Later in life, Aziz Koka regained his position, but his clan could never regain the royal patronage, as they enjoyed during his father's lifetime.
His daughter, Habiba Banu Begum was married to the fourth son of Akbar, Mughal prince Sultan Murad Mirza in 1587; and had two sons, Rustam Mirza and Alam Mirza.
He built his tomb, Chausath Khamba, literally 64 pillars, during 1623–24, near the Nizamuddin Dargah shrine complex in Delhi.