29/03/2024
His name was Daud and his ancestors were from Afghanistan and belonged to the Panni Pashtun tribe. Khan was usually a title conferred to someone for their bravery thus the name “Daud Khan Panni”.
If you see the history Daud Khan has served many Mughal rulers starting from Dara Shikoh then Aurangzeb and finally Bahadur Shah. He died while the empire was headed by a puppet ruler (Farrukhsiyar)
1659 Daud Khan was appointed the Subedar of Patna a role which he had till 1664.
His first major claim to fame was the victory over the Chero kings. For many years the Palamu region of Bihar was not in full control of the Mughals on top of that the Chero kings had defaulted on the annual tax that they owed to the Mughal rulers. To sort this once in for all Aurangzeb ordered Daud Khan to march towards Palamu. In 1661 Daud Khan on the orders of Aurangzeb defeated the Chero king finally bringing this region into full control of the empire.
Aurangzeb gifted the areas in and around Daudnagar in Aurangabad to Daud Khan for his successful mission to Palamu. Daud Kahn started the construction of the fort at Daudnagar in the year 1663 and was completed in 1673. It is to be noted here that by the time the fort was completed, Daud Khan had already moved to southern India.
In 1702 when he was the Faujdar of Hyderabad and Karnatik, Aurangzeb had ordered to blockade of Fort St. George when belonged to the East India Company in Madras demanding additional taxes/revenue. He had laid siege to the fort for three months.
During 1713 – 1715 Daud Khan was appointed the viceroy of Gujarat with his death finally coming to him on 6th September 1715. He was killed by Hussain Ali Khan in Burhapur during a battle.
