Afzal Khan (died 10 November 1659) birth name Abdullah Bhatari was a general of the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur Sultanate in the Deccan of India. He played an important role in the southern expansion of the Bijapur Sultanate by subjugating the Nayaka chiefs who had taken control of the former Vijayanagara territory.
In 1659, the Bijapur government sent Afzal Khan to subjugate Shivaji, a former vassal turned rebel. He was killed at a truce negotiation meeting with Shivaji, and his army was defeated at the Battle of Pratapgad.
Amid the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Bijapur government campaigned against the Nayaka chiefs who had taken control of the former Vijayanagara territory. One of these chiefs was Virabhadra, the Nayaka of Ikkeri. Kenge Nayaka (or Keng Nayak), the chief of Basavapattana and a discontented tributary of Virabhadra, helped the Bijapur army capture Ikkeri in exchange for 1,00,000 rupees, forcing Virabhadra to flee to Bednur. Subsequently, the Bijapur government decided to capture the forts of Adoni and Tadipatri, which were ruled by friends of Kenge Nayaka. Kenge Nayaka suggested that the march to these areas was difficult, and instead advised Bijapur to capture Bangalore. In exchange for this advice, Kenge Nayaka demanded the fort of Sira, which was located on the way to Bangalore.
The Bijapur commander Randaula Khan sent a force led by Afzal Khan to capture Sira. Kasturi Ranga Nayaka, the commander of Sira, came out of the fort to negotiate with Afzal Khan, but Afzal Khan killed him. The defenders closed the fort gates before Afzal Khan could enter the fort, but Afzal Khan's contingent was soon reinforced by the main Bijapur army led by Randaula Khan. The Bijapur army captured the fort, and handed it over to Kenge Nayaka, while sending the captured wealth to Bijapur. Kenge Nayaka subsequently switched his allegiance to Bangalore, but then re-joined Bijapur, and convinced the Bangalore ruler Kempe Gowda to surrender his fort to Bijapur.
Randaula Khan then invaded Mysore, whose ruler Kanthirava Narasaraja I negotiated peace by paying 500,000 huns (currency unit) to Bijapur. Subsequently, Kenge Nayaka rebelled against Bijapur, and asserted independence at Basavapattana, where he raised an army of 70,000 soldiers to guard the fort. Randaula Khan then formed an alliance with his former overlord Virabhadra, the former Nayaka of Ikkeri, and besieged Basavapattana. Afzal Khan, along with Shahaji and some commanders of African origin, was deployed at the main gate of the Basavapattana fort. He entered the fort after a fierce battle, killed the guards, and captured the qasba – the central part of the fortified town. Kenge Nayaka then launched three successive attacks against him, but Afzal Khan forced him to retreat. Encouraged by Afzal Khan's successes, the Bijapur forces attacked Kenge Nayaka's contingent from both sides. After losing 3,700 soldiers, Kenge Nayaka surrendered the fort, and agreed to pay Bijapur 4 million huns. He was imprisoned, and later killed for attempting to bribe a guard for his release.
Bijapur's victory over Kenge Nayaka frightened the other Nayakas of present-day Karnataka into accepting Bijapur's suzerainty. Randaula Khan sent Afzal Khan to capture Chikkanayakana Halli, whose chief (raja) offered to accept Bijapur's suzerainty. The chief was allowed to keep control of the town (qasba) in exchange for 20,000 huns, but Afzal Khan took control of the fort. Afzal Khan then besieged the fort of Belur, joined by the main Bijapur army. After a four-month long siege, the local chief Venkatapati started peace negotiations, offering to cede the fort of Sakrepatna near Belur. Ultimately, he became a vassal of Bijapur, as did the Nayaka of Tumkur.
Afzal Khan is best remembered for his campaign against Shivaji, the founder of the kingdom that later evolved into the Maratha Empire. This campaign, which resulted in Afzal Khan's death, came to be highly celebrated in the Marathi literature. The earliest sources that describe the episode include:
Afzal Khan Vadh ("The Killing of Afzal Khan"), powada composed by Agrindas or Ajnandas in 1659, and probably revised later; the earliest known heroic ballad in Marathi language
Cantos 17–21 of Shiva-Bharata, composed by Shivaji's court poet Paramananda at the time of his coronation in 1674
Shri-Shiva-Prabhuche Charitra (or the Sabhasad Bakhar), a chronicle composed by Krishnaji Anant Sabhasad under the patronage of Shivaji's son Rajaram in 1697
The Jedhe Shakawali (Jedhe chronology), records kept by the Jedhe aristocratic family
Shivaji was a son of the Bijapur's general Shahaji, who had fought alongside Afzal Khan. He administered Shahaji's fiefs in the Pune region, and had started acting independently of the Bijapur government. He had captured territories ruled by other subordinates of Bijapur, and had negotiated with the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who had invaded the Bijapur Sultanate. Shivaji claimed to be a loyal servant of Bijapur, but the Bijapur government doubted his loyalty. During much of the 1650s, the Bijapur government had been unable to take any steps against Shivaji because it was busy dealing with the Mughal invasion, internal factional politics, and a succession dispute. After a peace treaty with the Mughals, and the general acceptance of Ali Adil Shah II as the king, the Bijapur government became more stable, and turned its attention towards Shivaji.
Ali Adil Shah II was a minor whose mother had been the de facto ruler since the mid-1640s, when his father had fallen seriously ill. The decision of sending Afzal Khan against Shivaji was probably taken by his mother. An English letter sent by factor Henry Revington to East India Company, dated 10 December 1659, states that the queen advised Afzal Khan to pretend friendship with Shivaji, because military strength would not be enough to defeat Shivaji.
Shivaji reportedly commanded a 60,000 infantry after his conquest of Javli. On the other hand, Afzal Khan's army – including infantry and cavalry – had 10,000 soldiers. This number is supported by the English letter, as well as Tarikh-i-Ali. Maratha sources suggest higher numbers, stating that Afzal Khan's army had as many as 35,000 infantry; 12,000 cavalry; and 500 cannons; according to American academic Nicholas Gier, these sources exaggerate the strength of Afzal Khan's forces in order to glorify Shivaji's victory. The Chitnis Bakhar states that Afzal Khan's army numbered 30,000 men; and Sabhasad states that it had 12,000 cavalry plus additional infantry. Shivaji-Pratapa, Rairi Bakhar, 91 Qalami Bakhar, and Tarikh-i-Shivaji state that Afzal Khan's army numbered 12,000.
Afzal Khan, like the ruler of Bijapur, was a Muslim, while Shivaji was a Hindu. According to Shiva-Bharata (1674), composed under Shivaji's patronage, Afzal Khan's army started its march amid several evil omens, such as falling meteors and thunderbolts in cloudless sky. The text states that Afzal Khan first came to Tuljapur, where he destroyed the idol of Shivaji's family goddess Bhavani, and slaughtered a cow (considered holy by the Hindus) in front of her temple. Afzal Khan Vadh states that Afzal Khan challenged the goddess to show her some miracle. He went on to desecrate the Hindu temples at Pandharpur and Shikhar Shingnapur (Shambhu Mahadev).
Sabhasad also supports the account of Afzal Khan's desecrations at Tuljapur and Pandharpur. The Chitnis Bakhar and Shiva Digvijaya state that the idols at Tuljapur and Pandharpur were removed before Afzal Khan could destroy them. The contemporary English letters of the East India Company, the Dutch East India Company's Dagh-register, and the Portuguese records do not mention any desecration of temples by Afzal Khan.
Afzal Khan finally encamped at Wai, a town that he had governed in the earlier years. Shivaji had taken up residence in the newly fortified Pratapgad, and Afzal Khan's desecration of Hindu sites was probably aimed at provoking Shivaji into leaving the safety of the fort. These actions alienated the local Hindu deshmukhs, who could have provided local support to Afzal Khan. Since Afzal Khan had governed the Wai region in the past, and knew it well, he presumed that he did not need such local support.