| Post: | Grand Vizier |
| Body: | Hindustan |
| Insigniasize: | 150px |
| Appointer: | Mughal emperor |
| Formation: | 21 April 1526 |
| First: | Amir Nizamu-d din Khalifa |
| Last: | Asaf-ud-Daula |
| Abolished: | 21 September 1797 |
The Grand Vizier of Hindustan (Hindustani: Vazir-ul-Mamlikat-i-Hindustan)[1] [2] was the highest ranking minister in the Mughal Empire and the chief adviser to the emperor himself. The position acted as the de facto head of government of the Mughal Empire and had responsibility for leading the ministers of the Empire. This is the list of grand viziers (vazīr-e azam) of the Mughal Empire.
The seniormost official under the Mughals, or the Prime Minister, held different titles such as Vakil, Vakil-us-Sultanat, Wazir, Diwan, Diwan-i-Ala and Diwan Wazir under different Mughal emperors.[3] Under Babur and Humayun, the institution of the wazirat was not fully developed owing to a lack of an entrenched nobility and political upheaval. Nonetheless, individuals under both rulers did rise to positions equivalent to the position of prime minister and under Humayun reforms were first attempted to clarify the roles of Vakil and Wazir.[3]
In the early years of Akbar's reign, the position of prime minister was first officially held by Bairam Khan as Vakil-us-Sultanat, and he exercised considerable influence over the emperor. Over time the power of the Vakil gradually declined, and during the reign of his successor Jahangir the role of Wazir replaced the Vakil as the most important officer in government.[3] Mughal wazirs were specifically appointed from the ahl-i-qalam(men of the pen) as distinct from the ahl-i-saif(men of the sword).[4] With the abolishment of the post of Wakil, the post was divided into the two offices of Wazir and Mir Bakhshi, where the chief Wazir was the head of the finance department, while the Mir Bakhshi was the head of the military department.[5] These two offices were made jointly responsible for the administration by a system of signatures and counter-signatures.[6] Until the death of Aurangzeb, the post of Wazir was never a threat to the monarchy as the Wazir could not act too independently. However, after the death of Aurangzeb, the pre-mughal tradition in India of the Wazir being the premier noble at the court and leading counsellor of the king apart from being the head of the financial administration had been re-established.[7]
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Notable events | Emperor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amir Nizamuddin Khalifa | 21 April 1526 | 17 May 1540 | 1st Battle of PanipatBattle of Khanwa | Babur (15261530)& Humayun (15301540) | |
| Qaracha Khan | 1540 | ? | He was a governor of Qandahar and Humayun appoint him as Grand-Vizier of the Mughal State. | Humayun (15301556) | |
| Bairam Khan | 1556 | 1560 | Akbar-i-Azam (1556-1605) | ||
| Munim Khan | 1560 | 1561 | |||
| Ataga Khan[8] | 1561 | 1562 | He was assassinated by Adham Khan | ||
| Muzaffar Khan Turbati[9] | 1575 | 1579 | No Vakil was appointed after his appointment to governorship in Bengal from 1579 until 1589 | ||
| Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak[10] | 1579 | 22 August 1602 | |||
| Sharif Khan | 1605 | 1611 | Jahangir (1605-1627) | ||
| Mirza Ghias Beg | 1611 | 1622 | |||
| Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan | 1622 | 1630 | |||
| Afzal Khan Shirazi | 1630 | 1639 | Shah Jahan (1628-1658) | ||
| Islam Khan Mashadi | 1639 | 1640 | |||
| Shaikh Ilam-ud-Din Ansari[11] | 1640 | 1642 | |||
| Sadullah Khan[12] | 1642 | 1656 |
| ||
| Mir Jumla[13] | 1656 | 1657 | Alamgir I (1658-1707) | ||
| Jafar Khan[14] | 1657 | 1658 | |||
| Fazil Khan | 1658 | 1663 | |||
| Jafar Khan | 1663 | 1670 [15] | |||
| Asad Khan[16] | 1675 | 1707 | |||
| Mun'im Khan Khan-i-Khanan[17] | 1707 | 1711 | Bahadur Shah I (1707-1712) | ||
| Hidayatullah Khan Kashmiri[18] | 1711 | 1713 | Jahandar Shah (1712-1713) | ||
| Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung[19] | 1712 | 1713 | |||
| Mir Rustam Ali Khan | 1710 | 1737 | Farrukhsiyar (1713–1719) | ||
| Qutb-ul-Mulk Abdullah Khan Barha[20] | 1713 | 1720 |
| ||
| Muhammad Amin Khan Turani | 1720 | 1721 | Muhammad Shah (1719-1748) | ||
| Mir Qamar-ud-Din Khan Asaf Jah I[22] | 1721 | 1723 | |||
| Roshan-ud-Daulah Zafar Khan[23] [24] | 1724 | 1733 | |||
| Mir Fazil Qamar-ud-Din Khan | 1733 | 1748 | |||
| Safdar Jang | 1748 | 1753 | Ahmad Shah Bahadur (1748-1754) | ||
| Intizam-ud-Daulah[25] | 1753 | 1754 | |||
| Imad-ul-Mulk Feroze Jung | 1754 | 1760 | Alamgir II (1754-1759) | ||
| (de-facto wazir-i-azam Shuja ud-Daulah)[26] (Original shahjada-wazir-i-azam | 1760 1760 | 1775 1784 | Shah Alam II (1760-1806) | ||
| Najaf Quli Khan[27] | 1772 | 1791 | |||