There was a Gentleman named Abdur Rashid,
who was in the service of the Prophet
HAZRAT MUHAMMAD (peace be upon
him.). As he had more than once done
great deeds, the Prophet (peace be upon
him.) blessed him, saying that his descendants
would render considerable help to the religion
of Islam. This prophecy was subsequently proved
true. ABDUR RASHID has three
sons, one of whom was named ISMAIL.
One of the sons of the latter was called BABI.Who
was the founder of the BABI DYNASTY.
This dynasty was named after him. One OSMAN
KHAN, ninth in descent from Babi came
to India from AFGHANISTAN, with
HUMAYUN, Emperor of India. Osmankhan's
son name was BAHADURKHAN. He
held a high office at the Emperor's court. As
a reward for his faithful services he received
two villages in GUJARAT, as Jagir,
from Mughal Emperor SHAH JAHAN.
One of the sons of Bahdurkhan named SHER
KHAN was highly applauded by Mughal Emperor
AURANGZEB ALAMGIR for good services
done in Gujarat.When in 1672 A.D. Kutbuddin Foujdar
(Governor) of Sorath led an invasion against Jamnagar,
SHER KHAN was appointed to help
him. Sherkhan bravely conquered
JAMNGAR. For this service he
obtained the offices of DIWAN
of GUJARAT and FOUJDAR
of BARODA and in addition the
town of PIRAN PATAN as a Jagir.
He died at SIDHPUR but his remains
were carried to AHMEDABAD, where
they were interred near the Idgah.Sherkhan
had four sons of these ZAFAR KHAN
was the ablest and most enterprising. His services
were appreciated at the Imperial Court and the
title of SAFDAR KHAN was bestowed
upon him. When in 1705 A.D. The Marathas invaded
Gujrat, Safdarkhan led an army to appose them.
In 1724 A.D. he died and was buried in his family
grave-yard near Idgah at Ahmedabad. He was blessed
with a long life, during which he served five
Emperor of India, all of whom were pleased with
his services. In the Babi dynasty, he was the
only one to earn for the family the respect and
admiration of the proudest nobles of the time.
He twice acted as the SUBEDAR
of GUJARAT. He was so very peace-loving
that he suppressed all mischief at the root. If
any dissension arose among the nobles he always
settled it amicable and induced the quarrelling
parties to come to terms again. Safdarkhan Babi
had nine sons. All his sons and grandsons were
appointed to high offices during his life time.
Among his sons, SHER KHAN was
the bravest and the most enterprising. The Jagirdar
of RANPUR, who is now under the
Nawab Sahib of Junagadh State,
is a descendant of his. Among the sons of Safdarkhan,
SALABAT KHAN and JAWANMARD
KHAN became very famous. The descendants
of the former won the Kingdoms of JUNAGADH
and WADASINOR, while those of
the latter that of RADHANPUR.In
1715 A.D. when disorder prevailed in GOHILWAD,
a general of Salabatkhan's caliber was ordered
to restore peace and order. In 1728 A.D. the Foujdar
of Junagadh died and Salabatkhan's
son BAHADUR KHAN was appointed
Nawab at JUNAGADH STATE in his
father's place. In 1730 A.D. Salabatkhan died
at PATODI on his way to Viramgam
from Ahmedabad. His remains were taken to Ahmedabad
and enterred in his family grave-yard. He discharged
his duties in Kathiawar with perfect loyalty to
the Imperial Goverment. He had great influence
with the people, so much so that his words carried
more weight than those of the Suba (Governor)
himself. He was a lover of peace and during his
regime the people were happy and prosperous.He
was a man of great learning. The suburb of SALABATPUR
named after him near AHMEDABAD
on the other side of the river was founded by
him. He also built a fort near WADASINOR,
which he got as Jagir from Emperor AURANGZEB,
and named it SALABAT NAGAR. He had three sons,
named BAHADUR KHAN, DILER
KHAN and SHERZAMAN KHAN.
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