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Raja Narhar Khan
Raja Narhar Khan ( 1515/16AD- 1580s) was the founder of Dildarnagar Kamsar and the ruler of a large zamindari realm, which included his ancestral lands and later expanded into what is now the Ghazipur, Buxar, and Kaimur districts. Influenced by Islam, he adopted to the religion in 1542 AD and became Raja Narhar Khan. He established the extensive Kamsar realm in the Ghazipur and Kaimur districts, which now span parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. .[1][2][3][4][5][6][7].[8][9]
He was a Khanzada ruler. His descendants, known as the Kamsari and Kamisara Pathans, number in the thousands. They primarily reside in the Dildarnagar Kamsar region of Ghazipur and in eleven villages located in Daltonganj and Palamu district Early lifeRaja Narhar Khan, priviously known as Raja Narhar Deo Rao, was a prominent 4 th generation grandson of Raja Kam Dev, a Sikarwar ruler of Pahargarh Estate, which consists of present-day Gwalior, Morena, Shivpuri, and Jhansi. Kam Dev was also the army in chief of his father Raja Jai Raj Dev Sikarwar's army. He had two younger brothers, name as Dham Dev urf Dharam Singh and Biram Dev, urf Vikaram Partap Singh. Dham Dev became the Raja of Vijapur Sikri estate, which consisted of present day, Karauli, Fatehpur Sikri, and Dholpur, after his father's Raja Jai Raj Dev Sikarwar s death in 1504AD, and the youngest Vikram handled the affairs of the estate .  He settled in the vicinity of Ghazipur after his defeat in the Battle of Khanwa under Rajput confiderancy and then Battle of Madarpur with Babur's general Mir Baqi. Kam Dev's family initially settled near Gahmar and then Reotipur, and later scattered across Zamania and its surroundings, establishing numerous villages in present-day Ghazipur, Buxar, Rohtas, and Kaimur districts. Kam Dev's younger brother Dham Dev, who founded Gahmar also helped Sher Shah Suri in Battle of Chausa. Narhar Khan, the founder of Kamsar, established his base at Kamesaradih, where he built a small fort. Influenced by Islam, he converted in 1542, adopting the title of Khan-e-Alam and laying the foundation for the Kamsar Pathan legacy. His settlement at Kamesaradih became the core of Kamsar-O-Bar, a region named after his fort and known for its fertile lands along the Ganges and Karamnasa rivers.[1][2][5][7][6][10].[11][12][13][14]  Adopting IslamIn the family of Kam Dev, also known as Rao Dalpat, one of his notable fourth-generation grandsons, Raja Narhar Dev Rao, embraced Islam in 1542. As the eldest and most capable among his siblings, Narhar was entrusted with managing the jagir and Realm, earning him a respected position in the region. His father, Puranmal Rao Sakarwar, had seven sons. From his first wife, was Narhar, the eldest. However, after his mother’s death, Puranmal remarried twice, having six more sons. This led to disputes, and Narhar, often neglected, grew resentful of his stepmothers.[15][9] Legend has it that Narhar and his wife were childless for many years. One day, his wife, sitting sorrowfully on their veranda, encountered a Sufi saint, Makhdoom Sayyid Shah Juned Qadri. He asked about her sadness and asked for some food, After giving him five loaves of bread, the saint prayed for them to have five children. His blessing proved true, and they were later blessed with five sons in 1540s: Jahangir Khan, Barbal Khan, Baran Khan, Usman Khan, and Khan Jahan Khan. Inspired by the saint and witnessing other miracles like boat going in opposite direction of the river, on order of the sufi saint when Narhar was going to Ghazipur on boat, Narhar grew closer to Islam. He also became a devotee of the Sayyid Shah Juned Qadri a saint of Makhdum school of sufism , and who's Dargah is at Patna.[1][2][10][15][12]  He recited the ""kalma"" in Sher Shah Suri's court where he went to pay up the lagan for his realm and adopted Islam in 1542,. Sher Shah Suri because of Narhar's bravery awarded him the title of "Khan-e-Alam". This act strained his relationship with his family. His father disapproved and allocated him land near Kamesardih, effectively disowning him. Despite this, Narhar established his own jagir and Zamindari gained control over ancestral lands, becoming a noble and in the region of Ghazipur, Chandauli, Buxar and Kaimur retaining his title of Raja. He built a fort at Kamesardih, from which the Kamsari region and Kamsar Pathans derive their name. His descendants later founded numerous villages along the Ganga and Karamnasa rivers. He had strong ties with Hetam Khan, of Hetampur, the Jagirdar of Chandauli, leading to the settlement of his, descendants at Mania.[15][16][1][5][17] Founding Kamsar EstateNarhar Khan established a Raja Zamindari estate, known as Kamsar, derived from Kamesardih, with getting the chieftiancy of all his ansistoral regions, while he added Bara, Birpur, Nawali, and parts of Nuaon tehsil to his jurisdiction. His estate, consisted the cheiftiancy of Qariat Reotipur (Reotipur & Sherpur pargana), Bara, Suhawal, Ramaval, Nawali and many other villages today present in Zamania, Nuaon, Ramgarh and Mohammadabad tehsils. According to the Ain-i-Akbari, the estate covered a cultivated area of 66,548 bighas, generating a revenue demand of 2,760,000 dams. It supplied 50 cavalry and 5,000 infantry soldiers. Although till then it was named a bhumihar possession, because of most of the people were the desendants of Kam Dev. During Narhar's time, Ali Quli Khan Zaman of Zamania was granted the Subah of Jaunpur and Ghazipur Sarkar who appointed Asad Ullah Khan as his deputy at Zamania. Kamsar, being a significant zamindari, held strategic importance. However, due to Ali Quli Khan Zaman's rebellion against Emperor Akbar, he was defeated and killed in 1567, after which the Sarkar was handed over to Munim Khan.[1][2][10][18] Raja Narhar Khan’s descendants expanded the jagir, with his great-grandson Quttul Khan establishing the Taluka of Seorai, which included 52 villages. As a Dewan of the Subah, Quttul Khan built a fort and an Eidgah, making Seorai a central hub during Akbar’s rule. After his death in a dispute with Man Singh Rai of Reotipur, his cousin Raja Daud Khan avenged him and established Dewaitha (then Daudpur) and the Kamsar region. Daud Khan strengthened the estate’s political influence, and at its peak, Kamsar-O-Bar stretched across half of Zamania tehsil and parts of Ramgarh and Nuaon tehsils. Prominent villages such as Mircha and Dildarnagar emerged. Over time, the various parganas of the jagir developed strong interrelations.  By the late 17th century, however, the centralized authority of the Kamsaar began to weaken, causing the estate to fragment into smaller holdings, each governed by individual villages, including those in Dildarnagar Kamsar. The Kamsar family, or Kamsaries, established smaller Zamindari estates across the region, such as Dewaitha (Daudpur) and Khizirpur (Umarganj). During the reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, figures like Sufi Bahadur and later Anik-ullah Khan were in charge of Ghazipur Sarkar, with positions held by Deendar Khan of Dildarnagar. The region gained further prominence during the rule of the Nawabs of Ghazipur, particularly under Nawab Sheikh Abdullah and later Fazl Ali Khan, who established a bazar at Suhawal. The younger brother of Daud Khan who was a great grandson of Narhar Khan named as Qasim Khan, established Karmahari, but his descendants later migrated to Daltonganj and Palamu district establishing 11 villages there, they are known as "Kamisara Pathans" a offshoot of Kamsar Pathans. Throughout this period, there were several skirmishes in the region, notably at Seorai and Dildarnagar, caused by foreign invasions or large-scale robberies.[18][1][5][19][20][21][22] DeathHe died because of old age, and was buried near his Kot located at Kamesardih, although most of the parts of his fort is now ruined, but his grave is still, there where his descendants go for offering fateha. Many old relics have been found , from the ruined of his fort, and the place is under archeological survey of India. After Narhar's death his estate was distributed among his five sons. His eldest son , Jahangir Khan was a student of Makhdum Sayyid Shah Juned Qadri, and became a sufi saint, his Dargah is at Akhini village, opposite to Kamesardih.  References
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