Asaf Khan I
{{About|the Mughal nobleman during the reign of Akbar||Asaf Khan (disambiguation){{!}}Asaf Khan}}
{{Infobox royalty
| embed =
| name = Asaf Khan I
| title = Subahdar of Ilahabad
| titletext =
| more =
| type =
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| succession = Subahdar of Ilahabad
| moretext =
| reign = c. 1560—c. 1580
| reign-type =
| coronation =
| cor-type =
| predecessor =
| pre-type =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| regent =
| reg-type =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| spouse =
| spouse-type =
| consort =
| issue =
| issue-link =
| issue-pipe =
| issue-type =
| full name =
| era name =
| era dates =
| regnal name =
| posthumous name =
| temple name =
| house = Asaf Khan
| house-type =
| father =
| mother =
| religion = Sunni Islam
| occupation = Mughal noble
| signature_type =
| signature =
| module =
{{Infobox military person
|embed = yes
|honorific_prefix =
|name =
|honorific_suffix =
|image =
|image_upright =
|alt =
|caption =
|native_name =
|native_name_lang =
|birth_name =
|other_name =
|nickname =
|birth_date =
|birth_place =
|death_date =
|death_place =
|placeofburial =
|placeofburial_label =
|placeofburial_coordinates =
|allegiance = Mughal Empire
|branch =
|branch_label =
|serviceyears =
|serviceyears_label =
|rank =
|rank_label =
|servicenumber =
|unit =
|commands =
|battles =
|battles_label =
|awards =
|memorials =
|spouse =
|children =
|relations =
|laterwork =
|signature =
|signature_size =
|signature_alt =
|website =
|module =
}}
}}
File:Asaf Khan presenting spoils to Akbar at Jaunpur.jpg to Akbar at Jaunpur in 1565]]
Asaf Khan I was a Tajik nobleman of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Akbar. He was governor of Ilahabad Subah and participated in many Mughal military expeditions, leading the Mughal conquest of Garha in 1564 and serving in the Battle of Haldighati in 1576.{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Parvati |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S1W_EAAAQBAJ&dq=Asaf+khan+I+Tajik&pg=PA109 |title=A Lamp for the Dark World: Akbar, India's Greatest Mughal |date=2023-05-15 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-7790-7 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Naravane |first=Susheila |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgiCDwAAQBAJ&dq=Asaf+khan+I+Tajik&pg=PT272 |title=Acute Akbar Versus The Spirited Nur Jahan: The Soul's Journey Through Time and the Who's Who of Rebirth |date=2018-09-28 |publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-78901-231-6 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Manimugdha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOOqDwAAQBAJ&dq=Asaf+khan+I+Tajik&pg=PT143 |title=Allahu Akbar: Understanding the Great Mughal in Today's India |date=2019-10-18 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-93-86950-54-3 |language=en}}
After personally attacking Garha and keeping the loot of war, including many precious gems and 800 war elephants, to himself, he rebelled fearing retribution by Akbar and joined many disaffected Uzbek noblemen in seeking independence from Mughal rule, fleeing to his subah on 17 September 1565. However, he soon submitted and was restored to his previous post in 1567.{{cite book |last1=Haig |first1=Wolseley |editor1-last=Burn |editor1-first=Richard |chapter=Akbar, 1556-1573 |title=The Cambridge History of India |date=1937 |location=Cambridge |volume=4: The Mughul Period |page=92}}
Asaf Khan played a pivotal role in Mughal conquest of Chittor in 1568 led by Akbar himself. After the fort was sacked in February 1568, Akbar handed it to Asaf Khan and returned to Agra.{{Cite book |author=Gopinath Sharma| title=Mewar and the Mughal Emperors: 1526-1707 A. D.| publisher=Shiva Lal Agarwala|year=1962|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7sQBAAAAMAAJ|page=80|language=en}}
He probably died at Burhanpur aged 63 in the seventh year of Jahangir's reign (1611–12).{{Cite book|last=Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan, 1569-1627|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/993066506|title=The tūzuk-i-Jahāngīrī, or, Memoirs of Jahāngīr|year=2015 |translator1-last=Rogers|translator1-first=Alexander|editor1-last=Beveridge|editor1-first=Henry|isbn=978-81-7156-131-5|location=New Delhi|oclc=993066506}}