Upon Jahangir's rise to the throne in 1605, he was granted the honorific title Mahabat Khan, and was promoted to the rank of commander of 1,500 men, and bakhshi (treasurer) of the emperor's private privy purse.

Mahabat Khan rose to prominence in 1623, when he was made commander of the Mughal forces sent to defeat the unsuccessful rebellion of Prince Khurram (who later went on to become Emperor Shah Jahan) in the Deccan.

For his loyal service, he was recognised as a 'pillar of the state',[5] and was ultimately promoted to chief commander of the Mughal army, with a personal force of 7,000 men.

Mahabat Khan's success in quelling Prince Khurram's rebellion was not met with pleasure by many members of the Mughal court, who began to fear and resent the general's growing prestige and influence.

Empress Nur Jahan was especially concerned, and in an effort to curb Mahabat Khan's rising power, she arranged to have him made governor of Bengal, a province far removed from the Mughal capital at Lahore.

Furthermore, in an effort to humiliate him in the imperial court, Nur Jahan had him charged with disloyal conduct and ordered him to return to Lahore to face trial.

[6] As a result of Nur Jahan's machinations against him, Mahabat Khan decided to take action, and so in 1626, he led an army of loyal Rajput soldiers to the Punjab.

Mahabat Khan with the help of Raja Nathu Mall of Majhauli [2] settled the remaining wounded Rajputs and their family in the forests of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.