The Emperor was very much impressed by his sagacity and sharpness of intellect at the very first sight and soon elevated him to the rank of Mir Tozak (Quarter-Master General) and later to an Amir (Minister).

His rowdy and blatant behavior annoyed His Majesty so much that he was ordered to be arrested, tied to the tail of a horse and dragged and finally thrown into the prison.

As soon as Shahbaz Khan became Mir Bakshi, he introduced the Dagh-o-Mahali (a branding system) which had considerably cut down the over-heads as well as the corruption prevalent in the military departments of the kingdom.

[14] General Shahbaz Khan had nearly driven Rana Pratap from the country when he was summoned by the emperor and sent with an army to support the forces in Bengal against Arab Bahadur.

For one month he carried operations against him clearing away the jungle and finally drove off Arab Bahadur and made the Raja Gajpati submit.

[citation needed] Bahadhur Khan-i-Shaibani and his brother Khan Zaman-i-Shaibani were Amir Viziers in the court of Akbar and both were holding big Jagirs, but as luck would have it, they rebelled against the emperor.

This ultimately led to a significant weakening of Maharana Pratap's power, forcing him to retreat to his hilly abode.

In 1585, Shahbaz Khan subdued Raja of Kukrah or Coira Orissa (Chhota Nagpur) a tributary to the Crown.

During conquest of Ahmmad Nagar, Shahbaz Khan harassed the Muslims and ravaged their houses which was greatly resented by Murad.

In 1589 AD, General Shabaz Khan led an expedition from Attock against the Yousafzai Afghans and defeated and dispersed them.

Historian Abu-L-Fazl Alami, the author of Aiana-i-Akbari, attests that Shahbaz Khan was a very competent and capable General but Abu-L-Fazal also accuses him for his bigoted Sunni views and arrogance.

[18] Shahbaz Khan was known for his generosity and liberality and the money he spent was so great that it made the people think that he had in his possession Philosopher's stone.

Shahbaz Khan in early part of his life was celebrated for his religiosity till he first became deputy Kotwal of the Chabutara when he displayed his awareness of the (affairs of the) kingdom and judicious disposal of matters.

[citation needed] He was a capable officer and brave fighter and had rendered meritorious service to the state in various capacities.

A leading courtier of Akbar, he was strict follower of the law of Shari’ah and profusely recited blessings on Muhammad and distributed large sum of money in charities.

He always carried a rosary in his hand, reciting all the while invocations of God's salutations on Muhammad and between the evening and sunset prayers, he would sit down facing west (qibla) and offering nimaz.

He did not follow other Khans as long as he was alive in shaving off his beard and drinking wine and did not have (the word) Murid on his signet.

[7] it is ascribed that building of the Lahore Fort and the walled city by Mughal Emperor Akbar was a military suggestion of Shahbaz Khan.